Illusionist Princess Tenko appeared on ABEMA's variety show "Shikujiri Sensei: Don't Be Like Me!!" (Fridays 1st-3rd at 9:30 PM) on March 13th. She revealed how she met the "first generation Hikita Tenko" and the first generation's fee.
Tenko, who dreamed of becoming an idol, met the legendary magician, the first generation Hikita Tenko, at an entertainment agency she visited through a relative's introduction. At the time, the first generation had disciples ranging in age from 25 to 92, but she recalls that "I was the only girl." She managed to perform the first generation's magic after seeing it just once, and the first generation recognized her talent and promoted her to assistant.
However, an unexpected incident occurred almost immediately. While preparing for an illusion in which he would switch places with a lion inside a cage, the real lion appeared earlier than planned, leaving him alone with the lion inside the cage. Although he was in a desperate situation, he called out, "You can eat me, but wait a moment," and slipped past the lion to escape. The studio erupted in excitement when he recounted the shocking story, saying, "For some reason, the lion moved aside."
Tenko also spoke about the behind-the-scenes story of the "Great Escape Special," which will go down in television history. She revealed that the first performer's fee at the time was an exorbitant 200 million yen for one hour, which elicited surprised reactions from the studio audience such as "What?!" and "On TV?!"
Amidst all this, just before the special program was scheduled to air, trouble arose when the original performer fell ill and was hospitalized. The program producer said, "A girl making a great escape would have an impact and would attract viewers," and Tenko was chosen to fill in for the escape illusion. However, she revealed that she was met with an unexpected "disaster."
He also shared anecdotes about the first generation, saying that "he was someone who would spend money on anything," and revealed lessons learned from Shigehisa Mori, a renowned actor of the Showa era, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from the Showa television industry.
