Actor Masami Nagasawa will appear in the two-hour special of the variety show "Sandwichman & Ashida Mana's Hakase-chan" (TV Asahi), which will be broadcast from 6:56 pm on October 11th.
The show features children with knowledge and talents that rival those of adults as "Hakase-chan" (teacher roles) who give entertaining lessons. The day featured the Edo period ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai, and Nagasawa, who plays Hokusai's daughter Katsushika Oi in the film "Oi, Oui" due for release on the 17th, will explore the Oui surrounding Hokusai with Ryuichiro Meguro, a first-year high school student known as "Hakase- Hakase-chan," special advisor to the International Hokusai Society, and Takemasa Tsukaji of the comedy duo "Drunk Dragon."
The three head to the art museum and attempt to decipher the tricks Hokusai has hidden in his works, such as "Mount Fuji that transcends time and space" and "Ukiyo-e with hidden text." One of Hokusai's ukiyo-e prints also has something in common with Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece "The Last Supper," and Nagasawa and the others are amazed at Hokusai's skillful technique.
The three also delve into the theory that Hokusai had a body double. They introduce paintings among Hokusai's works that are said to have been drawn by ghostwriters, and one work appears that may lead to the identity of the ghostwriter.
The program also focuses on the mystery surrounding Hokusai's later years, visiting Obuse Town in Nagano Prefecture, where Hokusai is said to have frequented after he turned 83. Naoki Matayoshi of the comedy duo "Peace," a huge Hokusai fan, joins the program to uncover the mystery of why Hokusai left Edo and began his creative activities in Obuse. A huge original painting by Hokusai, painted at the age of 89, will also be featured.
In the studio, MCs Sandwichman and Mana Ashida will attempt to recreate the tricks used by Hokusai in his paintings.
