Actor B-saku Sato and his wife, actress Michiko Ameku, appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) on September 2nd. They talked about the reasons for disbanding their theater troupe after 53 years, the effects they've experienced from appearing on television, and their current situation at the age of 77.
He founded the theater company "Tokyo Vaudeville Show" when he was 24 and ran it for 53 years, but disbanded it this year. The reason was that their debts had increased. He thought, "Now we have the means to pay off the debt by selling the building where we used to hold our rehearsals." He decided to pay off the debt while he could and "put an end to it here," so he decided to disband the company. It seems that things suddenly became difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he said, "I was so happy when we were able to have a rehearsal space, but the maintenance costs are no joke."
He realized the power of television when he started appearing on comedian Kinichi Hagimoto's show. Both of his parents only had an elementary school education, but Sato went to university, and he recalls, "They were my pride and joy." Even though he dropped out of university to become an actor, his parents told him that he had graduated from university and gotten a job nearby. He reveals that he followed their instructions, "sneaking home late at night and returning to Tokyo early in the morning."
Once he started appearing on television, people began telling him, "Come home early, while it's still light out. We've got lots of requests for autographs." His hometown is Iizaka Onsen in Fukushima City. He once climbed onto a platform built in front of the train station and greeted people saying, "Sato B-saku has returned to his hometown," and he also rode in a fire truck, rang the bell, and drove around town.
He is currently 77 years old. As you get older, your body becomes stiffer and you experience back and neck pain. So, as soon as he wakes up, he does about 40 minutes of exercises, including sit-ups, back extensions, and squats. "When I exercise, my body feels good. It seems that consistency is important," he says with conviction. He says that as he has gotten older, he "can no longer memorize his lines," and when he couldn't remember the word "ozanari" (perfunctory) during a recent performance, he shouted "Oh, I'm no good anymore" in the middle of the show, but the audience took it as part of the line.
He has a "Nishiogi Club" with fellow actors Shiro Ito, Takuzo Kadono, and Yoneko Matsukane. Kadono acts as the manager and organizes the gatherings, which take place at a sushi restaurant, followed by a meal and then karaoke. At karaoke, Ito sings everything from enka to American pop. When they share their thoughts on plays, everyone agrees. "We all end up saying the same things, like 'that was boring' or 'this was funny'," he laughed.
