Suwa and Sabu trivia

[Aaron Gerow]

>Since it's not unusual to find name-reading mistakes in publications (I've
>just found another one in a magazine), I want to ask if anyone knows why
>Director Suwa's (M/Other, Duo) given name reads Nobuhiro and not Nobuhiko
>(in Japanese ????). It's a delight for film buffs to point that out, but
>I've always wondered why. Is Nobuhiro how it should be read in real life, or
>his "screen" name-reading? In other words, is there any word-play at all
>here?

Next time I meet Suwa I'll ask him.  But it is a name easily mistaken.  
Some people read it Atsuhiko and even Kinema Junpo got it wrong in their 
most recent Japanese director's dictionary.  If it is a stage name or a 
word-play, he doesn't broadcast it that much.

>Also, why Sabu (dir. of Monday, Dangan Runner)? On IMDb, he is credited as
>Tanaka Hiroyuki. Given that he is actor as well, it's possible he has
>several names. Has he talked about why he goes by Sabu (and in katakana)?

I heard that Sabu was just the nickname he had on the set, and decided 
just to start using that as his stage name.  Why his name became 
Sabu--not unusual if your name is Saburo or something like that, but not 
in this case--I don't know.


Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
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