Hidehiko Ishizuka’s Drama Roles Highlighting His Unique Physique

He has appeared in many detective productions

Hello everyone. Recently, I’ve started to think flowers are really beautiful — this is Hidehiko Ishizuka speaking.

This time, I’d like to write about the dramas I have appeared in. I’ve been involved in many works so far, but for some reason, I have appeared in many detective-themed dramas. Roles such as “Mune Kyun Detective,” the “Fukuhara Inspector Series” (both on TV Asahi), “Anmitsu Prosecutor’s Investigation Files” (TBS), and “Detective 110 Kilograms” (TV Asahi), among others, have mostly been detective or inspector roles. Naturally, all of these roles took advantage of my physique and character.

If you eat manju (sweet buns) one after another

The series “Fukuhara Inspector” follows a skilled police inspector from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police who solves cases at the Okutama Police Station. Fukuhara deduces the crime by looking at photos of the crime scenes and related people, often eating Okutama specialty “heso manju” (navel-shaped sweet buns) and sometimes closing his eyes. If you only saw that part, it would look like he’s just eating buns and dozing off.

However, in the end, he always identifies the culprit and solves the case. During scenes where I deduced the case while eating the manju, the staff kindly told me, “Ishizuka-san, you can just pretend to eat during the test and main shoot.” But since heso manju is my favorite, I replied, “No, I want to actually try eating during the tests to see how many I can eat.”

What I realized after actually trying was that if you eat manju one after another, by the third one you need some tea. Weird, right? Anyway, everything about “Fukuhara Inspector” — from the atmosphere on set to the script — was fantastic.

Next is Anmitsu Prosecutor’s Investigation Files. In this work, there was a recurring scene where I would discuss the investigation while eating anmitsu—a traditional Japanese dessert—with Nagisa Katahira (65), who played the prosecutor.

It’s one of my favorite scenes, but because filming involved many short cuts, the amount of anmitsu eaten had to match perfectly when all the cuts were edited together. So I had to eat my beloved anmitsu very carefully on set. Even so, being able to share the same space with Katahira-san, whom I’ve admired for a long time, was a blissful moment.

In Detective 110 Kilograms, I lived in Kyoto

Finally, Detective 110 Kilograms. This work was produced by TV Asahi and Toei, and the filming took place in Kyoto. During that time, I lived in a weekly rental apartment. Here’s how a typical day went: I would wake up, eat a bento I bought at a convenience store the previous day, and take a shower.

After that, I checked the lines scheduled for filming. Once confirmed, I would head to the Uzumasa studio. Upon arrival, I changed into my costume, finished makeup, and if it was a location shoot, I got into the location vehicle; if it was on a set, I went to the designated set inside the studio.

The crew at the site were all skilled professionals who inherited traditional techniques. In such an environment, it was absolutely unacceptable not to have memorized the lines. After somehow finishing the day’s shoot, I returned to the weekly apartment to memorize the lines for the next day. Sometimes, I ate ramen and half fried rice at a nearby Chinese restaurant.

Once I had the lines fully memorized back at the apartment, I went to bed. This routine is repeated every day. Strangely, I enjoyed this tension. Having something you must do makes life enjoyable.

By the way, during the filming of Detective 110 Kilograms, I weighed 120 kilograms.

 

From the May 9, 16, and 23, 2025 issue of FRIDAY