For five years I was completely broken”… Mio Takagi “crawled up from the bottom of the entertainment industry retirement”, remarried and made her debut again.

Those five years were completely broken. ……

‘This year I’m starring in movies that came out in March and June. I am also busy doing live performances of songs and talks, as well as filming several new movies.”

The actress and singer Mio Takagi, 63, says this with a smile. Her distinctive voice and dimples have not changed since she was young.

She made her Cinderella-like acting debut in the movie “Morning Moon is Roughly Morning” (’81), which featured music by Southern All Stars. She also starred in “The King of Helpless,” released the same year, and in ’82, her third single, “Dancing Can’t Dance Well,” became a big hit, selling 800,000 copies, and she appeared on many singing shows. Many male fans were numbed by her strikingly long hair, good looks, excellent proportions, and coquettish singing voice.

She continued to appear in many dramas and movies, including “Stewardess Story” and “Ultraman Tiga,” and became a popular singer as well. In her personal life, she married a musician with whom she had performed on stage in 1990. Her life was smooth sailing until one day, she suddenly disappeared from the public eye.

Suddenly, she was struck by an illness.

The change began around 1997, when she began to experience twitching under her right eye.

I had been in a theater company since elementary school, and I was taught not to express my feelings, so I grew up not being able to say ‘no.’ I had a lot of problems at work and at home,” she said. I was taught that I was not allowed to express myself, and I grew up not being able to say ‘no.’ I responded with ‘yes’ to everything, both at work and at home, and before I knew it, I had built up a lot of stress. My marriage also began to fray, and my health deteriorated rapidly. The cramps continued even when I slept, and I was having trouble sleeping.

I went to moxibustion and qigong to improve my physical condition, but it had no effect.’ In 1999, the divorce was finalized. She continued to appear in films and other work, but the cramps did not go away, and she was increasingly bothered on set, which gradually became unbearable.

I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore. Something broke down inside me. I called the president of the office and told him I was quitting.

In 2003, she cancelled her cell phone, changed her residence, and parted ways with the actress Mio Takagi.

After quitting her agency, Takagi experienced various part-time jobs.

She said, “Since I only knew about the entertainment business, I decided to take this opportunity to experience jobs that I wanted to do but could not. I did a variety of jobs, from working at ramen shops and pachinko parlors, to traffic security, to cleaning buildings, to aroma-related work.”

On the other hand, he was constantly plagued by cramps. I suffered from insomnia and sometimes didn’t eat anything but water for 21 days.’ In 2006, on the recommendation of an acquaintance, he visited a neurosurgeon and was finally diagnosed with ‘unilateral facial spasm.

Until then, he had been diagnosed as ‘depressed’ at a psychosomatic medicine clinic. Actually, the nerves that control the face near the brain stem and the arteries had fused, causing the blood flow to spasm.”

The only way to fully heal him was to open his skull and operate on the blood vessels in his brain. She was told that the success rate was 70%, but after much agonizing, she decided to have the surgery.

The surgery was a success. As her body recovered, her desire to become an actress grew stronger.

She said, “Then, I happened to look at the office’s website and was surprised to see that my photo and profile were still there. I contacted the president, who immediately welcomed me warmly. And I was able to work as an actress again.”

It was five years after she unilaterally quit the office. After returning to work, her battle with the disease was revealed on a variety show, and she became the center of attention.’ In 2001, she remarried to an IT company executive of the same age.

She said, “I’m remarried, but he’s married for the first time. I don’t know what he was thinking, but suddenly he said, ‘My ancestors whispered to me,’ and he said, ‘Do you want to get married? ‘ and he just ended up saying it (laughs).”

This spring, Takaki’s hit song “Dancing Can’t Dance Well” was played as an insert song in the drama “Kimi ga Shitekiranai Kakemono” (Fuji Television Network). The singer was Hiroshi Inaba (58) of “B’z,” and some of you may remember Takaki’s song.

Late last year, the president of his office, who had supported Takaki for many years after his debut and had been waiting for his return during his five-year absence, passed away suddenly.

He was also the godfather of my stage name ‘Takagi Mio. I am sure the president is watching over me.”

Saying this, Takagi showed us a gentle smile and an eboshi.

From “ FRIDAY “ September 8, 2023 issue