For 16 long years, every Saturday night at 8 PM, nearly everyone in Japan had one default activity: going home, turning on the TV, and tuning in to 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo. This was a major television variety show hosted by The Drifters (ザ・ドリフターズ). The five Drifters members would perform skits, sing, and dance, and only the hottest and most talked-about personalities were qualified to be guests on the show. Elementary and junior high school students nationwide loved this program, and variety shows across Asia were diligently trying to imitate it. For 16 long years, 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo and The Drifters entertained all of Japan every Saturday night, becoming the pinnacle of the Japanese entertainment industry.
Members of 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo: Chosuke Ikariya, Boo Takagi, Koji Nakamoto, Cha Kato, Ken Shimura Image credit:TBSチャンネル
Times changed, and new waves were constantly waiting for an opportunity to dethrone TBS's 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo. Finally, Fuji TV and Takeshi Kitano found an opening: if elementary and junior high school students nationwide loved 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo, then they would create a variety show that high school and college students would enjoy. Thus, Oretachi Hyōkinzoku (オレたちひょうきん族) was born. What is "Hyōkinzoku"? No one knew. The kanji for "hyōkin" (剽軽) means "frivolous" or "comical." The show deliberately chose a difficult word for its title, strongly emphasizing self-assertion, which perfectly suited the preferences of the adolescent demographic. It was just like the popular Taiwanese advertising slogan in the late 80s, "I want my Stride." What was Stride? No one knew (it was actually a chewing gum brand), but "I want it" for a reason adults didn't understand... This kind of nonchalant, nonsensical persistence was incredibly cool in the 80s.
Oretachi Hyōkinzoku Image credit:Tumblr
The life of 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo finally ended at 16 years. The Drifters knew that Oretachi Hyōkinzoku, airing in the same time slot, was steadily gaining viewership. News reports even began to surface asking "Are The Drifters disbanding?" or "Should the old-fashioned 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo be canceled?" Yet, these comedians, who had to "clock in" in front of the cameras like civil servants every weekend for 16 years (8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo was a live broadcast program), never considered laying down their batons. The decision to cancel 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo was not made by The Drifters, but by TBS Television, which had been engaged in a decades-long "Dohachi War" (the Saturday 8 PM variety golden hour viewership battle) with Fuji TV. The Drifters were informed of this news without warning, and their spirits immediately sank.
Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV Image credit:お笑いナタリー
However, TBS, facing a younger generation of rising comedians like Takeshi Kitano, did not want to scrap everything and start over. They decided to let the two youngest and most popular comedians among The Drifters branch out and host their own show. This was the origin of Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV (加トちゃんケンちゃんごきげんテレビ): Cha Kato and Ken Shimura of The Drifters would bear the heavy responsibility of re-establishing TBS's dominance. This burden was indeed immense, as they not only had to save viewership ratings but also represented The Drifters, a comedy brand cultivated for over a decade. They had to prove that their humor was not outdated; it was merely a matter of putting old wine in new bottles, extracting the essence, and showing that it was still as fragrant as ever.
Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV Image credit:お笑いナタリー
Although Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV indeed had a higher density of gags and shed the sluggishness of 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo's later large-scale cast performances, it ultimately could not reverse the outcome of the Dohachi War. Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV remained very popular, and the partnership of Cha Kato and Ken Shimura allowed their star power to instantly surpass that of the remaining three Drifters members—thus, rumors of "Drifters discord" continued to spread. However, the shift in audience preferences was irreversible. Even the children who loved 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo back then had now grown up and were attending high school and college; they had cast 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo and The Drifters aside, along with their elementary school diplomas. Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV still featured popular segments from 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo, such as the "Mustache Dance," and the show seemed not to have grown up with its audience.
