The World is Spoiled--The Comedian's Resolve Against the Television Era (1980s)

The World is Spoiled--The Comedian's Resolve Against the Television Era (1980s)

The transformation of television culture and the nature of the entertainment industry in Japanese society around 1980 casts a strong shadow over the words of Tatekawa Danshi: "Geinin should not be defensive. The TV industry has been a major source of entertainment and information for the Japanese people since the 1970s. At the same time, comedians on television were forced to transform themselves into a more "safe and secure" existence. Due to viewer complaints, the wishes of sponsors, and the conservative nature of the mass media, venomous remarks and ironic or satirical performances were gradually disappearing from television.

Danshi clearly rebelled against this trend. For him, art was not about trying to please the audience, but rather about betraying their expectations. The world is spoiled," he said. The weak are being righteous," he says. This is not just a backhanded criticism, but a criticism of the very atmosphere of Japanese society at that time. The voices of the weak were being raised above necessity, their criticisms were not being heard, and they were being regarded as "the ones to be protected" and sacred.

Danshi said that he would "mess up" the introduction before going into the main subject, or "makura," at a yose, which is the determination of a performer who values improvisation and leaves himself open to the unpredictable fluctuations that occur between him and the audience. On television, the performer is bound by broadcast codes and scripts, but at a yose, the performer's true nature is laid bare. There, Danshi abandoned all "defenses" and exposed his venom, sorrow, anger, and everything else that made his art genuine.

The "image" of a comedian demanded by television culture was a cheerful, harmless, and charming character. But a comedian like Danshi did not fit into these categories. He rejected the attitude of Haruo Samba, who had said, "The customer is God," and said, "It is amateurs who do what the customers say. Professionals should be luminaries. This metaphor of a "luminary" indicates the idea that a performer is a being who radiates light with his own art and spirit and illuminates the audience with that light.

This determination and attitude toward his art was an extremely rare rebellion in an age when television has homogenized everything into a program. Danshi's words and art were both a critique of his contemporaries and a quiet challenge to Japanese society itself.