In my late years,
I want to do what I like.

I'll never say, "I'm too old."

Here's a tale of hope: the story of an elderly woman bringing her youthful energy to Japan's aging society.

She calls herself "Obachan," or "Grandma."

Hi! I'm Grandma!

I'm 76, but I've only been doing this
for 5 years. I'm a wrinkled-up rookie.

She's a budding stand-up comedian performing at a Tokyo comedy theater.

No, I didn't come here
thinking it was a clinic.

With single-minded positivity, she captures hearts across generations.

Grandma dove into the world of stand-up comedy at the age of 71.

Thank you!

She's surrounded by fellow junior comics young enough to be her grandchildren...

... yet she enjoys life more than anyone else.

Oh, finger heart!

She does what she wants at her age.
She's so cool.

She gives me motivation
to do my best like her.

It's not in spite of my old age
but thanks to my age that I took the mic.

At the age of 76...

... Grandma is back to the prime of her youth.

Let's tag along with her as she takes the mic.

Stand-up comedian Grandma starts her day with a bit of exercise.

In the morning, I'm all rickety
like a robot.

So, doing this really helps.

Having hurt her knees during her sixties, she makes monthly visits to the doctor.

A little maintenance workout is essential.

Her husband, Shingo, is one year older than her.

Since she took on comedy, he took on the duty of preparing meals.

Sometimes it tastes good,
sometimes not so much.

She puts up with it.

Bon appétit.

Let's give the daikon radish a try.

Can you do the laundry?
I don't know when I'll be back.

- I won't wait for you.
- Don't.

I'm like you used to be.

I'd prepare dinner,
but you came home late.

- Now, it's the other way around.
- You sure talk a lot.

It's what I do!

Hold the fort while I'm gone!

With her stage clothes packed in a suitcase, she's off to work.

The venue is 54 kilometers away.

She changes trains three times along a two-hour route...

... then arrives at the Jimbocho Yoshimoto Manzai Theater.

It's run by one of the largest comedy talent agencies in Japan.

Hi everyone!

Only comedians selected through auditions can perform here.

Budding stand-ups are in fierce competition.

Good afternoon!

Last June, Grandma was selected among more than 1,000 comedians to be one of the theater's regular acts.

I'll get changed.

For her only costume, she chose red, the better to stand out on stage.

Today's bit.

I try my best to practice and memorize it.

Sometimes I forget.

Memorizing isn't her forte, it seems.

She rehearses her four-minute script over and over again.

In her act, she uses handwritten poems that follow the same 5-7-5 syllable pattern as haiku.

They're a style of comedic verse called "senryu."

With me next to it,
this looks like an IV drip!

She writes all of her own material.

She centers the theme on her everyday life and the elderly in general.

Texting on a smartphone is so much fun.

I exchange texts with
my youngster friends.

Chatting, videos, emojis... It's a blast.

But they use so much youngster jargon
I don't understand.

Here's a poem.

"When I get a text"

"If I don't understand it"

"I just call and ask"

Next.

I open the map app on my phone.

I zoom in, it shows my position.
I zoom out, too many words and symbols.

I always end up losing my way.
Here's a poem.

"Can't read the map app"

"I show my phone to someone"

"And ask for the way"

May tomorrow be a great day to you all!
Thank you!

People come and watch my act.
It feels great.

I love it when I confidently say
the final "Thank you!"

- Nice work! See you next time!
- Nice work!

Nice work! See you next time!

I'll walk to the station.
Thank you!

Another two hours to get back home.

Such is the day in the life of Grandma the stand-up comedian.

Her comedic ambitions date back to her childhood,

a time when she often had to lock her feelings up inside.

Grandma's real name is Okihara Tatsuyo, born in 1947, the second oldest of four siblings.

A straight-A student, she was recommended by her teacher to pursue a higher education.

But her mother was opposed to the idea.

Back then, less than one percent of girls in Japan went to university.