Cha Kato and Ken Shimura's "Mustache Dance" was a very popular segment on 8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo Image credit:Pinterest
Comedy must resonate with its era, and comedy must grow with its audience. Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV certainly put in a tremendous effort, with each episode opening featuring a sketch performance lasting a full 25 minutes – 1.2 to 1.5 times longer than other variety shows at the time (including today). However, this sheer volume felt more like arduous labor, and Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV was unable to recapture the glory of the 8 O'Clock! Everybody Gather! era. Ken Shimura understood this predicament, and he needed a brand new comedic character that contemporary audiences could empathize with, allowing them to re-embrace this group of performers from a bygone era.
Ken Shimura as the Strange Uncle Image credit:エキサイトニュース
This is one of the primary reasons why Ken Shimura's "Strange Uncle" (Henna Ojisan) character is so important. As the king of comedy in the Japanese entertainment industry, and having performed live sketch comedy for 16 years, Ken Shimura had played hundreds of comedic roles over the past decade. He was about to introduce his personal favorite, the character most like himself, and the greatest embodiment of his comedic philosophy: the Strange Uncle from "Shimura Ken no Daijobu daa" (It'll Be Alright, Ken Shimura).
Late at night, a beautiful woman takes a taxi home alone. The ordinary taxi driver begins chatting with her, but the conversation grows increasingly strange and vulgar. The woman finally turns pale and scolds the driver, "Who exactly are you?!" Suddenly, in the next shot, the driver in the driver's seat transforms, revealing a Strange Uncle with messy hair, a face full of moles, a chin covered in blue stubble, wearing pink underwear... and most importantly, a lecherous expression. "That's right! I'm the Strange Uncle!" the Strange Uncle cheerfully introduces himself, then suddenly starts singing to himself, "Strange~ Uncle~ I'm the Strange Uncle~".
The Strange Uncle singing and dancing Image credit:Twitter
At this point, the surroundings fall silent, everyone staring at this Strange Uncle who appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly, the Strange Uncle looks directly into the camera and exclaims "Dafunda!" A sound of shattering glass rings out, and everyone immediately performs a variety show fall or breaks into a strange dance... This was Shimura's new character, the Strange Uncle, who appeared from the very first episode of his personal variety show "Shimura Ken no Daijobu daa." He quickly became Ken Shimura's signature character, and a classic figure known throughout Japan, influencing the entire Asian entertainment industry.
"Shimura Ken no Daijobu daa" was launched approximately two years after "Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV." By 1987, the Saturday variety show landscape was largely settled, with "Oretachi Hyokinzoku" having already cultivated a new generation of core comedians in the Japanese comedy scene. Rather than "reclaiming lost ground," "Shimura Ken no Daijobu daa" was more about revealing Ken Shimura's personal direction for his future in comedy. The Drifters still existed; Ken Shimura still recorded one episode of "Dorifu Dai Bakusho" (The Drifters' Big Laugh) each month, and spent two days a week producing "Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV." However, these shows involved Drifters members or Cha Kato collaborating on gags. "Shimura Ken no Daijobu daa" was completely different – on this battlefield, Shimura was entirely on his own. He had to come up with ideas himself, perform himself, find new partners himself, and personally dictate the entire show's style.
"Shimura Ken no Daijobu daa" cast: (Top left to top right) Yoko Ishino, Ken Shimura,
Noriko Matsumoto; (Bottom left to bottom right) Masashi Tashiro, Minayo Watanabe, Nobuyoshi Kuwano Image credit:Twitter
And the essence of these painstaking efforts was the Strange Uncle. The Strange Uncle was an odd fellow whose appearance was inherently unsettling; he wouldn't appear at the beginning of a sketch. In every comedic sketch he appeared in, everything was completely normal before his entrance; there weren't even any comedic elements, and the character played by Ken Shimura usually seemed perfectly normal. However, audiences would gradually notice Shimura's character beginning to act strangely, as if his inner darkness was slowly gaining control. Then, suddenly, the Strange Uncle would appear. For the audience, the humor of the Strange Uncle sketches initially contained an element of shock. The Strange Uncle was like a sudden killer in a horror movie, shattering the peace of everyday life.
