We recently connected with Maho Tachibana and have shared our conversation below.

MAHO , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Since childhood, I have loved watching Hollywood action movies, especially those starring Jackie Chan. My favorite was The Karate Kid. I also learned Japanese dance and participated in competitions, enjoying every opportunity to perform in front of an audience.

I was passionate about reading, and my favorite subject in school was Japanese language and literature. The way punctuation could subtly change the nuance of a sentence fascinated me, and I loved the challenge of reading between the lines. I would often memorize entire stories from my textbooks just by reading them repeatedly. When I recited them fluently, the adults around me were amazed.

In middle school, I read a manga about a child actor growing up to become an actress. There was a scene where the protagonist performed a life-threatening escape from a burning mansion. That moment struck me deeply, and I thought, “I want to do this too!” It was then that I realized I wanted to dedicate myself to acting, putting everything on the line.

Watching movies, reading books (and scripts), and expressing myself in front of others—everything I loved, everything I was good at, and everything I found exciting—naturally led me to the path of acting.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a Japanese actress and performer. While I mainly work in films and dramas, I also sing on stage. Additionally, some of my modeling work has been showcased at exhibitions. My special skills include Japanese dance and karate. My father holds a 5th-degree black belt, and my grandfather held the highest rank of an 8th-degree black belt. However, I was never fond of training and remained a lifelong white belt.

I moved to Los Angeles a year ago to pursue a career in Hollywood. Shortly after arriving, I auditioned for a feature film and landed the role of a nurse named Amy. That opportunity led to more connections, allowing me to participate in various film projects. In the streaming drama My Puppet Wife, I played the role of “Another Woman” in an opening affair scene.

In the future, I hope to be part of a project that showcases Japanese culture. I am currently looking for an agent and hope to find the right opportunity soon.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The Rewarding Aspect of This Work

The most rewarding aspect of this work is the ability to move people’s hearts.

In October last year, I had the opportunity to perform at a memorial event in Itaewon, South Korea, honoring the victims of the Halloween tragedy. I chose to perform a traditional Japanese dance and used a song dedicated to the remembrance of the Great East Japan Earthquake victims. Although the countries were different, I believed that the feeling of mourning for the lost lives was the same.

I choreographed the dance myself, but I was concerned that cultural differences might cause misunderstandings. To ensure this, I consulted with my Korean friends. A single mistake could have led to an international issue, and I also worried whether my performance would truly contribute to the event, given that some people might hold anti-Japanese sentiments. It was an incredibly stressful and nerve-wracking time, pushing me far beyond my comfort zone.

However, after the performance, when I stood on stage for the final greeting, the audience joined me on stage, giving me thumbs up and expressing in English and Korean how moved they were. We took many photos together, and I was truly overwhelmed with joy.

Whether through acting or performing, the ability to touch someone’s heart is what makes this work so rewarding.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

One of my goals is to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.
This has not changed since I started acting.

When I first began acting, I was really terrible, and directors and acting coaches often got frustrated with me.
I was so frustrated with myself for not being able to perform the way I wanted that I took acting lessons from all over the world.

Now, I truly enjoy acting.

Winning an Oscar is not about seeking recognition. I simply want to prove that people can achieve the goals they envision.

No matter how much of a failure you may feel like right now, you can achieve the goals you imagine!

By proving this, I want to empower people all over the world. That is my mission.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13967671/?ref_=ext_shr
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tachibana.maho
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tachibana.maho/?locale=ja_JP
• Twitter: https://x.com/tachibana_maho
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCQg0KPWLglGwTrRUmRpkhcg?si=vdTXBja-YIzzjsgL
• Other: https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AB%8B%E8%8A%B1%E3%81%BE%E3%81%BB

  Wikipedia

Image Credits

From the short film LAST MOMENT
From the short film THE CALL
Photos as a model
Performance in Korea×2
The BTS of the streaming drama I Knew You Were Trouble