Show Kasamatsu: The Newly Emerging Star of ‘Tokyo Vice’

Show Kasamatsu has managed to reveal himself as a frontline performer on Tokyo Vice, despite a cast that includes Ken Watnabe, Ansel Elgort, Rinko Kikuchi, and Rachel Keller. His reluctant but ascendant Yakuza member, Sato, is easily the most conflicted character in a series full of conflicted characters. Sato is a man who, but for a different turn of fortune, could have been a businessman, club owner, or almost anything. Instead, Sato falls into the dangerous world of the Yakuza, colloqiually known as the Japanese mafia. The show takes place in the early 2000s with the Yakuza embedded in all aspects of Japanese society—politics, law enforcement, and even the media. 

Sato is a man who takes the risk of befriending the only Gaijin (foreigner) reporter on the largest Japanese newspaper (Jake Adelstein, played by Elgort), and having an on-again, off-again relationship with another Gaijin club owner Samantha (Keller). The development of these friendships was established in season one, but as Sato continues to be in and out of Jake and Samantha’s life he is making a dangerous choice by continuing to be involved with them.. 

To further complicate matters in season 2, Sato becomes third in command to his Yakuza boss—or “Obayun”— Ishida, played by Shun Sagata, and his leader’s choice as the right hand of the Chihara-Kai, Hayama (played by Yosuke Kubuzuka), who is an overly dangerous risk-taker. Furthermore, Sato’s little brother is looking for an opportunity to advance in life, and Sato makes the mistake of thinking he can have his brother work for the Yakuza around the edges without being pulled into the life. When Hayama seizes upon Sato’s mistake and draws the little brother in further, the result of Hayama’s power move is to set him and Sato on a collision course with their Obayun looking on and his brother in the middle.

Through the course of season 2, Sato’s journey goes from physical recovery to full ascension in the Yakuza, entering into a life from which there is no return. In talking to Show Kasamatsu, the wonderfully young actor who plays Sato, we discuss his character’s motivations, and his own anxieties around Sato taking center stage on a show that has become increasingly popular, resulting in Show feeling a new weight of responsibility. As an actor, Show is one of the most humble people I have interviewed. I’m not entirely sure he is aware of his own remarkable gifts in front of the camera. That being said, the folks behind Tokyo Vice are well aware, and Show Kasamatsu is a newly emerging star.

Awards Daily: When we last talked, we discussed the cliffhanger ending of season one and whether Sato was going to live. Did you know if your character was going to survive the assisination attempt? 

Show Kasamatsu: At the time, I didn’t know there was going to be a Season 2, but when I heard there was a Season 2 and that Sato survives, I felt really thankful for the opportunity. There was a lot of pressure, because now the international audience is looking forward to seeing whether Sato survives or not.

Awards Daily: A lot of this season centers around you and your brother. Your brother wants to be like you, but you as the big brother don’t want him to go into that life. What Sato tries to do is allow him to dip his toe in the water, but not go all the way in and finds that’s impossible. What was it like to try to play a character who’s trying to protect his brother, but also trying to stay connected to him and then having someone else take over the influence of your little brother?

Show Kasamatsu: I found playing Sato similar to what I am going through in real life. Now, because I am established, a lot of want-to-be actor friends try to reach out and ask what is going on in the industry and what it’s like being an actor. I hope for the best for them, of course, but this is something that you didn’t even expect to have to go through. That is exactly what Sato wanted to teach his little brother. Sato didn’t want his brother to go through hardship. If you want to do it, I’ll help you, but this is a life or death situation. Talking to younger actors at the same time, there is a line that you can not cross. That is trying to teach all the new actors and also telling the little brother that that’s something that I felt coming, playing the character as Sato and going through in real life.

Awards Daily: Your character, Sato, takes a strong dislike to Hayama, almost immediately. Sato actually sees what his Oyabun does not see, which is that Hayama is really bad news. He’s going to lead the Chihara-Kai (the Yakuza family name) down the wrong path. But Sato has to go along and respect the choice made by his Oyabun. When you were working with Yosuke Kubuzuka,  who played Hayama, how did you show that you just don’t like this person when Sato is not allowed to show overt distaste and dislike for Hayama? 