Beware of the Strange Uncle even when getting dressed Image credit:ミドルエッジ
But soon, the humor of the Strange Uncle skits quickly became a "convention." You knew the Strange Uncle would appear, but you never knew when or in what disguise. Before the Strange Uncle's transformation, the audience would undergo a brief deductive process—did you think the character Ken Shimura played was definitely the Strange Uncle? Not necessarily. "Shimura's Great Laughter" would use editing to show Ken Shimura, playing two roles, in the same frame; you would see the normal Shimura and the transformed Strange Uncle Shimura. This increased the difficulty of deducing "who is the Strange Uncle."
However, some things never change; the Strange Uncle's appearances followed a logic that could be understood by knowing his preferences: the Strange Uncle liked pretty young women, enjoyed various forms of playful teasing, loved verbally bantering with beauties, enjoyed coaxing beauties into saying suggestive double entendres, liked touching women's bottoms, and couldn't control himself when he saw a beauty lightly disrobe... The Strange Uncle truly was the Strange Uncle; he was peculiar, and this peculiarity stemmed from male sexual desire, a natural biological urge in men. However, as male viewers, we typically hide this desire deep within ourselves, sealing it away with societal moral norms... but the Strange Uncle's seal was easily broken.
Ken Shimura, born in Tokyo, caused a sensation when he attended an FC Tokyo match. Image credit:Goal.com Japan
Ken Shimura's comedic style was not original; he never created comedic characters or skits out of thin air. Shimura was more adept at finding material from everyday life and transforming it into something absurd and ridiculous. The popular parody song "Higashimurayama Ondo" from Shimura's "8-ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo" (It's 8 O'Clock! Everybody Gather!) era was actually an adaptation of a theme song previously created by his hometown, Higashimurayama City Hall, for a festival. Shimura only took the first two lines of the lyrics, then filled in the rest with strange, impromptu lyrics.
Shimura often wore a swan ballet costume when singing "Higashimurayama Ondo". Image credit:Sucharaka de Sudara na Hibi
The Strange Uncle was no different; the peculiar song he sang after transforming, "Strange~ Uncle~ I am the Strange Uncle~", was actually an adaptation of the Okinawan folk song "Haisai Ojisan" (Hello, Uncle); and the phrase "Daffunda" he used to break the silence at the end of the skits actually had no special meaning: it was the sound made by the famous Rakugo performer Katsura Shijaku after coughing. After the Strange Uncle character became hugely popular, many media outlets speculated that "Daffunda" might be a play on the Japanese word for "defecation" (dappun). This greatly displeased Ken Shimura, who would always take special care to pronounce the "fu" (ふ) sound correctly during skits, to avoid it being mistaken by the audience for "pu" (ぷ), which represents "feces".
The Drifters were always a band; they once opened for The Beatles' Japan concert. Shimura, who became an apprentice to The Drifters' leader Chosuke Ikariya in high school, initially sought a career as a musician. For Shimura, who later embarked on a path as a comedian, "musicality" was the most crucial element in comedic performance. The Strange Uncle would say "Daffunda" because Shimura loved the rhythmic feel of the three sounds "da-fun-da" combined; the Strange Uncle would sing Okinawan folk songs, and even the "Higashimurayama Ondo" from "8-ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo", all because Shimura himself would hum these tunes daily and enjoyed adding many amusing, distorted lyrics.
Hitomi-baasan, the grandmother who always had trouble hearing. Image credit:Owarai Natalie
Ken Shimura had many other classic characters... such as "Hitomi-baasan" (Grandma Hitomi), who was honored by Taiwanese entertainers as "Grandma Yang", or "Deshio" (a strange man who would say "deshi" instead of "desu" at the end of every sentence), and "No-No Uncle" (a very unconfident uncle who would only respond with "no, no, no" to everything). However, none of these characters emphasized linguistic or musical sensibility as much as the Strange Uncle. The Strange Uncle's signature lines, signature dance, signature ending, and even the comedic timing of when to create a lull and when to deliver a punchline, were all forms of transformed music. The Strange Uncle vividly showcased Ken Shimura's own musical aptitude.
