The Postwar Yoshimoto Show and the Entertainers Behind the Scenes at Toho: The Human Structure Behind the Scenes in the 1950s

The Postwar Yoshimoto Show and the Entertainers Behind the Scenes at Toho: The Human Structure Behind the Scenes in the 1950s

In the early 1950s, theaters and cinemas in major cities were among the few places where people could enjoy themselves, and entertainment and movies were an important part of the popular culture. In such an era, the Yoshimoto Show was popular mainly for its manzai (comic dialogue) and light entertainment, and its laughter helped people forget their postwar anxieties. The young comedians from the countryside who took to the stage to pursue their dreams while earning their daily bread seemed to overlap with the lives of the audience.

On the other hand, behind the glamorous scenes, things were not always so bright. Behind the thin curtain separating the stage from the audience, the smiling faces of the actors and actresses in the spotlight were filled with tension and frustration, and behind the thin curtain, there was a whirlwind of anguish and complicated relationships hidden behind the smiles. The author experienced this backstage atmosphere firsthand as a young man and witnessed the human nature and loneliness of the stars. This was not mere admiration, but a memory of his youth in which he simultaneously felt the light and shadow of the world of entertainment.

At that time, television was just beginning to spread in Japan, and the stage and movies were still the biggest entertainment. Entertainers embodied the dreams of the common people, but at the same time, they were "laborers" living in a harsh daily life, and their sorrows and joys were condensed backstage. The cheerful laughter of the Yoshimoto show and the tension of the Toho dressing room were two expressions that symbolized the hope and anxiety, the reconstruction and exhaustion of postwar Japan.