Was he really abducted? Was it all a ploy for fame? Or was it something else entirely? Perhaps we’ll never truly know, but isn’t that what makes for the best urban legends?
The Former Idol’s Verbal Slip
You may know Matsumoto Akiko as the host from the variety shows Denpa Shonen and TV Champion, and while she’s often seen playing undesirable roles, did you know that she originally started out as an idol? Her fall from grace, however, stemmed from the infamous “Four Letter Incident.”
Matsumoto was hosting a TV special when one of her male co-stars threatened to reveal her boyfriend’s name on air. Revealing that she had a boyfriend would destroy her idol career, so of course she didn’t want that to happen. Her co-star said, “If you want me to keep quiet, then say OOOO (slang for female genitalia)!” Matsumoto stood in front of the mic and said the word without hesitation. As a result, her television appearances dried up.
Several years later she returned on various variety programs, and now she retains consistent work. Instead of destroying her career, on the contrary, that four letter word helped propel her precarious idol career into a fully-fledged variety one.
ABOUT
Matsumoto Akiko, currently 52-years-old, is perhaps most famous for her appearances on variety shows and as an actress, and most people under 30 are probably unaware that she originally started her career as an idol. Idols in Japan have a pure image; they’re forbidden to date and must always appear both available and sexually innocent. This urban legend is very much a reality, although the truth goes much deeper.
Born in Kagawa Prefecture in 1966, Matsumoto was 19-years-old when she appeared on live television with Kataoka Tsurutaro, a TV personality, and Shofukutei Tsuruko, a rakugo performer. It was a combined special between the shows All Night Fuji and Shofukutei Tsuruko no All Night Nippon.
At one point during the show, the men goaded her on-air with knowledge of her secret boyfriend. “I know who your boyfriend is. If you don’t want us to reveal his name, then look at the camera and say OOOO. You’ll become famous!”
The word they told her to say was slang for female genitalia, and being from Kagawa, Matsumoto was unaware of the word’s meaning. Not only that, they claimed the man had once worked in Nichome, the infamous gay district of Shinjuku. She did as they said, fearful not just for herself but for her boyfriend if his name came out. Matsumoto was quickly escorted off-stage by security, unaware of what she had done wrong.
As a result of her live on-air utterance, Matsumoto was banned from appearing on Fuji TV, and her appearances on other channels also dwindled to zero. For two years this drought continued, with Matsumoto even sleeping in public toilets because she had no money.
One day, TV personality Nakayama Hideyuki, a performer from the same agency as Matsumoto, found her sitting on a bench near Kunitachi Station in Tokyo. She had been there all day. Nakayama had recently made his big break on the TV show AB Brothers and he asked her to join him doing variety shows instead. She took him up on the offer and Matsumoto’s career was reborn.
On the August 13, 2013 episode of Kaiketsu! Nainai Answer, Matsumoto spoke of the “Four Letter Incident” on TV for the first time, nearly 30 years after the event. She revealed the men goaded her because her boyfriend, a male singer at the time, was bisexual. They said to her, “You don’t want people to know you’re dating someone gay, do you?”
On the January 25, 2016 episode of Shikujiri Sensei Ore Mitai ni Naru na!, she further revealed that she didn’t just say the word once, but three times. Only one of these was actually broadcast, but it also happened to be a segment of the show that was being broadcast live on radio at the same time. Matsumoto revealed that the staffs’ faces turned pale and security dragged her off without word. “I was born and raised in Shikoku, so I didn’t know what the word meant,” she said. “I had no problem with saying it at all.”
Shofukutei, who was the main instigator of the incident, also found his work on TV dried up afterwards, although his career soon recovered. Both men claimed that they were just joking around and they thought that Matsumoto knew what the word meant. They didn’t realise that she had no idea and would actually say it on-air.
