Noriko Matsumoto

, known professionally as , was a Japanese actress and stage director. She and her husband, playwright Kunio Shimizu, were co-founders of the stage company Mokutōsha. Biography Kazuko Shimizu

After her debut in Kiyomi Hotta's 1954 production of Shima, Matsumoto began appearing in stage productions, including Jukichi Uno's production of Three Sisters. In 1976, she and her husband Kunio Shimizu were among the co-founders of the stage company Mokutōsha, where she later worked as a leading actor and in the 1990s began working as a director.

Matsumoto won two : in 1979 for her performances in Mokutōsha's production of Gakuya and Janjan's production of Jochū-tachi; and in 1984 for her performance in Mokutōsha's production of Love Letter: Ai to Hi no Seishin Bunseki. She was awarded a 1987 Award for her performance at .

Following a month of hospitalization, Matsumoto died on 26 March 2014 of interstitial pneumonia at a hospital in Setagaya, aged 78. Her funeral was restricted to close relatives, with Shimizu serving as the chief mourner.