(58) News of Toyama, Oto, and Nagai / Akireta Boys Activity Record
(Summary of the previous installment) In June 1946 (Showa 21), Boya, Masuda, and Sazanka reunited to reform the Akireta Boys.
*For basic information on the Akireta Boys, see (1)!
[Film Appearances]
An advertisement for the two-reel Riken film "Okonomi Engeikai" appeared in the Tokyo Shimbun on July 16.
It captures the scene of a radio broadcast at the Hikokan, and the name of the Akireta Boys is also listed.
It says "Coming Soon," so the exact release date is unknown.
The Akireta Boys performed a radio broadcast on June 12, so perhaps this is footage from that time.
It is a valuable document that preserves the state of their stage performance on film.
On December 1, the Shochiku film "Nonki na Tosan" will be released.
Excluding the "Okonomi Engeikai" at the Hikokan, this will be the first film featuring the Akireta Boys after the war.
Following that, they also appeared in the Shochiku film "Mangetsu-jo no Utagassen" as well.
The director for both works was Masahiro Makino.
In the autumn of this year, the Asakusa Kagetsu Theater, which gave birth to the Akireta Boys, stopped stage performances and converted into a movie theater specializing in foreign films. Its name also changed to "Asakusa Grand."
Similarly, the Yokohama Kagetsu Theater also became the movie theater "Yokohama Grand."
[The 3rd Akireta Boys worked as freelancers]
Since the end of the war, more entertainers have been creating their own personal production companies to work, such as Kenichi Enomoto's Enoken Pro and Kingoro Yanagiya's Kin Pro.
Perhaps following suit, the Akireta Boys also seem to have worked as freelancers without belonging to any major entertainment agency.
This time, we decided on a system where we wouldn't belong to an entertainment company, but rather create an agency like the 'Akireta Boys Production,' and hire a manager to handle our activities.
The three of us—myself, Keaton Masuda, and Kyu Sazanka—along with managers Kintaro Kuraishi and Shiro Higashide, would go on tours to places like Hokkaido.
From around the summer of 1948, the letters "SSSS" were added to their names in advertisements for films featuring Akireta Boys members, which seems to indicate their agency.
Could this be the "Akireta Boys Production" that Boya mentioned?
Because of this, they appeared in theaters regardless of whether they were Toho, Shochiku, or Yoshimoto affiliated. They also appeared in films from various companies, regardless of the film studio.
In the 1947 (Showa 22) Toho film "Muko-iri Goka-sen," Kawada and the Akireta Boys appeared together.
I am happy that thanks to the Akireta Boys becoming freelancers, they can co-star with Kawada in films and on stage. (*)
(*) However, until around 1947 (Showa 22), the impression is that Boya and Masuda appeared at the Nichigeki (Toho-affiliated), while Sazanka and the Akireta Boys appeared at Shochiku-affiliated theaters such as the Tokiwaza, Shinjuku Daiichi Gekijo, and Asakusa Shochiku-za.
As for films, they appeared in Shochiku films throughout 1946 (Showa 21). It was reported in the Tokyo Shimbun on September 8, 1946, that they had "signed a contract with Toho Films," and from then on, from "Muko-iri Goka-sen" (Toho) in January 1947 to "Dare ga Tame ni Kane wa Aru" (Shin Toho) in January 1948, they appeared only in Toho and Shin Toho films.
From "Oya-baka Taisho" (Daiei) in May 1948, they appeared in works from various companies, starting with "Shacho to Onna Shain" (Shochiku) in December of the same year and "Uta wa Maboroshi Goten" (Toei) in December 1949.
▶︎ From the next installment, we will continue to follow the activities of the 3rd Akireta Boys, Kawada, and Ariki here on note, but before that...
I would like to summarize the post-war news of the other Akireta Boys, the three of them.
[What happened to Hikaru Toyama]
Hikaru Toyama, formerly of the Milk Brothers, formed a small tango band after the war and has been active.
It seems he returned to being a bandman.
The first confirmation of this in the Tokyo Shimbun is his appearance on the radio program "Light Music" on July 1, 1946 (Showa 21) with "Hikaru Toyama and His Orchestra".
Since then, they have appeared regularly in the radio light music slot.
Regarding "Hikaru Toyama and His Orchestra," the following introduction appeared in the December 1957 issue of "Latin American Music."
Centered around violinist Hikaru Toyama and his members, they were familiar to tango fans at the time with their theme music, "Rodriguez Peña." Yuzo Igota, currently a maestro of the Orquesta Típica Buenos Aires, was once a member of the band, and he is still performing at his old workplace, the Carioca Club in Nishi-Ginza.
The term "at that time" in the text refers to 1949 (Showa 24).
Also, although it is from a later document, a list of members is included in the "Music Yearbook" (1959 edition).
