Kikaida I (The Warm-Up Guy)

If you were a kid in 1974 and saw Kikaida on stage live for the first time in Hawaii at the 50th State Fair on Sand Island that summer, then you’ve seen me at work.

I was the guy who warmed up the kiddy audience for an hour before the show actually began, and the one who began the countdown to the start.

Kikaida was a terrific sensation, and star of a TV show that JN Productions brought to Hawaii. I remember our early discussions with Joanne Ninomiya where we outlined how we would try to bring him here. It wasn’t easy, but with the help of then-Sen. Spark Matsunaga, we were able to quickly arrange visas for the group.

Do you know that the Honolulu Jaycees and JN Productions put the whole thing together in less than six weeks? That was an amazing feat that still stands today as one of the great achievements of the Jaycees and the 50th State Fair.

The 1974 fair was held on unimproved, dirty Sand Island and we were worried the public would be reluctant to squeeze over the small bridge and park in the dust. We needn’t have worried, thanks to Kikaida. Once word got out that Kikaida was coming, the sponsoring Honolulu Jaycees’ office became a beehive of activity.

The Japanese actors who came were great! The actor who played Jiro (Kikaida’s alter ego) didn’t make the trip, but the actor who played Kikaida himself was here. As a member of the entertainment committee (a laugher of a description), I was pulled off of all other duties and took sole charge of the troupe.

My duties as the “warm-up guy” were unexpectedly thrust upon me. The ticket lines formed early and them grew lo-o-ong. We had anticipated this, and set the adult tickets much higher than the kids’ in hope that just one parent would accompany the child into the show. This ploy didn’t work, but it sure increased our revenue.

The line into the tent was lo-o-ng and kids and parents were getting restless. We had volunteers offering water, but that was little help. So we let the crowd in.

There they were, all in their seats – adults in bleaches at the periphery, and the kids on the ground in the middle. One hour to go before show time and the natives again were getting restless.

Our president Bob Nagao and fair chairman Al Tamayose thrust a microphone into my hand and shoved me toward the kids with but one direction: “Entertain them.”

Have you ever tried to entertain a kid for 10 minutes, no less an hour? It was endless, lemme tell you. But you know what? It was fun. I interviewed kids, talked to parents, led practice cheers, found out who their favorite characters were, asked them what schools they went to, sang the theme and elicited an uproarious peal of laughter when I got the words wrong, told stupid jokes that the kids thought were hilarious and had the adults shrugging their shoulders and shaking their heads.

I kept looking at the guy at the sound mixer and he gave me signals as to how much more time I had before the show started. Soon, much to my relief, he signaled one minute to go.

So, being a child of the age of space launches, I began a countdown. The kids started getting excited! There was a rising anticipation in the adults! The high-pitched kids’ chatter grew in volume and intensity!

I started a second-by-second countdown at 30 seconds to go, and when I got to the final 10 seconds, the kids all joined in spontaneously. When I hit zero, I yelled “Let’s gooooooo!” The opening theme blasted out of the speakers, as deafening as can be! The kids cheered and screamed and generally just went out of their minds!

I stumbled backstage, immediately forgotten by the audience who was now in the hands of professional performers. My face was dripping with perspiration and I was totally exhausted. Bobby shoved a cold beer into my hands, and we meandered to the edge of the tent and watched as the Kikaida phenomenon began a new chapter in the world of Hawaii children’s entertainment.

Day after day, we packed the tent. Day after day I did my thing, pumping up the excitement and on occasion, dealing with an irate parent or two who resented being relegated to the bleachers in the boondocks, unable to see the stage because some of the kids were standing.

It was marvelous!

During one of the off-days, I took the Kikaida troupe on an around-the-island tour. My wife and sons were with me and I’m sure the older remembers romping with the samurai. The younger son was only a couple of years old and probably doesn’t remember a thing.

Perhaps my best non-performance memory was taking them to dinner. Boy, could those guys eat. They were all lean, and they didn’t eat all day except for a light breakfast so that a full stomach wouldn’t hinder their performances. They were quite professional in that regard.

However, when they did eat, they didn’t just eat, they ATE!

At one meal I remember distinctly, they had a large bowl of saimin noodle soup to start, then a chef’s salad, then a big ol’ hunk of steak or prime rib, and a huge hot fudge sundae for dessert. I’m talking about EACH of them ordering that.

A large bowl of saimin soup would fill me up. A chef’s salad would fill me up. A steak or prime rib would fill me up. And I wouldn’t have room for a dessert as large as a hot fudge sundae. Man, could those guys eat!

So, today as Japan department store Shirokiya celebrates the 35th year of Kikaida. I offer my congratulations to Joanne Ninomiya, the Honolulu Jaycees, and everybody involved in staging the Kikaida events over the years.

I’ll talk about some Kikaida memories tomorrow.

Kikaida picture by JN Productions