A new article from the New York Times The Global Profile section, focuses on one of the most iconic voice actors in the anime industry today, who was recently honored in November with another Guinness World Record for the longest career as a voice actor for the same character in an animated TV series, and the series itself earning another record for being the longest running animated TV series. Her name is Midori Kato, and she is the only remaining member of the original cast and its oldest.
Midori Kato is part of one of Japan’s most memorable and loveable animated series, Sazae-San, portraying the role of a 24-year-old stay-at-home mom who has been described as a bossy but kind, absent-minded woman who is forever sheepish about some mishap. The NY Times article also focuses on Sazae-San’s family dynamics and gender roles, how it has been consistent with entrenched values and economic incentives that have remained in Japan, and most importantly, the life and legacy of Midori Kato.
Shunichi Yukimuro, a screenwriter who has worked on the animated series for about 45 years, took part in a brief interview to discuss Sazae-San and the producers insisting that the show maintains its period setting. To this day, Ms. Kato is recognized by many and has felt wistful at times by how the world is portrayed in the show. It also served as a time capsule, a representation of traditional Japanese society, serving also as an anchor for society.
Here are some fascinating facts about this iconic slice-of-life series, it is based on a Japanese yonkoma manga (a four-panel comic strip) written and illustrated by Machiko Hasegawa, one of the first female manga creators in the industry. Sazae-San ran in two newspapers (the Fukunichi Shinbun and Asahi Shimbun) from 1946 to 1975, Hasegawa was the first woman to pen a comic strip or manga in a daily Japanese newspaper, and the first in Japan to have her work adapted for television. It was collected into 68 (6,477 comic strips) tankobon volumes, and as of 1999, it had over 86 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Aside from being adapted into a TV anime, it has been adapted into a radio show, theatrical plays, and songs. The manga portrayed the hardships of life after World War II when poverty-stricken Japanese lined up for rice rations or shopped on the black market.
The Sazae-San TV anime celebrated its 55th Anniversary in October 2024 with a brand-new exhibition, featuring illustrations drawn by famous manga creators, offering other fun things to do at the exhibition which include exploring the manga’s history, the history behind each character, which includes a timeline involving Machiko Hasegawa and its newspaper serialization. The exhibition first began in Odaiba Japan, and now making its way to Fukuoka Japan starting on January 3, 2025, at the Daimaru Fukuoka Tenjin Store, Main Building 8th Floor Event Hall, tickets are currently still on sale. Sazae-San TV Anime is available to watch on Fuji TV at 18:30 JST.
Source: The New York Times
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