"I believe that whether it's an animal or a human, there's something that can be conveyed between each other when we live alongside life. I also want to try to live a little longer with my true self."
In an interview published in Bunshun Online in November 2021, Masanori Hata, also known as Mutsugoro-san, answered a question about "death" in this way.
On April 5, 2023, Hata collapsed at his home and was urgently transported to the hospital, where he passed away from a myocardial infarction. At the time of the interview, Hata had been talking about thinking more about "death". The sudden news of his passing has spread shock and sadness throughout Japan.
Mutsugoro-san was born in Fukuoka in 1935. He gained attention for his writing at the age of 33 with "All Animals are Our Brothers and Sisters" and began his full-fledged writing career. At the age of 37, he founded the "Animal Kingdom" in Hamanaka Town, Hokkaido, and started writing essays about his interactions with animals.
"Mutsugoro-san had won several awards as a famous essayist, but he became well-known to the public through 'Mutsugoro and His Merry Friends,' which began airing in 1980. With his travels around the world and interactions with animals, viewers at home became enamored with Mutsugoro-san, and the average viewing rate exceeded 20%." (TV station personnel)
"Is there any record of me losing to Mr. Asada somewhere?"
Although Mutsugoro-san was known for his love of animals, he was also a gambler at heart. In an interview published in 2021, he talked about his interactions with writer and mahjong master Tetsuya Asada and his love for horse racing.
The reporter who interviewed him at a log house in Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido, recalled the day as follows: "The moment when Mutsugoro-san was most lively was when he talked about horse racing. He had been a jockey in grass racing himself, and his expression when he talked about losing was like that of a boy, saying 'Kuu~ I'm so frustrated!' He was quite a gambler and didn't like to lose, asking, 'Is there any record of me losing to Mr. Asada somewhere?' He even showed me a promissory note that he had won from Mr. Asada."
「나는 동물이든 인간이든 생명과 함께 살아가면 서로에게 무언가 전해지는 것이 있지 않을까 생각해요. 내 자신의 삶과도 좀 더 함께해보려고 합니다.」
2021년 11월, 문화 온라인에서 인터뷰한 자리에서 '무츠고로'라 불리는 하타 마사노리코 카이도 출신 작가는 죽음에 대한 질문에 이렇게 답했습니다.
2023년 4월 5일, 하타씨는 자택에서 쓰러져 긴급 이송 후 심근경색으로 별세했습니다. 인터뷰 당시, 죽음에 대해 생각하는 일이 많아졌다고 말한 하타씨. 갑작스러운 소식에 일본 전역에서 충격과 슬픔의 목소리가 퍼졌습니다. 무츠고로씨는 1935년 후쿠오카에서 태어났습니다. 33세 때 쓴 '우리들 동물 모두 형제'가 주목을 받아 본격적인 작가 활동을 시작했습니다. 37세 때, 홋카이도의 하마나카 마을에서 '동물 왕국'을 건국하고, 동물과 교류를 그린 에세이를 쓰기 시작했습니다.
"명 에세이스트로서 몇 차례 상을 수상한 무츠고로씨였지만, 그의 이름을 가장 널리 알린 것은 1980년부터 방송을 시작한 '무츠고로와 즐거운 친구들' 이었습니다. 전 세계를 돌아다니며 동물과 교류하는 무츠고로씨의 모습에 TV 시청자들은 꿈쩍하지 않고 열광하며, 평균 시청률은 20%를 넘었습니다."
"내가 아사다 씨에게 졌다는 기록은 어딘가에 남아 있을까요?"
동물을 좋아하는 인상이 강한 무츠고로우 씨였지만, 근본적으로 도박을 좋아하는 사람이기도 했습니다. 2021년에 공개한 인터뷰에서는, 작가로 알려진 장석인 아사다 테츠야씨와의 교류 및 경마에 대한 애정을 이야기했습니다. 북해도 중표츠의 로그 하우스에서 인터뷰에 참석한 기자는 그날을 이렇게 회상합니다.
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