Hiroko Sakurai

Hiroko Sakurai
Born	March 4, 1946 (age 79) Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Actress, producer
Years Active	1966 - present
External Links

Hiroko Sakurai is a Japanese actress and producer at Tsuburaya Productions. Her real name is Hiroko Furuya . She is known for her roles as Yuriko Edogawa in Ultra Q and Akiko Fuji in Ultraman. She is also a member of the Ultraman Foundation.

Career

Sakurai made her film debut in 1957. After graduating from junior high school in 1961, she joined Toho Company and officially began her acting career. During this time, she appeared in films distributed by Toho. In 1964, after a brief audition, she was cast as Yuriko Edogawa, the female reporter in Ultra Q. She continued her role as the female lead, Akiko Fuji, in the 1966 series Ultraman.

After 1967, Sakurai left Toho to focus on television dramas, period dramas, and detective shows. She continued to make guest appearances in the Ultraman series throughout the Showa era. In the late 1980s, her acting career experienced a period of stagnation.

In the 1980s, Sakurai's acting career went through a period of stagnation, but she did not officially announce her retirement. It wasn’t until 1993 that Director Toshihiro Iijima proposed the plan to make a film about the continuation of the SSSP. Producer Kazuho Mitsuta mentioned, "If Sakurai (her nickname is 'Roko') does not appear, we won’t write it." During this time, a producer asked if she would be willing to appear on the information program Gogo wa Marumaru Omoiikkiri TV. Although Iijima’s project ultimately did not materialize, and due to the significant time commitments required for television dramas and acting work, Sakurai did not accept new job offers for a period after her appearances on the information program and guest roles in parts of the Ultraman series.

In 2001, at the "ASIAN FANTASY FILM EXPO" (AFFE) held in New Jersey, USA, Sakurai was invited as a guest to participate in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Director Eiji Tsuburaya's birth. After returning to Japan, Sakurai shared her experience with Director Iijima, which became a significant opportunity for her later to become a coordinator and producer at Tsuburaya Productions.

As the Ultraman series gained popularity, Sakurai began to receive invitations to participate in related activities. This included writing autobiographies, attending official meet-and-greet events, and making appearances in related works. She actively promoted Ultraman-related projects and maintained connections with actors and production team members associated with the series.

Since January 2021, Sakurai has run a podcast called ROCO TALK where she talks with guests, most of whom were Ultraman Series actors or directors. So far these guests have included: Yasuhiko Saijo, Tomoo Haraguchi, Toshihiro Iijima, Yoko Fujiyama, Bin Furuya, Kohji Moritsugu, Nami Tamura, Keiji Takamine, Susumu Kurobe, Akihide Tsuzawa, Keiko Nishi, Shinji Higuchi, and Hideaki Anno.

In August of the same year, due to the passing of Masanari Nihei, she expressed, "I suddenly felt concerned about the future and wanted to share some thoughts I had during the filming of Ultraman with everyone." Consequently, she opened a Twitter account and actively shared information related to the series on social media platforms.

In 2024, Sakurai collaborated with Tsu Aoyama to publish an autobiographical book titled Heroine's Memories, which focuses on behind-the-scenes stories from the filming of Ultra Q and Ultraman.

Roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	Ultra Q	Yuriko Edogawa
	The Birth of Ultraman	Akiko Fuji
	Ultraman
1967	Kaiju Booska	YY TV Reporter	Episode 18
	Ultraseven	Sanae Yamabe	Episode 12 "From Another Planet with Love"
1968	Mighty Jack	Eriko Izumi	Episode 9 "Guide to Hell"
	Operation: Mystery	Reiko Takiguchi	Episode 4 "Fearful Phone Calls"
1970	Scat of Single	Ayano
1972	Mirrorman	Mysterious Woman/Invader	Episode 24 "Challenge Coldon: The Capsule Freezing Monster!"
1974	Ultraman Leo	Kanako Hoshimura	Episode 30 "Japanese Folklore Series! - Monster's Return of a Favor"
1981	Ultraman 80	Mieko Saito (Takeo's mother)	Episode 41 "Did You See the Zero Monster Bird"
1994	Ultraseven - Operation: Solar Energy	Herself
1996	Revive! Ultraman	Akiko Fuji	Voiced stock footage
	Ultraman Zearth	Fujiko
	Moon Spiral	Mom	Episode 4 "Red Rolling Paper, Blue Rolling Paper, Yellow Rolling Paper"
1997	Ultraman Zearth 2: Superhuman Big Battle - Light and Shadow	Fujiko
1999	Ultraman Nice	Kiku Yumeboshi
2000	Booska! Booska!!	Old Woman Fortune Telling With Crystal Ball	Episode 19
2001	Ultraman Cosmos: The First Contact	Clevergon	Voice
		Citizen
2002	Ultraman Cosmos	Clevergon	Voice Episodes 29-31, 44
	Ultraseven 35th Anniversary: EVOLUTION	Alien Pegassa Sayuri	Human form and voice Episode 1 "Dark Side"
2003	The Ultra Q Club	Yuriko Edogawa	Voice
2005	Ultraman Max	Yukari Yoshinaga
	Ultra Q Kaiju Legend: Jun Manjome's Confessions	Yuriko Edogawa
	Ultraman Kaiju Legend: The 40 Year Old Truth	Akiko Fuji
2008	Superior 8 Ultra Brothers	Akiko Hayata (née Fuji)
2011	Q -Door to Another Dimension-	Yuriko Edogawa
2014	ULTRAMAN Motion Comic	Akiko Fuji	Voice
2024	Ultraman: Rising	Ami's Mother	Japanese dub

