Mako Ishino (石野真子/眞子; born January 31, 1961), is a Japanese singer and actress. After being discovered by the talent-search show Star Tanjō!, she received a newcomer award at the 20th Japan Record Awards (1978). She has been selected to compete twice on the NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen.
Born in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, she is the elder sister of actresses Yōko Ishino and Atsuko Ishino.
Ishino is affiliated with From First Production Co., Ltd.
Contents
Curriculum vitae
Childhood to 1977 debut
Born to a family of five, two younger sisters. Her parents ran a company that manufactured handbags made with beads. She enrolled at the Catholic school Yuri Gakuin Junior High School in April 1973, situated in Amagasaki, Hyōgo. After school she helped out with the home business. When she was 3rd year in junior high, she started taking lessons once a week at Masaaki Hirao's music school (then Hirao Masaaki kayō gakuin, Osaka campus).
She moved on to Yuri Gakuin High School in April 1976. The father set a strict 4:30 pm curfew and needed to phone if running late due to extracurricular club activities. After being recruited to become singer, she transferred to Horikoshi High School (showbiz course) starting from the 3rd trimester of the 3rd (graduating) year of high school.
She submitted her application to try out on the Star Tanjō! show in the 1st year of High School at the recommendation of a music school teacher, with the permission from the father who was certain she would not qualify anyway. Ishino made her TV appearance in Star Tanjō! (Osaka) in February 1977, singing Danièle Vidal's Tenshi no rakugaki ("Aime ceux qui t'aiment"), and becoming Osaka regional champion, with an overwhelming score of 530 points (1000 points are divided among 4 contestants). Then in the national grand tournament (Tokyo) that aired in April 1977, she became grand champion, which was followed by various agencies' offers to sign her. She decided to join Burning Production, which had already offered to sign her even she didn't become national champion.
As idol: 1978-1981
Ishino debuted with the song Ōkami nanka kowaku nai (lit."Who's afraid of the big bad wolf", March 25, 1978, Victor Records, lyrics by Yū Aku; composed by Takurō Yoshida; cover jacket photo by Kishin Shinoyama. This and her second single Watashi no don ("My mob boss") were both choreographed by Hajime Doi
Her signature facial feature since debut was notably her yaeba (double-teeth upper canines) and tare-me (drooping eyed-ness), and her double-teeth image endured on, even though she had corrective dental surgery to align her teeth by 1985.
On August 27, she held a concert at Seibuen, Shukdai nanka kowaku nai/1-man nin daishūkai (宿題なんか怖くない、1万人大集会; "Who's afraid of [the big bad] homework/10,000 person grand assembly").
Her Shitsuren kinenbi (失恋記念日; "Jilted love memorial day") (October 5, 1978) her third single, which won her the newcomer award at the year's-end 20th Japan Record Awards (December 31, 1978).。
Other accolades leading up to this are the newcomer award at the Japan Music Awards (Nihon Kayō Taishō) in November, gold medal at the Shinjuku Music Festival on October 12, and the newcomer award at the Yokohama Music Festival on October 25.
She also received her first film role in the film adaptation of the Akutagawa Prize-winning Michitsuna Takahashi's novel Kugatsu no sora (released December). Playing opposite Bandō Shōnosuke, she performed a kissing scene; but as she was not familiar with men and never kissed before, it was quite trying, and though the scene was ok'd at the first cut, she was welling with tears afterwards.
She was cast in the TV series Netsuai Ikka LOVE (aired February 1979).
Her subsequent discography includes Nichiyōbi wa sutorenjā ("Sunday is a stranger", 4th single, January 25, 1979), Pretty Pretty (5th song, April 5), Wonder Boogie (6th song, July 5), Jurī ga raibaru ("Jurī aka Kenji Sawada is the rival", 7th song, September 25).
Retirement as idol
In June 1981, she announced her intent to marry singer Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi and retire as singer by the end of August.
She released Koi no Summer Dance (15th single, June 21, 1981), followed by Burning Love (16th single, July 21, 1981) which will be her last as idol.
She performed her farewell tour down and across the country, starting from Kanazawa, Ishikawa on July 26, culminating in the final concert of August 30 at Shibuya Public Hall in Tokyo, which was telecast live.
Ishino married Nagabuchi in Hawaiʻi in January 1982, but the marriage did not last. She separated in March 1983 and officially divorced in May.
Return to showbiz
Ishino returned to the entertainment business in 1983, at first mainly as an actress, appearing in Nēchan no natsu (ねえちゃんの夏; "Big sister's summer")
Ishino played the middle of three sisters in the TV drama Mune sawagu ichigo tachi, where the eldest sister played by Asami Kobayashi was the lead role.
She released her first single after a 4-year hiatus with Meguriai ("Encounter", 19th single released June 21, 1985).
She was cast in the part of the younger sister of the lead actress in Inochi ("Life", started January 5, 1986), the year-long NHK Taiga drama for that year. Ishino portrayed Sachi, who had a crippled leg from a Tokyo air raid. In later years, the rerun of Inochi became a huge hit in Cuba with an 80% rating, and Ishino became the most well-known Japanese personality in that country.
