Tsunaki Mihara, guitarist for the band "Jackie Yoshikawa and the Blue Comets," and his wife, Kay Anna, appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi), which aired on October 28th. Mihara spoke about his successive illnesses and his unchanging lifestyle.
In October two years ago, Mihara returned home from the hospital and his expression seemed a little strange. His wife, Anna, sensed something was off from their conversation but went to bed. In the middle of the night, she saw Mihara having a seizure in the bathroom. Suspecting a stroke, Anna called an ambulance. Mihara recalls, "I had no memory of anything for about a week. I didn't know where I was."
Before that, a blood clot had gotten into his eye, causing him to lose sight in his right eye. Shortly afterwards, he suffered a cerebral infarction. However, he was able to receive treatment quickly, and is pleased that he suffered no after-effects, saying, "I'm glad I was able to play the guitar and sing. I was saved."
She has also suffered from various other illnesses. She had a myocardial infarction. Before that, fluid accumulated in her lungs, making it difficult for her to breathe, leading to emphysema. Diabetes caused the middle finger on her right foot to become necrotic and have to be amputated. "I cried at the time, but when I thought about it, there were so many more people with all sorts of illnesses, so I thought I shouldn't cry. I'm doing my best," she said, recalling her feelings at the time.
His lifestyle hasn't changed much since he was young. He goes to bed at 2am and wakes up at 11pm or 12pm. He's allowed to drink alcohol from 9pm, and says he "drinks right up until the moment I go to sleep." Anna worries that if Mihara turns 80 and tells him he has to stop doing this and that, it will put pressure on him. "I don't know if it will cause stress, but I think it's fine because I'm healthy. I drink alcohol and I think it tastes good. If it starts to taste bad, I'll stop," Mihara himself said.
