# おばあちゃんの思い出 - Show: 「NONSTYLE漫才セレクション『耳笑い』」 - Published: 2026-09-20 - Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/1890385866_302059a35b62.html - Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/YOSHIMOTOKOGYOCOLTD9059593355.mp3 - Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary. In this episode, the NON STYLE (ノンスタイル) members look back on Hatsue-baachan, the narrator's grandmother who passed away nine years ago. A bold, hard-drinking, chain-smoking woman beloved by everyone around her, Hatsue-baachan is remembered above all for crashing a wedding reception with an unannounced plate-clacking performance that left the entire room in tears of laughter. The episode also traces how the death of a senior comedian became the unlikely spark that turned these memories into a manzai routine. ## What this episode answers ### Who was Hatsue-baachan, and why was she nicknamed the 'incarnation of a chimney'? She was the narrator's grandmother, a legendary smoker; she was nicknamed the 'incarnation of a chimney' because wherever she went, the air around her filled with smoke. ### What exactly happened during the 'Janka Janka Incident' at the wedding reception party? During the wedding reception, as a foreign entertainer and Nakamura Ataru-chan performed Sakamoto Fuyumi's song and the chorus hit, Hatsue-baachan suddenly appeared with two small dishes in each hand, clacking them together in a 'janka janka' rhythm in a totally unannounced, improvised entrance that made the whole room erupt in laughter. ### When and how did Hatsue-baachan pass away? She passed away nine years before the episode, not from illness but from natural causes, at a healthy age in her 80s. ### How did the death of senior comedian Sudou-san lead to the creation of this manzai routine? After senior comedian Sudou-san's funeral, the narrator and two fellow comedians missed the last train and went drinking together, swapping happy memories of Sudou-san, which planted in him the desire to be able to process the loss of someone precious through laughter, leading him to build a routine around Hatsue-baachan, the person closest to his heart. ### What personal experience is behind the belief that 'doing what you love is better for you in the long run'? His grandfather, diagnosed with lung cancer, was ordered by doctors to quit smoking and drinking, complied, and died within a few months, leading the narrator to believe he might have lived years longer had he kept doing what he loved. ## Article ## Hatsue-baachan, the Incarnation of a Chimney The narrator's grandmother, Hatsue-baachan (初恵ばあちゃん), was a legendary smoker. Wherever she went, the air filled with smoke—so thoroughly that the people around her nicknamed her the "incarnation of a chimney" (煙突の化身). The hosts even point out that she had earned that title before the animated film *Eientotsu-machi no Poupelle* (えんとつ町のプペル) ever came out. On top of the cigarettes, she drank freely, cooked without fuss, and lived with an expansive, no-nonsense energy. The narrator put it simply: he loved her even more than a cold draft beer. ## A Farewell Nine Years Ago — News That Had Been Delayed It was only mid-episode that the narrator revealed Hatsue-baachan had already passed. He prefaced the announcement with "I've been meaning to report this for a while," then delivered the news by saying "her soul's stock has been discontinued"—a phrase that drew an instant retort from his partner: "Don't make it sound like a dead battery." She died not from illness but from natural causes, nine years ago, at a healthy age in her 80s. Before she passed, the two families lived within a 15-minute walk of each other, which meant they could meet often. "She lived a full life," the narrator said, and the warmth in those words was unmistakable. ## The Legendary Janka Janka Incident The crown jewel of the episode is what happened at the narrator's wedding reception party. Hatsue-baachan made the trip all the way from Osaka to Tokyo—most likely by Shinkansen—just to be there. During the reception, a foreign entertainer and Nakamura Ataru-chan performed Sakamoto Fuyumi's (坂本冬美) hit "Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru" (また君に恋してる). The moment the chorus hit, Hatsue-baachan appeared out of nowhere: two small dishes in her right hand, two small dishes in her left, clacking them together in a "janka janka" rhythm as she made her entrance. No announcement, no warning—pure improvisation. The room erupted in laughter. The narrator, who had known nothing about it beforehand, was so moved he nearly cried. "Her smile is burned into my memory," he admitted—which immediately earned him a roast from his partner: "You only say 'burned into' about poop." ## Senior Comedian Sudou-san's Death as the Catalyst The routine itself has an origin story. A senior comedian, Sudou-san of Aozora (青空), passed away. After the funeral, the narrator ran into two fellow comedians at the venue. All three had missed the last train. They ended up going out for drinks, swapping memories of Sudou-san and laughing the whole time. The narrator felt it clearly: "Sudou brought us together." That night planted a seed—the desire to be able to process the loss of someone precious through laughter. He landed on Hatsue-baachan as the subject because she was the person closest to his heart, and built the routine around her. ## The Meaning of Doing What You Love The episode closes with one more story. The narrator's grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer and ordered by his doctors to quit smoking and drinking. He complied—and died within a few months. "If he had kept at it, he might have lived five more years," the narrator reflects. That comparison leads him to a personal conviction: something might be bad for the body, but nothing is worse than what is bad for the soul. He is careful to add he is not recommending cigarettes. Still, the respect he has for Hatsue-baachan—a woman who went through life exactly the way she wanted to, bold and full of laughter—runs through every word, and it is the quiet thesis that holds the whole episode together. ## Takeaways - Hatsue-baachan was a bold, chain-smoking, hard-drinking woman who crashed the wedding reception with an improvised 'Janka Janka' plate-clacking entrance that brought the whole room down. - She passed away from natural causes nine years ago in her 80s; laughing over memories of senior comedian Sudou-san with friends after his funeral gave the narrator the idea to transform grief into comedy, resulting in this routine. - The episode's throughline is the conviction that 'what's bad for the soul is worse than what's bad for the body,' and an affectionate celebration of someone who lived boldly and joyfully on her own terms.