Takemoto Sayo (Maiden name: Eguchi, previous stage name: Mikado Mariko), known by the stage name Izumi Pinko, is a Japanese actress, comedian, comic storyteller, and singer born in Tokyo. In 1966, after dropping out of Nippon Music High School, she studied under Maki Shinji and made her debut as a singing comedian under the stage name of Mikado Mariko, but continued to work in cabarets. She later changed her name to Pinko Izumi in 1975 when she became a reporter for Nippon Television Network Corporation's TV program "TV Three-sided Article Weekender". In 1975, Toei Company offered her a role in "International Gangs of Kobe", thus beginning her acting career. In 1980, she played her first leading role in the NTV's series, "Tegorona Onna". As a singer, she had a hit in 1977 with "Ai Koi Butterfly", which sold 109,000 copies. In 1990, "Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari " began broadcasting on TBS. The series ran for more than 20 years and became one of Izumi's best-known works. On July 29, 1989, she got married to a gastroenterologist, Takemoto Norishige. (Source: Wikipedia)

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