Tsurutaro Kataoka, a ″genius″ speaks, “I want to die a ″lifelong active worker″ while doing yoga and painting.

His body, stripped down to the bare minimum. His eyes are sharp as he gazes into the camera. He looks like a hermit, but once he opens his mouth, he is a light-hearted talker with a wide variety of expressions.

Tsurutaro Kataoka (69), who celebrated his 50th anniversary in show business last year, has become known as a “good-looking old man” because of the fashion on his social networking sites, which shows a combination of youthfulness and sophistication that one would not expect from a man approaching his 70th birthday.

I have been coordinating my own clothes for work without a stylist for about 10 years now, and I enjoy going to vintage clothing stores and trying on different outfits,” he said.

Tsurutaro started his career in the entertainment industry half a century ago as a comedian. His breakthrough came in 1981 with the broadcast of “Ore-tachi Hyokinzoku” (Fuji Television Network), a show that was popular at the time. This program was aired in conjunction with the variety show “8 O’clock, All Together” (TBS), which featured the then popular “The Drifters! All Together” (TBS), a variety program featuring the then-popular “The Drifters.

Hyokinzoku” was originally scheduled to run for three months (……), or just one season. It would have been boring to do the same thing as “All the Members,” so we decided to do the exact opposite. If that was a live broadcast aimed at a child audience, this was a recording aimed at adults. If their strength is teamwork, ours is a combination of individual strengths. That’s how a pin-up comedian like me was able to get in.

The “Hyokinzoku” series featured eminent members such as Beat Takeshi (77), Akashiya Sanma (68), and Shimada Shinsuke (68). Although there is a script, it is only a rough setting and is left to ad-lib on the spot. Tsurutaro’s impersonation of Kondo Masahiko (59) was a hit, but his popularity was also unexpected.

One day, the producer gave him a video saying, ‘Match’s song is ranked No. 1, so do your impersonation,’ and he learned the song in three days. It was supposed to be a one-time ″Tsuruchan Match″ with the setting of …… where the hut breaks down and Match dies under a large tree as he enters the hut while singing ″Gingira Gingira Gingira Casually~. In the actual performance, the moment I entered the hut, a firecracker exploded and the chickens there jumped up in surprise. That was the first time I saw a chicken flying (laughs).

The comedy was so popular that the “Tsuruchan Match,” which was supposed to be a one-time event, became a regular event. It was supposed to be a one-time event, but the “Tsuruchan Match” became a regular event, and they even received the endorsement of the “original” owner.

When I had an interview with the “real” Match, he said, “Tsuru-chan’s matches are funny!　What song are you going to play next? He said, “What song are you going to play next? But of course, I received many angry letters from Match’s fans saying, ‘That’s not Match! I received many angry letters from Match’s fans. Some of them even had razors in them!

Later, each of the “Hyokinzoku” members grew up to be a big star and became active with their own shows.

I saw up close the strong characters and talk ability of the people around me, so I could never compete with them in the same direction. Besides, my specialty was mimicry, so I thought I was more like an actor playing someone else than a host. Around that time, I appeared in “Summer Stories of Seven Men and Seven Women,” and my work as an actor began to increase.

A Depressed Man’s Menopause

At the age of 32, when he was extremely busy, a major turning point came. He took up boxing in earnest, something he had always wanted to do.

It was my last chance to get a professional boxer’s license. Besides, if I was going to be a full-fledged actor, I couldn’t compete with other actors if I kept the chubby “Tsuru-chan” look I had for variety shows. People around me objected, saying that if I lost weight and changed my appearance, I wouldn’t get work, but for me, it was more of a risk to stay the same.

At the time, she was a very successful comedian with eight regular TV shows and a drama shooting at the same time, and her schedule was booked for the next two years. His office was vehemently against it, but he shook them off and took up boxing. In 1988, he successfully obtained his boxing license. However, in his late 40s, he began to feel vaguely uneasy.

It’s what’s called ‘menopause for men. Day after day, my mind and body felt heavy as if I had taken lead, and I felt depressed and unsure of myself. I want to play old roles, but there are great actors who are older than me, and if you look at the younger generation, there are so many talented young actors coming up. I felt like I was halfway there, and the pressure was always crushing me.

He was able to escape this difficult situation thanks to his interactions with people of his generation.

When I was 50 years old, a group of people born in 1954 was formed. People from various industries, including Shinzo Abe (67), then secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Yuji Kuroiwa (69), current governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, gathered there. I felt lighter knowing that I was not alone.

Furthermore, at the age of 57, he discovered yoga and became fascinated with it. He maintains his physical and mental health by not breaking his daily routine. He wakes up nine hours before he has to leave for work, usually at 11 p.m. the night before.

After I wake up, I concentrate on yoga for about three hours,” he says. After that, I take two and a half hours to eat breakfast. I eat only one meal a day, breakfast, but I eat about 10 items slowly so I feel full. Sometimes I have lunch with my friends, but I go to bed around 5 p.m., so if I eat too much at noon, my stomach gets upset and I don’t get a good night’s sleep.

She has also devoted herself to other things that interest her, such as the sanshin (Okinawan traditional three-stringed instrument) and painting. Many people say they don’t know what they want to do, but Tsurutaro points out that this is because they are not in touch with their true nature.

Even if they are interested in something, they are hindered by calculating information that says, “It’s not worth the money,” or “It’s not useful,” and so they are unable to take the plunge. If we block out extraneous information and look at things more simply, I think we will naturally see what we want to do.”

Mature Divorce and Single Life

Tsurutaro divorced his wife of many years at the age of 62. It was out of a desire to “leave no lie in myself.

He said, “Since I was in my thirties, I rented an apartment near my home as a workroom. In a sense, as the couple has been living separately for more than 30 years, they have grown older and have different ways of living and different directions in which they want to go. It may be fine to remain separated, but as I reached the age of 60, I began to think that I didn’t want to have a lie inside of me. …… I told my wife how I felt, and she understood.”

Although he has lived alone for a long time, he says there is never a moment when he feels lonely.

He said, “Since I’m single, I’m free to fall in love, but I don’t meet anyone because I don’t go out drinking at night. My ideal breakfast date would be early in the morning at 5:30 a.m., eating breakfast together that I cooked, but women like that are hard to find (laughs).”

On the other hand, there are some unexpected friends among his social circle. To his surprise, he has been hanging out with teenage talents from the former Johnny’s (now “STARTO” company).

He said, “After we performed together on stage, they asked me to take them out to lunch. Sometimes we go to a vintage clothing store together and I give them life advice (laughs). (Laughs.) Although we are “grandfather and grandson” in terms of age, I don’t think of them as “young people nowadays! I don’t think that at all. That kind of thinking only narrows your world, doesn’t it?

He continues to update himself with an undiminished curiosity and an attitude that focuses on the essence of who he is. That is the man Kataoka Tsurutaro is.

From the July 5 and 12, 2024 issue of FRIDAY