Arisu Jun

Arisu Jun, who was from Kure, Hiroshima,[2] was born Mariko Kubo (久保 雅璃子, Kubo Mariko)[3] on 20 June 1953 in Hiroshima Prefecture.[1] She was the daughter of a New Zealand Defence Force soldier who was stationed in Japan after World War II and a Japanese mother.[2][3] Her parents divorced when she was two years old;[2] her father returned to New Zealand, while her mother moved to Tokyo.[2] She was later raised by her grandmother in Kobe, and during her second year of junior high school, she moved to Tokyo where she lived with her aunt.[2] She had always grown up without knowing what to call home.[2] Arisu was of New Zealand nationality as of 1980.[2]

She was scouted while attending school at Tokyo College of Music High School, and she became a fashion model under the stage name of Mari Tsuzumi (津々見 マリ, Tsuzumi Mari), appearing in fashion magazines such as Soen.[3]

Her acting career began with Mama wa Rival,[1] which aired on TBS between 4 October 1972 and 26 September 1973.[4] Arisu Jun's stage name was derived by Mamoru Sasaki, who was the drama's scriptwriter, from the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and from the word for pure (清純, seijun).[3] She later appeared in two episodes of the NTV drama Taiyō ni Hoero! that aired on 6 and 13 October of the same year.[5][6] At the age of 21, she later became a member of the Tokyo Kid Brothers troupe.[1] In February 1979, she also appeared in the TV Asahi musical Saramumu alongside Kyōhei Shibata and his future husband Koichi Miura.[7]

In 1980, she married actor Kōichi Miura, who was also a member of the Tokyo Kid Brothers troupe.[2][1] After their marriage, the couple appeared together as teleshopping presenters.[1] She and Kōichi later had three children, including actors Kōta Miura and Ryōsuke Miura.[1]

Several of the shows she appeared in include the TV Tokyo shows Asa wa Tanoshiku!,[8] Morning Teleshop,[9] Okaimono Town,[8] Sandy Okaidoku Jōhō.[8] She also appeared in the TV Asahi shows BUY2,[10] GETV,[11] Omezame Shop,[9] Tokusen Ichibanmachi[9] Another show she appeared in, POSHLET WORLD, aired on Nippon TV on 26 August 2000.[11]

Her album Hanamoyō (花模様, Hanamoyō), was released by Nayutawave Records on 12 September 2007.[8]

She died of cancer in a Tokyo hospital on 12 July 2019.[1]