Teruhiko Saigo’s Secret Marriage with Mari Henmi Leaked on Weekly Magazine

(Entertainment Reporter Toshio Ishikawa’s “Behind the Scenes of That Event: ……”)

Actor Teruhiko Saigo, whose hit songs included “Hoshi no Flamenco,” has passed away at the age of 75. He was 75 years old. It’s too bad and sad.

The news came to me on the afternoon of February 20 from an acquaintance of mine, Mr. A, who once worked as the president of a local TV station.

Mr. Saigo was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011 and underwent a total prostatectomy. He was able to return to work, but the cancer recurred in 2005. His tumor marker, PSA, became abnormally high, and in April last year, a Japanese doctor introduced him to Australia to receive the most advanced treatment.

Mr. Saigo’s condition seemed to be gradually improving, and he returned to Japan at the end of September last year. He was stranded in Australia due to the corona disaster. After returning to Japan, he was forced to stay at home.

However, water began to accumulate in his left lung and he thought it was aspiration pneumonia, but he was hospitalized in October and was unable to celebrate his birthday on February 5 at home.

At 9:41 a.m. on February 20th, she passed away.

There are still many things I want to do. I have only one wish. I just wish I could do more of the work I love.

Mr. Saigo had said on YouTube. His 55th anniversary concert was cancelled twice due to his illness.

I even booked the Nakano Sunplaza concert. I’m sure he must have felt frustrated that he couldn’t make it. I contacted the office. I let them know as soon as possible because you work on TV and need time to gather materials, but you have to wait for the announcement from the office.

This was the first news that nipped Mr. A in the bud. He had plans for a nationwide dinner show after Mr. Saigou’s illness was cured.

The marriage of Mr. Saigo to his first wife, Mari Henmi, was a shock.

This was around the time I quit the Shochiku Advertising Department and joined the Weekly Women’s Editorial Department. I thought the world of weekly magazines was amazing.

Mr. Saigo’s secret marriage, when he was one of the “three families” with Yukio Hashi and Kazuo Funaki, was making a splash in the music world. The wedding was organized by “Shukan Josei”.

The two were taken to the resort town of Karuizawa in separate hired cars. Then came the secret wedding ceremony.

Neither myself nor any of the other members of the editorial staff were informed of this. The printing was not done at the usual major printing house. No one except the person in charge was told what was going to be in the first few pages. Even within the editorial department, there were questions about the mysterious move.

“Maybe they’ll buy a scoop article from some foreign country and include it.

“Maybe someone famous has been arrested.

But no one really knew. We didn’t even know who was in charge of the articles. Even if the deputy editor of the first feature group was not there, it was as if he was on vacation.

Today, it would be like scooping the secret marriage of Shohei Ohtani of the Angels to a famous actress without anyone knowing about it.

It was a complete monopoly. We in the same editorial department learned about the big scoop just as the weekly magazine entered the agency. I realized firsthand that this was a scoop war.

After that, I also did a scoop on Harumi Miyako’s secret marriage for Shukan Josei, but it wasn’t as big a deal as the one on Saigo.

After all, a scoop is a rewarding experience for a weekly magazine editor. The photos of their wedding are probably only available in Shukan Josei.

Mr. Saigo remarried in 1990, nine years after his divorce from Ms. Henmi. She was the daughter of a souvenir store owner in front of Atami Station, and was 19 years younger than him.

I went to Atami to hear the story. I interviewed Mr. Saigo on the bullet train back to Tokyo. He was a gentle, warm, and meticulous person.

Later, when I became a reporter, I had a chance to see all three members of the family together for a song program. The three of us were interviewed together. Mr. Saigo was the one who took the most care of me.

It was an interview that I could be proud of, since I was rather close to Kazuo Funaki. If it weren’t for the Corona disaster, I would have gone to karaoke and sung “Kimi Dake O” (Only You).

I dropped out of high school at the age of 15, ran away from my parents’ house in Kagoshima, and moved to Tokyo. While singing at a jazz cafe in Asakusa, she was scouted by the director of a record company and became a singer.

Fifty-six years have passed since her debut song, “Kimi Dake Wo. Mr. Saigo was a great drinker who also left many works as an actor. I pray for his soul. Oh. Gassho.