Actor Kanichiro appeared live on NHK's morning information program "Asaichi" (Monday to Friday, 8:15 AM) on October 24th. He talked about his father, actor Koichi Sato, and his grandfather, actor Rentaro Mikuni, who passed away in 2013.
When the station's announcer, Suzuki Naoko, said, "Apparently, Sato and Mikuni performed a play reading at Kanichiro's elementary school graduation ceremony appreciation party, and the script was written by Sato's friend, Koki Mitani," the MCs, the comedy duo "Hakata Hanamaru and Daikichi," were astonished. Daikichi exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! That's crazy," while Hanamaru commented, "They're the most royal family."
The reading play was about a silent father teaching his son something important, and actual footage was also broadcast. On a pitch-black stage, Mikuni and Sato were lit by spotlights, and the two performed a reading play with stunning expressiveness. After watching the video, Daikichi commented, "I only saw a little bit, but the tension was so intense it didn't seem like an elementary school performance."
Kanichiro recalled, "I'd like to listen to (the reading performance by his father and grandfather) now. I think it's clear that even the fragments that were just played would not be understandable to elementary school children. So while I was listening, my classmates kept teasing me, saying things like, 'That's your dad! That's your grandpa! That's amazing!' It was embarrassing..."
He continued, "Generally speaking, it's believed that Mr. Mikuni and my father didn't get along very well, or that they didn't have much of a good relationship. We only co-starred once, and we didn't really talk much in private either, so even though I was a small child, I felt that I was the intermediary that allowed that conversation to take place here."
