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Icon-gorenger This article is about an actor in Himitsu Sentai Gorenger.

Jirō Daruma (だるま二郎 Daruma Jirō) (Real name: Jirō Maekawa (前川 次郎 Maekawa Jirō)) is a retired Japanese actor who portrayed Daigoro Kumano, the temporary replacement Kirenger, in Himitsu Sentai Gorenger.

Biography[]

Having had difficulties to land another successful role due to typecasting, Daruma retired from acting in 1989 and relocated to the Philippines, where he, who holds a 5th dan black belt in judo, opened a martial arts school. He got married in 1991, to a 22-year old Filipino woman, with whom he had a son. Returning to Japan so he could be able to provide for his family, Daruma took a succession of part-time jobs until landing a steady job as deliveryman for an auto parts maker until, in 2006, he suffered from osteoarthritis and had to operate his right knee to replace the joint's cartilage, completely worn out, for an artificial one. Because of this, Daruma now cannot walk without a cane, and had to be laid off from his job. He then suffered with respiratory problems, which led to a 0.4 inch breathing tube being implanted in his throat, slightly impairing his speech.

Even with his new limitations, Daruma kept looking for jobs where they were not a hindrance, but his applications were constantly rejected due to his health state. His wife had to take part-time jobs, until in 2012, she left him and took their son, leaving Daruma to live alone in his 13,000-yen rented apartment in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture. In order to pay his rent, Daruma does handicraft at Lynn Field, a local institution that assists disabled people.

His situation was largely unknown because of his disappearance from the public eye until December 2014, when Daruma's story was featured in the TBS show Bakuhou! The Friday, which also arranged a reunion with Gorenger co-stars Hiroshi Miyauchi, Yukio Itou and Lisa Komaki. Although Naoya Makoto could not attend, he wrote Daruma a letter of best wishes, which was delivered and read by Komaki.

Later on in 2017, he released a single titled "Perpetual Dream", a piano ballad about his life.[1]

External links[]

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