Mr. Yujiro Ishihara

I was twelve years old when I first met Mr. Yujiro Ishihara, known as Yu-chan. It was Nikkatsu Corporation's Golden Age. Always looking out for the welfare of others, Yu-chan was said to watch almost all the movies in which his junior actors and actresses starred in.
One day during that time, I appeared in Fuji Television Network's special 5th anniversary program as the younger sister of Ms. Izumi Ashikawa, a popular actress who was a member of Yu-chan's acting group. At the age of twelve, I wasn't known very well but as soon as he finished watching the program, he is reported to have said, "What was the name of the girl who played the younger sister? Something-ng, wasn't it? Is it King Kong?" From that time, as I started going to Nikkatsu Studio, he would say to me "Hi, Ms. King Kong." He only started calling me Judy when I later became a lady.
When I visited his house one day, Mrs. Mie Kitahara told me a story. "Our engagement announcement was made during filming when he just told the press, 'I am going to marry Mie.' That was all. When he was asked, 'What about the wedding ceremony?' his reply was, 'We will have it in the temple round the back, and that's that.'" she told me laughing. I heard they did have a formal wedding, but now I think about it, his spontaneous way of thinking is very appealing. There was an image, which made me think, "Indeed" in the photograph taken of their wedding party held at a poolside. That day, Mrs. Mie Ishihara was wearing a beautiful pure-white long evening dress. Yu-chan was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. But he wore a Rolex watch. He looked so good like that. So dandy. Just like an evening at a resort location. A shot of the two dancing by the poolside could well have been a scene from a movie.
I, the teenager "King Kong" adored couples like them. Right now, a scout campaign looking for "Yujiro Ishihara of the Heisei Era" is a much talked-about subject, but I personally believe that Yu-chan was a charismatic star, and we will never see anyone like him again.

By Judy Ongg as King Kong