Tetsuko Kuroyanagi has been in the entertainment industry for over 70 years.



When she was just starting out, her first co-star was Shizuko Kasagi.



What kind of interaction did she have with the "Queen of Boogie" who was the model for the heroine in the TV drama series "Boogie Woogie"?



She shared many unknown stories.



(Osaka Broadcasting Station Directors Takuro Ozaki, Shu Odawara, Hikari Adachi)

Be kind and friendly to everyone

Mr. Kuroyanagi made his debut approximately 70 years ago, in 1953, when regular television broadcasting began.



When he was still a budding actor, he co-starred with Shizuko Kasagi.



At this time, Mr. Kuroyanagi played the role of an extra, a passerby who walks behind Mr. Kasagi as he sings "Shopping Boogie."



He says he still can't forget the impression he made at that time.

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi


: ``It was difficult to pass, and the director told me, ``The person who just went behind me, go to the spa, it looks unnatural, so just walk normally!'' I was wondering how he was going to walk. I said, ``I'm sorry. I'll do my best.'' Then I trudged a few more times, and then he said, ``Be a little more energetic!'' over and over again. Every time that happened, Kasagi-san had to say, ``Today, I'll start in the morning♪'' and I was really sorry.''

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi: `


`After I had done it three or four times, Mr. Kasagi looked at me and said, ``It's hard.'' I thought, ``How nice of you.'' Because I'm not good at it. Every time, Mr. Kasagi sings, ``Today is from the morning ♪'' Even though he is in a good position to say, ``How many times are you going to make me do this?'', he is very kind to me.Entertainment I heard that the world is scary, but I thought it might not be so scary."

A shocking performance

Ever since this incident, Mr. Kuroyanagi has been completely fascinated by Mr. Kasagi's personality and singing voice.

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi


: ``I was born into a family that played classical music, and my father was the concertmaster of the NHK Symphony Orchestra at the time, so I listened to that kind of classical music from a young age. I had never heard anything like ``Today from the morning♪'', so I was really interested.I thought maybe I could sing like that too, so I tried ``Today from the morning♪'', but it was nothing like that. I was very disappointed that it didn't come out that way.Even if you look at the photo, you can see that he sings with his mouth open that much.I think that opening his mouth that wide and singing loudly is a technique. They were also singing and dancing, so I think it was pretty amazing.”

Shizuko Kasagi’s “kindness” and “strength”

Mr. Kuroyanagi left a strong impression on me with his "kindness" and "performance that captured hearts."



A valuable video showing a glimpse of Mr. Kasagi's true face was left on NHK.

A program called "Newsletter to Hometown" aired in 1975.



Here, Mr. Kasagi, then 61 years old, looked back on his days as a singer.

Q: Did you sing while carrying a shopping cart on stage?



Shizuko Kasagi:


"Yes, yes. How many did you use? I used it about 363 days out of 365. Hahahahaha."

Mr. Kasagi speaks cheerfully.



On the other hand, he also revealed the reason for his "retirement as a singer."

Q: After Boogie Woogie became popular, you suddenly stopped singing.What was the reason for this?



Shizuko Kasagi


: ``I'm just over 40, and I'm starting to get obese, so I took the plunge and quit.I move around a lot, and no matter what I do, I end up short of breath. It's natural for everyone to think, 'Oh, things like that never happened in the past.' After all, I was so dedicated that I didn't want to quit after being told that.''

At the home I was invited to...

I continued to interact with Mr. Kasagi in private as well.



In fact, Mr. Kasagi always loved inviting people to his home and entertaining them, and


Mr. Kuroyanagi was once invited as well when he was young.

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi


: ``For some reason, she said, ``Would you like to come over to my house?'' and invited me over.I guess she thought I was nice.I asked Mr. Kasagi. Even though I had never done anything for her and caused Kasagi-san a lot of trouble, for some reason Kasagi-san was kind to me. She gave it to me. Rehearsal ended early that day. So, I went to Kasagi-san's house in the afternoon."

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi


: ``What surprised me the most was when I went to the gate of Mr. Kasagi's house, the gate suddenly split in half and opened automatically.I was so surprised. There was a noise, so I think there must have been stones or something on the ground.Then they entered the house through the front door.The house was like a one-story house, and the garden was very large with grass. It was home.”

It is said that he was sometimes surprised when he entered the house.

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi


: ``What was amazing was that when you opened the cupboard in your house, you saw that you had a lot of clothes.One wall was all doors, and when you opened it, there were clothes hanging out. There were a lot of clothes like that, and he opened the cupboard where all the clothes were hanging and said, ``Do this,'' ``Do this,'' ``Do this.'' He showed me all of them. I was really moved when I realized that you had so many clothes."

Brightened up postwar Japan

Mr. Kuroyanagi talked about his precious memories with Mr. Kasagi.



She believes that her songs have a charm that is relevant to today's Japan.

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi


: ``I think that dark Japan was brightened by that singer's song.I saw her dancing, and she was really energetic, lifting her legs out of her short skirt.It was definitely the song that made her sing. Such energy, brightness, and voice. I think that kind of thing is really needed in today's Japan. If you were to come and see me now, I would definitely like to go and meet you and say thank you for that. I think so.”

(Broadcast on “Hotto Kansai” on March 27th)