, sometimes credited only as Eriko, is a Japanese actress and singer. Her anime series ''

Idol Densetsu Eriko is a Japanese anime series by Ashi Productions that aired from 1989 until 1990, spanning 51 episodes. The story has been adapted into a three-Tankōbon, volume manga series by Ayumi Kawahara. Plot The series follows titular character , who i ...

'' ''(Legendary Idol Eriko)'' has been syndicated worldwide, airing in such countries as France, Italy, India and Spain. In live action series, she portrayed Princess Yaeko in the television show ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

'' and Mai, the villainess in the feature film ''

Dragonball Evolution ''Dragonball Evolution'' is a 2009 American superhero film loosely based on the Japanese ''Shōnen Jump'' manga series '' Dragon Ball'' created by Akira Toriyama. Directed by James Wong, written by Ben Ramsey, and produced by Stephen Chow, i ...

''.

Career

Tamura grew up in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Germany, and lived there for six years with her family from the age of 8 to the age of 13. Tamura (who speaks fluent English, German, and Japanese) has starred in over 20 films and television series in Japan. Tamura is a recording artist. She has released 10 original albums and 18 singles with record label EMI. Tamura has toured all over Japan, giving concert performances in such venues as the prestigious ''

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. The Budokan was a popular venue for Japanese professional wres ...

''. In the United States, Tamura has appeared in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

series, ''

'' as Princess Yaeko, a love interest of

Hiro Nakamura is a fictional superhero on the NBC superhero drama '' Heroes'' who possesses the ability of space-time manipulation, allowing him to alter the flow of time, teleport and time travel. In the show, he is portrayed by Japanese actor Masi Oka. Ac ...

and Takeso Kensei. In 2009, Tamura also played a leading role, Mai, the villainess in the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

feature ''

''. Also in 2009, Tamura played Sock's

stepsister Step-siblings are children born of two different families who have been joined by marriage. A male step-sibling is a stepbrother and a female is a stepsister. The step-siblings relationship is connected through law and is not a blood relation. ...

in season 2 of ''

Reaper A reaper is a farm implement that reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass, especially wheat. The first documented reaping machines were Gallic reapers that were used ...

''. The anime series entitled ''

'' ''(Legendary Idol Eriko)'' was created as a result of her popularity. The show has been translated into six languages and syndicated worldwide, airing in such countries as France, Italy, India, and Spain. Tamura won a celebrated American Idol-esque competition in Japan at the age of 14, soon after moving back to Japan from Germany. Winning this popular competition resulted her to join the cast of the prime-time television comedy ''Born to be Wild!'' as a series regular. Tamura's first starring role was in the award-winning NHK mini-series, ''My Beloved Ultra Seven''. Tamura was then cast in the highly regarded ''

Taiga Drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...

'' television series ''

Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innov ...

'', in which she portrayed real-life historical figure, ''

Hosokawa Gracia , usually referred to as , (1563 – 25 August 1600) was a member of the aristocratic Akechi family from the Sengoku period. Gracia is best known for her role in the Battle of Sekigahara; Ishida Mitsunari attempted to take her hostage to s ...

''. In 2007, Tamura filed a lawsuit against

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

for invading her privacy by posting her birthday and full name online. The complaint was settled privately. Her first autobiography, , was published in Japan by

Bungeishunjū is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine '' Bungeishunjū''. The company was founded by Kan Kikuchi in 1923. It grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well a ...

in 2009.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''May Be Dream'' (July 19, 1989) * ''Myself'' (February 28, 1990) * ''Behind the Heart'' (September 5, 1990) * ''Der Traum'' (February 14, 1991) * ''Taiyō no Vacance'' (June 28, 1991) * ''Shōjo de Iraretara'' (June 24, 1992) * ''Ima no Watashi de...'' (December 2, 1992) * ''

Sure SuRe (The Standard for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure) is a global voluntary standard which integrates key criteria of sustainability and resilience into infrastructure development and upgrade. It has been developed by the Swiss Global In ...

'' (September 22, 1993)

Compilations

* ''Discovery'' (December 4, 1991) * ''Ballad'' (August 24, 1994) * ''Twin Best: Eriko Tamura'' (March 28, 1998) * ''Golden Best: Eriko Tamura'' (June 25, 2003) * ''New Best 1500'' (August 24, 2005)

References

Sources

Interview with Eriko Tamura
at Chopsticks NY
Interview with Eriko Tamura
at Asiance Magazine
NeXT: Eriko Tamura: A Glimpse of the Past and the Future

External links

* *
Eriko Tamura
profile at Oricon

at Tacto {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamura, Eriko 1973 births Living people Japanese women pop singers Japanese film actresses Japanese television actresses Japanese idols Japanese expatriates in the United States Japanese expatriates in West Germany Actresses from Los Angeles Singers from Ibaraki Prefecture Universal Music Japan artists People from Ibaraki Prefecture 20th-century Japanese actresses 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers Horikoshi High School alumni 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers