INDEX
It was correspondence that inspired me to spend my days immersed in comedy
Takano: You mentioned earlier that you are planning 1,000 comedy gigs, but I would like to ask you about your first encounter with comedy.
Kojima: Actually, I love radio so much that my father used to post postcards on the radio.
Celeina: He’s a craftsman.
Kojima: That’s right. Because of father’s influence, we all watched variety shows together as a family at dinner time. When I was in junior high school, there was a comedy boom called the VOCABULA, and that’s how I got to know young comedians. Right around that time, a friend with whom I corresponded asked me, “Would you like to help me put on a comedy show?”.
Celeina：What do you mean by a correspondent?
Kojima：In the past, there used to be a page in a magazine that listed addresses. Comedy lovers used to gather information about comedy and make comedy friends there. I used to contact people in Osaka and ask them to send me videos or newspaper clippings.
Celeina：Interesting. It’s a world full of love.
Kojima: Nowadays, we can connect with each other through SNS, but in our case, it was letters.
Celeina：So you started by planning a comedy concert with your correspondent friends?
Kojima：Yes. We first started helping out at a small theater in Nakano. I thought, “I get to meet a TV star!” but all I found were comedians I didn’t know who hadn’t even appeared on TV, so I was like, “What the heck is this place?” (haha)
Takano: It was different from what I expected.
Kojima: That’s right. When I was sulking and saying, “We’re not going to meet the stars,” one of the comedians on the show said to me, “Why are the new staff members slacking off?”. He got angry with me. At that point, I thought, “What the heck!” and went to various locations asking them to call me again because I would definitely continue.
Takano: I see. What was it like from there until you launched K-PRO?
Kojima: It was during this time that I was approached by a senior organizer who asked me to try something. I decided to start a comedy live show under the name “K-PRO” with my fellow staff members who I would see every month, and we started a small group of people who would do stories, or help someone with a solo show, or something like that.
Celeina：I see. Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of K-PRO next year.
Kojima: Thank you very much.
Takano: Twenty years is a lot, isn’t it?
Kojima:Yes, it is. I am surprised at how quickly it has gone by.
