Singer Mie Nakao appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) broadcast on May 26th. She talked about her memories of Mari Sono, who passed away last July at the age of 80 and was active together with Yukari Ito as "The Three Girls."
Nakao revealed, "When Mari-chan passed away, she said she wanted to get rid of everything. She asked me and Yukari to get rid of all her clothes, dresses, accessories, etc." She continued, "They say that all's well that ends well, but this person really managed to tidy up properly at the end. She was prepared to receive palliative care, but she was very calm." She continued, "At that moment, I felt relieved. She did everything that needed to be done, and then asked us to take care of the rest."
She added, "Yukari also received several dresses, and I also received some accessories, so I took them when I visited Mari-chan and told her, 'Mari-chan, I got this for you,' and 'I'll take good care of it.'" She added, "She didn't seem to be in any pain, probably about four or five days before she passed away. She was strong until the very end, and I thought it was amazing that she could end so peacefully. I wanted to emulate that."
"The Three Girls have no regrets. I think they really did their best," she said, and read the eulogy with Ito at Sono's funeral. When she said she had no regrets, applause broke out, and she wondered if she should be applauded at a time like this. "I'm sure Mari-chan has no regrets either. At first, she was unwilling to reunite (the Three Girls), but in the end, she said she was glad we did it," she recalled. After all her family passed away, she was really alone in the end, and her manager looked after her until the very end.
Regarding the three girls, Nakao said, "We reunited after a hiatus of about 30 years. No group lasts forever, and sometimes you fall apart and disband, but after a few years or decades, that (the group) will become an asset. For example, even if you have a fight and break up, being able to reunite after a few years is not something that everyone can do. I hope you all will cherish (your group)." She sent a message to those still active in the group.
