Singer Hiroko Moriguchi appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) on December 4th. She spoke about her thoughts on the swimsuit she showed off last year.
For the cover of the album released last summer, Moriguchi showed off her swimsuit for the first time in 34 years. "My naughty body is exploding in a pointless way," she said, explaining her intention for the photoshoot. "I wanted to surprise my fans, so I thought I'd give them a bit of a shock." She added, "I used my swimsuit as the lyric sheet closure on the album cover. I hope you'll peek at it, cut it, listen to various music, and enjoy it as part of the entertainment, both visually and aurally."
During the shoot, the staff around her were good at giving compliments, saying things like, "Oh, that's good. Oh, that angle is nice, too," and "You don't look like you're in your 50s." There were young men on the staff, and she recalls with a smile, "I felt a bit sorry that they might feel like they're seeing their mother's swimsuit." She cheerfully says, "No one will die if I, a 50-year-old in my 50s, wear a bikini, so I put a message in the bikini that says, do what you want in life and enjoy your one and only life."
It was composer Masaaki Hirao, who passed away eight years ago, who gave her her stage name. She says she has continued her entertainment career with these words in mind: "You have a great voice, so take good care of it." When a video of her lessons with Hirao from the time of her debut was shown, Moriguchi became teary-eyed and said, "It really touched me," and "It makes me miss him."
