<figure id="attachment_315107" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4387px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315107"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ecb061f9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/08c926c24e07d8dae507fdf47a8ee6bc.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315107" class="wp-caption-text">Takako Matsu is hugged on the shoulder for a commemorative photo after the launch of the stage &#8220;Hamlet&#8221; (May 8 and 13, &#8217;98 issue).</figcaption></figure>
<p>The stage in which Takako Matsu (45) will appear will open on June 17. The stage &#8220;Rabbit, Running on the Waves&#8221; is the first new production in two years by NODA-MAP, led by playwright and director Hideki Noda (67), and will be Matsu&#8217;s first appearance since &#8220;Q: A Night At The Kabuki,&#8221; in which she starred in 2010, and her seventh with NODA-MAP.</p>
<p><strong>&#8220;Matsu is now indispensable to Noda&#8217;s stage productions. Last year&#8217;s production of &#8220;Q&#8221; was inspired by an offer from the staff of the world-famous rock band Queen, and when it premiered in &#8217;19, it attracted an audience of 70,000. It won the Best Production Award at the 27th Yomiuri Drama Awards. It had a world tour last year, and at the UK performance, the audience of 1,500 gave it a standing ovation. Not only Mr. Noda, but also Matsu&#8217;s presence made a strong impression on the British theater world,&#8221; said a theater magazine editor.</strong></p>
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<p>Not only in the theater, but also in the Japanese film industry and dramas, Matsu&#8217;s presence is exceptional.&#8217; Fuji Television&#8217;s &#8220;Geki 9&#8221; series with Takuya Kimura (50), such as &#8220;Long Vacation&#8221; in 1996, &#8220;Love Generation&#8221; in 1997, and &#8220;HERO&#8221; in 2001, all recorded average ratings of over 30%. &#8216; She has always been in the limelight whenever she has starred in such films as &#8220;Quartet&#8221; (TBS) in 2005 and &#8220;Tomoko Soyada and Her Three Ex-husbands&#8221; (Fuji TV) in 2009, and her brilliance has only increased as she has aged. In an article published on May 28, Shukan Bunshun Online (May 28, 2011) praised Matsu as &#8220;Japan&#8217;s greatest treasure.</p>
<p>FRIDAY&#8221; has also been keeping a close eye on Matsu&#8217;s movements since shortly after her debut. The year before, she had a sushi date with a stylist known as Takuya Kimura&#8217;s best friend, and the year before that, she was photographed taking a walk with her father and son. We hope you will enjoy these treasured photos of Matsu, who has always been at the top of his game, in all his unadorned glory.</p>
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<h3>A man suddenly hugs her shoulder during a commemorative photo shoot at a stage launch&#8230;</h3>
<p>The man suddenly put his hand around Takako&#8217;s shoulder&#8230; and the reporter couldn&#8217;t help but exclaim, &#8220;Oh! The reporter couldn&#8217;t help but exclaim, &#8220;Oh, my God!</p>
<p>The scene was witnessed at a commemorative photo shoot after the launch of &#8220;Hamlet,&#8221; a play in which Matsu performed when she was 20 years old.</p>
<p><strong> It&#8217;s hard to imagine now, but at the time she was in the middle of a public bashing. Matsu got her big break with the success of &#8220;Rombake&#8221; and &#8220;Love Gene,&#8221; but she was criticized by fans for appearing with Kimutaku one after the other, and was subjected to terms such as &#8220;parental support&#8221; and &#8220;fake young lady. However, in the performance of &#8220;Hamlet&#8221; directed by Yukio Ninagawa that year, she was highly acclaimed for her performance with the great actress Mariko Kaga (79), showing her performance that defied the bashing.</strong></p>
<p>After the launch of the show, the people involved began to take commemorative photos on the street. After the launch, when the people involved were taking pictures on the street, a man suddenly pulled Matsu into a tight hug on the shoulder. At that moment, Matsu had a subtle expression on his face, but he was able to capture it on camera with a smile on his face. This year, this magazine encountered the &#8220;real&#8221; Matsu many times, and he always seemed to be enjoying his private life in a low-key manner, never acting flamboyant.</p>
<p>He has never changed even after starting a family, and rarely shows up at parties hosted by celebrities and entertainers. In this age of social networking, there are still many aspects of Matsu, &#8220;Japan&#8217;s greatest treasure,&#8221; that remain unknown. Her charms are no doubt enhanced by the fact that she has the same &#8220;distant presence&#8221; as the great actresses of the Showa period.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Undiscovered images of Takako Matsu"></div>
<figure id="attachment_315109" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2904px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315109"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e7edb2d4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/0e8dc94710d21bf97590d668a01d78fe.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315109" class="wp-caption-text">On location at Nanzenji Temple in Kyoto for the drama &#8220;Ancient Capital Love Song&#8221; (MBS) (February 14, 1997 issue)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_315111" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2960px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315111"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e1f2f9ad"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/e53c5fcd5bc28921cac39cd74f5a1882.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315111" class="wp-caption-text">Appeared on a live radio broadcast hosted by a record store, where fans rushed to the venue and caused a huge panic (July 11, 1997 issue).