＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
The news came in that “Tackey & Tsubasa are disbanding. Takizawa Hideaki is retiring from the entertainment industry, and Imai Tsubasa is leaving Johnny’s to focus on treatment.”
I’m a member of the baby boomer generation, so I don’t know much about Johnny’s. For a long time, “SMAP” was active (even now, the former members are active as individuals), but after that, the popular groups changed to “TOKIO”, “Kinki Kids”, “V6”, and “Arashi”.
Arashi seems to be very popular right now, and Tackey & Tsubasa are like their younger brother group, but it seems they have never become as popular as Arashi.
1. Hideaki Takizawa retires from the entertainment industry and becomes the successor to Johnny & Associates（now TOBE Co., Ltd.）
As for Hideaki Takizawa, I remember him most fondly in the “Hachioji Renovation” corner of the TV show Ariyoshi Seminar, where he skillfully renovated the homes of celebrities as an “apprentice” to master carpenter Hiromi.
He will reportedly be working “behind the scenes” developing talent and working as a producer, but as Johnny’s President Kitagawa has apparently “nominated” him as his successor, could he ultimately be the one to carry the weight of Johnny’s Entertainment on his shoulders?
One example of an idol who became successful by working behind the scenes that I remember is Hisahiko Iida (born in 1941). He made his debut with “Sad Street Corner” and had a big hit with “Louisiana Mama.”
As his popularity waned, he joined Victor Music Industries (later Victor Entertainment) and worked as a director for Shigeru Matsuzaki, Hiromi Iwasaki, Pink Lady, Kyoko Koizumi, and others, and was active as a producer in the 1990s. After serving as senior managing director of Victor Entertainment, he served as president and chairman of Teichiku Entertainment.
Hideaki Takizawa is good-looking, has a good personality, and is very skillful, so I think he will be successful as a producer. I look forward to seeing him continue to play a role behind the scenes.
2. Tsubasa Imai leaves Johnny’s to focus on treating his illness
On the other hand, I don’t know much about Tsubasa Imai. The latest news is that he has been on hiatus from show business since March this year due to “Meniere’s disease.” Incidentally, the unit “Tackey & Tsubasa” went on hiatus on the 15th anniversary of their debut in September last year.
Former AKB member Kaoru Mitsumune, who I wrote about in a previous article, also took a break from showbiz due to mental and physical problems, but it seems like the showbiz world is a stressful society, and the mental pressure is great and it’s pretty tough. Some celebrities seem to be getting involved in “new religions” in search of “peace of mind.”
In any case, they are both still young at 36, so I hope they take the time to reflect on themselves and make the future of their lives more fruitful.