Nagiko Tono’s Former Manager Shares Her All-Out Devotion to Entertainment

“I couldn’t tell which one was the real one.”

More than ten days have passed since a woman’s body was discovered on July 3 in an apartment in Toshima Ward, Tokyo. The apartment has been reported as the residence of actress Nagiko Tono (45), but the identity of the body has yet to be confirmed, and contact with Tono herself has still not been established.

One person particularly worried about her whereabouts is Mr. A, who used to be Tono’s manager.

“She had places where she felt at ease—spending time with her cats at home or going to her favorite izakaya. I’d like to believe she’s still out there somewhere, living quietly.”

Mr. A recounted his memories of her, shedding light on the real Nagiko Tono—someone who, despite her emotional scars, was dedicated to her work.

“There were ups and downs. Good days and bad. So, I couldn’t tell which side was the real her.”

According to Mr. A, she had an extreme dual nature. Once she was on set, she was someone everyone liked.

“She was such a sweet person to the staff. That’s why she got along so well with Matsuko Deluxe (52), whom she worked with on Out x Deluxe (Fuji TV).”

She never caused trouble on set and always maintained good relationships with co-stars and staff. However, she rarely let anyone, including her manager, into her inner world.

“Usually, talent opens up to their manager at least a little, right? We’re supposed to protect them, so we want them to be honest with us. But she wasn’t the type to share what was in her heart.”

Spending time at home with her cats seemed to bring her peace, and in recent years, a new cat named “Shu-kun” became a significant presence in her life. Her blog frequently expressed just how much she adored him. She was also known to drink quite a bit.

“She often went to a favorite yakitori place near her apartment. But she absolutely never told us where it was.”

While her home with the cats was her main sanctuary, it seems she had other places to relax as well. When she was drinking, she would sometimes let slip her true feelings, such as frustrations about work.

“I was raised not by a mother, but by a woman.”

The key to understanding Tono’s complex inner world lies in her harrowing upbringing. She once shared a symbolic phrase with Mr. A that reflected her experience:

“She always said to me, ‘I was raised not by a mother, but by a woman.’ Her mother seemed to be the type who prioritized men over her own children.”

For many years, she reportedly suffered emotional abuse from her biological mother, who repeatedly told her things like, “You’re ugly and have nothing going for you,” and never gave her love. Ironically, her entry into the entertainment industry happened by chance—she was scouted while accompanying her younger brother to his children’s theater group.

Driven by a desperate desire to be acknowledged by her mother, she worked hard as a child actress. But even when she was cast as the heroine in the April 1999 NHK morning drama Suzuran, her mother showed no emotion or pride in her achievement.

Tono herself became known as a woman with many loves. She married a non-celebrity man in 2009, but they divorced after just 72 days. In 2014, she remarried a former professional boxer, but that marriage ended after 55 days. In 2023, she married an older, non-celebrity man for the third time, only to divorce again after two weeks. Though she was at times mocked as a seven-timing actress, Mr. A commented:

“During the time I was her manager, there wasn’t anyone she was dating. She was someone who had never received love from her family, so I think maybe she didn’t know how to love someone.”

Tono once said on TV that she had dated several men through a dating app, but Mr. A suspect:

“I think she probably said that as a joke. She always wanted to stay in the spotlight.”

“I want to be the teasing target (the one who gets playfully picked on).”

For Tono, acting was a place where she poured her entire soul. In Suzuran, she portrayed the heroine Moe Tokiwa—a girl abandoned by her parents in Hokkaido during the late Taisho era—and her gripping performance brought her nationwide recognition.

“The intensity with which she devoted herself to drama and stage work was extraordinary. It wasn’t just a job to her—more like she wanted to experience the lives of the characters. Her own upbringing was so tragic that I think immersing herself in a role let her escape reality.”

Acting was likely her true calling. That said, Tono approached every job with the same seriousness. Starting her career as a child actress, she showcased her talent in NHK’s Yatsushiro Shogun Yoshimune and the popular drama Miseinen.

Around 2011, she ventured into variety shows and gained attention for her unfiltered talk style on programs like Out x Deluxe and Barairo Dandy (TOKYO MX). As an extension of her variety work, she expressed a desire to take on the role of the teasing target character, Mr. A revealed. He had advised her:

“I told her, ‘If you just goof around because it’s variety, it won’t be funny. Viewers only laugh when you try seriously and mess up.’ And she replied, ‘Then I want to do it even more,’ so we started accepting jobs where she’d play the teasing target. She appeared on shows like NHK’s Yuru Supo-bu and the Female Celebrity Sports Test on London Hearts (TV Asahi). She worked so hard it was almost heartbreaking.”

In recent years, Tono publicly revealed her struggles with eating disorders and depression, and by June 2025, she had begun using home-visit nursing care. Despite her deep emotional wounds and the walls, she kept between herself and others, her unwavering commitment to her work never faltered. As a performer, she truly deserves to be called top-class.