Obituaries

Takako Sasuga, Voice Actor for Tara-Chan, Dies at 87

Courtesy of the Hasegawa Machiko Art Museum
Tara-chan

Jiji Press

19:09 JST, February 10, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Voice actor Takako Sasuga, best known for providing the voice of Tara-chan in popular animated television series “Sazae-san,” died Sunday, it was learned Friday. She was 87.

Sasuga, a Tokyo native, whose real name was Takako Horiuchi, had been the only voice actor for Tara-chan, or Tarao Fuguta, the young son of Sazae-san, or Sazae Fuguta, the main character of the TV series, since it began in 1969.

In 2019, she was recognized for having “the longest career as a voice actor for the same character of an animated TV series” by Guinness World Records for her role as Tara-chan.

Sasuga also played such roles as Hajime-chan in the “Tensai Bakabon” anime series and Akubi in “Hakushon Daimao.”