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| Machiko Naka in October 2021. Photo by Brett Homenick. |
Machiko Naka was born on October 12, 1936, in China under her real name Machiko Nakabayashi. After the war, her family moved to Hiroshima in 1947, and she would join the Takarazuka Revue in 1957. In 1960, she signed a contract with Toho where she became best known for playing Yuzo Kayama's younger sister Teruko in the Young Guy series.
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| Nami Tamura, Hiroko Sakurai, Machiko Naka, and Yasuhiko Saijo celebrate Saijo-san's birthday in February 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick. |
But she became best known around the world for playing Ichiro's busy mother in Godzilla's Revenge (1969). She only appears in two scenes in the film, but her second scene is one of the most emotional of the Showa era.
Naka-san also appears in episode 22 of Ultra Q (1966), episode 2 of Ultra Seven (1967-68), and episode 36 of Ultraman Tiga (1996-97).
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| In between Machiko Naka and Nami Tamura in February 2016. |
I was fortunate enough to meet Naka-san several times over the years. Before I ever met, I was able to do an interview with her via correspondence, which you can find here.
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| Teruyoshi Nakano and Machiko Naka in November 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick. |
In October 2021, I conducted a much more in-depth interview that should come out sometime later this year. Last fall, I contacted her manager about doing a photoshoot with Naka-san but was told that she was not doing so well at the time. Given her age, I was worried about the seriousness of her condition, and unfortunately it seems that it was as serious as I feared.
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| With Machiko Naka in October 2021. |
I'll certainly miss seeing her at events and other such gatherings. What a sweet lady she was. RIP, Naka-san.
UPDATE (3/12): Naka-san's official website confirms that she passed away on March 4 due to old age.
Her website also announced that it will close on March 25. Such a shame. It would have made a wonderful memorial to her life and career.
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