Shadows at the Night Show: Nagoya, Hibari, and Ishikawa Hisashi at the Crossroads (1950s-2000s)
In postwar Nagoya, there was a stage where light and shadow intersected. Ishikawa Hisashi, a member of the Hiramatsu clan of the Yamaguchigumi 3rd generation, founded the Meishinkai there in 1977, and was promoted to a direct Yamaguchigumi affiliate, serving as a prefect from the 4th generation to the 6th generation. Nagoya was a strategic point connecting the Kansai and Chubu regions, and his presence was a shadow symbolic of that stronghold.
On the other hand, the shining light of the entertainment industry was the Kobe Entertainment Company, founded by Kazuo Taoka. This entertainment company had a nationwide network of activities and is said to have established a branch office in Nagoya. The name Meishin Pro overlapped with the name of the company, and the intersection of entertainment and the underworld emerged even more strongly.
Hibari Misora, the flower of the stage, was treated like Taoka's daughter and toured the country as a signboard for the Kobe Entertainment Company. Ishikawa retired in 2007, but his legacy continues in Nagoya.
Nagoya used to be a theater where entertainment and chivalry overlapped, where heat and tranquility mingled.
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