Discography

Ultraman Mebius

Ultraman Mebius (Opening) (with Project DMM, as member of Ultra Defense Force)

Books

• A Chronicle of Ultraman’s Youth: Member Fuji’s 929 Days (1994, Shōgakukan) ISBN 4-09-387128-0
• The Genesis Of Ultraman (2003, Shōgakukan) ISBN 4-09-387464-6.
• Akiko Fujiko’s Story: Secrets Behind the Filming of Ultraman (2005, Kadokawashoten) ISBN 404853853.

Gallery

Sakurai as Yuriko Edogawa in Ultra Q

Sakurai as Akiko Fuji in Ultraman

Sakurai as a YY TV Reporter in Kaiju Booska

Sakurai as Sanae Yamabe in Ultraseven

Sakurai as Eriko Izumi in Mighty Jack

Sakurai as Reiko Takiguchi in Operation: Mystery

Sakurai as Ayano in Scat of Single

Sakurai as Mysterious Woman in Mirrorman

Sakurai as Kanako Hoshimura in Ultraman Leo

Sakurai as Mieko Saito in Ultraman 80

Sakurai as herself in Ultraseven - Operation: Solar Energy

Sakurai as Fujiko in Ultraman Zearth

Sakurai as Kiku Yumeboshi in Ultraman Nice

Sakurai as a citizen in Ultraman Cosmos: The First Contact

Sakurai voices Clevergon in Ultraman Cosmos

Sakurai as Alien Pegassa Sayuri in Ultraseven: EVOLUTION

Sakurai as Yukari Yoshinaga in Ultraman Max

Sakurai as Yuriko Edogawa in Ultra Q Kaiju Legend: Jun Manjome's Confessions

Sakurai as Akiko Fuji in Ultraman Kaiju Legend: The 40 Year Old Truth

Sakurai as Akiko Hayata in Superior 8 Ultra Brothers

Sakurai is involved in the Japanese voice acting for Ultraman: Rising.

Miscellaneous

Sakurai and Optical printer in 1965

Sakurai and the Ultraman cast in 2005

Yukari Taki (Arisa Sugita), Yuriko Hishimi (Anne Yuri), Hiroko (Akiko Fuji) and Takami Yoshimoto (Rena Yanase) representing the Ultraman Ginga, Ultraseven, Ultraman and Ultraman Tiga DVD/Blu-rays

Sakurai and the Ultraman cast in Ultraman Festival 2016

Sakurai and Kiyotaka Taguchi imitating the scene from "The Pearl Defense Directive" where Fuji and Ide stroll through Ginza.

Sakurai in 2024

Sakurai and other actors at the Ultraman Nexus & Ultraman Max ~Heisei Climax~ held at TSUBURAYA CONVENTION 2025

Trivia

• Sakurai is a host of the 2003 direct-to-video documentary special Ultra's Cradle: The True Story and Birth of Ultra Q and Ultraman. According to her, her involvement in this documentary special eventually led to her becoming a coordinator for Tsuburaya Productions.
• Sakurai was the main interviewee of the 2005 live-streamed special program Ultra Heroine Legend: Contest of Goddesses. The documentary featured behind-the-scenes stories of her role in Ultraman, as well as a joint interview with Akio Jissoji.
• Although not appearing in the film itself, Sakurai appears in footage of an Ultraman Series 40th anniversary party shown in the ending credits of Ultraman Mebius & the Ultra Brothers.