is a Japanese

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

and singer. In Japan, she is well known for her performance as Sakura in the ''

Otoko wa Tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans. Spanning 48 installments released between 1969 and 1995, all of the ' ...

'' series from 1969 until 1995. In addition, she has acted in many films directed by

Yōji Yamada is a Japanese film director best known for his ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series of films and his Samurai Trilogy (''The Twilight Samurai'', ''The Hidden Blade'' and '' Love and Honor''). Biography He was born in Osaka, but due to his father's job ...

since the 1960s. She won the award for Best Actress at the 5th

Hochi Film Award The are film-specific prizes awarded by the ''Hochi Shimbun , previously known as , is a Japanese-language daily sports newspaper. In 2002, it had a circulation of a million copies a day. It is an affiliate newspaper of ''Yomiuri Shimbun''. ...

for '' A Distant Cry from Spring''.

Voice acting

She sometimes performs as a

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

, such as "Sophie" in ''

Howl's Moving Castle ''Howl's Moving Castle'' is a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York. It was a runner-up for the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and won the Phoenix Award twenty years ...

'' in 2004. Although different voice actresses usually played young and old Sophie in the foreign dubs of the film, Baisho performed both roles alone, as well as the film's theme song.

Singing career

She has had a career as a singer since her debut with the song "Shitamachi no Taiyō" in 1962, for which she won the "newcomer award" of the

Japan Record Award is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST a ...

. Her 1965 single, "Sayonara wa dance atoni", a cha-cha ballad, later had its melody inspire the 1992 song ''

Moonlight Densetsu is a song that served as an opening theme for the anime series, ''Sailor Moon (anime), Sailor Moon''. The song's original version was released in Japan on March 21, 1992, on a split single (music), single by Manish (band), Dali and Misae Takam ...

'', the theme song of the first four seasons for the anime adaption of ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The seri ...

''. A cover by Mariko Takahashi would later appear in another Ghibli film, '' Only Yesterday.''

Personal

She is the older sister of

Mitsuko Baisho , is a Japanese actress, whose most internationally known work has been for director Shohei Imamura, from 1979 up to the director's final film in 2010. Baisho has also appeared in films of Akira Kurosawa. She won awards for best actress at the 10 ...

, who is also an actress. She is married to the Japanese composer .

Filmography

Honour

*Kinuyo Tanaka Award (2001) *

Medal with Purple Ribbon are medals awarded by the Government of Japan. They are awarded to individuals who have done meritorious deeds and also to those who have achieved excellence in their field of work. The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and we ...

(2005) * Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2013)

References

External links

* *
Talent Databank profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baisho, Chieko 1941 births Living people Japanese film actresses Japanese television actresses Asadora lead actors Singers from Tokyo Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class