In conversation with Japan’s 82-year-old porn star
Shigeo Takuda – not his real name – thought he would be done with adult films by now when he started at the age of 59, but since he’s still in demand he’s happy to keep going as long as he can
Born in 1934, porn star Shigeo Tokuda has appeared in about 400 adult movies since leaving his job with a Tokyo-based travel agency in 2004. Tokuda – his stage name – is a rather unique addition to Japan’s booming “silver economy”, and according to Guinness World Records is the oldest working male porn star in the world.
He admits to be “slowing down” on the number of movies he makes now “because I am getting a bit older”, but he insists he will continue to accept parts for as long as his skill set is valued.
TWIA: How did you first become involved in adult videos?
Tokuda: When I was working for the travel agency, I used to go on a lot of business trips and I would have free time in the evenings. Sometimes I would watch porn movies in the hotels where I was staying. It was never my ambition to become a star in a porn movie, but there was one movie that I wanted to see but I could not find it anywhere, so I went to the office of the company that produced it. By chance, the director of the film was there and he asked if I wanted to appear in one of his titles. I refused, but I kept going back and eventually asked if I could watch a movie being filmed. The director said no, because it would make the actors uncomfortable and it was important that they were able to focus. It was then that I realised that these are hard-working, professional performers and I felt that I would like to try it.
Have you always been cast in roles at the ’silver’ end of the porn spectrum?