It was still a time when girls
didn't attend school for very long.

I was discouraged from pursuing
my dreams or express my opinions.

After middle school, Tatsuyo began to work at the age of fifteen.

She had no time to enjoy her teenage years.

She found pleasure in listening to comedy.

To those around her, Tatsuyo felt unable to express her admiration for stand-up comics

who enchanted audiences with their words.

Around town, we'd hear the sounds
of radios in home appliance stores.

And we'd hear comedy.

Comedians made people laugh.
I was so envious of them.

But if I'd told my friends I wanted
to do comedy, they'd say I was crazy.

So, I kept it to myself.

She married Shingo at the age of twenty-four.

They had been sharing a happy life together when misfortune suddenly struck.

When she was thirty-eight, Tatsuyo was diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer.

The doctor only gave her about six months to live.

She underwent a left-side mastectomy then chemotherapy.

However, the disease later spread to her ovaries and uterus.

For about eight years, she spent her life in and out of the hospital.

The fear of death, and the uncertainty
over how long I had left...

Chemotherapy was such an ordeal!
Seven or eight-hour sessions.

After the IV drip, I felt exhausted!
You couldn't imagine.

I was too weak to blink.

I realized I mustn't
take life for granted.

After an interminable battle, Tatsuyo recovered.

She reexamined her outlook on life, and decided to fully embrace the dreams she'd long been repressing.

In her late forties, she did a correspondence university course,

realizing her aspiration for a higher education.

Then, after retirement, she entered comedy school at the age of seventy-one.

And thus, Grandma was born.

I want to enjoy life for myself.

I don't know how long I have.
I want to achieve whatever I can.

I enjoy everything I do!

Being able to do what I want feels great.

Now, Grandma also puts effort into doing gigs at venues other than the theater.

Today, she was called for a talk event for the elderly at a ceremonial hall.

With the rapid aging of the Japanese population,

Grandma has a message she wishes to convey to her fellow elderly.

When I was seventy-one,
I entered a comedy college.

It's a school for training pros.
So, it was very hard.

I had to dance.
But all I can move quickly is my mouth!

It was hard, but fun.

So, just like me, why not find something
you enjoy and give it all you got?

Thank you!

In the front row, one woman repeatedly nods in approval.

I don't talk to people much.

But Grandma's talk was so much fun.
It cheered me up.

I was so happy.
I cried.

The woman too is in her seventies.

After her husband had a stroke, life commuting between home and the hospital took an emotional toll.

Life's been hard.

15 years taking care of my husband.
I'm all wrinkled.

Wrinkles are medals.

It'd be strange
not to have wrinkles after 70!

With age, it seems fewer and fewer things go our way.

Enjoying life requires strength that can be hard to find.

That's life.

I'm off to see my brother.

He's at a nursing home.

A nursing home outside of Tokyo.

Good afternoon!

Yo! How have you been?

Grandma's brother, Masaharu, is seventy-nine.

Battling with illness, he's also showing early signs of dementia.

Until two years ago, Grandma took care of him at home.

Nothing's changed?

- How would I know?
- Oh, dear!

Visiting time is only thirty minutes.

- "Che- che- checkup!"
- "Grandma."

That's me. See?

She's eager for her big brother to see her performance.

I'm surprised.

It's great to see you being so active.

Really?

What a happy surprise!

I just do what I can.

I can't do anything for him.

But I think it's good for him
to see that I'm having fun.

- Not bad, huh?
- Yeah, whatever.

Oh, dear!

It's Mount Fuji!

Grandma's first regional gig

In front of an audience
of 250 elderly

Don't worry about what others think.
Do what you want.

One, two... Grandma?

Welcome to Grandma Radio!

Her first appearance
as MC on a podcast

The joy of performing
comedy to the fullest

- I like a woman who never complains.
- Doesn't exist!

Not unless she's at least 90!

