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“Make Sure You Show Your Gratitude in Words”

Today’s story-teller is Japanese famous actor Eiichiro Funakoshi. The story is about ‘food’.

Firstly, it is about his childhood. His father was also a famous actor. He looked gentle and calm on TV, however, he was a very strict father at home.

He looks back on the time and says, “We usually had dinner together at the table when he came home. I used to hate it.” It does not mean that there was not enough food for him. The food was always good and everyone shared everything.

However, his father took the food away from him whenever he gave even a minimal critical comment on the food, such as ‘it has a strong flavor’.

After he graduated from university, he started walking his father’s walk. He became an actor. However, he did not succeed at the beginning of his career. Since he had little income, he had to cut down on the cost of food. He used to go to a cheap restaurant, run by his senpai (his senior from his university), and ordered just one dish. Then he was getting some extra food for free.

Having such an experience, he recalls his childhood and thinks, “I am thankful to my father for making me eat everything, now I can eat anything.”

Funakoshi believes his father was trying to teach him important things by being so strict. That is, you should not eat the food if you cannot appreciate the food somebody cooked for you. Funakoshi is in his 50s now. His wife is the one who has been giving him a great support. His wife prepares his lunch in a lunch box and he takes it to work every day when he works in Tokyo.

He says, “I always make sure not to forget to call my wife to tell her how much I have enjoyed the lunch. I never forget to clean the lunch box before taking it home. (*It is common that a husband takes dirty lunch box home and a wife washes the box in Japan.) That is the way I show my appreciation. And in return, she cooks something taste better.”

The NIKKEI 11/28/2009 by Eiichiro Funakoshi (actor)

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