is a Japanese actress of mixed ancestry who is best known for her roles in

Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...

's ''Roman porno'' series in the 1970s.

Life and career

Taguchi, half Japanese and half American, was scouted by the film studio Toei while working in a beauty parlour, and soon afterwards appeared in a small part in Toei's 1975 film ''Wolf Guy: Burning Wolf Man'' directed by

Kazuhiko Yamaguchi is a Japanese film director. Career Born in Nagano Prefecture, Yamaguchi graduated from Waseda University and began working at the Tōei studios in Kyoto. He directed a number of action movie series in the 1970s and has also helmed many TV ...

. That same year also marked her first starring role in

Tokyo Emmanuelle is a 1975 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's ''Roman porno'' series, directed by Akira Katō and starring Kumi Taguchi. Plot After the director's message, "I visualize the romance of Roman Porn and I attempt to share that image," a loosely connected ...

for

where according to critic Jasper Sharp, her "figure and smouldering dark looks ... could be readily appreciated by viewers both in and outside Japan". There is a reference to Taguchi and the film in Chilean writer

Antonio Skármeta Antonio Skármeta (born Esteban Antonio Skármeta Vranicic on November 7, 1940) is a Chilean writer, scriptwriter and director descending from Croatian immigrants from the Adriatic island of Brač, Dalmatia. He was awarded Chile's National Lit ...

2003 novel ''The Dancer and the Thief'' where the lead character refers to a movie poster and remarks "A film with Kumi Taguchi, Mitsuyaso Mainu and Katsunori Hirose can't be all bad." She also starred in the film's sequel released by Nikkatsu in November 1975, directed by Katsuhiko Fujii. At the end of 1975, Taguchi starred in another Japanese film which took its inspiration from a foreign sex movie, '' Deep Throat in Tokyo'', directed by

Kan Mukai Kan or KAN may refer to: Places * Kan (river), a tributary of the Yenisey in Russia * Kan District of Iran * Kan, Kyrgyzstan, a village in Batken Region * Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, Nigeria, IATA code * Kannapolis (Amtrak s ...

and released by Toei. In early 1976, she joined fellow mixed-race performer Runa Takamura in director

Masaru Konuma is a Japanese film director known for his '' Roman Porno'' films for Nikkatsu during the 1970s. Life and career Early life Masaru Konuma was born in Otaru, Hokkaidō, on December 30, 1937. Konuma retains no memories of his father who was a te ...

's '' Cloistered Nun: Runa's Confession'' for Nikkatsu. Later in 1976, she starred in two other Roman Pornos: Shōgorō Nishimura's ''A Call Girl's Testimony: Exposure'' and Katsuhiko Fujii's ''International Stewardess: Erotic Flight''. Taguchi also appeared in non-''pink'' films for the

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not ...

studio, the 1976 action film ''Utareru mae ni ute!'' (known internationally as ''Cobra'') for director

Umetsugu Inoue was a Japanese film director and scriptwriter. He directed 115 movies, wrote 101 screenplays, and is credited with the original story for five films. In addition, he worked with all six major Japanese film production companies. His film work e ...

, and the 1977 thriller ''Edogawa Rampo's Perverted Beast'' directed by Tai Katō based on a novel by Japanese author

Edogawa Rampo , better known by the pen name was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was the lea ...

. In 1979 she had a small part in director Tōru Murakawa's suspense film ''Hakuchyu no shikaku''. Taguchi also had supporting roles in two television programs, the August 1978 horror thriller from

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...

, and episode 10 (''Mask of the Night'') of the cult detective series ''

Tantei Monogatari , or ''Detective Story'', is an action Japanese TV series starring Yūsaku Matsuda that was originally broadcast on Nippon TV in 27 forty-five-minute episodes from September 18, 1979 to April 1, 1980. The show had various directors including T ...

'' broadcast by

NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televis ...

in November 1979.

Filmography

* (April 1975) * ''

'' (July 1975) * (November 1975) * '' Deep Throat in Tokyo'' (December 1975) * '' Cloistered Nun: Runa's Confession'' (January 1976) * (June 1976) * * (September 1976) * (June 1977) * (September 1978) * (April 1979)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taguchi, Kumi Japanese actresses Japanese people of American descent Living people Pink film actors Year of birth missing (living people)