The Strange Uncle was the character closest to Shimura himself; he once stated:
"The Strange Uncle is truly my personal embodiment. The Strange Uncle fulfills the dreams I dare not dream and the things I long to do; I entrust all of these to the Strange Uncle... For example, licking a cup or straw an adorable idol has drunk from, or burying my entire head in a beautiful woman's skirt. I believe all men have had such absurd fantasies. But if the real me were to do these things, it would surely cause big trouble. However, if it's the Strange Uncle's comedy, everyone laughs heartily instead."
The Strange Uncle even invaded the skits of Ken Shimura's other classic character, "Baka Tonosama" (The Idiot Lord). Image credit:Withnews
According to Shimura, deep down, each of us has a "Strange Uncle" (Henna Oji-san), representing the desires we dare not act upon or speak of, yet which persist within us. Through the medium of comedy, Ken Shimura brought this side of desire to the forefront, making audiences nationwide roar with laughter. For ordinary people, there are always some unspeakable embarrassments deep inside, not just sexual urges, but perhaps also stage fright, physical clumsiness, or awkwardness in tasks. We can only try our best to conceal such embarrassments to maintain our "face" in front of others, but the Strange Uncle is different; his "disguise" usually doesn't last long. Instead, he bravely reveals his true self, making everyone burst into laughter.
The Strange Uncle is not encouraging viewers to bravely sexually harass others; he is merely a comedic character on screen, whose sole purpose is to entertain the audience. However, the meaning of this "entertainment" is profound. The Strange Uncle performs many actions desired by male viewers, establishing an emotional connection with the audience and becoming, to some extent, their "accomplice." Yet, he also serves as a "sacrifice" after the desires are expressed, enduring the eye-rolls and sarcastic remarks of others. For many viewers, although the Strange Uncle is strange, the character is much closer to their real lives... even inspiring a certain sense of admiration.
Strange Uncle Image credit:Middle Edge
But becoming the Strange Uncle was not easy. Each time, the Strange Uncle had a conventional transformation scene where Ken Shimura had to quickly change from a normal office worker or a cleaning old man into the lecherous-faced Strange Uncle. As "Shimura Ken no Bakushō" (Shimura's Big Laugh) progressed, audiences became more particular about where the Strange Uncle would emerge from next. So, the production team might have had to hollow out the driver's seat, allowing Shimura to hide beneath the steering wheel... then, when it was time to transform, the actor originally in the driver's seat would hide under the passenger seat, and only then would Strange Uncle Shimura pop out from below... Each transformation was a significant physical strain on Ken Shimura himself, but he embraced it wholeheartedly.
The Strange Uncle emerging from a vending machine this time Image credit:Middle Edge
Ken Shimura himself stated that his three favorite characters were "Baka Tonosama" (Idiot Lord) with his entire face painted white, "Hitomi Baasan" (Grandma Hitomi) with senile dementia, and thirdly, the Strange Uncle. Among these, the Strange Uncle was the character he invested the most effort in, found most complex, and felt most intimate with the audience. The structure of the Strange Uncle skits originated from The Drifters' "8 Ji Da Yo! Zen'in Shūgō" (It's 8 O'Clock! Everybody Gather!) skits. However, in "Shimura Ken no Bakushō," there were no other Drifters members; this was a character designed and performed solely by Shimura. Other familiar cast members of "Shimura Ken no Bakushō," such as Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano, and Yoko Ishino, were all comedic newcomers nurtured by Shimura on this program. Under circumstances with no backup and the need to rebuild a new team, the birth of the Strange Uncle was a truly remarkable feat.
