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1-50 of 361
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Kiki Sukezane is a Japanese actress, active both in America and Japan. Born in Kyoto to a family with historical samurai ancestry, Kiki was inspired to learn English and studied abroad in South Dakota. Upon returning to Japan and graduating, Kiki attended acting school in Tokyo before moving to Los Angeles. While honing her sword fighting skills, she booked her first major role as Katana Girl/Miko Otomo in NBC's Heroes Reborn. Following her first major success, Kiki has stayed active in the industry, booking roles in various television shows and films including Lost in Space (Netflix), Westworld (HBO), Earthquake Bird (Netflix), and lead character, Yuko Tanabe, in The Terror: Infamy (AMC.)- Takayuki Suzuki was born on 21 February 1990 in Kyoto, Japan. He is an actor, known for The Outsider (2018), The Taping (2019) and Safeguard (2020).
- Akiko Kobayashi was born on 19 October 1977 in Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan. She is an actress, known for Outrage (2010), Denji Sentai Megaranger (1997) and Shōgun (2024).
- Kuranosuke Sasaki was born on 4 February 1968 in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. He is an actor, known for Godzilla Minus One (2023), Mission Impossible: Samurai (2014) and 20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End (2008).
- Writer
- Director
- Art Department
Shin'ichirô Watanabe was born on 24 May 1965 in Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan. He is a writer and director, known for The Animatrix (2003), Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001) and Cowboy Bebop (1998).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
A tragic end belies a life led with purpose. The son of a successful filmmaker, Juzo Itami made his name acting in television and films before making a late career shift into screenwriting and directing at age 50. Known to choose the subjects of his films through everyday observations, he often followed up significant events in his life with films depicting idiosyncrasies that he felt were unique to the evolving Japanese culture. He was the definition of an iconoclast who took the great Molière's words to heart, "castigat ridendo mores" (criticise customs through humour).
Attributed as a key figure in the re-emergence of the latest wave of Japanese films that marked their presence outside of Japan, Itami proved to be a force of energy and originality that revived the country's stake in international cinema during the 1980s. Critics and audiences alike were simpatico when it came to his clever and keenly entrenched satires of his country's societal misgivings and he quickly became the most famous modern director of his generation. Throughout his directorial oeuvre of 10 films (list at the end), which stretched from 1984 to his final film in 1997, they were popular both domestically and maintained a staunch international following.
Every so often, Itami was compared to his then recently deceased French counterpart, Jacques Tati, who utilised similar styles of critiquing their society's cultural transition while crafting films with trenchant distinctions in humour and sadness. They also had almost similar, brief numbers of films that they directed and wrote before their death and they also used similar elements in the majority of their films. Itami cast his wife, Nobuko Miyamoto in every one of his 10 films. She was synonymous with Itami's fans across the world. Her versatility with melodrama and her impeccable comic timing proved invaluable to her husband's unique blend of the two genres as she portrayed characters that have been labeled as an "Everywoman" role. These roles laid the groundwork for a much more diverse representation of genders in Japan's films as Itami's women were usually strong, smart and gifted with moral fortitude when faces with tremendous adversity.
A common misconception outside of Japan would be that Tampopo (1985) was Itami's career-making debut. And although Tampopo (1985) is his most successful and critically acclaimed to date, his first feature was actually a humourous look at the Japanese attitudes towards death in The Funeral (1984), which touched on the generational gap opposing the stringently revered traditional values of the elders and the often-callous modernism of their children. Tampopo (1985) followed it to immense and unexpected success outside of its native land. The gastronomic "noodle western" as Itami himself had coined it, was an episodic venture (which formed the structure of his other films) of a restaurateur determined to create the best possible noodle for the best possible noodle eatery. Consumed with quirky characters and their own respective obsessions, it was a surreal fusion of wink-wink ribald imagery that was obstinately Japanese and a cheeky lampoon on the Leone "spaghetti westerns" that showed early signs of his development to an auteur. The public was now aware of Itami's established comedic style and free-wielding use of the narrative and they wanted more.
After a string of successful hits such as A Taxing Woman (1987) (A Taxing Woman) and its sequel came one of Itami's most intriguing films to date in Minbo also commonly held as Minbo (1992) (The Anti-Extortion Woman). It was scathing attack on the pride of the Japanese Yakuza through the film's story of a spirited female protagonist skewering and training feeble men to fight back against the criminal elements through courage and determination instead of resorting to violence. The film's realistic content apparently hit a sore spot with real gang members who waited outside of Itami's home and slashed him across his face that left him in the hospital. During his recuperation at the hospital, he found material for his next feature in The Last Dance (1993) about a dying film director accepting with his illness amidst an uncaringly cold healthcare system with an ironic look at infidelity and suicide that was a precursor to the rest of Itami's life. Still haunted and suitably outraged by the attack following Minbo, Itami's final film in 1997 was the black comedy Woman in Witness Protection (1997). It was his ode to freedom of expression that revolved around an actress witnessing a cult murder and becomes a target, both in the media and for hired guns.
