Daruma Jiro, born Maekawa Jiro, is a retired Japanese actor. Having had difficulty landing another successful role due to typecasting, he 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 provide for his family, he took a succession of part-time jobs until landing a steady job as a deliveryman for an auto parts maker, until, in 2006, he suffered from osteoarthritis and had to undergo surgery on his right knee to replace the joint's cartilage, completely worn out, with an artificial one. Because of this, he now cannot walk without a cane, and had to be laid off from his job. He then suffered from 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, he 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 him to live alone in his 13,000 yen rented apartment in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture. In order to pay his rent, he 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 his story was featured in the TBS show "Bakuhou! the Friday", which also arranged a reunion with Gorenger co-stars Miyauchi Hiroshi, Ito Yukio and Komaki Lisa. Although Makoto Naoya could not attend, he wrote him 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.

On April 5, 2025, he was seen in a wheelchair, and he was the yellow representative for the late actor Hatakeyama Baku alongside the Gorenger co-stars to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Sentai series.

(Source: RangersWiki) Edit Biography