Today, before the performance, I received a guitar for the stage from Harufutei Koasa. Before that, I received a package from a stranger in Okinawa, and when I opened it, I found a pink costume in it. I guess he found out from a news report that my costume had been burned. Other comedians and TV station staff I know all give me pink costumes. Hayashiya Pei and Perko, who live out of their burned-out costumes, were walking with Perko the day before yesterday when an older man in his 40s or 50s put a 10,000 yen bill in my pocket and said, “Make extra money for me. It was embarrassing, but I really appreciate your kindness,” said Hayashiya Pae (83). The fire at the apartment where he lived with his wife, Parko Hayashiya (77), occurred on September 19. When this magazine interviewed Pae a few days later, he was quite exhausted, probably because he was busy cleaning up the mess. On the day of the fire, I was out attending a memorial service for Sanpei (Hayashiya Sanpei), and while I was taking commemorative photos with the attendees, someone’s phone started ringing. I shouted, ‘Whose phone is it? I shouted, “Whose phone is it? When I answered, a firefighter said, “Mr. Pei’s house is burning down right now. I panicked and took a cab home, only to find Perko in the ambulance, panicking. Fortunately, the only injury I sustained was a burn. ……” According to the police and fire department’s investigation, the fire was most likely started by an electrical leak from an old cord or other source. The apartment in Kita-ku, Tokyo, is about 38 square meters and had been lived in for about 25 years. The apartment belonged to Perko’s brother, and we were paying rent to live there. The brother passed away about two years ago, and Perko inherited the property. We had always planned to live there, and we had never thought about a nursing home. Savings? That’s like nashi ……. If I want to continue to live in my room, I guess I have to renovate it. But I don’t have any money and I don’t know what to do. …… I had a lot of outfits and photos in my room, but the only things that survived the fire were this outfit I’m wearing now, my shoes, and my guitar for work. Half of the 20,000 photos were flooded (when the fire was extinguished). Immediately after the fire, Mr. and Mrs. Pei went around apologizing to the residents of the same apartment building. We asked Haruki Nishiyama, an attorney at Ray Law Office, about the “legal responsibility” for the fire. There is a law called the “Fire Liability Law,” which states that you do not have to be liable for compensation if you are not “grossly negligent. If you could have foreseen the outbreak of a fire and failed to avoid it, such as by smoking in bed, you are considered to be grossly negligent. However, there is a court case in which a fire from an electrical outlet was not considered grossly negligent because it was unforeseeable. However, it is advisable to have a thorough discussion with your neighbors.
