Money certainly cannot buy family, love, or friendship. However, it can buy the appearance of these things. Ishii Yuichi, a man from Japan, came up with the idea for people to hire actors to play the roles of a husband, wife, or parent. Yuichi has also joined this “real-life” stage and now has more than 100 “wives” and many kids — and some of them are sure that he’s their real father.
We at Bright Side find these unusual relationships very intriguing and can’t wait to tell our readers about them.
Japan is known as a country with very strong traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. But what if you don’t have parents to come to your wedding or your family lives too far to support you on your graduation day? What if the father of your child made the choice not to be a part of its life but you want your kid to have both parents at their school concert?
Ishii Yuichi saw that thousands of people in his country were affected by not being able to show what’s expected of them, so one day he came with the idea that if you can’t have a family for your very special day, you can simply... rent one. For lots of people, this became a viable solution.
It all started with Yuichi’s friend. “I played a father for a 12-year-old with a single mother. The girl was bullied because she didn’t have a dad, so the mother rented me. I’ve acted as the girl’s father ever since. I’m the only real father that she knows,” the friend explained. “If the client never reveals the truth, I must continue the role indefinitely. If the daughter gets married, I have to act as a father at that wedding, and then I’ll have to become a grandfather.”
It may sound fake but if the illusion of having a father stopped the bullying and helped this little girl grow into a confident young lady, it probably was worth it. Let’s not judge. “I always ask every client, ’Are you prepared to sustain this lie?’ It’s the most significant problem our company has,” Yuichi explained. Since then, he has been playing roles of somebody’s husband or father so many times that he thinks he might have more than 100 “wives.”
Clients ask for very different kinds of roles. Sometimes Ishii Yuichi is asked to accompany a woman to different functions as her husband. Each client has unique requests and expectations and Yuichi has to be kind, caring, adventurous, or shy, depending on what’s being asked of him. He even played the role of the groom a few times for women who were under too much pressure from their families.
A family member is not the only option. “I couldn’t find a friend who could give speeches on my wedding day. I was very shy and for this reason, many of my friends were also shy, and when I asked a real friend to give a speech, I was told that it would be embarrassing to speak in public. Ishii Yuichi was very kind and polite and gave a speech like a real friend,” wrote one of his clients.
You can also arrange morning calls. “I lost my father and mother when I was young and my parents never woke me up, so I like to hear, ’Good morning, get up!’” one client explained. It sounds so simple, but for somebody, it was very important.
If you just need companionship, Ishii Yuichi and his agency can also help you with that. One client wrote, “I’ve been busy recently and haven’t been able to spend much time with my friends. Every day is boring because there is no companionship. I want to upload photos on my Facebook or blog that will give me ’likes’.”
We’re all so different — every one of us has rules, beliefs, and expectations. The people who are involved in this story made ones of their own which are pretty different from traditional standards. But if it made them happy, maybe we should just be happy for them.
What do you think? How would you feel if you found out one day that the person you knew your entire life was actually an actor? Tell us in the comments below.
What's this title? I'm one of Japanese men but it's enough. Good bye, "Dark Side", I'll not read your articles. Please continue your "good work" that is lowering the reputation of your company. I prefer other sites over "Dark Side" people. ?
Bright side is having some envy with Japan ?