On December 20, 1997, the 64-year-old Itami was found seriously injured on the street below his office and later died in the hospital. A suicide note was left behind by Itami that expressed innocence to a tabloid's accusation of his infidelity with a younger woman. Itami's energy and aversion to jadedness in his long career in films would have no doubt been still at use to this day if he was alive.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Kenji Misumi was born on March 2, 1921 in Kyoto, Japan. Misumi was the illegitimate child of a geisha mother and originally wanted to be a painter, but his father disapproved. Kenji attended Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. During this time Misumi met future Daiei studio head Kan Kikuchi, who gave Misumi a business card for a prominent studio executive. Kenji began his career at Daiei as a gofer before going on to become an assistant director. Moreover, after World War II Misumi spent about four years as an inmate at a prison of war camp in Siberia. Kenji directed his first film for Daiei in 1956 and worked profusely as a contract director for Daiei until the studio went bankrupt in 1971. In the wake of Daiei's collapse Misumi went on to direct several more movies that include four out of six entries in the hugely popular and successful "Lone Wolf and Cub" series. He died at age 54 on September 24, 1975.- Kaoru Kobayashi was born on 4 September 1951 in Kyoto, Japan. He is an actor, known for Sorekara (1985), Tales from Earthsea (2006) and Love Letter (1985).
- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Shigeru Miyamato has been helping create games for Nintendo since 1981. In the late 1970s Nintendo was going bankrupt. Myamato then made two characters, Donkey Kong and Mario (then called Jumpman), for the game Donkey Kong (1981). He has been the supervisor of many games, like the Mario and Zelda games.- Riho Yoshioka was born on 15 January 1993 in Kyoto City, Japan. She is an actress, known for Anime Supremacy! (2022), House of Ninjas (2024) and Inherit the Stars (2015).
- Haruki Murakami graduated from Waseda University, Tokyo, in 1975. Widely considered one of Japan's most important 20th-century novelists. His often solitary, withdrawn, and world-weary protagonists are generally stripped of Japanese tradition. Frequently called postmodern, his fiction, which often includes elements of surreal fantasy and is sprinkled with references to American popular culture, is cool and contemporary; his distinctive style is often characterized as "hard-boiled." His first novel was Hear the Wind Sing (1979). Since then he has published such novels as Pinball 1973 (1980), A Wild Sheep Chase (1982), Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (1985), Norwegian Wood (1987), Dance, Dance, Dance (1988), The Wind-up Bird Chronicle (1995), The Sputnik Sweetheart (1999), and Kafka on the Shore (2002). He has also written short stories, e.g., those collected in The Elephant Vanishes (1993) and After the Quake (2002), and done translations. His first nonfiction book, Underground (2001), is an oral history of the 1995 gas attack by religious extremists in the Tokyo subway and its relation to the Japanese psyche.
- Miko Mayama was born on 15 August 1939 in Kyoto, Japan. She is an actress, known for Star Trek (1966), That Man Bolt (1973) and The Hawaiians (1970).
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Rikiya Koyama was born on 18 December 1963 in Kyoto, Japan. He is an actor, known for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train (2020) and Detective Conan (1996).- Actress
- Additional Crew
Haruka is an U.K. based Japanese actress, Voice-over artist, Fight Director and Intimacy Coordinator.
Her first job out of drama school was to create the voice of Noodle from internationally acclaimed virtual pop band, the Gorillaz. On their first international tour, she was the backing vocalist to Damon Albarn.
Since then, she has become a highly sought after and successful voice over artist.
Haruka was the presenter for an award winning children's BBC show, Officially Amazing (7 series) and holds three Guinness World records.
Her versatile career has recently seen her working as an Intimacy Coordinator on Life After Life (BBC), Troubled Blood (BBC), Culprits (Disney+), a language coach to Oscar winning actress Alicia Vikander on the film Earthquake Bird (Netflix), Sidse Badette Knudsen on The Accident (Ch4), and dialect coach on Giri/Haji (BBC& Netflix).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Tetsuji Tamayama was born on 7 April 1980 in Kyoto, Japan. He is an actor, known for Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger (2001), Lupin the 3rd (2014) and Nana (2005).- Asami was born in Kyoto and raised in Ibaraki, Osaka. She debuted at 13 in an ad for home builder's Asahi Kasei's Hebel Haus in 1997. She won the Grand Prix at the 3rd Miss Tokyo Walker and soon obtained a supporting role in the 2002 horror film, Dark Water. She has gone on to do multiple commercials and appear in even more films like the rejected woman in Close Range Love or the novelist mentee in The Woman Who Buys The Local Newspaper. She is signed with the Atlantis Cast talent agency.
