In Memoriam ’25] Mayumi Kurata felt “Takuro Morinaga’s determination” as he wrote energetically until just before his death.
Tombstone Epitaph 2025] Another year, another national star, famous actor, and emcee has passed away. We bring you his words of regret along with his treasured photos.
Takuro Morinaga
Passed away on January 28 at the age of 67
Autographs sought for “Noritama” (a Japanese word meaning “Noritama” in Japanese)
Mayumi Kurata (Manga Artist)
I think we first met about 20 years ago at a roundtable discussion in a women’s magazine. Ms. Morinaga was a meek person and collected autographs of various celebrities. Even after the roundtable discussion, he asked me for my autograph on a package of “Noritama,” after my nickname “Kuratama. He is a mischievous person.
In November ’19, I did a comic performance at a radio station event. Mr. Morinaga was in charge of the script, but it was full of undertones ……. I remember saying, “I will script the next one, so let’s go to ‘M-1. At the time, I had the impression that he was an energetic person who ate all the location bentos full of carbohydrates, but at some point he got hooked on “Lizap” and strictly limited his sugar intake. He used to bring his wife’s homemade sandwiches made with thick fried tofu to work sites.
Until just before his death, he was writing energetically, publishing about 10 books in a year. When I contacted him out of concern, he told me.
‘Basically, I don’t sleep. I feel like I’m working until I fall asleep.
I felt his determination to write down everything he knew. He was a diligent, knowledgeable, and lovable person.
From the December 19 and 26, 2025 issue of FRIDAY
PHOTO： Hiroyuki Komatsu (1st photo)