The lineup for Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi, Monday to Friday 1pm), which will air from May 12th to 16th, has been announced. On the 12th, singer Kenichi Mikawa will appear, on the 13th actor Ichirota Miyagawa will appear, on the 14th bead embroidery artist Keiji Tagawa, on the 15th a selection of "Nostalgic Melody Singing!", and on the 16th doctor Minoru Kamata will appear.
Mikawa celebrated her 60th year as a singer in June last year. She says she became a singer because of her stepmother. When she was two years old, her biological mother got tuberculosis and she was raised by her mother's older sister and her husband, but her stepfather died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Seeing her stepmother working hard to pay off her debts made her want to go into show business.
Miyagawa-san has been an actor for over 40 years. After his divorce, he raised two daughters on his own, and two years ago, his second daughter got married and his first grandchild was born, making him a grandfather. In the same year, he welcomed his ex-wife into his home and was with her until her final moments.
Tagawa-san asked Kuroyanagi-san to manage her costumes for the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen and Tetsuko no Heya concerts. When Tagawa-san started sorting through the large number of costumes, he discovered a kimono that reminded him of his time studying abroad in New York.
The "Nostalgic Melodies Singing!" selection of masterpieces will feature Linda Yamamoto as she talks about her memories of the time of her big hit, Rosanna and Mihara Tsunaki who formed a duet, Masashi Akikawa who shows off an unexpected talent, and Miki Asakura who continues to sing after overcoming illness.
Kamata says that the reason he wanted to become a doctor was because his mother died young from heart disease. He wanted to go to medical school, but his father opposed it, saying, "Poor people should work," which led to a big fight. Even now at the age of 76, he says he still remembers the image of his father working hard to pay for his mother's medical expenses.
