Kōji Yakusho pictures & biography

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Born Kōji Hashimoto (橋本 広司, Hashimoto Kōji?) on January 1, 1956 in Isahaya, Nagasaki, Japan. He was 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 (the Chiyoda-Ku Yakusho) in Tokyo, hence the screen name "Yakusho," a Japanese word meaning "public office." In 1976, he saw a production of Maxim Gorky's The Lower Depths and was inspired, first to take in as many plays as possible, later to take part in as many plays as possible.

In the spring of 1978 he auditioned, and was 1 of 4 chosen out of 800 applicants to the Mumeijyuku acting studio. While at the school he met actress Kawatsu Saeko, whom he would marry in 1982. The couple's 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 (moderate) fame. He has 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!

Yakusho was given a special award for work in cinema by the Japanese Minister of Education, Science, Sports and Culture in 1988.

Yakusho had four major successes in 1996-97: Shall We Dansu?, The Eel, Lost Paradise and Bounce ko-Gals (kogal is Japanese slang for a subculture of high school girls). Lost Paradise was second at the Japanese box office only to Princess Mononoke; The Eel won the Palm d'Or at Cannes. Shall We Dansu? was a major hit in Japan that actually inspired a domestic dance craze and an American remake. Bounce ko-gals was an insightful commentary on high school prostitution in specific, and money worship in general.

More recently, Yakusho has begun to find recognition with more international and American audiences, being cast in major roles in 2005's Memoirs of a Geisha, (as "Nobu") and 2006's Academy Award-nominated Babel.

Filmography

1. Silk (2007)
2. The Uchoten Hotel (THE有頂天ホテル, The Uchoten Hotel?) (2006)
3. Babel (2006)
4. Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean (ローレライ) (2005) trailer
5. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
6. Warai no Daigaku: University of Laughs (2004)
7. Lakeside Murder Case (2004)
8. The Hunter and the Hunted (2004)
9. Fireflies: River of Light (2003)
10. Doppelganger (2003)
11. The Choice of Hercules (2002)
12. Pulse (2001)
13. Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (赤い橋の下のぬるい水, Warm Water Under a Red Bridge?) (2001)
14. Swing Man (2000)
15. Seance (2000) (TV)
16. Eureka (2000)
17. Dora-heita (2000)
18. Spellbound (1999)
19. Charisma (カリスマ) (1999)
20. Tadon to chikuwa (1998)
21. License to Live (1999)
22. Kizuna (1998)
23. Bounce ko gals (1997)
24. Cure (キュア) (1997)
25. The Eel (うなぎ, The Eel?) (1998)
26. Paradise Lost (1997)
27. Sleeping Man (眠る男, Sleeping Man?) (1996)
28. Shall We Dance? (Shall we ダンス？, Shall We Dance??) (1997)
29. Kamikaze Taxi (1995)
30. Gurenbana (1993)
31. Under Northern Lights (1990)
32. The Great Department Store Robbery (1987)
33. Tampopo (1985)
34. The Legend of Sayo (1982)
35. The Tower of Lilies (1982)
36. Hunter in the Dark (1979)

Latest news about Kōji Yakusho

News: Koji Yakusho and Koichi Sato to star in 47 Ronin film 'Saigo ... Kiyoshi Kurosawa staple Koji Yakusho, who coincidentally is starring in another samurai film, Takashi Miike's Thirteen Assassins, and Koichi Sato [The Shonen Merikansak, The Magic Hour and Sukiyaki Western Django] will lead the cast. ... Continue reading Koji Yakusho and Koicho Sato to star in new “Chushingura” film ... Although “Chushingura”—the name given to fictionalized accounts of the story of the revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin—has been a staple of Japanese TV dramas over the past two decades, it's been 15 years since the last… Continue reading Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow: Koji Yakusho and Koichi Sato to head up ... Tokyograph is reporting that Warner Brothers have tagged Japanese director Shigemichi Sugita, the man behind Japanese TV drama "Kita No Kuni Kara" to helm a domestically produced "Chushingura" starring Koji Yakusho (above right) as Seo ... Continue reading Koji Yakusho, "Daiwahauchu" The following is a hero! New photography Daiwa House CM "" HERO "that one hen" of the actor Koji Yakusho Koji Yakusho star in "Daiwahauchu" striking phrase of the new Daiwa House CM on November 14 (Saturday) from the National Air be. Bureaucracy in the new CM, ... Continue reading Review of Charisma Online That is the qustion for disgraced Tokyo detective Goro Yabuike (Koji Yakusho, Shall We Dance), who finds himself embroiled in a tense struggle revolving around a gnarled, forbidding tree. Goro has fled Tokyo after a hostage crisis ... Continue reading News: Koji Yakusho leads the '13 Assassins' cast! Led by Koji Yakusho, who most around these parts would know from Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Retribution, Cure, Pulse, Tokyo Sonata, to name a few, in the lead assassin role of Shimada Shinzaemon, the other dozen actors are Hiroki Matsukata ... Continue reading Get Cure Online Following the only link a mysterious stranger who had brief contact with each perpetrator/victim detective Kenichi Takabe (Koji Yakusho, Shall We Dance, Warm Water Under A Red Bridge) places his own sanity on the line as he tries to end ... Continue reading Download Dora-Heita Online! Koheita (Koji Yakusho) is a samurai with such a reputation for debauchery that his nickname is “Dora-Heita” (Alley Cat), so his appointment as magistrate of the most corrupt township in all of Japan raises a few eyebrows on both sides ... Continue reading Entertainment › Aya Ueto, Koji Yakusho attend world premiere of ... Actress Aya Ueto, 24, and actor Koji Yakusho, 53, were at the Piccadilly Theater in Shinjuku on Monday for the world premiere of Astro Boy,… See the rest here: Entertainment › Aya Ueto, Koji Yakusho attend world premiere of 'Astro Boy' ... Continue reading FIVE RINGS: Koji Yakusho as "Father of ATOM" Kadokawa Pictures, Japanese domestic distributor for the upcoming Imagi's CG feature "Astro Boy", has announced that Koji Yakusho is going to be the voice-over talent for "Dr. Tenma", the sorehead robotics scientist who created ... Continue reading Hollywood Actors Jessica alba Kōji Yakusho pictures and Kōji Yakusho biography

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