(63) The Akireta Boys' Trip to America (1) / The Akireta Boys Activity Record
(Summary of the previous installment) Haruhisa Kawada and Hibari Misora left Japan in May 1950 and toured various parts of the United States.
They returned home safely in July and appeared in stage performances, on the radio, and in movies as souvenirs of their American trip.
*For basic information on the Akireta Boys, see (1)!
[The Akireta Boys' Trip to America]
A month and a half after Kawada's departure for America, the Akireta Boys also decided to go.
The members included jazz singer Teruko Akatsuki, Japanese dance and song performer Misae Enomoto, and the five members of the Akireta Boys, invited by the Buddhist Youth Association in Hawaii.
According to Masuda's book, it was an invitation from Teruko Akatsuki's husband, second-generation Japanese-American Cabby Harada, who also accompanied them as a guide.
From here on, I would like to follow their journey to America by weaving together books by Masuda and Bōya, contemporary newspaper reports, and a roundtable discussion planned for a magazine after their return.
The group held a 'Commemorative Performance for the Trip to America' at the Kokusai Gekijo on June 28 and departed from Haneda at 7:30 AM on June 30.
Like Kawada and the others, they traveled to Honolulu via Wake Island.
Masuda: Wake Island was another surprise. I never imagined it would be a place like that.
...It really was nothing.
Bōya: Airplane propellers, and I couldn't tell if they were Japanese or American, were stuck deep into the shoreline. The aftermath of the fierce battles of that time remained vividly visible.
Like Kawada and the others, they were welcomed upon arriving in Honolulu with leis placed around their necks.
For their Hawaii performances, they stunned the audience by appearing in traditional happi coats with bow ties, and they reportedly chose content that was as Japanese-style as possible.
The fundraising performance for the Buddhist Youth Association held in Honolulu was their first full-scale two-hour show, and it was well-received, setting a new record with 5,000 attendees on the first day.
'In any case, the 'Akireta' guys have people laughing from morning till night, so I'm troubled by the fact that even when we walk down the street, people stare and laugh,' says a letter from Teruko Akatsuki.
Masuda: Only Kyu-san was incredibly popular. For some reason, I don't know why, but over there, they look at bachelors differently. I suppose it's easier to become friends.
Bōya: After all, when it comes to Kyu-san, he goes up to women and says, 'I am single,' and sells himself, so it's cunning (laughs).
Masuda: If I caught Kyu-san on stage and jokingly said, 'This gentleman is single,' the women would take that joke seriously and come around asking, 'Is Sazanka-san here?' 'Is Sazanka-san here?' It really got on my nerves.
Sazanka: That's not really true.
After the Honolulu performance, they toured the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, and Maui.
Masuda sent letters from the field to the Tokyo Shimbun to report on their current situation.
I was moved by the welcome from the Japanese in Hawaii; they are so kind that you couldn't imagine it if you were over there. Recently, the phrase 'Akireta ne' (How surprising/amazing) has become popular all over Hawaii.
This morning, I am going to a nursing home in Maui.
It's like everyone learned Japanese hand dancing when they were children.
There were also a series of blunders—when I went to Kona, the Kona coffee was so delicious that I drank too much, and I got so excited that the stage performance was a total mess...
[The Japanese-American Akireta Boys]
Also, a boxing match was being held in Honolulu at the time, and on August 1, American Dado Marino defeated the British champion.
He became the new flyweight champion.
A commemorative party was held at a Chinese restaurant on the 9th, and when the Akireta Boys were invited and went, a trio of vaudevillians appeared in the show at the party.
At that show, an Italian trio performed a wonderful show with an accordion, violin, and double bass, but what surprised me was that these three were very similar to our Akireta Boys, and their comical content made the audience laugh a lot.
And what was especially similar was that they would occasionally say lines, and each time, the audience would burst into laughter. Their name was 'Tap Natuas,' and they were touring various countries.
Along with a photo of the Akireta Boys and the Tap Naturals (Top Natures) together, this episode was also introduced in the Tokyo Shimbun at the time.
"Japan-US Akireta Boys"
Japan-US competition in Hawaii... though on land (?), the "Akireta Boys," who were invited to the US by the Hawaii Buddhist Youth Association for a fundraising performance, performed at a Honolulu nightclub with a trio called the "Top Natures," who could be called the "Akireta Boys" of the US mainland, who were also performing there at the time—this is a commemorative photo from that occasion.
[References]
"Kiton's Backstage Stories of Life" Kiton Masuda / Hokkaido Shimbun Press / 1990
"Kiton's Asakusa Stories" Kiton Masuda / Yomiuri Shimbun / 1986
"This is a Serious Comedy" Saburo Bouya / Hiromikan Shuppan / 1990
"Akireta Boys' Strange Travels in America" / "Omoshiro Club" August 1951 Issue / Kobunsha
Tokyo Shimbun / Tokyo Shimbun Co., Ltd.
(Next time 4/21) To the US Mainland