80-year-old actress Kuriko Namino appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) on April 27th, along with her longtime friend and fellow actress Yaeko Mizutani. She spoke about her repeated hospitalizations since last year due to acute bronchitis, and shared stories about her experiences during her hospital stays.
Ms. Namino has loved cleaning since she was a child, and she even cleaned her hospital room. Since she only needed IV fluids while hospitalized, she had a lot of free time in her room. She said she did things like facial treatments and face masks. Ms. Mizutani, who was listening nearby, teased Ms. Namino, saying, "The hospital would kick you out."
She was advised that the hospital food wasn't tasty and that she should bring homemade meals, but she says, "It was delicious. I would bring my bowl and chopsticks and wait in the serving room." She was also told, "You're probably the only one who thinks the hospital food is delicious."
Her doctor, who was around the same age as her, was a good person and, after sending the patients home from the hospital, asked her to try acting out some theatrical movements in her room. "That doctor isn't particularly fond of acting, so it wasn't out of curiosity. He was genuinely worried about me," she says. The doctor and his wife watched her act. "Because it's a hospital, the sound resonates, doesn't it? It sounded really good," and the doctor gave it his seal of approval, saying, "This is good."
