Cirque, who lost his partner at the age of 37 and “dreamed the same dream for a year” with half of his face paralyzed, told his partner that he wanted to quit as a comedian.

Your partner has been my best friend since junior high school. Please tell us how you and Miyako-san met.

Silk: I met Miyako-san when I was in the first grade of junior high school. We became friends when we were seated next to each other. We had a lot of fun together and became fast friends. He was kind and firm. At the time, the girls were exchanging letters with each other during class, but Miyako-san warned me and made me stop (laughs). She was like a big sister who taught me good cramming and study methods, a good friend, and a little sister who sometimes relied on me.

TY: So you were close friends. Silk: Yes. At that time, my grades were the 8th from the back in my class, but when I started playing with Miyako, my grades improved dramatically. Miyako was in first place and I was in second place, and my parents had even more confidence in her than I did (laughs). We went to the same high school and university, and we both entered Osaka University of Foreign Studies (now Osaka University, Faculty of Foreign Languages). After graduation, I planned to become an English teacher and had already decided on the school where I would work. Miyako was auditioning to become an actress.

TM: So you went your separate ways. Ms. Silk: But Miyako-san failed the audition for the theater company. At the time, there was a manzai boom, and she said, “Let’s try to become a comedian. So I said, “Since we are here, I want the two of us to get noticed. Let’s form a duo together! He asked me to join him. I took Miyako’s offer and we started practicing comedy together. After a while, I called Yoshimoto Kogyo because I knew I would have to join an agency if I wanted to do manzai. By chance, the former chairman, Hiroshi Osaki, answered the phone and said, “We are practicing now, so come and join us.