Michiko Tanaka, who passed the exam to become a first-class architect, talks about her hardcore “guts.

〈Late last year, actress Michiko Tanaka (33) announced on her agency’s official website that she had passed the first-class architect exam. Tanaka, who graduated from Shizuoka University of Art and Culture with a second-class architect license, had hoped to work for a construction company, but was scouted and went on to become an actress.

She said, “I wanted to become a COVID-19 crisis and help people, and I thought it would be good to have a two-faced actress.”

He said. The first class registered architect is a national examination taken only by students of architecture, real estate, and professional designers, and the pass rate is 9.9%. The pass rate is 9.9%, and it is said that the pass rate for a first-time candidate is less than 7%. Tanaka passed the exam straight out of the gate, but she was a hardcore “gutsy” girl. In October 2008, this magazine conducted an exclusive interview with Tanaka, who is now active as an actress. What did she have to say about her “guts”? The following is a re-cap of the interview from that time (ages and titles in the article are current at the time of publication).

The main character, Ryu (Tamaki Hiroshi), who was known as “Tatsu the Immortal” during his days as a member of the gang, has left the world of the gang after marrying Miku (Kawaguchi Haruna), who is a hard worker but loose with the housework, and is devoting himself to being a full-time housewife. The drama “Kyokushufudo” (Sundays at 10:30 p.m. on Yomiuri TV and Nippon TV) is a humanistic comedy drama without honor or humanity that portrays Ryu (Tatsu) and the people around him. Michiko Tanaka plays Kayo Ota, a member of the women’s association in the town to which Ryu belongs.

She says, “This is probably the first time I’ve been cast in a comedy with this much tension. The scene is as relaxed as the drama itself.

I often work with MEGUMI, who plays the president of the same women’s association, and Naoto Takenaka, who plays Kikujiro, the president of the Tenjaku-kai, to which Ryu once belonged.

Both Takenaka and Megumi are very good at improvising, and their dialogue is different before shooting, during rehearsals, and on set, and all of it is very interesting.

It is not difficult to imagine how difficult it would be to perform with the same vigor as these two, who are experts in the art of dialogue and improvisation.

I was just so taken in by their performance. I was so taken in by the two of them that I missed the chance to go for it. …… But when I talked to Ms. Megumi about it, she said, “I think of every performance as an audition,” which made me realize that I should be more active and not just reflective. I changed my mind and decided that I should take more action.

The cheerful and calm demeanor that comes across in the interview makes her seem a far cry from the “young housewife” who is so uninhibited in her approach to others.

I try to improvise and use bad words in conversations with friends and my manager, which I don’t usually do,” she said.

But since I play the role of a housewife, the person I imagine most is probably my own mother. I play the role by remembering how my mother is like on a day-to-day basis.

In the popular drama “M, There’s Someone I Love,” she made a splash with her line, “I’m a mother,” followed by “I’m a mother. line in the drama “M: Someone to Love,” and then appeared in a series of films, her future performance is expected to be even more promising. However, for someone who grew up in a small town in Hamamatsu, the world of show business was a dream come true.

She says, “I was always interested in being an actress, but I didn’t know what to do in a small town where you had to drive to go to the convenience store.

But I couldn’t forget my longing, and I convinced my parents that I would regret it for the rest of my life if I continued to work. My mother supported me from a neutral standpoint, but my father, a teacher, would not allow me to do so. …… I continued to bow down to him for a week, crying. In the end, I couldn’t get forgiveness, so I just got on an express bus and came to Tokyo without telling my father.

Looking back on it now, I think my father was worried about sending his daughter off to a place where he had no idea what kind of world she would be living in. He was acting out of a single-minded desire to protect his daughter from being hurt. My father is now very supportive of me, and he has even written a notice on the blackboard in the classroom announcing the drama in which I will appear.

Tanaka has a soft and gentle image, but as she told this story in tears, I felt the strength of her will and her strong desire to be an actress.

I grew up in an environment where my family would watch a movie every day, and when I saw Milla Jovovich and Angelina Jolie’s films, I thought “action actresses are cool” and that was one of the reasons I wanted to enter the entertainment industry. I would like to be more active in action and I would be happy if I could expand my field to include movies.

Oh, by the way, I got a medium-sized motorcycle license in the hope that it might come in handy someday!　When I told him about it on the set of the drama, he said that he also rides a Harley and invited me to go touring with him someday. I hope to get a large-size license someday and become a woman who can ride a Harley in a cool way. But then I got a bad back just trying to pick up a fallen medium-size bike (laughs).

Looking at her as she speaks with a laugh, I think she has beautiful eyes. I am sure it is because she is trying to convey her thoughts with sincerity that she is able to show such a gaze. Michiko Tanaka is a dignified woman who has a strong core, though she wraps her face in a soft atmosphere. I have a feeling that she will soon be able to achieve her dream, which lies just ahead of her straightforward gaze.

Photography: Makoto Kato
Interview and text by Mikiko Chino
Composition: SUPER MIX