Debt, sending living expenses to his daughter, hair transplantation in Turkey ... The current situation of 48-year-old Ishida Isunari is "no longer a dejected good-for-nothing uncle, but has the consciousness of being an actor."
After three divorces and the baptism of illness, Isunari Ishida finally showed signs of resurrection as an actor. On the other hand, he is well known as a member of a lively family, headed by his father Ishida Junichi .
When I learned that my biological father was actor Junichi Ishida
Reporter: I would like to ask again about your family and growth experience. I heard that your parents divorced when you were sensible. How old were you when you found out that your biological father was actor Junichi Ishida?
Ishida; when you were in the first year of elementary school. When I came back from school, the TV was on, and my mother slowly pointed at the screen and said, "This is your dad." That was the moment I saw my father for the first time. Although I was still young, my surprise at "He is an artist" and "Really?" have always been deeply remembered.
Reporter: Is the concept of father very vague?
Ishida: I feel so. However, my mother also had a boyfriend at the time, and he looked like my father to me. When friends from school come to play, they always ask "Who?". I don't know very well, so I answer "Dad" for the time being.
After my friend left, he would often say: "No, I am not your biological father." "I know that." It is precisely because of such a complicated situation that when Junichi Ishida appeared on TV, my mother would tell me "He is your father."
Reporter: That’s it. I heard that Mr. Ishida lived a life of communes at home and abroad during his childhood. What is their daily life like?
Ishida: My mother (Mari Hoshikawa) and her brother, my uncle (Jun Hoshikawa), are both writers. They brought hippie culture to Japan from the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. As Japan's counterculture, they called for ideas such as anti-war, love and peace. The concept of communes, a community and living together, also began at this time.
In the late 1970s when I was sensible, our family lived in a commune in Mitaka, Tokyo, and later moved to Yatsugatake and Yakushima. Basically, I have been living a self-sufficient life. Although it is very hard, I still go to school as much as possible.
A self-sufficient life in childhood
Reporter: What is a self-sufficient life specifically?
Ishida: Get up at 4 o'clock in the morning and walk 30 minutes along the mountain road to fetch water from the river. After 3 trips back and forth to fill up the water, chop wood and make a fire to boil the water. When I go there, I wake up my mother first, then milk the goat, or go to the chicken coop to get eggs and prepare ingredients for cooking. This is my daily routine.
After breakfast, the next step is farm work. My job was to use buckets to transport household waste, which was used as fertilizer, to the fields. The day will be over quickly if you do this.
Reporter: When you want to play, do you have any dissatisfaction?
Ishida: Usually around 3 p.m., adults will say "Let's go play," so it's not to that extent. There was a cousin of the same age in the commune. The two of them ran around in the mountains, looking for edible fruits, and also went to the beach to fish, and had a lot of fun.
After entering middle school, he had no chance to live together like this because he was going to Australia to study.
Reporter: When did you first meet your biological father, Junichi Ishida?
Ishida: When you were 16 years old. After returning from studying in Australia, I worked for half a year to save some money, and planned to go to New York or London this time. At this time, my mother and I were going to attend a concert by my father’s sister, jazz singer Momo Ishida. Junichi is here too, and we finally meet again.
Reporter: Sure enough, it was "goodbye".
Ishida: Yes. As soon as they met, they exclaimed "Wow".Of course, we have no memory of living together. In my opinion, he is more of an artist than a father, but after all, it is a father-son relationship, so it feels a bit weird.
Started in TV series with zero acting experience
Ishida: Then I started communicating with my father, but there was no topic at all. (Laughs) Even if we ride in a car together, it always becomes a scene in the beginning. But one time, my father asked me "What are my future plans?" and I replied, "I want to be a musician." He asked me, "Aren't you interested in acting?" and I was told that. During this process, my father invited me to star in a TV series, which became an opportunity for me to enter the entertainment industry.
Reporter: But at that time, I still had zero acting experience.
Ishida: It’s zero. But Dad was also in his prime as an actor and had a lot of strong connections. The next day, I was taken to Fuji TV and met with many producers. They said: "Even if I have no acting experience, it is very realistic." So I suddenly decided to star in the TV series. It was a work called "Sad Weather" (1992).
Reporter: What does reality mean?
Ishida: I don’t know that either. Looking back now, these may all be the rules of the bubble economy period. Of course, the acting skills are not good at all, and the debut film is one of the works that I definitely don’t want to watch again.
Reporter: Even so, you are still determined to survive as an actor. Why?
Ishida: Actually, I don’t want to act anymore. So I said to my father: "I'm sorry, I still..." Just as I was about to say this, I was told that "the next TV series has been decided." I had no motivation at all, but since it was opposite Arisa Kanzuki, I accepted it without saying a word (laughs).
As a result, I did not do any real acting training. I only occasionally received advice from my father and the feeling was instilled on the scene.
Reporter: What is the most impressive work so far?
Ishida: The TBS drama "Underage" (1995, TBS) was a turning point for me. Before that, when I was working on " under the same roof, " (1993, Fuji TV), I was still figuring it out, and I was reprimanded by the staff every day, and I was really taught a lot of things. When I left, I was told, "It's all your fault, I have to do it again." I gritted my teeth and worked hard every day.
In this process, I slowly developed myself as an actor and established my acting skills to a certain extent. This is the role I played as Hiroto Togawa in "Underage". Shinji Nojima ’s script also has its merits. In this work, I was able to project my natural self intact, which is a very satisfying job for me.
Received the obituary of Mr. Chiaki Matsubara
Reporter: Based on this experience, Mr. Junichi Ishida is also very happy to be able to return to the stage as an actor now, right?
Ishida: Maybe we both have a very difficult time (laughing). My father is a father. Although he has been criticized for " new crown ", he seems to have stabilized recently and has started filming commercials again.
Reporter: On the other hand, the obituary of Mr. Chiaki Matsubara (Junichi Ishida’s second wife) is regrettable. For Mr. Ishida, he is also close to his mother.
Ishida: I only found out about it when some media contacted me when I was overseas. It was during the difficult period of filming "Under the Same Roof" that he gave me a lot of support and listened to a lot of my words, including my complaints and complaints.
Reporter: Mr. Matsubara would also like to pay attention to future works and overseas expansion.
Ishida: That’s true. I think he will definitely say: "Yicheng, you work very hard." Moreover, she is also an actress, and I want her to star in my work.
It’s really painful to start thinking about many things like this, but now I can only do my best to do what I can do.
’s father Junichi Ishida said: “Being popular is a good thing, but it should be done in moderation."
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