Now's the best time,
my life's "great finale."

In the end, comedy and having fun
are what makes life worthwhile.

"Here’s a poem.”

Then what?

Late January.

Grandma stays at home, focused on writing new material.

A once-every-two-month big event is around the corner.

A live audition.

If her act isn't up to snuff, she'll lose her slot as a regular.

When competition is high, only half of the participants succeed.

"At the cinema"

"You just tap a touch panel"
"And you can get in"

It's just a statement. No punchline...

It's been five years since she started this career.

Appearing regularly on stage has given her life new meaning.

"I'm in my seventies
and I do what I enjoy."

"You can do it, too.
I want to convey that..."

and show it's a viable life choice.

She continues to write until late at night.

What's funny about that?

Four days before the event.

Backstage, Grandma looks unusually tired.

A hard schedule and lack of sleep over the past several days are catching up with her.

She tries one of her newly-crafted bits.

"Just wearing slippers"

"Is enough to make Grandma"

"Trip and fall over"

At my age, we sometimes forget.

Where was I?

She seems to have lost the flow.

The audience turns dead silent.

A script writer who's been advising Grandma since she debuted watched her performance.

Say, Grandma.

It sounds like you hadn't
fully memorized your bit...

like it wasn't yours,
and you didn't fully get it.

You kept speaking but we could tell
you didn't remember.

- I'm so sorry.
- It's OK.

- You must be tired. Get some rest.
- Thank you.

- Hang in there.
- I'm sorry.

Worried for his wife who's struggling with her busy schedule,

Shingo does his best to prepare dinner.

- Cooking rice?
- Yes.

Grandma finds encouragement in a promise they once made.

When you had lung cancer, I was soon
to graduate from comedy college.

It was in January.

As you were going into surgery,
you said, "Don't quit that school."

"No matter what,
you have to live and laugh."

That's when I decided.

I'm glad you became a comedian.

You have to do what you love.

Thank you for coming!

She continues to polish her material for the audition...

Try it like this.

...with a little help from the writer…

...and some understanding from her peers.

I finalized yesterday's material,
and practiced until 3 a.m.

Like a true young comic!

I just don't want to fail.

"When it's time for the yearly checkup..."

A seventy-six-year-old's moment of truth.

"You have no hair to dry..."

Alright. OK.

February 3rd

The day has come.

Hi.

Thirty-eight acts take part.

The judges and audience vote to determine who will make the new roster of regulars.

"Hi. I'm Grandma! No, I didn't
come here thinking it was a clinic."

"When you're old like me,
every part of your body..."

Please welcome Grandma to the stage!

With me next to it,
this looks like an IV drip!

At my age, health becomes
the No.1 priority.

For early prevention,
I go to regular medical checkups.

But since I turned 70,
the doctor stopped giving me details.

He doesn't talk about numbers anymore.

Here's a poem.

"You're perfectly fine"

"You're just deteriorating"

"At a normal rate"

She successfully performed her bit.

May tomorrow be a great day to you all!
Thank you!

The votes have been counted.

The winners are announced.

And the winners...

Among the list of names...

Grandma!

Grandma has secured her place as a regular.

She'll be able to continue to take the stage.

I'm home!

It was a long day!

- Welcome back.
- Thanks.

And then, as she puts her things away...

Who's this from?

A first-time writer.

It's from a new fan who came to see Grandma's performance for the first time.

She’s 28!

"I think it's great that you took on
this challenge regardless of your age."

"And I love your voice!"

Through comedy, a childhood source of inspiration, she's now giving hope to others.

- You’re blessed.
- I am!

How long can I continue doing comedy?

Gotta go until 100.

You can!

- I know you can.
- Don't be silly!

Nine days after the live audition.

Grandma turned seventy-seven - a very befitting "lucky number" to continue her journey of laughter.

A birthday celebration
was held at the theater.

May tomorrow
be a great day to you all!

Thank you!