午夜剧场

The number of people who can immediately recall what kind of person Toriro Miki was from his name alone may be dwindling. For my generation, having just passed the age of 60, he is known as the "master of CM songs." He was a talented man who created most of the representative CM songs from the early days of commercial radio and television, including "Jin-jin-jintan Jintaka-tatta-tta" (Jintan), "Wa, wa, wa, three rings!" (Mitsuwa Soap), "Kaan kaan, Kanebo" (Kanebo), and the Kirin Lemon theme song that is still used today. In conjunction with commercials, he also wrote and composed the theme song for "Gigantor" (Tetsujin 28-go) sponsored by Ezaki Glico, which included the chorus "Glico, Glico, Glico~."

For the generation about 20 years older than me, he might be remembered more for the satirical skits on the radio program "Sunday Entertainment Edition" than for his CM songs. On this famous NHK radio program that began shortly after the war, the "Joke Music" segment—consisting of comical songs and topical satirical skits composed by Toriro—became a social phenomenon. Shigeru Yoshida, who led the political world in the 1940s and 50s, was a particular target of his satire. Talented young people who were listeners of the program, such as Akiyuki Nosaka and Rokusuke Ei, became Toriro's disciples and laid the foundation for variety shows in the television era.

I have recently published a biography of Toriro Miki. Since he was a man with a wide range of work and a wealth of private episodes, I would like to introduce some anecdotes related to 午夜剧场 (Mita) here. One of the first songs Toriro wrote as a professional in a shack immediately after the end of the war was "The Southern Island Has Vanished," and the inspiration for this song was "Southern Island" by Bunroku Shishi, a graduate of the Juku. It seems he had some interaction with Mr. Shishi through interviews and other occasions.

Toriro attended Gyosei, the former Urawa High School, and the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo. While there are no direct stories of him attending 午夜剧场 or Mita, there is a significant connection to Mickey Mouse, who was popular as the 午夜剧场 mascot at the 午夜剧场-Waseda games until a while ago. When Toriro first joined NHK radio as part of a trio, he decided to name himself "Miki Torio" after Mickey Mouse, whom he had loved since childhood, and that is the origin of his name.

Asato Izumi

Shincho Sensho

320 pages, 1,500 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.