Meeting former Shochiku Studios actress Itoko Harada in Funabashi, Chiba.
Today I was very pleased to meet Itoko Harada, a former actress at Shochiku Studios during the late 1960s. Although she decided to leave the entertainment business by the end of the '60s, Harada-san is remembered by kaiju eiga fans all over the world for her leading role in The X from Outer Space (1967).
These days she is involved in pottery, but Harada-san still has fond memories of her acting career. When I brought her my Blu-ray sleeve of the film for her to sign, she enjoyed looking at it and showing it to her friends before adding her signature to it.
On top of having a successful singing career, Harada-san is also notable for starring as one of the members of the all-female spy team in Shotaro Ishinomori's Flower Action 009-1 (1969), in which she appears alongside Kaoru Yumi (Espy, Prophecies of Nostradamus).
Harada-san was very friendly, and I enjoyed having the chance to meet her. It certainly was flattering being called "ikemen" by the star of one of my favorite monster romps! I hope for other such meetings in the future!