Clips of the incident are still available on YouTube today, and it’s clear that Matsumoto had no idea what she was saying. The two older men goad the young idol so much she is nearly in tears, crying for them to stop. They repeatedly manhandle her while threatening to, in essence, end both her career and that of her boyfriend’s. It’s not pleasant to watch.
After the incident, Matsumoto ended up breaking up with her boyfriend anyway, who was revealed to be Kato Shinta, a member of the band Camelot. Kato, who later came out as gay, no longer works in the entertainment industry, but he remains, unwittingly, the cause of one of the most shocking on-air utterances in Japanese television history.
Phone Wallpaper
They say that if you put a picture of Miwa Akihiro as your phone wallpaper for a week, your luck will rise. If he’s wearing red clothes, your romantic fortunes will rise. If he’s wearing yellow clothes, you’ll have more luck with money.
ABOUT
Born in 1935, Miwa Akihiro is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and author. He survived the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki during World War II and moved to Tokyo at age 17 to become a professional cabaret singer.
Well-known for his androgynous good looks when he was young, Miwa soon became a huge star and today remains one of the most well-known faces and names in Japanese entertainment. He has been critical of Japan’s re-militarisation in recent years, being a survivor of Nagasaki and experiencing first-hand the horrors of war, but also outspoken about the Japanese people regaining their bushido (the samurai code of chivalry) and Yamato-damashii (the Japanese spirit).
So, how did he come to feature in this urban legend?
While the details remain unclear, this legend seems to have sprung to life thanks to a certain photo. In the photo, Miwa is wearing bright yellow clothes, his hair is bright yellow, and the set behind him is the same shade, from head to toe. Other than Miwa’s face, everything is bright, almost fluorescent yellow.
In Feng Shui, yellow is the colour of wealth, so rumours began to spread that if you used this picture of Miwa as your phone wallpaper, your fortunes would rise. In addition, Miwa’s face itself drew wealth to it. With his well-balanced face, wide forehead, carefree nose and ears said to bring good fortune, simply looking at Miwa was like “looking at the divine.” Physiognomy, or face reading, is fairly popular in Japan, and it can tell one’s fortunes, personality, and other traits merely by the shape of one’s features. Apparently, Miwa was born to be wealthy.
Miwa wasn’t the only subject of this legend, however. Other rumours suggested that if you used a picture of Tamori, a Japanese comedian known for always wearing sunglasses, you would be blessed with children.
Another said that if you used a picture of Matsuko Deluxe, another TV personality well-known for his poisonous tongue and cross-dressing stage persona, you would be blessed with good luck. It couldn’t just be any picture, however. It had to feature Matsuko without any make-up and a shaved head, easily found by doing an image search. This legend was so widely spread that fellow celebrities such as actor Fukuyama Masaharu and members of the idol group AKB48 had him as their phone wallpaper.
More recent rumours have suggested that having a picture of comedian Hosei Tsukitei, perhaps best known as a regular from Downtown Gaki no Tsukai, would also bring good luck.
But why would using a photo of one of these celebrities as your phone wallpaper bring good luck? One theory suggests that they are used like modern day charms or amulets. Instead of going all the way to a shrine to buy one, it’s much easier to change a phone wallpaper to a certain picture for a week and hope for the best that way. If you want wealth, seeing that bright yellow picture of Miwa every time you pick up your phone is likely to constantly remind you of it, and keep you focused on the goal: getting more money. Not only
that, but perhaps simply having that picture there will be enough for the celebrities to share a bit of their luck with you. It doesn’t have to make sense. People just need to believe in it for it to “work.”
In 2012, Miwa himself commented on the legend. When asked on the program Solomon Ryu about whether there was any truth to the rumours that yellow pictures of him would bring wealth, and red pictures would bring luck in love, Miwa answered, “They’re just rumours.” It seemed the legend had also sent people Miwa’s way when looking for advice in love, wealth, and other matters. “I’m not a fortune teller or a medium,” he said, commenting that he was troubled by the amount of people coming to him for help.
