Izumi Pinko and Sato Ryuta star together as mother and son! Voice and dance drama! “Just as I Started Preparing for the End, My 55-Year-Old Son Came Home” to be toured nationwide!! Kyodo Medias Co., Ltd. Press Release: October 29, 2025 Izumi Pinko and Sato Ryuta co-star as mother and son! Voice and dance drama! “Just as I Started Preparing for the End, My 55-Year-Old Son Came Home” to tour nationwide!! The voice dance drama will be performed nationwide from April 2026, starting at Tokyo Theater 1010, and then in Osaka, Aichi, Hiroshima, and other cities! A press conference for the book “Just as I Started End-of-Life Preparations, My 55-Year-Old Son Came Home” was held in Tokyo on October 28th.
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entertainment that combines laughter and tears and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The title “Seibu-geki” (voice dance drama) embodies the desire to “use the voice to unfold the story like a dance.” Upon hearing this, Izumi immediately appeared on stage, drawing laughter with her sharp comment: “Seibu-geki doesn’t really resonate with me. It always brings to mind images of gunslingers shooting in the ‘Western’ genre. It’s impossible for it to become a household name.” Co-star Sato also almost changed the title at the press conference, saying, “You’re right. Let’s call it a reading drama instead of a seibu-geki!” Seeing the four of them laughing together naturally heightened expectations for this story, which depicts the misunderstandings and rebirth of a parent and child. Although Sato, Hoshino, and Ameku have previously worked with Izumi, Pinko livened up the press conference with her unique style from the beginning, saying, “I thought we were all meeting for the first time, but we’ve all worked together. Everyone forgets.” She also spoke of her expectations for the series, which will premiere in 2026, saying, “You don’t need to remember things you don’t need. You can just nurture them from now on. Next year, have fun, have fun, and forget everything!” Izumi plays the mother, Harue. “I’ve read the original work twice, and there’s almost no dialogue between the protagonist and her son. I was worried about whether it would really be a play-by-play. I wondered how the script would turn it. There’s not much dialogue with the other characters, and the son is quiet. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it turns out,” she said, sharing her impression of the original work. Sato commented, “The son, Tatsuya, whom I play, is very dependent on those around him, including his reliable wife. He’s the kind of man you’d think would be okay, but because of the distance between son and mother, there are many things he doesn’t say out loud, even if he really does think. I can really relate to that.” Sato, who enjoys performing on stage, expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “With a recital, I feel like I’m creating a play together with the audience, because they have to imagine it. That’s why I’m happy to be able to work with such a wonderful cast this time.”
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12949/3192/12949-3192-327c105b93959a0df4d0fd9ad7923287-1654×1103.jpg Hoshino, who plays Masayo, says, “She’s a woman who fulfills her roles as both a wife and a mother.” “My character has limited communication capabilities, so I can’t really imagine how I’ll interact with everyone on stage, but I’m looking forward to it,” she said with a smile. Amek continued, “I’ll be playing Harue’s cheerful best friend. I think that female friends become more important as you get older, so I’m a little nervous about whether I can play the best friend of a senior colleague, but I hope we can build a good relationship from the rehearsal room and deliver that to the audience.”
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12949/3192/12949-3192-c7810dc1ad5eecdda3165468b382e19e-1654×1102.jpg Izumi has also toured around the country with Izumi Pinko’s “Sugu Shinundakara,” a reading play based on Uchida Makiko’s “Sugu Shinundakara” (Because I’m Going to Die Soon) (Kodansha). Izumi says that her experience with the play made her realize the potential of reading plays. “I felt a different response to ‘I’m Going to Die Soon’ than I had in my previous plays. With a reading play, even if you read the same lines every day, you discover something new every time, which makes it interesting. And because it can be performed without costumes or stage equipment, it’s possible to deliver works all over the country. I believe I was raised by fans all over Japan. I started doing reading plays because I wanted to go and meet them myself as a way of repaying them. So I’m happy to be able to tour with a reading play again in this way. I want to deliver a good work to all the audiences I meet, who I’ll only ever meet. To that end, I want everyone to speak up, regardless of whether they’re senior or junior. Of course, I’m the senior, though (laughs),” Izumi said, her characteristically frank and warm words captivating the audience. Finally, Izumi concluded the press conference with a mischievous smile and