Leader Hikaru Toyama, Hyotaro Asai, Yoshio Okazaki, Tatsuo Fuji, Yasuro Ichiki, Akio Takagi, Akira Sato, Hideaki Sato
It seems they performed at cabarets at night while appearing on the radio during the day.
On February 11, 1947, the Hikaru Toyama Orchestra (exclusive to Shinko) is listed as the accompaniment band in an advertisement for a dance workshop at the Japanese-only cabaret "Shinko."
At the end of August, the Hikaru Toyama Tango Ensemble appeared as the luxury band for September at "Cabaret Mimatsu."
Also, in December 1950, Hikaru Toyama and his orchestra appeared at the Nichigeki "Swing Performance Festival."
They were listed alongside an impressive lineup including Bucky Shirakata and the Aloha Hawaiians, Fumio Nanri and the Hot Peppers, Tokyo Cuban Boys, and the Duke Octet.
Following that, they continued to appear at Nichigeki in February 1951 for "Maestro Swing" and in March for "Tango of the Old World."
I believe that with jazz being legalized and demand from the occupying American soldiers, a considerable number of bands were active, but Toyama and his group must have been recognized for their significant talent even among them.
After that, it seems he took care of musicians as the chairman of the Japan Musicians' Union.
"Music and Dance Topics" Hikaru Toyama. He is a person who, as the chairman of the so-called Musicians' Union, looks after busy jazz and tango musicians day and night with the motto 'Old soldiers never die.'
【Whereabouts of the Music Men, Takaya Nagai】
The two music men, Takaya Nagai and Oto, who continued to be active at the Shinko Entertainment Department for a while after the Akireta Boys disbanded.
There is much that is unknown about their post-war careers.
The only thing I could find about Oto was the first performance of the "Origin-za" at the Kyoto Shochiku Theater in May 1946.
Origin-za was promoted as the "Century's Music Theater Troupe," and it seems they performed music shows similar to the pre-war Yoshimoto shows.
First, the premiere from the 1st was "Hawaii Romance: The Bride of Waikiki" written by Kimiyasu Shima, and the music was handled by the "Shinji Hoshino Hawaiian Band."
Since Oto's real name is "Shinji Hoshino," I believe they are the same person, even though the characters are different.
In this performance, the boy groups Ahiru Kantai and Hat Bonbons, who previously worked with the Akireta Boys at the Shinko Entertainment Department, also co-starred.
The second program (from the 11th) had the band name "Shinji Hoshino and the Blue Ribbon Orchestra" attached, and the name "Music Man / Rintaro Fujima Special Appearance" was also listed.
(Rintaro Fujima is an actor. He is the father of Makoto Fujita.)
The program consisted of the Origin-za Origin Show "Harbor Romance" (written by Kimiyasu Shima) and a live performance by actor Shuji Sano.
For the third program (from the 21st), the live performance changed to Shin Saburi, and the second part of the three-part program became "Cheerful Broadcast" (one act) by "Shinji Hoshino and the Blue Ribbon Orchestra."
In other words, it seems Oto organized his own Hawaiian band, "Shinji Hoshino and the Blue Ribbon Orchestra," and was active as a show band for "Origin-za."
From June, his name was no longer in the Kyoto Shochiku Theater advertisements, so it seems he moved to a different theater.
Did he tour Kansai Shochiku-affiliated theaters like he did during the Akireta Boys era?
I would like to continue investigating.
Nagai is credited as a guitar player on Yoshio Tabata's records "Kaeribune" (1946) and "Machi no Dateotoko (Zundoko-bushi)" (1947).
(Both songs have multiple types of records; some versions of "Kaeribune" do not list Nagai as a performer, and for "Machi no Dateotoko," some list Nagai as the arranger while others list Yoshio Tabata as the arranger.)
It seems he continued to be active as a guitar player.
In the "Entertainer Bulletin Board" corner of the magazine "Shukan Heibon" (July 5, 1979 issue), Boya asked for information about the whereabouts of the two, saying, "Takaya Nagai and Shinji Hoshino, friends I worked with in the Akireta Boys, how are you doing now?"
Was there any reply...?
【References】
"This is a Serious Comedy" Saburo Boya / Hiromikan Publishing / 1990
"Modern Kabuki Chronology: Kyoto Edition" National Theatre Modern Kabuki Chronology Compilation Office / 1995
Tokyo Shimbun / Tokyo Shimbun Co., Ltd.
Kyoto Shimbun / Kyoto Shimbun Co., Ltd.
"Shukan Heibon" July 5, 1979 issue / Heibon Publishing
"Weekly Goraku Yomiuri" March 15, 1957 issue / Yomiuri Shimbun
"Latin American Music" December 1957 issue / Latin American Music
"Music Yearbook" (1959 edition) / Ongaku no Tomo Sha
▶︎(Next time 3/17) The respective activities of the Akireta members