Yōko Minamida
Actor
Born March 1, 1933 in Tokyo, Japan
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.
Filmography
Song of Goodbye
Kyoko Tanabe
The Motive
Kinue Ishida
Gokusen
Matsubara
Lost Paradise
Eto Kuniko
Salaryman Senka
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
Hausu Karei
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
When a Man Risks His Life
A Turning to Hell
Takako
Elegy to Youth
Farewell to Southern Tosa
Yuganda tsuki
Namiko Eda
Umi wa kurutte iru
Wounded Beast
We Live Today
Masked Woman
Get Over Her
Yukie
Osaka no kaze
Voice Without a Shadow
Asako Kotani
Taiyō o buchi otose
Unga
Ryôko Fujiyama
死の壁の脱出
Sayan
Stolen Desire
Chidori Yamamura
The Awakening
Mountain Pass
But the Flesh is Weak
The Barefoot Girl
A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era
Koharu
The Champion
Natsuko Miyagawa
Streetlights
早川千鶴子
Aishū no sono
Dancing Sisters
Hungry Soul, Part II
Reiko Shiba
Hungry Soul
Reiko Shiba
Our Town
Otsuru / Kimie
Season of the Sun
Eiko Takeda
The Doctor
A Daughter's Life Guide
田部三津子
Princess Yang Kwei-fei
Hung-tao
A Girl Isn't Allowed to Love
Miss Teacher
Chikamatsu Monogatari
Otama
Haha tokidori
Rakka no mon
Jūdai no yūwaku
Zoku zoku Jûdai no seiten
Zoku jūdai no seiten
Akiko Yasutomi
Jūdai no seiten