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_315112" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4409px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315112"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f1db0dd1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/7a4f80bfe6b47417fca3e0185d54f3ad.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315112" class="wp-caption-text">Takako appeared on a live radio broadcast hosted by a record store, and fans rushed to the venue, causing a huge panic (July 11, 1997 issue).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_315113" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4252px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315113"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cc533cab"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/483eaaf3cfa74c9b9ac633f108e3b815.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315113" class="wp-caption-text">Matsu Takako&#8217;s only hot love scoop! A date with Kimutaku&#8217;s best friend and charismatic stylist Tsuyoshi Noguchi at a sushi restaurant (July 25, 1997 issue).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_315115" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2285px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315115"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="68ccfdaf"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/327f44a9107acfe87eefa4565d4ae073.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315115" class="wp-caption-text">At the launch of the stage production of &#8220;Hamlet. With Mariko Kaga (left) (May 8 and 13, 1998)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_315116" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1669px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315116"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e4b0f488"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/969942511d110522ee6306ac16f976f9.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315116" class="wp-caption-text">Matsu coming out of the restaurant after the launch of the stage &#8220;Hamlet&#8221; (May 8 and 13, &#8217;98 issue)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_315117" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2479px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315117"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="fb2b98ae"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/b646ddc9565e679face773833bb31b6c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315117" class="wp-caption-text">A moment off. He spent 20 minutes in the masterpiece section of a rental video store selecting a film (May 8 and 13, &#8217;98 issue).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_315118" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2057px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315118"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c4d288d7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/93d821919ed2947d78071e4c31b8baa3.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315118" class="wp-caption-text">Matsu just after winning the Best Leading Actress Award at the Japan Academy Prize for the movie &#8220;Villon&#8217;s Love: Cherry Peaches and Dandelions&#8221; (March 26, &#8217;10 issue).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_315119" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 976px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315119"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="581facd7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/e0beb168e856be0f3d7ec745168ea4a7.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315119" class="wp-caption-text">Matsu walking in front of guitarist Yoshiyuki Sato, whom she married in 2007, pushing a baby carriage in which their first child, born in 2003, rides (August 14, &#8217;15 issue).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_315120" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1872px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315120"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7d5e75bd"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/c91b875edec8178935b1a59eb64c4267.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315120" class="wp-caption-text">Matsu pushing a baby carriage in which her first child, born in &#8217;15, rides (August 14, &#8217;15).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_315121" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2812px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315121"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9d7515c0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/3f9532f5ebdc96d36f548962310b93b3.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315121" class="wp-caption-text">Matsu gets into his car in the parking lot after the performance. He left quickly, perhaps wanting to see his child waiting for him at home (January 7 and 14, 2010 issues).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_315122" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2168px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-315122"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b5381ba0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/06/7055d91eeb46de5c6409a62429ae3448.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-315122" class="wp-caption-text">Matsu was found after a stage performance in Shibuya (January 7 and 14, 2010).</figcaption></figure>


 Takahiro Kagawa (1st, 7th) Ryu Kanzaki, Hidetoshi Hayashi (3rd, 4th) Takuo Higuchi (5th, 6th) Hirohiko Tani, Takeshi Kinugawa, Tetsuko Takemoto (10th, 11th) Yuri Adachi (12th, 13th)

 The stage in which Takako Matsu (45) will appear will open on June 17. The stage play "Rabbit Runs on the Waves" is the first new work in two years by NODA MAP, led by playwright and director Hideki Noda (67), and will feature Takako Matsu, who starred in the 2010 play "Q: A Night

A true picture of Takako Matsu, Japan’s most treasured actress!

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