Why A Japanese Girl Became a Comedian #1
Here’s the summary of my life story, ”From a Godzilla lizard to Pink Unicorn.”
Part 1.
“Why did you become a comedian?”
I was asked the question countless times by Japanese and international people.
I don’t think it had to be separated between the Japanese and others.
But actually, the meanings behind words are slightly different:
In Western,” Women are not funny.”
In Japan, “You are not so ugly then why did you choose such a tough life, not marrying a nice man to feed you?”
or in some cases, “What is comedy?”
Stigmas always come with female comedians everywhere. Yay.
I’ve indeed experienced a financially struggling time and been unjustly treated, especially by men, for being a comedian.
However, I never regret my path.
My Childhood Hero
Since my childhood, I’ve loved making people laugh.
As we have 8 million gods (“yaorozu no kami”), including “the god of the toilet” in Japan,
I personally had had a god of comedy since when I was a very little kid:
Mr. Noritake Kinashi from a comedy duo ”Tunnels.”
Noritake Kinashi is also a successful artist having his exhibition in NY.
His duo mainly did comedy sketches, but also did impersonation, acted, danced, sang, and played sports at a certain level.
I later figured out they were strongly influenced by Western entertainment such as SNL, Eddie Murphy, and Soul Train of the 80s.
They should’ve subconsciously led me to who I am and my current style.
My life goal is still to be Noritake Kinashi of this global era.
My Family
I grew up in the gifted environment to be a comedian — a difunctional family.
My mom was a very busy person. In addition to house chores, she spent so much time of the day yelling and sleeping.
My dad ran a prep school. We ate dinner around 0 am after he came home, then their angry quarreling started and continued till morning.
It’s our late-night Daily Show.
Then I got my first professional job: a therapist.
The first client was my mom when I was six.
She also kept me away from my grandparents, relatives, and friends— who could be my therapists.
Instead of Disney’s Cinderella, I listened to my mom’s storytelling every day:
“ I am a tragic Cinderella” authored by Mama Godzilla.
I was starving in laughter!
My first media appearances
I was getting more serious about being a comedian and even wrote ‘笑’(warai, literally meaning laughter but also comedy in Japanese) for the 4th grade’s kakizome.
I always tried hard to make school assignments funny.
There was my favorite radio program on Sunday night with a segment of the “pun” competition called “Daja-ranger.” (“Dajare” meaning pun + “ranger” as power rangers.)
Its personalities announced a word in the middle of the show then listeners phone pitched their puns in a moment.
The top 5 would be selected to be on the show live. Then the personalities chose the week’s champion with a 3,000 yen prize.
When I was in 5th grade, I finally made it appearing on a radio show and … WON!
I believe all listeners should have laughed their *ucking ass off, including the wiretapping North Korean army.
Yes, my next profession was a Daja-ranger saving the world with puns.
Hikikomori & Depression
However, my life was still far away from pursuing entertainment.
My Godzilla mom didn’t have me do anything to distract my focus from studying.
I was always told to be Ichiban of school.
She pushed me to take entrance examinations for junior high, high school, and college.
I passed all.
(*My elementary school also had an exam. On average, Japanese kids take only college’s or one more.)
You can call me an expert to enter schools, not graduate.
As a result, I enrolled in one of the Japanese elite high schools.
The school was literally like a lab.
While there were multi-talented and well-balanced kids (like Harvard), were also extremely smart but mentally unbalanced- walking with delirious, anorexia, SAD, etc.
I ended up being the latter — depression.
Because I noticed it might’ve been possible to be there even if I had spent happy time with my family, relatives and doing something else than study.
I knew it was meaningless to talk about “if.”
Time and deceased grandparents never come back.
But I couldn’t stop asking myself what my life was for?
Around then, I started feeling my inside going like ash.
Every time to move my body, I felt like trying to inflame the ash.
I couldn’t move out of my room.
But as long as I was at home, Godzilla ambushed me.
I started strolling the street without purpose.
I had money. Here it was easy for teenage girls to make money just walking Shibuya street in a school uniform.
Meanwhile, the most popular educational competition in Japan- Colleges’ entrance exam season was approaching.
I thought it would be my final shot to achieve where I CHOSE to go.
Then I passed one for Waseda University.
But by my high school’s dishonesty, I needed to turn down the enrollment.
To win the trial against the high school, I once again took the exam and enrolled in the same college next year.
However, I was totally burned out.
I spent days blaming myself and regretting the past endlessly for years.
The lizard went and stuck in the deep deep underground.
I finally became a hikikomori.
Hikikomori is a Japanese term to mean people who don’t work, who don’t go to school, and who stop everything.
In English, it’s known as a COMEDIAN.
ARGT
The next post will be “After Big Bang,” the story of my “awakening.”
ARGT for stopping by my article, and don’t forget to follow me for the next pieces!!
