Mariko Gotō

Acting

Born: February 22, 1982

Birthplace: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan

Mariko Gotō (後藤 まりこ, Gotō Mariko) (born February 22, 1982, in Izumiōtsu, Osaka) is a Japanese singer, lyricist, and composer. Her career started in the early 2000s with the band Usagi (うさぎ), where she sang and played guitar. After it broke up in 2003, she joined punk jazz group Midori together with Usagi's bassist, Yoshifumi Kuwano. Midori released three full-length albums, five EPs, and a single. After its dissolution, Gotō focused on her solo career as a musician, as well as a stage, film, and television drama actress. In 2013, she wrote the lyrics for and sang the opening song of the anime Flowers of Evil which is titled "宇宙人" (ep. 4–6, "Aku no Hana -Nakamura Sawa-"). Her song "Sound of Me" was used as the ending theme of the drama Taberu Dake, where she played the lead role. In May 2016, it was reported that she decided to quit the music industry. She returned at the end of 2018 with a demo EP, following it with a full-length album in 2019, both under the alias DJ510Mariko.