Tiktok’s Popularity on Fire Again! Find Out the Success Story of Noburo Harada of “Ano Ne No Ne”

Nekonyanyangnyang,” a song that was ahead of its time

The “rare phenomenon” of “Neko Neko Nyan Nyan Nyan” by Anoneme became a hot topic on TikTok, where it became a buzz among young people. Later, Noburo Harada of Anoneme posted a nostalgic “Neko Neko Neko Nyan Nyan Nyan” on TikTok, saying, “This is the person himself. He is now energetically uploading various songs on a daily basis.

Harada explains how it all started.

When I was told that Nekonyangnyang was getting a big break, I was surprised. It was released more than 40 years ago, in 1979.

This year, February 22, 2022, is Super Cat Day, and I think someone started playing it and it spread.

It makes me happy to know that even such an old song could touch your heartstrings,” said Noburo Harada of Ano Ne No Ne.

Harada, now 70 years old, says he started TikTok “to see videos of people playing with me,” and now posts one short song a day, such as “Song of the Fishmonger’s Man” and “Nurunuru no Uta.

He said, “Making one laugh with short sentences of 30 or 40 seconds on TikTok is the same thing we’ve been doing for a long time, so maybe it’s a good match.”

So it was a very forward-thinking sense of humor.

But what should I say to explain “Ano ne ne no ne” to the younger generation, who have no knowledge of the original and play with neko-nyan-nyan videos on TikTok?

What is “Ano ne no ne”?

Formed by Kuniaki Shimizu and Noburo Harada, their major debut was in 1973, when “Akatombo no Uta” became a hit, selling 360,000 copies. A singer of folk songs and comic songs, he was an emcee, and was known for his “itai nani sasun?” He also created many one-liner gags (?), such as “Ita itai nani shinasun? He also created many one-liner gags (?) such as “Ita itai nan nan nan nan?

A folk duo could be Yuzu or Kobukuro, or a singer who can also do comedy could be SMAP, or even Drifting. If you are a duo that can also host a show, you could be Tunnelsuzu. No, none of them are the same.

There are a lot of serious songs,” he said, “like ‘It’s Snowing,’ or ‘Seishun Tabijo,’ which was written by Eigo Kawashima. I really wanted to sing serious songs, so when we debuted with Akatombo and it became a big hit, I thought, ‘OK, we’ve got it, now we can sing the serious songs we want to sing. But the people around me said, “Forget the serious songs, do some interesting songs” (laughs). (Laughs.) The best thing is to have a lot of people listen to our songs.

How did Kuniaki Shimizu, the partner of “Anone no Ne”, meet Tsurube?

When talking about his partner Kuniaki Shimizu’s encounter with Tsurube Shofukutei, one person is indispensable.

I met Tsurube at a rakugo club at Kyoto Sangyo University. Tsurube was working part-time at a live-in inn, and when I went to the inn, he said, ‘I’m quitting, so why don’t you play Harada? But I was fired from that inn. The inn next door had raised the part-time job rate by 200 yen, so I negotiated for a raise, but was rebuffed and told to go on strike.

That was the origin of “Ano ne no ne.

When I was in trouble because I had run out of part-time jobs, Shimizu-san found me a part-time job singing on the roof of a building in Kawaramachi, Kyoto, and said, ‘Let’s sing together as a team.

We would improvise and sing to students on school excursions at the entrance of inns and perform rakugo stories. When I think back, I was doing things there that led to my current job.

He adds with a laugh, “I happened to put out a record, and it happened to be a hit.

I got into this world without really knowing it.” I knew I had to graduate from college because this kind of thing doesn’t last forever, so I took a year off from all my jobs, including ‘All Night Nippon,’ and I took a year off.

But when I returned to work after graduating from college and taking a year off, the entertainment world had changed a lot, and there were many people on “All Night Nippon” that I did not know. Even Tsurumitsu Shofukutei said, ‘I got into All Night Nippon thanks to the disappearance of Anone no Negai’ (laughs).

However, soon after his return, “Neko nyan nyan nyan” became a big hit.

Early host of the “Impersonation Championship

On the other hand, he also has a strong impression of his long-term hosting duties, having served as host of “Yang Yang Singing Studio” for nine years from 1977 and of the “Imitation Championship” from the spring of 1979 to the fall of 1986.

He said, “There would be a limit to how long we could sing on our own, so we decided to become a receptacle for idols, and to have various people enter our vessel by doing skits with them and hosting the show.”

However, his overly smooth life in show business led to his later struggles.

“ Normally, you would have to go through a period of underachievement before you would be successful, but we suddenly went out with a bang as soon as our record was released. I think some people must have underestimated the entertainment industry when they saw us, and I don’t know if we ourselves were underestimating it.

Mr. Shimizu, for example, was a year ahead of us, and he used to tease Tsurube, who was not yet nationally known, by saying, “Local, local.

However, I later realized that the hardships he endured during his apprenticeship would become his strength. I keenly felt that you have to go through hardship while you are young.

Golf program, calligrapher… 30 years of activities mainly in the Kansai region.

In 1990, Harada moved his base of operations from Tokyo to Osaka and established the Harada Nobuo Office. For about 30 years since then, he has worked mainly on radio and TV programs in the Kansai region, steadily establishing a firm foothold.

He has been active in radio and TV programs in the Kansai region for about 30 years since then. I originally joined the Rakugo Research Institute because I wanted to become a rakugo performer, and I did narration for commercials and such, but I think I was relying on Mr. Shimizu in some ways. But I realized that there are many things I can do on my own without Mr. Shimizu.

The golf program started in 1988 and has now been a long-running program for over 30 years. He is also a calligrapher.

When I was over 50 years old, I suffered facial paralysis due to overwork, and I had to take a month off from work.

Since I had so much time on my hands, I thought there must be something I could do while I still had time, so I resumed calligraphy, which I had done since I was a child, at the age of 50. But I didn’t want to have a teacher teach me, so I decided to write whatever characters I wanted, however I wanted. People found it interesting, and I have had private exhibitions of my work at department stores and other places throughout Japan.

What is your current relationship with your partner, Kuniaki Shimizu?

When Shimizu-san comes to be a guest on our golf show, it is fun to play golf with him while exchanging comic dialogue like a comic dialogue.

Actually, we have never had a quarrel before. I think it is a good thing that we have kept a good distance between senior and junior members.

Mr. Shimizu is a very caring person, so he helped me find a part-time job, arranged for the release of my record, and brought me to the entrance of the entertainment industry. I respect him. However, I sometimes wonder from afar if he is doing all right because he is involved in various businesses (laughs).

Looking back now, what was Ano no Ne no Ne?

I wonder. I guess I liked the feeling of not being professional, of being a college student forever. When I’m with Mr. Shimizu, I still go back to the student groove.

He also talks about his ambitions.

I started to think that life starts at age 70 when I got a buzz from Nekonyan-nyan-nyan. I realized that even at my age, I can still get excited about things.

I think there are a lot of things you can start doing at 70. You can go to the gym and get fit. Next year will be the 50th anniversary of my debut. I am motivated to write various songs. I would like to do a 50th anniversary concert, but I don’t think Mr. Shimizu would be too keen on it. He is probably busy as a businessman. If he can’t make it, I might ask him to come as a guest (laughs).

Click here for Noburo Harada’s TikTok!