On July 21, 1987, she released Garasu no kanransha ("Glass Ferris Wheel"), followed on October 21 by Sora ni kanbasu ("Glass Ferris Wheel").
Her second marriage in 1990 to Shun Hiroooka lasted until 1996.
Ishino was cast in the role of Swan Shiratori in the original Japanese Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger (2004–2005). The show was remade into the American version Power Rangers S.P.D. soon after, and back-imported into Japan, dubbed, in 2011, with Ishino as the voice of the narrator.
Ishino returned in the role of Swan in the 2024 feature film Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger 20th Fireball Booster.
Discography
Albums
Smile (July 25, 1978)
Mako II (December 5, 1978)
Mako Live I (June 1, 1979)
Mako III (August 25, 1979)
Koi no Disc Jockey MAKO IV (March 5, 1980)
Watashi no Shiawase MAKO 5 (July 21, 1980)
Twenty MAKO 6 (February 21, 1981)
Jeans ni Hakikaete MAKO 7 (July 5, 1981)
BYE BYE MAKO LIVE ~ 8 tsuki no taiyō yori moete ~ (October 5, 1981)
Saffron (October 21, 1985)
Truth (October 25, 2003)
Memories of the Sea (海の記憶, Umi no Kioku) (2004)
Mako Revival (2005)
Mirai (2006)
Love Merry-go-round (August 20, 2008)
Watashi no Shiawase (2008)
Life Is Beautiful (2010)
Singles
"Ōkami nanka kowaku nai" (狼なんか怖くない) (1978) (Oricon: 17)
"Watashi no Don" (わたしの首領) (1978) (Oricon: 26)
"Shitsuren kinenbi" (失恋記念日) (1978) (Oricon: 24)
"Nichiyōbi wa Stranger" (日曜日はストレンジャー) (1979) (Oricon: 19)
"Pretty Pretty" (プリティー・プリティー) (1979) (Oricon: 26)
"Wonder Boogie" (ワンダー・ブギ) (1979) (Oricon: 22)
"Julie ga Rival" (ジュリーがライバル) (1979) (Oricon: 24)
"Haru La! La! La!" (春ラ!ラ!ラ!) (1980) (Oricon: 16)
"Heart de shōbu" (ハートで勝負) (1980) (Oricon: 15)
"Memai" (めまい) (1980) (Oricon: 24)
"Kare ga hatsu koi" (彼が初恋) (1980) (Oricon: 22)
"Foggy Rain / Koi no Happy Date" (フォギー・レイン/恋のハッピー・デート) (1980) (Oricon: 27)
"Omoikkiri Samba" (思いっきりサンバ) (1981) (Oricon: 42)
"Irodori no toki" (彩りの季節) (1981) (Oricon: 35)
"Koi no Summer Dance" (恋のサマー・ダンス) (1981) (Oricon: 41)
"Burning Love" (バーニング・ラブ) (1981) (Oricon: 38)
"Watashi no shiawase PART II" (私のしあわせ PART II) (1981) (Oricon: 56)
"Ashita ni nareba" (明日になれば) (1982) (Oricon: 52)
Videos
Singact 2009 Pan・Dora ~Mako's Breakthrough~ (SINGACT 2009 PAN・DORA～真子の反抗期～, SINGACT 2009 PAN・DORA ~Mako no Hankō-ki~) (2010)
Band Tour 2010 Life Is Beautiful ~First Live Tour in 29 Years~ (BAND TOUR 2010 Life is beautiful ～29年ぶり素顔のライブツアー～, BAND TOUR 2010 Life is beautiful ~29-Nen-buri sugao no raibutsuā~) (2010)
Mako Ishino Live & Document 2009 at Shinagawa Church Gloria Chapel ~My Happy Guitar~ (石野真子 LIVE & DOCUMENT 2009 at 品川教会 グローリアチャペル ～MY HAPPY GUITAR～, Ishino Mako LIVE & DOCUMENT 2009 at Shinagawa Kyōkai Gurōriachaperu ～MY HAPPY GUITAR～) (2010)
Selected filmography
Television
The Kindaichi Case Files (1995) – Yumiko Ono
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger (2004) – Swan Shiratori/Deka Swan
Boys Over Flowers (2005) – Makino Chieko
Gunshi Kanbei (2014) – Konishi "Magdalena" Wakusa
Lost Man Found (2022) – Satoru's mother
Dear Radiance (2024) – Fujiwara no Mutsuko
Film
Hachiko Monogatari (1987) – Chizuko Ueno
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger The Movie: Full Blast Action (2004) – Swan Shiratori
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger vs. Abaranger (2005) – Swan Shiratori
Milk White (2004)
Mahou Sentai Magiranger vs. Dekaranger (2006) – Swan Shiratori
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger: 10 Years After (2015) – Swan Shiratori
Bittersweet (2016)
Neet Neet Neet (2018)
Love and the Grand Tug-of-war (2021)
The Pearl Legacy (2023) – Mitsuyo Ōgame
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger: 20th: Fireball Booster (2024) – Swan Shiratori
True Beauty: Before (2025)
True Beauty: After (2025)
Dubbing
Power Rangers S.P.D. (2005, 2011) – Narrator