- An American Theatre, Film/TV Actor, Singer, Dancer and Martial Artist. He began studying Judo/Ju-Jutsu, in Hawaii and Japan, Continuing Martial arts in San Diego, he studied Kang's Tae Kwon-Do/Judo, and Aamka-jutsu. Having Achieved Black Belts in Karate, Tae Kwon do, Judo, Japanese ju-jutsu, aiki-jujutsu, Chinese Kempo and Aamkajutsu, he became a Full-Contact Karate & Sambo Champion. Recently setting a Guinness World Record, and having a page in the 2015 "Guinness Book of World Records" under "No Pain No Gain." After high school, he served his country honorably as a Naval Reconnaissance Corpsman "DOC", before attending University studies. During this time, he was inspired by Great Actors such as Anthony Hopkins and immersed himself in the world of theater, as an outlet for his vivid and passionate imagination. With a strong desire to become a dramatic lead actor, he began focusing on Shakespearean and extremely dramatic roles,(over 20 lead stage Credits) winning a best actor award for a very passionate, and unique take on "Hamlet", as well as critical acclaim for lead roles in "MacBeth", "Picnic", "Romeo & Juliet", and "Dracula." The more dimensional and dramatically demanding the part, the greater this actor shines! His first lead role in film, was a film called, "Samurai Avenger:The Blind Wolf", which received wide spread appeal with theatrical release in several countries, winning 9 International Film Festival Awards(including several Best of Festival and Best Feature Film awards)and distribution in nearly every country and language. Since this film, he has landed several roles on TV and Film such as Disney's "The Crusher" ,as the Universe's Strongest Superhero, 6 seasons and voted Kids peer group Favorite Superhero 3 years in a row. Also, appearing in 14 episodes as Sgt Freeman on General Hospital daytime's longest running TV show.. He Currently Tours internationally Singing//performing with the World Famous Band the "Village People" when not appearing on TV or Film.
- Make-Up Department
- Special Effects
- Visual Effects
Kazu Hiro was born on 25 May 1969 in Kyoto, Japan. He is known for Darkest Hour (2017), Bombshell (2019) and Mindhunter (2017).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Eiko Nijo was born in Kyoto, Japan. She is a director and producer, known for 10 Years (2011), Eagle Eye (2008) and Burn Notice (2007).- Rei Dan was born on 4 August 1971 in Kyoto, Japan. She is an actress, known for Love and Honor (2006), Kabei: Our Mother (2008) and Kansen rettô (2009). She has been married to Mitsuhiro Oikawa since 27 July 2011.
- Cinematographer
- Animation Department
- Camera and Electrical Department
Kazuo Miyagawa was born on 25 February 1908 in Kyoto, Japan. He was a cinematographer, known for Yojimbo (1961), Rashomon (1950) and Brother (1960). He was married to Kazuko ?. He died on 7 August 1999 in Tokyo, Japan.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Takahiro Tamura was born on 31 August 1928 in Kyoto City, Japan. He was an actor, known for Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Muddy River (1981) and Seisaku's Wife (1965). He died on 16 May 2006 in Tokyo, Japan.- Sound Department
- Music Department
- Actor
Ren Klyce was born on 7 May 1963 in Kyoto, Japan. He is an actor, known for Fight Club (1999), Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) and Her (2013). He is married to Rachel Distler.- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Junko Bailey was born on 5 April 1975 in Kyoto, Japan. She is an actress and director, known for The Grudge (2019), Category 6: Day of Destruction (2004) and Wintertide (2023).- Shinobu Terajima was born on 28 December 1972 in Kyoto, Japan. She is an actress, known for Vibrator (2003), Akame shijuya taki shinju misui (2003) and Tokyo Tower (2005). She has been married to Laurent Ghnassia since 26 February 2007. They have one child.