said, “Everyone, please take this work with you to the afterlife,” The press conference also featured comments from the original author, Hosaka, and the screenwriter and director, Shirai. [Comment from the original author: Yuki Hosaka] I am incredibly honored that my work, “The Son Who Told Me to Die, You Old Bastard, Has Come Home Now at 55,” is being adapted for the stage. What’s more, the play will feature a cast of talented actors, so I’m already excited to see what kind of world this work will be reborn into. Well, the trigger for me to start writing this story was, I’ll never forget, an editor-in-chief from Kodansha at Pasela in Akihabara who said, “What do you think about a story about a son who tells you to die, you old hag, and then comes back?” I wondered, “Huh? Is that a legal idea?” But I’m a very earnest person, and from that day on, I kept repeating “Die, old hag!” “Die, old hag!” in my head, observing the old women around me—my mother and aunt, that is—and letting my imagination run wild. In the end, the editor-in-chief who gave me the idea was transferred, and I worked closely with another editor to complete the project. However, as expected, due to compliance issues, we were unable to use the original title for the stage adaptation. Still, I think I’ll be able to give this play as a gift to my mother, who is a huge fan of Izumi Pinko. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in the production. [Script and Direction: Comment from Shirai Keita] I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be writing and directing a voice and dance drama, “Just as I Started Preparing for the End of My Life, My 55-Year-Old Son Came Home,” with a wonderful cast. Yuki Hosaka’s original work beautifully depicts the inner nuances of the protagonist, Harue, as she approaches the twilight years of her life, with a mixture of humor and melancholy, and I’m thrilled to be able to bring this wonderful work to the stage. The protagonist, Haru-chan, played by Pinko Izumi, and her best friend, Maa-chan, played by Michiko Ameku, are the same age as my parents, while Haru-chan’s son, Tatsuhiko, played by Ryuta Sato, and Tatsuhiko’s wife, Masayo, played by Mari Hoshino, are roughly the same age as me. In that sense, this story is not something that is unrelated to me. Life isn’t just filled with happy and fun things; it can also be filled with painful and sad experiences. Even with all that, human life is still rich and wonderful. Let’s live tomorrow with a smile. I hope this work will inspire you to think that way. I hope you’ll look forward to it.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12949/3192/12949-3192-7db42aa453b75b7336e5affa321a6b0f-1654×1102.jpg 【Story】 Harue married at age 20 against all odds, but divorced less than two years later and returned to her parents’ home with her son, Tatsuhiko. Since then, she’s worked herself to the bone to save up for her son’s tuition to enter a national medical school. However, after a disagreement over his future, Tatsuhiko left home at age 18, yelling, “Die, you old hag!” Since then, they’ve become estranged. Having finished caring for her parents and living alone at age 75, Harue’s 55-year-old son Tatsuhiko returns home, seemingly unconcerned. “I’ve decided to get divorced. I’m moving in here from today.” Harue: “What!? Divorce!?” A mother in her late twenties and her elderly son. They suddenly start living together, and then traveling together. High-age entertainment filled with laughter and tears!
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12949/3192/12949-3192-0bc0c548ebbd289ff0dbc6a3d2f9d44d-1900×2700.jpg [Performance summary] Voice dance drama! “Just as I started preparing for the end of my life, my 55-year-old son came home.” Original work: Yuki Hosaka (Kodansha) “Die, you old hag!” my son told me, and now he’s 55! Screenplay/Direction: Keita Shirai Composer: Hideya Matoba Starring: Pinko Izumi, Ryuta Sato, Mari Hoshino, Michiko Ameku [Tokyo Performance] Date: Saturday, April 25, 2026, Doors open at 4:30 PM, Show begins at 5:00 PM Sunday, April 26th, Doors open 1:30 PM / Show begins 2:00 PM Venue: Theater 1010 (11F, Senju Mildis Building I, 3-92 Senju, Adachi-ku) Tickets (all reserved seats, tax included): ¥8,000 Pre-sale tickets at ticket agencies: Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 10:00 AM General release: Saturday, December 6, 2025, 10:00 AM Sponsored by: End-of-Life Mother and Runaway Son Production Committee 【Tour Schedule】 Saturday, May 9, 2026 Venue: Mito Civic Hall Sunday, May 10, 2026 Venue: Ashikaga Flower Park Plaza (Ashikaga Civic Plaza) Saturday, May 16, 2026 Venue: Kumamoto Castle Hall Civic Hall Sunday, May 17, 2026 Venue: Tosu Civic Cultural Center Saturday, June 27, 2026 Venue: Kibo Hall (Sakata Civic Hall) Sunday, June 28, 2026 Venue: Yuzawa Cultural Hall Saturday, July 4, 2026 Venue: Wink Aichi Sunday, July 5, 2026 Venue: Tokyo Tatemono Brillia HALL Minoh Sunday, July 11, 2026 Venue: Kannabe Cultural Hall Official website:
https://shukatsu-hahamusuko.com/ Planning and Production: “Mother and Runaway Son” Production Committee Advertising: Kyodo Medias