Masami Hisamoto is not a comedian but an actress!?
–Female comedians who were active from the 1950s to the 1970s included Miss Wakana, who was the model for a character in the morning drama “Warotenka” (NHK), as well as Miyako Chocho, Kyo Utako, and Kashimashi Musume.
EatWhen I was in elementary school, I watched Miyako Chocho-san and Kashimashi Musume-san in real time on TV. With the exception of Kashimashi Musume-san, female comedians at the time were basically doing acts that “abandoned femininity.” In an era when women were expected to be demure, they got laughs by saying vulgar things, hitting men, and yelling. Even in husband-wife comedy duos like Otori Keisuke and Kyo Utako, or Jinsei Kourou and Namie Sachiko, the women are the stronger performers.
–In the 1980s, Beat Takeshi and Sanma Akashiya, who were active on Fuji TV’s “Oretachi Hyokinki-zoku,” became the center of the comedy world. Among female comedians, Kuniko Yamada stood out.
HisamotoOnly Kuniko was overwhelmingly amazing, and all of her programs had high ratings. At the time, I was still just a member of the theater company, so I watched them and thought, “Wow, that’s amazing.”
EatAlthough Kuniko Yamada was an exception, there was still a trend in those days that it was impossible for women to make people laugh. So Hisamoto and her friends wanted to create material for women only, and they did a comedy routine called “female prisoner manzai.”
HisamotoAt first, all the members of the WAHAHA troupe were worried, saying, “Can we make a joke that’s only for women last 20 minutes? What if we fail?” But it was a huge hit. We all cried when we got back to the dressing room.
In that year’s magazine “Pia”, someone wrote, “The thing that made me laugh the most this year was WAHAHA Honpo’s female prisoner manzai”, which made me really happy. Because of the female prisoner manzai, I was invited to appear on “Tonight is the best!” (Nippon TV), and that was my first regular TV appearance.
–From the late ’80s, with Shimizu Michiko and Nozawa Naoko on “If We Meet in Our Dreams” (Fuji TV) and Hisamoto and Shibata Rie on “Tonight is the Best!”, it seems like there were more opportunities for female comedians to shine.
EatIn Kansai, there is a culture of manzai comedy, so there were many women who wanted to become comedians, but in Tokyo there were very few women who wanted to become comedians.
HisamotoMicchan (Shimizu Michiko) was an impersonator, and Naochan (Nozawa Naoko) was a talent that made people laugh. They may not be comedians.
-I guess you have the image of him as a variety talent.
HisamotoThat’s right. People often call me a comedian, but I’m also a member of a theater company.
EatHisamoto is an actress, after all.
HisamotoIf I said I was an actress, I’d get punched (laughs).