- Raizô Ichikawa was born on August 29, 1931 in Kyoto, Japan as Akio Kamezaki, at the age of 6 months was adopted by his uncle Kazo Takeuchi (kabuki actor Kudanji Ichikawa III) as Yoshio Takeuchi. Started his kabuki career in 1946 as Enzo Ichikawa II. In 1951 he was both re-adopted by Shôzô Ôta (actor Jukai Ichikawa III) as Yoshiya Ôta and changed his stage name to Raizô Ichikawa VIII. He is known in cinema for Conflagration (1958), Ninja, a Band of Assassins (1962) and The Outcast (1962). Raizô Ichikawa died on July 17, 1969 in Tokyo, Japan from hepatic metastases of colon cancer.
- Aya Sugimoto was born on 19 July 1968 in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto, Japan. She is an actress, known for Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003), Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate (2010) and Flower and Snake (2004). She has been married to unknown since 17 April 2011. She was previously married to Toshinori Numata.
- Miwa Takada was born on 5 January 1947 in Kyoto City, Japan. She is an actress, known for Journey of Honor (1991), Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963) and Mesuinu dassô (1965).
- Toshia Mori was born on 1 January 1912 in Kyoto, Japan. She was an actress, known for The Secrets of Wu Sin (1932), The Man Without a Face (1928) and Roar of the Dragon (1932). She was married to Allen Jung. She died on 26 November 1995 in The Bronx, New York, USA.
- Born in Kyoto in 1908. His birthplace was a sake brewery in Fushimi called Nagoya. In 1913, at the age of five, he was pushed into playing the role of Kan Shusai in the play Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami. This set him on the path to becoming a kabuki actor. Although he worked assiduously on his kabuki acting, this was a time of transition to the age of film, and he was invited to join Shochiku. The film Chigo no Kenpo was distinctive in that it was Inutsuka Minoru's directorial debut and Tusburaya Eiichi's debut as cinematographer as well as Hayashi Chojiro's debut on-screen appearance, and the staff's combination of youthful exuberance shone through. Add to this the large promotional campaign conducted for the film, which was unusual at the time, and it is easy to see that this new young star's arrival was awaited with great anticipation. Hayashi's popularity was cemented when three more films (Ojo Sankichi, Rangun and Oni Azami) opened in quick succession-a total of four films released in a mere 40-day span. As a huge marquee name, he went on to work a grueling schedule, appearing in about 120 films during his 11-year tenure at Shimogamo. With Yukinojo Henge, Hayashi helped Shochiku attain its highest ever box office revenue up to that time. After leaving Shochiku for Toho, he was suddenly attacked by hoodlums. After this incident, he gave the name Hayashi Chojiro back to Shochiku and assumed the new stage name of Hasegawa Kazuo. Hayashi was not only a great thespian who excelled on screen and stage alike, but he also proved himself as a superior planner. In 1974, he backed the production of the dramatic animated film, Berusaiyu no Bara, making it into a much-talked about hit.
- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Masahiko Tsugawa was born on 2 January 1940 in Kyoto, Japan. He was an actor and director, known for A Taxing Woman (1987), Wakarenu riyû (1987) and Puraido: Unmei no toki (1998). He was married to Yukiji Asaoka. He died on 4 August 2018 in Japan.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Born in Kyoto, Nakagawa was early on influenced by proletarian literature and wrote amateur film reviews for the Kinema Junpo film magazine. He joined Makino Film Productions in 1929 as an assistant director and worked under Masahiro Makino. When that studio went bankrupt in 1932, he switched to Utaemon Ichikawa's production company and made his debut as a director in 1934 with Yumiya Hachiman Ken. He later moved to Toho, where he made comedies starring Enoken and even documentaries during the war. It was at Shintoho after the war that he became known for his cinematic adaptations of Japanese Kaidan, especially his masterful version of Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan in 1959.
To Western audiences, his most famous film is Jigoku (1960), which he also co-wrote. The film was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection in 2006.
He also filmed many Kaidan for television. His last film was 1982's Kaidan: Ikiteiru Koheiji.- Director
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Akihiko Shiota was born on 11 September 1961 in Maizuru, Kyoto, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Don't Look Back (1999), Moonlight Whispers (1999) and Harmful Insect (2001).- Momo Hirai (born: Hirai Momo), commonly known mononymously as Momo, is a Japanese singer and dancer currently based in South Korea. She debuted in 2015 as a member of South Korean girl group Twice under JYP Entertainment. In Gallup Korea's annual music poll for 2018, Momo was voted the 20th most popular idol in South Korea. She is one of the most popular non-Korean K-pop stars. Known for her physical fitness and body movements, she is nicknamed the "dance machine". Momo has the most confidence in dancing to urban. She also likes dancing to hip hop. She is a big food lover. Besides being called "dancing machine" she's also called "eating machine". She was signed on as a JYP Entertainment trainee with fellow Japanese member, Minatozaki Sana, who also went on to become a member of Twice. She is the only eliminated member of the survival show Sixteen to be brought back to debut as a member of Twice.
