In Memoriam ’24] Mr. Toradan Nambu’s Secret Story with Mr. Ito Esper and the Flamboyant Funeral Ceremony at which He Was Banned from the Saiban

Toradon Nambu
Passed away on January 20 at the age of 72.

A flamboyant funeral in which he was banned from attending
Hidemasa Omoto (President of his firm BBE)

I had been approached by a company about a competition for a commercial called “Electric Power Network,” and during the exchange of “What do you want for the fee? I was in the middle of a conversation about a commercial competition called “Electric Power Network″ with a certain company and was asking “What about the fee?

I had been managing Mr. Nambu for more than 10 years, and he was a man who loved his friends, drinking, and pachinko.

In the evening, he would call me and say, “Let’s hit it,” and we would drink at the winner’s expense. There were times when we would “drink & hit” 8 times a week, including double headers in the morning and afternoon.

There were all kinds of friends at the drinking place. Mr. Esper Ito was one of them. The two of them had this anecdote that Nambu-san loved.

When we were playing pachinko, Mr. Esper said, “I’ll stop the roulette numbers at 7! and he smashed the pachinko table with his finger and broke it. After that, the two of them were taken to the back of the store by a scary older brother,” Nambu-san said, sounding really happy.

Esper passed away four days before Nambu’s death. I think they followed him because they were worried about him.

At the funeral, where mourning clothes were not allowed, the comedians and other friends crowded in and had a blast. It was almost a festival and he was banned from the funeral home. We laughed until the end.

From the January 3, 10, and 17, 2025 issue of FRIDAY