- Princess Tenko
Princess Tenko is the stage name of The same award had been previously given to David Copperfield,
Doug Henning ,Siegfried & Roy , and other famous magicians. She debuted in North America at theRadio City Music Hall in 1994, and subsequently achieved worldwide fame. She was famous to the extent that an Americanmagical girl -inspiredcartoon series based on her character was created and Mattel produced a line of fashion dolls named after her. In 1996, she became an honorary goodwill ambassador of theAfrican Wild Animal Conservation Fund .She was the subject of controversy after making a visit to
North Korea in April 1998. It was reported that she met North Korean leaderKim Jong Il but she reportedly denied this in interviews.Fact|date=August 2008 She has stated that the purpose of her visit was to perform at the "Friendship Art Festival" held inPyongyang and to meet Korean artists. [cite news | last = | first = | title = Interview with "Princess Tenko": Koreans Are Friendly, Have Deep Understanding of Art| pages = | publisher = The People's Korea | date = 1998| url = http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/042nd_issue/98051301.htm| accessdate = 2008-08-19] She again visited North Korea in 2000 and performed for Kim Jong Il. She was asked to stay in North Korea but refused. ["Japanorama ", Series 3 Episode 4,BBC Three ,9 April 2007 ]Besides being an illusionist, she is also known as a singer, stage director, movie director, video photographer and painter. As a singer she originally performed under the stage name nihongo|Mari Asakaze|朝風まり|Asakaze Mari.
On
24 July 2007 , it was reported that she performed The Spike Illusion, but that the trick went wrong causing serious injury. After being released, she continued the show for a further thirty minutes before terminating it early due to her injuries. [cite news | last = | first = | title = Magician injured in sword trick| pages = | publisher = BBC News| date = 2007-07-24| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6913036.stm| accessdate = 2008-08-19]Cartoon
"Princess
Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic ", the cartoon series based on her bySaban , is centered around Princess Tenko leading a team of warriors (Bolt, Hawk, Steel and apprentice Ali) called the Guardians who tried to amass the magical Starfire Gems, each of which had a special power. Standing against them were twin villains Janna and Jason, who had the power to combine into a two-headed dragon. The cartoon ran for a single season of 13 episodes from 1995-1996. At the end of each episode, the real Princess Tenko would appear on stage and perform an illusion or teach a magic trick.References
External links
* [http://www.tenko.ne.jp Princess Tenko's official Japanese site]
* [http://www.princess-tenko.com Official site for Princess Tenko's appearances in the USA] ]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2514348 Princess Tenko at Internet Movie Database] ]
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