Living on Stage: The Realities of "Geishas" Who Don't Appear on TV (1974)

Living on Stage: The Realities of "Geishas" Who Don't Appear on TV (1974)

In 1974, Japan was in the final stages of its rapid economic growth, and society as a whole was reeling from the effects of the first oil crisis. In such a period, television became the center of entertainment, and the entertainment industry was undergoing a shakeout amidst the glamour. On the other hand, there were comedians who did not appear on TV but continued to perform on the stage in the backstreets. They performed the same material every day in hot spring resorts, at yoseums, and between the curtains of strip joints, but they changed their tricks according to the reaction of the audience on that particular day, creating laughter. Itoshi Koishi, Koro Ikue and Sachiko Ikue, and the three Lethgo dancers were all about "being on stage," no matter how little they were paid or how little they were rewarded. While television mass-produces "laughs" that can be edited, these performers read the "live atmosphere" and performed as if they were breathing. In 1974, the stage was f
illed with proud comedians who looked like losers, but were martyred for laughter. The "other kind of entertainment" that television did not show was alive and well on the stage.