The Night Actress: Magiko Midori (Early 1970s)

The Night Actress: Magiko Midori (Early 1970s)
Magiko Midori was known as a standard-bearer of underground theater and redefined the meaning of "actress" in the entertainment industry of the time through her collaborations with Shuji Terayama and Juro Karo, etc. Since the late 1960s, she has been expressing a deformed physicality in underground urban theaters. Her provocative stance symbolized the period when urban culture began to test the freedom of "sex," "life," and "expression.
In Japanese society in the early 1970s, the women's lib movement and sexual liberation shook up urban culture, and magazines and films reflected the desires of young women who were not satisfied with just being "cute. With the launch of "anan" and the appearance of "non-no," women's magazines began to visualize lifestyle changes and talk about how women should live independently. In such a climate, Madako Midori's statement, "I am on the same stage, both acting and being myself," declared her self as an "expressive person" who transcended the boundaries of being an actress.
In addition, the male-centered structure remained strong in the entertainment industry. Within the framework of the idol system, one-scene appearances, and fixed TV programs, it was not easy for actresses to freely use their bodies and thoughts. Madoka Midorimako broke this restriction and brought a "body=stage" and "theater=everyday" perspective to the world of entertainment. This attitude is considered one of the prototypes for the "feminist actresses of the 1970s," who were later followed by Keiko Matsuzaka and Kaori Momoi.
The publication of this work is a valuable record of the intersection of entertainment and ideology, women's bodies and social consciousness. The work clearly shows the moment when Madoka Midorimako not only played herself in the entertainment industry, but also constructed her own stage to replay society, transforming herself into an "actress = a subject of expression.