A Night of Tokusatsu!

Hironobu Hagimae and Takashi Naganuma. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Sunday, March 19), I attended another tokusatsu event headlined by two familiar faces: Toho SFX crew member Takashi Naganuma and motorcycle stuntman Hironobu Hagimae.

Takashi Naganuma. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I spent most of the evening with Naganuma-san, who told me he enjoys seeing my reactions to his jokes and wordplay. Well, his jokes are always full of surprises, so I'm sure my reactions are as interesting as he says. Once again, there was very little tokusatsu talk; it was mostly about other things, especially about language (both Japanese and English).

Tonight was one of the few times I accompanied Naganuma-san outside for his smoke break (along with another attendee). After the show, the three of us walked back to the station together. They asked me if I wanted to join them for coffee, but I elected to go home instead. It was fun, but I was pretty exhausted.

Hironobu Hagimae. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Stuntman Hironobu Hagimae was also on hand. I overheard his answer to someone else's question about retakes of motorcycle stunts with explosions. He said that there usually would be and that there could be as many as four takes sometimes. So it wasn't always just a one and done. 

I didn't have much of a chance to talk to Hagimae-san this time. But I did learn that he had some involvement with the motorcycle stunts in The Last Days of Planet Earth (a.k.a. Prophecies of Nostradamus, 1974). Gotta find out more about that someday!

It was another fun, informal event, and I look forward to doing it again soon!

THE STUNTMAN AND THE DIRECTOR: An Evening with Japanese Film Alumni!

Hironobu Hagimae. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier tonight, I braved a typhoon (and got sopping wet in the process!) to attend a special event with two special guests: Hironobu Hagimae and Shun Nakahara!

Hironobu Hagimae has performed as a stuntman in America, Japan, and even Australia. He's a veteran of the '70s Kamen Rider series, as well as Mad Max (1979) and The Road Warrior (1981). I've met him several times before, and he's always a gentleman.

Shun Nakahara. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was director Shun Nakahara. Nakahara-san has directed The Cherry Orchard (1990), The Gentle Twelve (1991), Colorful (2000), the thriller Concent (2001), and the horror flick Tomie: Forbidden Fruit (2002).

I (very briefly) met Nakahara-san earlier this year, but admittedly I didn't have much to say to him at the time because I wasn't that familiar with his work. I did a bit more homework this time and had more to say this time. He was very friendly, that's for sure!

A Late Start on Kicking Off the New Year!

Katsumi Yanagijima. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Things have been quiet in Japan recently, due in large part to a certain pandemic that's still raging. However, things are slowly but surely starting to come back. For instance, I attended my first event in a couple of months last night, February 27. The guest of honor was cinematographer Katsumi Yanagijima.

His name might not immediately ring any bells, but his credits as cinematographer certainly do: Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale (2000), Takeshi Kitano's The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003), The Grudge 2 (2006), and Robo-G (2012). Like many guests at such events, he was very approachable, and I just had to tell him how much I admired Battle Royale.

Hironobu Hagimae. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As a surprise bonus, Hironobu Hagimae was also on hand. Hagimae-san was the motorcycle stuntman for the original Kamen Rider (1971-73) and continued in that capacity throughout the '70s.

I've met him several times in the past few years, and it's always a blast to see him. He's a super-friendly guy!

I look forward to things returning to normal, but we still have a long way to go. Last night's event was a good start. Let's hope it continues.

An Event Celebrating the Memory of Yusaku Matsuda

With Hironobu Hagimae (left) and Toru Murakawa (center). 

The Golden Week festivities continued on May 3, as I attended a special evening event with stuntman Hironobu Hagimae and director Toru Murakawa. The event centered around a screening of a Yusaku Matsuda film directed by Murakawa-san, but given my work schedule, I had to miss it. 

Toru Murakawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Toru Murakawa is a director best known for his many collaborations with actor Yusaku Matsuda. Murakawa-san directed the films The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (1979) and The Beast to Die (1980), both of which star Matsuda. 

On the small screen, he directed episodes of Daitsuiseki (1978) and Tantei Monogatari (1979-80). However, I know Murakawa-san best as the chief assistant director of the Japanese scenes of Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970).

Hironobu Hagimae. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was Hironobu Hagimae. He's performed as a stuntman in America, Japan, and even Australia. He's a veteran of the '70s Kamen Rider series, as well as Mad Max (1979) and The Road Warrior (1981). 

I had a great time talking with Hagimae-san about his various adventures around the world. Hard to believe it had been a year since I first met him.

All in all, it was a lot of fun, and I hope we can do it again soon!

THE STUNTMAN! Meeting Hironobu Hagimae!

Hironobu Hagimae. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday evening, I had the unexpected privilege of meeting stuntman Hironobu Hagimae. Hagimae-san isn't a name that's very well known in America (or even Japan), but his credits are quite cool. As a stuntman who specializes in car and motorcycle stunts, he has been seen in movies and TV programs all over the world -- not just Japan, but also America and even Australia.

Hagimae-san was the motorcycle stuntman for the original Kamen Rider (1971-73) and continued in that capacity throughout the '70s. His favorite Rider is Kamen Rider V3, and he is quite proud of the work he did on that show, too. 

In the late '70s, Hagimae-san moved to America and did stunt work on the long-running TV series CHiPs. Due to his similar build to actor Erik Estrada, Hagimae-san was his motorcycle stuntman on the show. (So, yes, Kamen Rider and Frank Poncherello are related.) Hagimae-san also did stunts on the George Miller actioners Mad Max (1979) and The Road Warrior (1981).

I greatly enjoyed meeting Hagimae-san, whose career ought to be better known on both sides of the Pacific. I hope to see him again very soon.