If you really want to try for yourself, you can easily find the yellow picture in question by typing “Miwa Akihiro” into a search engine in English. And if you happen to become rich afterwards, let me know!
Matsushima Nahomi’s Curse
It’s said that a member of the popular comedic duo Othello, Matsushima Nahomi, has a curse placed upon her. That curse means that anything Matsushima likes will fall to misfortune. Singers, sports stars, actors, you name it. If Matsushima likes them, something unfortunate will happen to them. Those in the entertainment industry even call her the “White Devil.”
ABOUT
Matsushima Nahomi, born in 1971 in Osaka, is a member of the comedic duo Othello. She works regularly on TV and is a face most Japanese people would be familiar with. She’s also, apparently, cursed.
After a string of unfortunate events happening to those Matsushima publicly spoke of her fondness for, people started to joke that she was the “White Devil.” The “white” in this case comes from her claim that she was the white piece from the game Othello while her comedic partner, Nakajima Tomoko, was the black piece.
But what evidence exists of this supposed curse? Let’s take a look at some people Matsushima has liked over the years, and what befell them after her public announcements of support.
Ozaki Yutaka (singer) → Died one month later in 1992, aged 26.
Hide (singer) → Died one week later in 1998, aged 33.
Judy and Mary (band) → Went on hiatus shortly thereafter, then disbanded in 2001.
Hysteric Blue (band) → Guitarist Akamatsu Naoki was arrested in 2004 for rape. Group disbanded soon after.
Orange Range (band) → Drummer Katchan left the group in 2005. They then released their last album in 2013 before going on a five-year hiatus.
Hamanaka Osamu (baseball player) → Dropped as a Hanshin Tigers regular in 2007, then transferred to Orix Buffaloes, a much smaller team.
Oshio Manabu (singer, actor) → Arrested for drug possession and neglect leading to a woman’s death. Sentenced to 30-months in prison.
David Beckham (soccer player) → Injured in 2010, kept out of World Cup.
A string of unfortunate coincidences, for sure. It would appear that Matsushima’s curse extends not only to famous people, however.
After buying her first horse race betting ticket for the horse Silence Suzuka, the horse broke its leg during the race and had to be put down.
After announcing that she enjoyed K-1, a martial arts competition, the founder was arrested for tax evasion.
After announcing she wanted to appear on the TV show Dash Village, the Dash Village office was burnt down due to staff carelessness.
As a child, at least five people a year killed themselves by jumping from the rooftop of the apartment building she lived in.
A former boyfriend was arrested and sent to prison for fraud.
When appearing on a radio program special about the supernatural, a ghostly face appeared in the window glass as she was laughing, scaring her manager so much that he quit.
But that’s not all. This curse seems to extend even to her comedic partner, Nakajima Tomoko. In 2011, she was accused of not paying the rent on both her personal and business apartments, and she stopped showing up to work as well, hiding herself away from the world. The media reported that she was living with a female fortune-teller who had her brainwashed. This fortune-teller supposedly drove a wedge between Nakajima and Matsushima, keeping them apart as Matsushima’s popularity rose to new heights while Nakajima’s faltered. Othello was disbanded in 2013, but Nakajima slowly started to make her comeback in the entertainment industry as a solo performer thereafter.
In 2015, she claimed on Downtown Now SP that she wasn’t brainwashed, nor was she living with the fortune-teller. Instead, she didn’t have a written contract with her company and they were increasingly in disagreement about their management policies. She didn’t know how to leave them, so she stopped going to work so they would fire her. The fortune-teller was simply a friend, and they didn’t live together. The truth may never be known, but it remains another notch on Matsushima’s long list of associated curses.
There’s no denying that numerous unfortunate events have happened to those Matsushima has given her public support to over the years. Is it really a curse? I don’t believe in curses myself, so I’m more inclined to say it’s a long series of unfortunate events that could easily be misconstrued as something else. It no doubt makes for an interesting story at parties though!
