Yoshinaga Sayuri "Tetsuko's Room" December 22nd broadcast episode: Last year, she broke a rib

Actress Sayuri Yoshinaga appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi), which aired on December 22nd. She talked about how her acting career changed after meeting actor Ken Takakura, and how she broke a rib during filming last year.

The film "Douran" (1980), in which he co-starred with Takakura, took a year to make. At the time, Takakura told him many interesting stories. "We were always laughing, but I think that's how he refreshes himself, and how he's stoic while working," he said.

On set, all the staff were working on the project as the most professional of professionals. I thought this was true filmmaking. "I wanted to do the same in the world of film, without any other work, spending a year doing nothing but that, so I went about my work alone, without a manager or anything, saying clearly yes or no to what I wanted to do and what I could do," she said, revealing the reason for her independence.

She also began to negotiate her own performance fees. At the time, she would sometimes be unable to sleep the night before because she was thinking about it. "These days, there's a general market price (for my performance fees), so I can get them without having to say anything," she said with a smile. She has staff, but still doesn't have a manager.

He broke a rib while filming his latest film, "You are there, beyond the top." Last year, he filmed at Mount Fuji, but because gas rises in the afternoon, he decided to film early in the morning. "I set my alarm clock for 3:30 a.m., and when it rang, I put my feet out of bed to turn it off, and then I bumped into a big chair and hit my chest," he said.

Wearing a backpack on location was a bit painful, but he endured it and continued filming for a few days. When he returned to Tokyo and went to see a doctor, he was told, "Your rib is completely broken." He was held in place with something like a corset and left to heal. He was told it would take six weeks, but when he went to see a doctor in the fifth week, he was told, "It's reconnected properly." He said, "In the meantime, I ate a lot of calcium-rich foods like dried squid."