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Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as Nasubi, was the victim of A Life of Prizes, a hellish reality series that challenged the then 22-year-old to live solely off his winnings from magazine competitions in a tiny apartment in Japan. Despite the seemingly sadistic nature, the show broke records by pulling in more than 30 million viewers a week in Japan - from a population of 126.4m - with his diaries from inside also becoming a best-seller.
Nasubi tells his harrowing story in upcoming Hulu documentary, The Contestant, which is set to be released in cinemas this week, alongside show producer Toshio Tsuchiya. Nasubi won a lottery-style draw to appear on a mystery show, before being stripped of all his belongings and clothes and left in a room, where he was told he would be released after a million yen - roughly $8,000 - of prizes. Without ever signing a contract, he was left alone with nothing but stacks of magazines and postcards, as well as running water, electricity, and heating.
A 1998 reality show saw a young comedian left in solitary confinement without any clothes or food for 15 months, all while being broadcast to the world without his consent Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as Nasubi, was the victim of A Life of Prizes, a hellish reality series that challenged the then 22-year-old to live solely off his winnings from magazine competitions in a tiny apartment in Japan (pictured) Nasubi tells his harrowing story in upcoming Hulu documentary, The Contestant (pictured), which is set to be released in cinemas this week, alongside show producer Toshio Tsuchiya. Nasubi ended up living in the room in total solitude for 337 days, while being filmed 24 hours a day on two cameras without his knowledge. He survived on food won from the magazines, such as 5kg of uncooked rice, before he was forced to resort to eating wet dog food on Day 80.
The name Nasubi is Japanese for aubergine, with the producers using a cartoon image of the vegetable to cover up his genitalia,...
Milly Veitch.
