Yōko Minamida
- Acting
- March 1, 1933 · Tokyo, Japan
- October 21, 2009
Biography
Yōko Minamida (南田 洋子, Minamida Yōko, March 1, 1933 – October 21, 2009) was a Japanese actress. Born in Tokyo, Minamida made her screen debut in 1953 for the Daiei studio and quickly rose to stardom, working with Kenji Mizoguchi on two films: “A Story from Chikamatsu” and “Princess Yang Kwei-fei.” In 1955, she moved to the Nikkatsu studio, where she starred in Takumi Furukawa’s “Season of the Sun” (1956), a smash hit that launched the so-called “Sun Tribe” boom for films about rebellious youth looking for sex and kicks on Shonan Beach — Japan’s nearest equivalent to Malibu. Minamida acted in dozens of movies for Nikkatsu, working with Shohei Imamura, Seijun Suzuki, and other directors. In 1961 she married her co-star on “Season of the Sun,” Hiroyuki Nagato. As she acted in fewer movies after the mid-1960s, Minamida made a smooth and successful transition to TV as both an actress and MC. She also continued to appear occasionally in movies, with the last being Nobuhiko Obayashi’s “Song of Goodbye” in 2006. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in November 2008, and a TV documentary was made about her condition and the efforts of her husband to care for her. She died in Tokyo.
Known for
Filmography
- Song of Goodbye · Kyoko Tanabe
- The Motive · Kinue Ishida
- Gokusen · Matsubara
- Lost Paradise · Eto Kuniko
- Salaryman Senka
- Ai yo, Nemuranaide
- 砂山の唄殺人事件
- Yellow Fangs · Kiyo
- Tears of a Swan · Atsuko Kawata
- This Story of Love
- Star Ranch
- Zero · Ine Hamada
- Yôi don · 栄市の母・せい
- At Noon
- Take Me Away! · Tomi Oguchi
- House · Auntie Karei Hausu
- The Wild Daisy · Fuki - Masao's Mother
- Japanese Humanity and Justice
- Ame no meguri ai
- Akai Shougeki
- Time of First Love
- Karafuto 1945 Summer
- The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang · Maid
- Niji · 三谷かな子
- A Young Man's Stronghold
- Chivalrous Pride
- Tale of the Last Japanese Yakuza
- The Domain: Where The Blade Enters
- Portrait of Chieko · Kazuko Tsubaki
- The Domain: White Blade
- Debt of Honor · Oiku
- Glorious Fights · Akemi
- NET Playhouse · Nobuko Muroi
- Showdown of Men
- The Kingdom of Jirocho 4
- The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry
- Underworld Code
- Irogotoshi harudanji · Otama
- The Tattooed Lord
- The Soundless Cry · Tokie Matsuura
- The Domain: The Naniwa Story
- Prison Gambler · Kimura Uta
- The Domain
- Gambler · Kimura Uta
- An Outlaw
- Jakoman and Tetsu · Masa
- To Your Majesty, The Emperor 2 · Misato
- Okashina yatsu · Fujiko, Shuntô
- The Gambling Monk
- Kyu-chan, Draw Your Sword
- Kiriko's Tango
- Love Comes with Youth
- I Have the Sun in My Back · Sachiko
- A Modern Samurai Village · Yasu Tajima
- Beyond the Green Hills · Umetaro
- The Guys Who Put Money on Me · Sanae Kitazawa
- Glass-Hearted Johnny · Yumi
- The Rambler Returns Home
- Last Round
- Sun and Stars
- Black Dice
- Otoko to otoko no ikiru machi
- Zurari oretacha yōjinbō
- Wind and waves of the South · Yasuko, Kazuo's foster mother
- Gun of Nosappu
- The Crimson Plains · Sakie Yazaki
- The Man with a Shotgun · Harue
- Quick Draw Joe · Jane, the dancer
- Joe of Aces: Gambling for a Living · Yuri Harada
- Tokyo Knights · Koji's Mother
- Pigs and Battleships · Katsuyo
- He Killed Dad
- Tales of a Gunman: The Man Without Tomorrow · Sumi
- The Rambler Rides Again
- Bet on a Seaside Romance
- Lone Wolf · Naomi
- Jungle Block · Kayoko Komuro
- Return of the Vagabond
- Yakuza Song
- The Law's Bloody Wounds · 榎本吟子