One of Japan's most popular and perverse television challenges came to an end last night, and for the naked star of the show it was probably not a moment too soon.
Every Sunday for more than a year, 15 million viewers have tuned in to watch the exploits of Nasubi, a 23-year-old comedian who has been confined to a tiny apartment since January 1998.
His challenge was to eke out an existence until he won one million yen (£5,700) worth of prizes in magazine competitions. He had to live only on the prizes he won. His reward was fame, although he was not told exactly how it would arrive. Unbeknownst to him, Japan's top variety programme, Susunu Denpa Shonen! (Don't Go For It Electric Boy!), has broadcast his progress with the aid of two hidden cameras.
Over the past 15 months, viewers have seen his hair and beard grow longer as the apartment filled with prizes.
Despite taking part in more than 1,000 magazine competitions a week, the only clothing Nasubi won was a pair of women's trousers. They didn't fit so he lounged around naked, apparently unaware that the country was watching.
To ensure a modicum of decency, NTV covered his genitals with a nasubi (aubergine) icon.
The programme has made compulsive viewing. The prizes he has won have ranged from a tent to essentials such as rice and dog-food. One highlight showed a delighted Nasubi heading off to the toilet after winning his first rolls of toilet paper in 10 months.
At times the comedian has been tormented almost to the point of cruelty. When he reached his first goal, the producer woke him up in the middle of the night by firing party poppers at his genitals. He was then whisked off to South Korea, where he was told to repeat the challenge in a language he couldn't speak with the aid of a dictionary.
Nasubi seemed to bear it all with good humour, a spirit that has won him millions of fans. Articles in women's magazines have noted his good health despite his cramped life and canine diet.
Nasubi apparently had no idea that he had become a national celebrity until the shooting of Sunday's show, when he was finally let in on the joke. Without telling Nasubi that he had reached his goal, the producers led him into a "waiting room" where he was sitting naked when the walls collapsed around him to reveal a studio full of guests.