Show Kasamatsu: The first time Sato met Hayama, he didn’t find him so disturbing or dislike him. He was just trying to figure out what Hayama is. Maybe Sato is thinking he is not in a good mood today, or under the weather, just seeing what’s going on around him. Once Sato found out that he’s the bad news himself, then it was a quick decision. Sato knows what he has to do for the Chihara clan. There is a time that I have to strictly obey him, but after that it was a quick decision what to do.

Awards Daily: I think the tricky part for Sato is how to get there without betraying his Oyabun’s decision to put Hayama in place as his “general” of sorts. His Oyabun actually tells him at one point, without actually saying it, I know I made a mistake. Then Sato has to figure out how to get his Oyabun out of the mistake.

Show Kasamatsu: That point between Hayama and Sato was the moment Sato begged Hayama not to be close to his brother. He begged for him, but Hayama didn’t listen. That reached the boiling point for Sato and he realized that we have to go back to where it came from. So Sato talked to Ishida, his Oyabun, and finds out that Ishida (Shun Sagata) was feeling the same–they were on the same page. So I understood the scene as maybe Sato is the one just not aware of the situation because Ishida felt like this is not good. But Hayama knows what he’s doing, really. He’s sneaky. So Sato was in the middle and didn’t know what to do. That was the character struggle between Oyabun and Hayama within Sato.

Awards Daily: That brings me to my next point, which is that Sato is a very conflicted character. He’s not bad at heart. He is someone who has ended up in a life where everything is dangerous, but he still tries to protect people. What is it like to play a character who tries to be a good friend and brother, and  who would want a normal life for his brother—and even would probably like a normal life for himself—but who also knows that he’s gone too far into the life of a of Yakuza to ever have that.

Show Kasamatsu: I found Sato going through something similar to what I was going through after season one. After season one, something exploded. There was a lot of attention from the international audiences and I wanted to run away. There was a little bit too much pressure, but I found Sato going through the same thing. He is a Yakuza and that is his job, but there is the little moment that he wishes he could go back to normal life. This is my life now, Sato must think, that is given to me as a Yakuza. So this is what I carry on my back and have to go through it. Going through Tokyo Vice, I found Sato as a character. It’s totally different of course as a Yakuza and an actor, but something in the core was kind of similar. With no place to go, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Awards Daily: During Sato’s ascension, when you’re being robed and the drums are starting to play—it’s a really fantastic scene in the way that it’s shot and edited, because you can see on Sato’s face that he’s still not sure if he wants this, but here he is. He has to be the leader of the Chihara-Kai going forward. How did you think about expressing those emotions, especially since you have no lines?

Show Kasamatsu: For that scene as well as the other scenes, when I was reading the script and learning the lines, there were big emotions. Sometimes it’s happy, sometimes sad, and sometimes pissed off—sometimes  total sadness spending time as Sato. I tried a lot of things preparing for that scene, but once I go on set, I don’t want to show it too much. So I’m trying to be cool, like nothing happened. It’s not a big deal. That is the Sato that I created. I went through a lot of emotions, but tried not to show it. That is how I portrayed Sato on camera. Even emotionally I had to go through real sadness and it’s something that you have to bear with. Once, I cried alone in front of the camera.

Awards Daily: The show has become more popular. I hope, fingers crossed, that there’s going to be a season three. Are you excited about the idea of showing Sato as a leader of the entire Yakuza family, essentially?  How are you feeling about that possible challenge?

Show Kasamatsu: It’s a pressure. Sometimes I feel like the pressure is crushing me down, and I’m scared. I did an Amazon Prime series right after Tokyo Vice and got some offers for movies and other stuff. Right now, I’m trying to get into the international market for sure, not only Japan. I’m really motivated, but at the same time I’m worried that playing a character other than Sato will be accepted by the older international audiences. Do they like me not playing Sato but some other characters? Everything they talk about is just giving me pressure.