Actor Hiroshi Chiba Turns 67 in Style in Roppongi!

Hiroshi Chiba. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Sunday, September 10) I had the privilege of attending actor Hiroshi Chiba's 67th birthday event at the piano bar MyScotch in Roppongi. Of course, the actor won't actually turn 67 until his birthday, which will take place on September 19.

Hiroshi Chiba on the guitar! Photo by Brett Homenick.

This was my first time meeting Chiba-san, so I was quite excited. When I showed up, I was surprised to see actress Mariko Matsuoka there. It turns out that she's been friends with Chiba-san for a long time. When I walked in, Matsuoka-san waved to me and beckoned me over to her table, at which she offered me a seat.

Hiroshi Chiba blows out his birthday cake. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I also greeted Chiba-san, who was just getting ready to start, when I came in. Matsuoka-san asked him if we knew each other, to which Chiba-san replied that we had only communicated via social media when I made my reservation.

Actors Hiroshi Chiba and Mariko Matsuoka. Photo by Brett Homenick.

But just who is Hiroshi Chiba? Well, Chiba-san (under the stage name Masahiro Oyake) played Pigmon as a suit actor in episode 37 of Ultraman (1966-67). He also appears in human form in episode 36 of the same series. In the movies, he played the main character Tetsugoro (who was performed by Hideki Takahashi) as a boy in the Nikkatsu actioner Family Crest: Man against Death (1969). Another role of his is in Tsugunobu Kotani's film F2 Grand Prix (1984), starring Ken Tanaka and Katsuhiko Sasaki.

Mariko Matsuoka. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Chiba-san also played Yasohachi Yamagishi in a series of Nikkatsu films based on the risque Go Nagai manga called Harenchi Gakuen ("Shameless School"), namely: Harenchi Gakuen: Shintai Kensa no Maki (1970), Harenchi Gakuen: Tackle Kiss no Maki (1970), and Shin Harenchi Gakuen (1971). 

His best-known role (in Japan, at least) would have to be his appearances as a regular on the massively popular TV series G-Men '75 (1975-82), playing Detective Akio Taguchi from 1979 through 1981.

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.

Hiroshi Chiba on the piano. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As you could imagine, it was a lot of fun being seated next to Matsuoka-san for the event. We chatted in between the songs that Chiba-san performed. We live very close to each other, so hopefully we'll get together soon. We discussed grabbing dinner in the near future, so let's hope it happens soon.

After the show wrapped, Matsuoka-san brought me over to Chiba-san for a formal introduction. We had a brief chat -- as you could imagine, Chiba-san was swamped by admirers -- and I didn't want to take up too much of his time. But it was great to get a proper introduction by a close friend of his.

After that, Matsuoka-san escorted me to the elevator to see me off. We again talked about getting together soon. What a fun and lively time! Many thanks to Chiba-san and especially Matsuoka-san for making it one for the history books!