Meet Nasubi, the man who was trapped naked in a small room on his own for months in bizarre reality TV show

For months on end, Nasubi was naked in a small room on his own. He had no contact with the outside world, and lived off what he could get from money coupons.

It sounds like the troubling storyline of a dark film, but this was actually a reality TV show which many people tuned in to in Japan around two decades ago. Now, a new documentaty will shine a light on it.

‘The Contestant’, which has been directed by Clair Titley, explores what led to the late 1990s hit reality TV show, ‘A Life in Prizes’ to be made. As part of the show, a comedian nicknamed Nasubi was put in solitary confinement in a very small room and had to survive on whatever he could get by redeeming mail-in coupons. He had absolutely no contact with anybody, but many people watched his moves on the telly.

Tomoaki Hamatsu, whose nickname “Nasubi”, which means eggplant in Japanese, referred jokingly to his own long chin and was also naked throughout the entire show. Every time he did manage to get something from one of his coupons, he danced to celebrate. He got the most joy from food, even just a pot of kimchi.

The film also explores Hamatsu’s childhood experience of being bullied because of his long chin and how came to use laughter as a defence mechanism.

In the documentary, he said the part of the show he found the most difficult was the solitude, although he also said that being without clothing and not having very much for for a year and three months also took a toll on him.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 and will stream on Hulu from Thursday (May 2). Hamatsu cried when he received a standing ovation at the screening of the documentary. He said: “I feel I was able to relay a positive message through the documentary.”

British director Titley said she saw the reality show, which is now 25 years old, by chance and decided to reach out to Hamatsu because she felt nobody had ever told his side of the story.

“I felt that they were kind of dismissive and even derogatory to an extent about, you know, look at those crazy Japanese. And I really wanted to know Nasubi’s story. I really wanted to know what had happened to him, why he’d stayed in there,” she said in a recent Zoom interview with The Associated Press.

During the documentary, Titley speaks to Hamatsu’s mother, sister and friend, who all express a range of complex emotions, including outrage, sorrow, pride, at the show, which became a prime-time hit in Japan, and what Hamatsu went through. They said they felt sorry for him, and specifically said they had concerned about him being constantly naked.

Ultimately,“The Contestant” raises big questions about how people are pushed for entertainment purposes, and why extreme reality shows draw in big audiences and lots of money. The documentary also explores the emotions people feel when being trapped; either literally like Hamatsu or metaphorically.

“I think to an extent we are all complicit in these narratives. I think that’s something to be aware of. It’s very easy to stand back and look at all of this, and sort of think, ‘Oh, look at what those producers did.’ But, you know, as viewers we need to take some responsibility,” Titley said.

Hamatsu still works as an actor, but he is mostly remembered for ‘A Life in Prizes’ and isn’t on TV very much. He revealed in the documentary that many people think the famous show was a the high point of of his life as he’s not really in the spotlight anymore.

“But it’s just the opposite,” he said. “That was the worst point in my life. I overcame that. And now I am free to do what I want.”