A Kamen Rider Series Actress Celebrates Her Birthday in Style!

Mariko Matsuoka. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier today (Sunday, June 25), I attended a special birthday event for actress Mariko Matsuoka. I met Matsuoka-san for the first time a couple of months ago, and after I had the chance to get to know her a bit at that time, I was looking forward to my chance to see her again. Today was that opportunity.

And it actually is her birthday today, which made the occasion extra special. The event was divided into two parts: The first part were manzai-style comedy routines that were read directly from a script. Although several were performed, the one that stuck out to me the most was the one where Matsuoka-san played an old woman who had her credit card information stolen but got easily distracted when talking on the phone with the investigator who was trying to look into her situation. 

Mariko Matsuoka with her birthday cake. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The second half of the event focused entirely on signing. It wasn't just Matsuoka-san who sang, however. Two other female vocalists also performed songs. A live pianist was on hand to provide musical accompaniment.

Now make a wish! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mariko Matsuoka plays android girl Carolyn in episode 24 of Ultraman Leo (1974-75), Ritsuko Okamura in Kamen Rider Amazon (1974-75), Misaki Minekawa in episode 29 of Akumaizer 3 (1975-76), episode 32 of UFO Great War Fight! Red Tiger (1978), and Jun in episode 37 of Kyoryu Sentai Koseidon (1978-79). She also appears in the Fumio Ishimori-penned Shochiku film Frozen River (1976) as Harumi Hayata.

When chatting with Matsuoka-san after the show, I found out that she happens to live in my general area. That was a surprise! I'd love to meet up with her a lot closer to home sometime. Let's hope it happens.

Happy birthday, Matsuoka-san!