Yōko Minamida
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.
Acting
Movie
House
as Hausu Karei
1977
Movie
Chikamatsu Monogatari
as Otama
1954
Movie
Princess Yang Kwei-fei
as Hung-tao
1955
Movie
Pigs and Battleships
as Katsuyo
1961
TV
Gokusen
as Matsubara
2002
Movie
A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era
as Koharu
1957
Movie
The Man with a Shotgun
as Harue
1961
Movie
Stolen Desire
as Chidori Yamamura
1958
Movie
Tokyo Knights
as Koji's Mother
1961
Movie
Hungry Soul
as Reiko Shiba
1956
Movie
The Motive
as Kinue Ishida
2004
Movie
Yellow Fangs
as Kiyo
1990
Movie
Voice Without a Shadow
as Asako Kotani
1958
Movie
Our Town
as Otsuru / Kimie
1956
Movie
Hungry Soul, Part II
as Reiko Shiba
1956
Movie
An Outlaw
1964
Movie
The Domain
1964
Movie
Zero
as Ine Hamada
1984
Movie
Season of the Sun
as Eiko Takeda
1956
Movie
The Champion
as Natsuko Miyagawa
1957
Movie
Love Comes with Youth
1963
Movie
Glorious Fights
as Akemi
1966
Movie
The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang
as Maid
1972
Movie
At Noon
1978