Yoko Ishino often fell victim to the Strange Uncle Image credit:Twitter
Therefore, when I learned that BANDAI SPIRITS TAMASHII NATIONS was finally releasing the "S.H.Figuarts Ken Shimura's Strange Uncle," it naturally stirred some excitement within me, because the Strange Uncle was that important to Ken Shimura. He embodied Ken Shimura's entire musical background and comedic theory; he ushered in Shimura's second comedic life, establishing a brand new comedic image with "Shimura Ken no Bakushō." Even if we don't talk about Ken Shimura, the Strange Uncle character itself was groundbreaking enough to be unforgettable (a character like this would be impossible in today's world). Furthermore, skits are no longer the most favored form of comedy in the Japanese comedy scene today. The memories of audiences waiting for the Strange Uncle to appear and joining the characters in variety show falls are now difficult to recreate.
But now, we can enshrine a brand new Strange Uncle at home: Da Wang personally visited Tamashii Spot Taipei in the Taipei Underground Mall to admire the newly released "S.H.Figuarts Ken Shimura's Strange Uncle." He found that its appearance faithfully captures Ken Shimura's image from back then. Da Wang analyzes what "faithful" means:
1. For the head sculpt alone, this release provides two interchangeable heads, plus the originally included head, making a total of three heads with three different expressions: "normal face," "slightly pouting expression when saying 'Daffunda!'," and the "happy face" when dancing "I am the Strange Uncle." This fully allows players to perform a complete set of the Strange Uncle's scary entrance scenes.
2. Head sculpt detail: What surprised me most about this "Ken Shimura's Strange Uncle" is the exquisite detail of the head sculpt, faithfully capturing Ken Shimura/Strange Uncle's likeness. You can clearly see the wrinkles on his brow and at the corners of his eyes when the Strange Uncle squints; you can see Shimura's two prominent eye bags; the sparse, uneven stubble; and the nose hairs peeking out from his nostrils. Cartoonish depictions of the Strange Uncle have been common in the past, but this "Ken Shimura's Strange Uncle" does not simply replicate a cartoonish design. It can be said that this time, many of Shimura's actual facial features have been thoughtfully incorporated—even Shimura's slightly asymmetrical eyes are included.
3. Articulation: Of course, Shimura Ken's "Henna Ojisan" (Strange Uncle) must be able to perform the "Henna Ojisan Dance." If you're familiar with the Henna Ojisan Dance, you'll know there's a move where both arms hang straight down, and the fists lightly touch either forward or backward. However, for the fists to touch, the figure's shoulder joints cannot be singular. This time, the Henna Ojisan features shoulders divided into two joints, coupled with a forward-leaning back design, allowing this movement to be perfectly recreated. It's safe to say that this design was specifically modified for the Henna Ojisan Dance, demonstrating exceptional dedication.
4. Other details include the leg hair on the figure's legs, the Henna Ojisan pattern on the pink underwear, the purple haramaki (belly band) printed with Henna Ojisan's large face, the flip-flops on his feet, and the hairstyle with a bald spot on top but strange bangs. This time, all these features of Shimura Ken's "Henna Ojisan" have been faithfully reproduced.
In short, it's truly remarkable that Henna Ojisan, who best represents Shimura Ken's unique comedic style, has been given such preferential treatment to be produced as a figure so faithful to the original. Three years after Shimura Ken's passing, a high-quality articulated figure has finally emerged, and I believe any fan of Henna Ojisan will immediately appreciate the dedication behind the "S.H.Figuarts 'Shimura Ken's Henna Ojisan'." This magnificent piece is currently on display at Tamashii Spot Taipei in Taipei Underground Mall (Shop 66B, Taipei Underground Mall (Google Map))). All toy enthusiasts are strongly encouraged to see this spectacular work in person!
S.H.Figuarts Shimura Ken's Henna Ojisan
Available for general sale across Taiwan. Please inquire at various retailers for pre-orders.
Overall height approximately 142mm,
Estimated release date: April 2024
Reference price: ¥9,900