Princess Tenko
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Poster of Princess Tenko's Las Vegas show (2005)Princess Tenko is the stage name of Mariko Itakura (born 1959), a pop singer turned magician specialising in grand illusions. Her name is taken from Tenko (Isao Hikita), a male Japanese magician who was managed by the same person as Mariko and to whom Mariko was apprenticed in 1976. The older Tenko passed his mantle to her before he died, creating controversy because she was a woman in a male dominated field and the older Tenko had chosen her over two male apprentices.[1]
In 1990, Princess Tenko was named Magician of the Year by the Academy of Magical Arts.[2] The same award had been previously given to David Copperfield, Doug Henning, Siegfried & Roy, and other famous magicians. She debuted in North America at the Radio City Music Hall in 1994, and subsequently achieved worldwide fame. She was famous to the extent that an American magical girl-inspired cartoon series based on her character was created and Mattel produced a line of fashion dolls named after her. In 1996 she became an honorary goodwill ambassador of the African Wild Animal Conservation Fund. A plan for the opening of multiple theme parks based on her shows was mentioned but appears not to have proceeded.
She was the subject of controversy after making a visit to North Korea in April 1998. It was reported that she met North Korean leader Kim Jong Il but she is reported as denying this in interviews (she politely refused to confirm the story when interviewed by Jonathan Ross for the BBC series Japanorama). She has stated that the purpose of her visit was to perform at the Friendship Art Festival held in Pyongyang and to meet Korean artists.[3]
Besides being an illusionist, she is also known as a singer, stage director, movie director, video photographer and painter. As a singer she originally performed under the stage name Marie Asakaze.[4]
On Tuesday, 24th of July 2007 it was reported that she performed The Spike Illusion, but that the trick went wrong causing serious injury. After being released, she continued the show for a further thirty minutes before terminating it early due to her injuries.[5]