Noriko Hayami (速水 典子, Hayami Noriko) is a Japanese actress most known for played the lead role in the 1985 film Love…Noriko Hayami (速水 典子, Hayami Noriko) is a Japanese actress most known for played the lead role in the 1985 film Love Hotel. She was also the supporting actress in many additional films. On television, Noriko was the lead actress in Sora o Tonda Kome Sōba (空を飛んだ米相場), Episode #29 of Abarenbō Shōgun V.
Fusako Kuramochi (くらもち ふさこ, Kuramochi Fusako; real name 倉持房子 Kuramochi Fusako, born 14 May 1955 in Shibuya, Tokyo) is a…Fusako Kuramochi (くらもち ふさこ, Kuramochi Fusako; real name 倉持房子 Kuramochi Fusako, born 14 May 1955 in Shibuya, Tokyo) is a Japanese shōjo manga artist. While still in high school, she made her professional debut with Megane-chan no Hitorigoto, published in the Autumn 1972 issue of Bessatsu Margaret. She won the magazine's gold medal for amateur manga artists. Afterwards, Kuramochi studied Japanese painting at Musashino Art University, but left before graduation to pursue her career full-time. Her manga Tennen Kokekkō received the 1996 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga, and was adapted as a live-action movie in 2007. Her series A-Girl was adapted as an anime OVA in 1993. Her manga Hana ni Somu won the Grand Prize category of the 21st Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2017.
Junko Saito (斉藤 淳子, Saitō Jun'ko) (née Nakajima (中島 淳子, Nakajima Jun'ko; born 2 May 1952), more commonly known by her…Junko Saito (斉藤 淳子, Saitō Jun'ko) (née Nakajima (中島 淳子, Nakajima Jun'ko; born 2 May 1952), more commonly known by her stage name Mari Natsuki (夏木 マリ, Natsuki Mari), is a Japanese singer, dancer, actress and philanthropist, who describes herself as a "person who plays." Born in Tokyo, she started work as a singer from a young age. In 2007, Natsuki announced her engagement to percussionist Nobu Saitō (斉藤ノヴ), with their marriage taking place in Spring 2008. Natsuki has participated in musical theatre, including Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof and that of Yukio Ninagawa. She provided the voice of Yubaba in Spirited Away, played the young witch's mother in the Japanese TV remake of Bewitched and has twice been nominated for a Japanese Academy Award. Natsuki played the character Big Mama in the Japanese version of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and has also acted in television dramas, such as the 2005 series Nobuta o Produce, playing the Vice Principal, Katharine. In 2024, Natsuki reprised her famous roles of Yubaba/Zeniba for the stage production of Spirited Away, performing in Japan and London. In 2026, she performed the role in Seoul, Korea.
