“I Want to Be an Elderly Man Who Keeps Talking About the Showa Era…” Tetsuya Takeda Reveals His “Secret to Youth” and “Life Philosophy of Embracing the ‘Nuisance of the Elderly’”

Taking on a New Challenge at 65

“Men, you know, need to see sexy stuff. When it comes to this, I don’t think there’s any need for reserve or modesty.”

What is the secret to staying young?—Actor Tetsuya Takeda (77), who has just celebrated his 77th birthday, gave this straightforward answer to a reporter’s question.On May 20 of this year, he released *Blossom, Old Man: A Textbook for the Second Half of Life* (published by Futabasha). In the book, he offers unique solutions to the worries faced by readers of his generation—such as marital strife, feelings of loneliness, forgetfulness, and anxiety about the future.

“Even the sleaziness and vulgar desires within me seem to stem from surprisingly deep within.I think they’re a kind of signal transmitted from the very depths of life. The same goes for feces. Sometimes, when I look at my own stool, it clearly takes the shape of my intestines. As the name ‘feces’ suggests, it’s truly a ‘message from the viscera’—a ‘reliable source of information.’ I believe that erotic desires, too, are messages coming from within the body.

I think that failing to listen to that message amounts to treating one’s own life with disregard. So, everyone, whether you watch adult videos or browse photo books to your heart’s content, please make sure to properly receive the messages from your body!”

He took the world by storm with the band “Kaientai” and, as an actor, appeared in TV classics that have gone down in history, such as the drama *3rd Year Class B: Mr. Kinpachi* (TBS) and *The 101st Proposal* (Fuji TV).Takeda, who has navigated the entertainment industry from the Showa era through to the Reiwa era, has now reached the milestone of his 77th birthday. Reflecting on his life so far, he spoke at length about his unique approach to facing “old age.”

“In my 60s, I used to think, ‘I’m not going to lose to the young folks. Don’t treat me like an old man.’ But since reaching my mid-70s, I’ve come to feel very strongly that ‘I was just being stubborn in my 60s. I’m an old man now…’“When I meet colleagues at work or old friends back in my hometown—people who lived through the same era with the same youthful energy as I did—they remind me exactly where I am in the journey of life.”

That said, growing old in silence isn’t the Takeda way. When I turned 65, I took on a new challenge.

“It’s Aikido. I’d always wanted to take up a new hobby. You see, I often find myself in the role of ‘teacher,’ always teaching someone else. But honestly, I find it more fun to learn something new from someone else.

At the time, the writer Itsuki Uchida (75)—whose books I was devouring—practiced Aikido, so I decided to go to the dojo where he trained. This dojo is Spartan; there’s no special course for seniors.People of all ages and genders train together, and some days I find myself sparring with middle school students. I go back and forth with the younger students—throwing them and getting thrown by them.”

At the dojo, I was also blessed with an unexpected connection.

“Ken Takakura (who passed away at age 83) used to train there when he was alive. When I first started going, someone at the dojo asked me, ‘Did Ken-san recommend you?’ However, not long after I started going, Ken-san passed away… I felt it was a mysterious connection.”

He made his debut in 1972 with the folk band “Kaientai.” Though he’s a veteran with over 50 years in the entertainment industry, he says there’s one conviction that has remained unchanged from his youth to the present.

“Shall I tell you what was great about the Showa era?”

“It’s about wanting to be unique. Back in the ’ 70s, my hometown of Fukuoka was home to incredibly talented people like Yosui Inoue (77), ‘Tulip,’ and ‘Sheena & The Rockets.’If I didn’t do something completely unique, I’d be blown away by their talent. That’s why I used to sing the Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ arranged in a comic song style. People around me told me, ‘That’s lame—stop it,’ but even if I sang the Beatles straight, I couldn’t hold a candle to Yosui Inoue.

Come to think of it, both the detective who fights with a hanger—a role I played in the movie *Detective Story*—and the protagonist in *The 101st Proposal*, who jumps in front of a truck to get the girl he likes to notice him, are both incredibly unique, aren’t they? I hope to remain a unique old man even in my 70s.”

Takeda is still active today. He has a reputation for embracing online backlash—often drawing criticism for his risqué remarks on the radio—but how does he view this himself?

“When it comes to online backlash, it’s a battle of the many against the few. I don’t stand a chance. However, I always feel the urge to ‘give as good as I get’ when it comes to opinions online. The other day, during an interview on a show, a young person used the expression, ‘You’re straight out of the Shōwa era.’ That really made me angry.I thought, ‘Do you even know what the Showa era was like?’

I’ve been living through the Showa era ever since right after the war. It wasn’t the kind of era where you could just casually say, ‘You’re so Showa.’ There were a whole host of legendary stars like Ken Takakura and Hibari Misora (who passed away at age 52). I’m actually thinking, ‘Should I teach you the good things about the Showa era?’Oh, and there were plenty of lovely girls in the Showa era, too (laughs).”

Takeda is going from strength to strength in his old age. Toward the end of the interview, he told the reporter with conviction , “I’m going to live my life with my head held high in this era of 100-year lifespans.”

“I want to be an old man who keeps talking about the Showa era. I don’t mind if people call me a ‘nuisance of old age.’ I don’t want anyone to deny the charm of the era I’ve lived through.”