Death Blog
Higashihara Aki, a model for Platinum Productions and wife of Olympic athlete Inoue Kosei, also runs her own popular blog on Ameba. However, the topics she posts about are soon followed by misfortune, so much so that her blog has come to be known as the “Death Blog.”
ABOUT
Higashihara Aki first debuted in 2003 as a model for Asahi Beer. Over the course of her career she’s modelled for various magazines and fashion lines, as well as worked on TV as a newscaster and personality. She also runs her own blog on the popular Japanese Ameba website, which is still actively updated today. It wasn’t long, however, before her blog became infamous for the seemingly strange coincidences that followed her posts. Whenever Higashihara posted about a topic, it wouldn’t be long before something terrible happened to that person, place, or event. Here are some examples of topics she blogged about and the misfortune that followed shortly thereafter.
Myojinmaru Food CM → Their Cup Yakisoba line was found to be infested with bugs.
Mentioned that Chinese stocks seemed to be on the rise → The stocks crashed.
Worked as chairman for the Birdman Contest → The starting area was destroyed by a sudden squall while being dismantled.
Worked as an assistant for the Birdman Contest → The contest was cancelled.
Went on a trip to Korea → Korean won fell.
Announced plans to study in England → English pound fell.
Posted a photo of a pizza from Saizeriya, an Italian restaurant chain → A toxic chemical was discovered in their frozen pizzas.
Went to England → Queen Elizabeth revealed to have lost 37 million pounds in just a few weeks due to the financial crisis.
Announced her support for Peter Aerts, a Dutch kickboxer → Lost to Bard Hari.
Went to the wedding of Fujiwara Norika and Jinnai Tomonori → They divorced.
Posted about how the new terrestrial digital broadcasting logo was annoying and “in the way” → Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, the model and spokesperson for the change from analogue to digital TV, was arrested.
Recommended the comedic duo Joyman → Soon involved in a scandal and lost popularity.
Dreamt of Sakai Noriko, a popular singer → Sakai was arrested on suspicion of possessing and using drugs.
Blogged about Sky Tree → Elevator failed on opening day.
Went to a McDonalds event → Bugs were found in food in US restaurants.
Blogged about the snack Umaibou → Umaibou factory caught on fire.
Appeared in CMs for finance and loan company DIC → Company closed all stores.
Acted as campaign girl for Asahi Beer → Asahi dropped from first place in beer sales.
Participated in a penny auction → Complaints rose about unfair practises.
Wondered if Michael Jack
son would take his tour to England → Michael Jackson passed away.
Bought an iPad → Steve Jobs fell seriously ill.
Announced she would be landing in Miyazaki Prefecture → Shinmoedake erupted, disrupting traffic.
Announced her support of “blog rival” Ogura Yuko → Ogura’s ramen store caught on fire.
Announced she was spending time with a family she met on Japanese social media website Mixi → Mixi’s servers went down for a long period.
Blogged about how swings (buranko, or blanko, in Japanese) were scary at night time → Baseball player Tony Blanco broke a bone that same night.
Randomly mentioned that even pandas neglect their children sometimes → The next day, Ueno Zoo announced the death of their baby giant panda.
Promoted JINS glasses → The company was hacked and people’s credit card information stolen.
Went to Tokyo Disneyland → The next day they suffered their very first accident when a safety bar wouldn’t go down and a man was injured.
Remarked her daughter was mimicking comedian Sugichan → Sugichan suffered a thoracic spine fracture that took three months to heal.
Posted about Tokyo Dome → The next day, Yomiuri Giants (whose home stadium is Tokyo Dome) lost the championship.
Mentioned watching Crayon Shin-chan on DVD → Creator Usui Yoshito passed away.
Posted a photo of a toy plane her son was playing with → Two weeks later, the newly introduced Boeing 787 line was found to have several faults. One plane suffered from an electrical fire on board and was forced into an emergency landing. The entire fleet ended up being grounded.
Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends: Volume Two Page 12