Photo/Illutration Kosuke Omune performs on the Zoom online conferencing system in Nagoya on May 30. (Shino Matsuyama)

NAGOYA--Kosuke Omune chose a career that he thought he was least suited for. But after excelling at his trade and successfully adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic, he found yet another reason to continue smiling under his bright red nose.

Omune in March became the first Asian to receive the Clown of the Year award, the top honor given by the World Clown Association.

“My job is to entertain people. It doesn’t matter where I perform,” said the Nagoya-based clown who works at home, abroad and online.

Omune, 52, serves as president of the Japan Hospital Clown Association, which dispatches the performers to about 100 children’s hospitals around the country. He also works as a clown named K to entertain children.

The association has been unable to send in the clowns at the hospitals because of visiting restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. So since June last year, it has offered online clown performances to the hospitalized children.

The young patients’ family members can join the one-hour online sessions from their homes. An artist is also part of the show, whose portraits of the children are given to them afterward.

When the association began a crowdfunding campaign to cover labor expenses of the clowns and artists in May 2020, it raised 2.2 million yen ($19,800) in about one month.

The following year, the association provided online performances and portraits for 160 families of hospitalized children.

“Children are feeling insecure, being stuck in hospital rooms and separated from their families,” Omune said. “We just want them to feel like they are spending time with their families.”

Omune said he had an inferiority complex in his younger days because he was unable to entertain others. He decided to become a clown when he was 23 because he wanted to be a cheerful person, even though he thought the work would be most unsuitable for him.

He left his job at a railway company and trained as a clown in the United States. At age 28, he went independent and founded Pleasure Planning Co. in Nagoya’s Nakamura Ward to dispatch clowns to elementary schools and halls across the country.

Colleagues said Omune is the person most dedicated to the work in the clown industry.

Pleasure Planning had been holding about 200 clown performances a year. But it was forced to voluntarily cancel its shows in February 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pleasure Planning posted a loss of about 40 million yen as of  spring last year.

Taking a cue from the rising number of online drinking parties around that time, Omune started streaming live shows, using a rehearsal space at the company as a stage and selling tickets over the internet.

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Clowns from Pleasure Planning Co. perform juggling acts in Nagoya on May 30. (Shino Matsuyama)

About 50 audience members, including regulars at the in-person shows, watched the first online performance held in June last year.

After favorable reviews, the show became a regular monthly staple. Clowns from overseas have made guest appearances since the third edition, attracting viewers from the United States, Hong Kong and elsewhere around the world.

Omune was named the Clown of the Year for his efforts over the past year, including the online performances for hospitalized children and the portrait drawing service.

“I really appreciate that my struggles during the pandemic have gained recognition,” Omune said.

But he said he wants to return to performing in front of people because handshakes and high-fives are part of show.

“The appeal of being a clown is to create a stage together with the audience. I want to see them soon, and that’s what I want the most,” he added.

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