is a Japanese actor and singer.

Early life

Takashima comes from a family of actors, including his father Tadao Takashima, his mother Hanayo Sumi, and his younger brother Masanobu Takashima.

Career

Acting

Takashima debuted in the 1987 film '' Totto Channel'', directed by Kazuki Ōmori. His part as Tsuda in ''Busu'' that same year earned him the Japan Academy Prize for Newcomer of the Year, as well as the Blue Ribbon Award, Hochi Film Award,

Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ...

Award, and the

Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 193 ...

for Best New Actor in 1988. Since that time he has appeared in feature films, including '' Gunhed'', '' Legend of Zipang'' (1990), ''

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II , is a 1993 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Takao Okawara, written by Wataru Mimura, and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho, Toho Studios, it is the 20th film in the Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' franchise, as ...

'', '' Godzilla vs. Destoroyah'', and '' Kakushi Toride no San-Akunin: The Last Princess'', and ''The Climbers High''. He appeared in the television

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

'' Sangaku kyûjotai Shimon Ikki''.

Singing

As a singer, Takashima released singles and albums from 1992 to 1994. He covered the King Crimson song ''

Starless "Starless" is a composition by English progressive rock band King Crimson. It is the final track on their seventh studio album, ''Red'', released on 6 October 1974. Background The original chords and melody for "Starless" were written by John ...

'' on the B side of his 1993 single ''Kowarerukurai Dakishimetai'' (こわれるくらい抱きしめたい). On Rock Fujiyama, he was nicknamed ''Starless Takashima'' (スターレス髙嶋) because he was a King Crimson enthusiast.

Personal life

Takashima married stage actress Sylvia Grab in 2005. Takashima's has expressed a love for

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...

, especially

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

. He is a fan of

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, and admitted in an interview with the Japanese weekly magazine ''Flash'', that the first concert he attended was a Kiss show at

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts co ...

in 1978. Takashima appeared on the Japanese music show '' Rock Fujiyama'' in 2006 and 2007, speaking about his favorite English band

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

, stating that he had attended live concerts of the following groups: King Crimson, Michael Schenker Group,

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

and AC/DC. Takashima was asked to write the liner notes for King Crimson's compilation album '' The Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson'' after his first appearance on ''Rock Fujiyama''. Takashima professes to enjoy the music of Grand Funk Railroad,

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or s ...

, and the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

. Takashima surprised Kiss enthusiast

Marty Friedman Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 unti ...

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wi ...

when he showed rare Kiss memorabilia on Rock Fujiyama.

Filmography

Films

*'' Gunhed'' (1989) *''

'' (1993) *'' Godzilla vs. Destoroyah'' (1995) *'' Lady Maiko'' (2014) *'' Zakurozaka no Adauchi'' (2014), Shinnosuke Naitō *'' Nobunaga Concerto'' (2016),

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought in the 1575 Battle of Nagashino an ...

*''Gold Medal Man'' (2016) *'' Honnō-ji Hotel'' (2017),

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

*'' Kingdom'' (2019), Lord Changwen *'' Masquerade Hotel'' (2019), Furuhashi *'' Aircraft Carrier Ibuki'' (2019), Takanobu Taki *''Three Nobunagas'' (2019), Kanbara Ujinori *'' Kaguya-sama: Love Is War'' (2019) *''AI Amok'' (2020) *'' Grand Blue'' (2020), Toshio Kotegawa *''

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sumito Ōwara. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine '' Monthly Big Comic Spirits'' since 2016 and has been collected in seven ''tankōbon'' volumes as of July ...

'' (2020), Fujimoto *'' Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai'' (2021), Kiyokawa Hachirō *''Dreams on Fire'' (2021) *'' Kaguya-sama Final: Love Is War'' (2021) *''The Confidence Man JP: Episode of the Hero'' (2022) *''Radiation House: The Movie'' (2022), Masato Haijima *''Baseball Club Rhapsody'' (2022), coach Harada *''Kingdom 2: Far and Away'' (2022), Lord Changwen *''Safe Word'' (2022)

Television

*''

Dokuganryū Masamune is a 1987 Japanese historical television series. It is the 25th NHK ''taiga'' drama. The broadcast received an average viewer rating of 39.7 percent in the Kanto area. The drama was adapted from the novel of Sōhachi Yamaoka. Plot Toyotomi Hidey ...

'' (1987), Katakura Shigenaga *''Mōri Motonari'' (1997), Amago Haruhisa *''Toshiie and Matsu'' (2002),

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fel ...

*'' Yae no Sakura'' (2013), Makimura Masanao *'' Nobunaga Concerto'' (2014),

*'' Prison School'' (2015), Chairman Kurihara *'' Naotora: The Lady Warlord'' (2017), Honda Tadakatsu *''Yū-san no Nyōbō'' (2021),

Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as '' Rashomon'', '' Seven Samurai'', '' The Hidden Fortress'', '' Throne of Blood'', a ...

*''Nakamura Nakazo: Shusse no Kizahashi'' (2021) * ''Radiation House'' (2021), Masato Haijima * ''Galápagos'' (2023), Mori

References

External links

Official page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Takashima, Masahiro 1965 births Living people Japanese male television actors Male actors from Tokyo Japanese male film actors Seijo University alumni