- Actor
- Art Department
Shinsuke Nakamura was born on 24 February 1980 in Mineyama, Kyoto, Japan. He is an actor, known for WWE Smackdown! (1999), WWE NXT (2010) and TNA Xplosion (2002). He has been married to Harumi Maekawa since September 2007.- Saori was born on 29 May 1988 in Kyoto, Japan. She is an actress, known for Godzilla Minus One (2023), 1 Litre of Tears (2005) and Yurei vs Uchujin 2 (2003).
- Haruo Tanaka was born on 25 March 1912 in Kyoto, Japan. He was an actor, known for Ikiru (1952), Ôshô ihidai (1955) and Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956). He died on 21 March 1992.
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Keiji Sada was born on 9 December 1926 in Kyoto City, Japan. He was an actor and producer, known for I Will Buy You (1956), Taifû sôdôki (1956) and Good Morning (1959). He died on 17 August 1964 in Nirazaki, Japan.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Kin'ya Kitaôji was born on 23 February 1943 in Kyoto City, Japan. He is an actor, known for Haru no kane (1985), Himatsuri (1985) and Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Hideyoshi Kan was born on 23 October 2002 in Kyoto, Japan. He is an actor, known for Kamen Rider Geats: Jyamato Awaking (2024), Kamen Rider Geats × Revice: Movie Battle Royale (2022) and Kamen Rider Geats (2022).- Tomoko Tabata was born on 26 December 1980 in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. She is an actress, known for Moving (1993), The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013) and Blood and Bones (2004).
- Satomi Kobayashi was born on 24 May 1965 in Kyoto, Japan. She is an actress, known for I Are You, You Am Me (1982), Pale Moon (2014) and Riyû (2004). She was previously married to Kôki Mitani.
- Writer
- Director
- Additional Crew
The director and screenwriter Sadao Yamanaka (1909-1938) is a key figure in the development of early Japanese cinema. Although he made 27 films over a six-year period, only three of them survived in nearly complete form: Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (1935), Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937), and Priest of Darkness (1936). These films represent the diversity of genres and elegant visual style Yamanaka chose. Moreover, he contributed to the establishment of the jidaigeki genre, or historical drama. After being drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army, Yamanaka tragically died of dysentery on the front in Manchuria aged 28.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Born in Kyoto,Japan. 8 years of experience in Samurai movies and dramas in Kyoto. Ken was in a John Woo's movie Manhunt (2017). This meeting gave a great stimulus to him and led him to decide to move from Kyoto to Tokyo. Now Ken is an freelanced actor who speaks Japanese,English,Chinese and Korean based in Tokyo.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
After bypassing university studies to join Shochiku in 1924, Shiro Toyoda began directing at a relatively young age, starting out with silent films in his native Kyoto in 1929. In 1937, Toyoda moved to Tokyo, where he scored his first major success with Wakai hito (Young Person). After joining Toho, he accepted a number of different kinds of assignments, but remained best known for stately literary adaptations such as Yukiguni (1957). Like many Toho directors, he also turned his hand to special effects extravaganza (Byaku fugin no yoren, 1956) and the occasional ghost story (Yotsuya Kaidan, 1968).- Director
- Writer
Mitsuhiro Mihara was born in 1964 in Kyoto, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Mura no shashinshuu (2004), Merî-san no denwa (2011) and Murasaki kagami (2010).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Kaizô Hayashi was born on 15 July 1957 in Kyoto, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for To Sleep So as to Dream (1986), The Most Terrible Time in My Life (1993) and Nijisseiki shônen dokuhon (1989).- Ryûtarô Gan was born on 9 August 1964 in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. He is an actor, known for Toyotomi Hideyoshi tenka wo toru! (1995), Zatoichi (1989) and Musashi (2003).
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Masakazu Tamura was born on 1 August 1943 in Kyoto, Japan. He was an actor, known for Dai Chûshingura (1971), Ah, It's True, You Are Already Gone (2009) and Furuhata Ninzaburô (1994). He died on 3 April 2021 in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.- Actress
- Stunts
- Producer
Sachiko Ishida was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan. Fluently bilingual in both Japanese and English, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Sachiko has appeared in several films and television shows including "S.W.A.T.," "Yellowstone," "He's Just Not That Into You," "The Guardians of Justice," "Deadly Class," "Ghosted," and "Colony." Sachiko also trains several styles of martial arts including kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Filipino Martial Arts, Wushu, and Japanese sword fighting.