Kōji Yakusho
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| Kōji Yakusho | |
|---|---|
 Kōji Yakusho at the 10th Deauville Asian Film Festival in 2008 |
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| Born | Kōji Hashimoto January 1, 1956 Isahaya, Nagasaki, Japan |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouse | Saeko Kawatsu (1982-present) |
Kōji Yakusho (役所 広司 Yakusho Kōji, born January 1, 1956) is a Japanese actor.[1]
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[edit] Biography
He was born Kōji Hashimoto (橋本 広司 Hashimoto Kōji) in Isahaya, Nagasaki, the youngest of five brothers. After graduation from the Nagasaki Prefectural High School of Technology in 1974, he took employment at the Chiyoda municipal ward office or yakusho in Tokyo, from which he took his stage name. In 1976, he saw a production of Maxim Gorky's The Lower Depths and was inspired, first to watch, and then later to take part in, as many plays as possible.
In the spring of 1978 he auditioned for the Mumeijyuku acting studio, and was one of four chosen out of 800 applicants. While at the school he met actress Saeko Kawatsu, whom he married in 1982. A son was born in 1985.
In 1983, he landed the role of Oda Nobunaga in the year-long NHK drama Tokugawa Ieyasu and was catapulted to fame. He also appeared in a TV version of Miyamoto Musashi from 1984-85. For several years, he played Kuji Shinnosuke (or "Sengoku"), one of the title characters in the jidaigeki Sambiki ga Kiru!.
In 1988, he was given a special award for work in cinema by the Japanese Minister of Education, Science, Sports and Culture.
In the years 1996 and 1997, Yakusho had several major successes. The Eel won the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.[2] A Lost Paradise was second only to Princess Mononoke at the Japanese box office. Shall We Dance? was a major hit in Japan that inspired a domestic dance craze[citation needed] and an American remake. He won the Hochi Film Award for Best Actor for Bounce Ko Gals, a film which dealt with high school prostitution specifically, and money worship in general.
In the 2000s, Yakusho found recognition with international audiences through his collaborations with Kiyoshi Kurosawa and roles in such films as Memoirs of a Geisha and Babel.
[edit] Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | Hunter in the Dark | Kuwano | |
| The Last Game | |||
| 1980 | Twelve Months | Young soldier | Voice |
| 1981 | Willful Murder | Journalist | |
| 1982 | Onimasa | ||
| Eternal Monument | Otaka | ||
| The Legend of Sayo | Hatsutaro | ||
| 1985 | Tampopo | Man in White Suit | |
| 1987 | The Great Department Store Robbery | Cello player | |
| 1988 | Another Way: D-Kikan Joho | Naoto Sekiya | |
| 1990 | Under Aurora | Genzo Tamiya | |
| 1993 | Gurenbana | Kenzo Nakada | |
| Drug Connection | Ryosuke Kano | ||
| 1994 | Osaka Gokudo Senso: Shinoidare | Ippei Yoshikawa | |
| 1995 | Kamikaze Taxi | Kantake | |
| 1996 | Shall We Dance? | Shohei Sugiyama | |
| Sleeping Man | Kamimura | ||
| Shabu gokudo | Makabe | ||
| 1997 | A Lost Paradise | Shoichiro Kuki | |
| The Eel | Takuro Yamashita | ||
| Bounce Ko Gals | Oshima | ||
| Cure | Kenichi Takabe | ||
| 1998 | Bonds | Takaaki Ise/Tetsuro Haga | |
| Tadon to chikuwa | Kida | ||
| 1999 | License to Live | Fujimori | Asia Pacific Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| Charisma | Goro Yabuike | ||
| Spellbound | Hiroshi Kitano | ||
| 2000 | Swing Man | ||
| Dora-heita | Koheita Mochizuki, aka Dora-heita | ||
| Eureka | Makoto Sawai | ||
| Seance | Sato | ||
| 2001 | Kairo | Ship captain | |
| Warm Water Under a Red Bridge | Yosuke Sasano | ||
| 2002 | The Choice of Hercules | Atsuyuki Sassa | |
| 2003 | Doppelganger | Michio Hayasaki | |
| Fireflies: River of Light | Mr. Takiguchi | ||
| 2004 | The Hunter and the Hunted | Detective Jin | |
| Tōkyō genpatsu | The Governor of Tokyo | ||
| Lakeside Murder Case | Sunsuke Namiki | ||
| University of Laughs | Mutsuo Sakisaka | ||
| 2005 | Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean | Masami Shin'ichi | |
| Memoirs of a Geisha | Nobu | ||
| 2006 | The Uchōten Hotel | Heikichi Shindo | |
| Babel | Yasujiro Wataya | ||
| Retribution | Noboru Yoshioka | ||
| 2007 | I Just Didn't Do It | Masayoshi Arakawa | |
| Argentine Baba | Satoru Wakui | ||
| Kokoro | |||
| Silk | Hara Jubei | ||
| Walking My Life | Yukihiro Fujiyama | ||
| 2008 | Paco and the Magical Book | Onuki | |
| Tokyo Sonata | The Robber | ||
| 2009 | Mt. Tsurugidake | Morisaku Furuta | |
| Gelatin Silver LOVE | Client | ||
| Toad's Oil | Takuro Yazawa | Also director and writer | |
| 2010 | 13 Assassins | Shinzaemon Shimada | Nominated–Asian Film Award for Best Actor |
| The Last Ronin | Magozaemon Senoo | ||
| 2011 | Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai | Kageyu Saito | |
| Rengo kantai shirei chōkan: Yamamoto Isoroku | Isoroku Yamamoto | ||
| 2012 | Waga Haha no Ki | ||
| Kitsutsuki to Ame | Katsuhiko | ||
[edit] References
- ^ "Yakusho Kōji", Nihon jinmei daijiten+Plus (Kōdansha), http://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BD%B9%E6%89%80%E5%BA%83%E5%8F%B8, retrieved 13 February 2012
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Eel". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4800/year/1997.html. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
