Norika Fujiwara & Ainosuke Kataoka: Agency Collapse and Injury

She would be perfectly fine.

“It’s unfortunate about Ainosuke-san’s injury, but I’ve heard that it isn’t a serious injury that will cause lasting aftereffects. Norika-san is dealing with her agency’s bankruptcy and reports of 40 million yen being embezzled, all while her husband’s injury overlaps with these issues. As both an actress and a kabuki wife, it must be incredibly challenging for her.

However, in the kabuki world, while it might sound strange, injuries to actors and financial troubles are not uncommon, and there’s a certain level of acceptance of these occurrences. As such, it hasn’t become a major scandal. I believe this is just another trial given to them, and I hope they can overcome it. Honestly, for her, I think it’s absolutely no problem.”

The statement “financial troubles are not uncommon” is surprising, but what kind of issues typically arise in the kabuki world?

“The biggest issue is debt arising from unsold ticket quotas. While actors focus on performing, the job of kabuki wives is to sell tickets. Each actor has a manager who assists with ticket sales, making rounds to greet patrons, even when their husband isn’t performing, and helping out at the theater to connect with audiences.

Kabuki performances are held on a monthly basis, and any unsold tickets at the end of the month must be bought by the actor themselves. This makes it easy to accrue debts as high as 40 million yen. Repaying these debts is also considered part of the kabuki wife’s responsibilities,” explained the kabuki wife.

Many actors face spiraling debts they can’t repay, leaving them in dire financial straits. Even a famous kabuki actor who passed away a few years ago reportedly had tens of millions of yen in debt at the time of his retirement. As for Norika’s case…