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The story
Great Gidayu, a member of Beat Takeshi’s comedy troupe “Takeshi Gundan” who was active on comedy shows, died on September 7 at age 67. Talent Shiho Hashimoto revealed on Instagram on the 10th what happened at his funeral: her husband, comedian Guadalcanal Taka, went to a butcher shop on the morning of the funeral to buy a chunk of pork, saying “I want to put the char siu Gidayu always wanted to eat into his coffin,” and placed it inside. On the 5channel “Entertainment/Sports News+” thread, some read it as a heartwarming tribute to the deceased, while others were thrown by what they called the distinctly Showa/Heisei-era sensibility of Takeshi Gundan, with comments like “This would get slammed if it happened now, in the Reiwa era” and “This isn’t a nice story at all” — opinions were split.
9/10 (Thu) 20:54
On the 10th, Shiho Hashimoto (58) updated her Instagram to reveal that her husband, Guadalcanal Taka (69), placed a chunk of pork in the coffin of his Takeshi Gundan colleague Great Gidayu, who died on the 7th at age 67, during the funeral.
Explaining the background, Hashimoto first posted the photo used for Gidayu’s funeral portrait, writing, “What a wonderful photo. He set off for the next world with a gentle, peaceful face, just like in this picture.” She went on: “First thing this morning, my husband went to a butcher shop and bought a chunk of pork. He said, ‘I want to put the char siu Gidayu always wanted to eat into his coffin.’” — describing how Taka had bought pork, Gidayu’s favorite food.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Back in Showa or early Heisei though, it'd just be "that's Takeshi Gundan for you!"
Cremation burns a body full of moisture at temperatures hot enough to reduce it to bone — a potato in there would just turn to ash, no way you could eat it.
That's exactly why he put it in.
Well, they're already burning a human body in there, so a little pork probably isn't going to be an issue.
It's a machine built to burn an entire human being — a bit of pork isn't going to break it.
They do tell you beforehand what you can't put in — plastic, metal, I think books too. It's less about the furnace and more that it doesn't fully burn and becomes a hassle, apparently.
Being a comedian really is a rough, fated line of work.
Did Takeshi even show up?
Plastic items, though, apparently sometimes get turned down because they don't fully burn.
You guys are pushing 70 now, right?
The rest of us are just gonna end up as a stain on the floor.
That's such a Tokyo comedy move. Osaka wouldn't pull something that lame.
Normally you'd expect Takeshi to be involved somehow — sounds like he's flat-out cut ties.
The reason people put things in the coffin is mainly for the family's peace of mind.
So really, putting in an actual finished char siu would've been the best move.
If it's about the family's feelings, it's not for outsiders to decide what's "best."
For an average person, that's pretty hard to wrap your head around.
At my dad's cremation we put in a whole pack of nigiri sushi. It was supermarket sushi, but we transferred it into a paper container first. He loved sushi.
Of course we checked with the funeral home beforehand, and they said it was fine.
That is kind of sad. Someone's death is a pretty special thing after all. He used to even attend his disciples' fathers' funerals, way back when.
Background and Points of Discussion
Placing grave goods in a coffin is a longstanding custom in Japan, and combustible items are often allowed at the crematorium staff’s discretion. Materials like plastic or metal that won’t fully burn, on the other hand, are sometimes turned down in advance — and the thread saw its own version of that debate, with some worrying it might damage the furnace and others countering that a little pork wouldn’t be a problem. Reactions to Taka’s gesture split along generational lines: some read it warmly, tying it to the irreverent, taboo-poking humor Takeshi Gundan built its name on across the Showa and Heisei eras, while others simply found it hard to relate to by Reiwa-era standards — reflecting a broader generational gap in what counts as funny. The article doesn’t disclose the cause of Gidayu’s death or details of any illness, so it’s worth noting that thread speculation — such as comments attributing it to diabetes — is unconfirmed.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “Shiho Hashimoto reveals husband Guadalcanal Taka put raw pork in Great Gidayu’s coffin — what’s the reason?“
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