He got rather good, too, performing in brass bands until he got a regular job with the "Jimmie Tokita [jp] & His Mountain Playboys."
In 1962, Ikariya joined The Drifters, an aspiring pop band that featured comedy routines in its performances of rock and roll music.
Members joined and quit the band over the next two years until Ikariya, still persisting, became the leader of the five-member group.
In 1966, The Drifters opened for The Beatles at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo,[1] although apparently Ikariya didn't see it as much of an accomplishment as opposed to just another job.
[2][1] His part in the drama Odoru Daisōsasen, which later went on to inspire two films, though, led him to what was the peak in his career - an Academy Award.