is a Japanese actor and singer.

Early life

Takashima comes from a family of actors, including his father

Tadao Takashima (27 July 1930 – 26 June 2019) was a Japanese actor and jazz musician. He appeared in more than 100 films, including the Toho productions '' King Kong vs. Godzilla'', ''Atragon'', and ''Frankenstein vs. Baragon''. He also performed in stage ...

, his mother Hanayo Sumi, and his younger brother

Masanobu Takashima is a Japanese film and television actor. Career He has appeared in over 20 television productions and ten films in Japan and other countries as well. Takashima appeared as Daisuke Matoba in the 2008 film '' L: Change the World'' (also known a ...

Career

Acting

Takashima debuted in the 1987 film '' Totto Channel'', directed by

Kazuki Ōmori was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Career Born in Osaka, Ōmori studied at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and held a license to practice medicine. While in school, he began making films independently, with ''Kuraku naru ...

. 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'' ha ...

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 1935, ...

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'', ''

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah is a 1995 Japanese '' kaiju'' film directed by Takao Okawara. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the 22nd installment in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and is the seventh and final film in the franchise's Heisei period. The film feat ...

'', 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'' 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 an ...

, 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 con ...

in 1978. Takashima appeared on the Japanese music show ''

Rock Fujiyama is a Japanese music variety television show that was broadcast by TV Tokyo from April 3, 2006, to March 26, 2007. It is the substantial remake of ''Heavymeta-san'' that was broadcast in 2005 in Japan. Despite the title, the key genre in the progr ...

'' 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 The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) are a guitar-oriented hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Schenke ...

, Yes and

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

. Takashima was asked to write the liner notes for King Crimson's compilation album ''

The Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson ''The Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson'' is a compilation by progressive rock band King Crimson, released in 2006. It contains select studio tracks from the two box sets, '' The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson – Volume One – 1 ...

'' after his first appearance on ''Rock Fujiyama''. Takashima professes to enjoy the music of

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succes ...

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 some ...

, 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 until ...

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 wit ...

when he showed rare Kiss memorabilia on Rock Fujiyama.

Filmography

Films

*'' Gunhed'' (1989) *'' Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II'' (1993) *''

'' (1995) *''

Lady Maiko is a 2014 Japanese musical comedy film written and directed by Masayuki Suo, starring Mone Kamishiraishi, Hiroki Hasegawa, and Sumiko Fuji. It screened in competition at the 2014 Shanghai International Film Festival on June 16, 2014. It was relea ...

'' (2014) *''

Zakurozaka no Adauchi is a 2014 Japanese jidaigeki film directed by Setsurō Wakamatsu. It was released on September 20, 2014. Cast *Kiichi Nakai as Kingo Shimura * Hiroshi Abe as Jūbei Sahashi *Ryōko Hirosue as Setsu Shimura * Masahiro Takashima as Shinnosuke Nai ...

'' (2014), Shinnosuke Naitō *''

Nobunaga Concerto is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ayumi Ishii. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''Monthly Shōnen Sunday'' since May 2009, with its chapters collected in twenty-two ''tankōbon'' volumes as of February 2022. A t ...

'' (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 is a temple of the Nichiren branch of Buddhism located in Kyoto, Japan. Honnō-ji incident Honnō-ji is most famous for the Honnō-ji incident – the assassination of Oda Nobunaga – that occurred there on 21 June 1582. Nobunaga lodged at ...

'' (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 Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

'' (2019), Lord Changwen *''

Masquerade Hotel is a 2019 Japanese crime film directed by Masayuki Suzuki. A sequel, ''Masquerade Night is a Japanese author chiefly known for his mystery novels. He served as the 13th President of Mystery Writers of Japan from 2009 to 2013. Higashino has wo ...

'' (2019), Furuhashi *'' Aircraft Carrier Ibuki'' (2019), Takanobu Taki *''Three Nobunagas'' (2019), Kanbara Ujinori *'' Kaguya-sama: Love Is War'' (2019) *''AI Amok'' (2020) *''

Grand Blue is a Japanese manga series written by Kenji Inoue and illustrated by Kimitake Yoshioka. It has been serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine '' good! Afternoon'' since April 2014. The manga is published digitally in English by K ...

'' (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'' (1987),

Katakura Shigenaga was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. The son of Katakura Kagetsuna, Shigenaga was the second man to bear the common name Kojūrō. His name was originally Shigetsuna; however, to avoid conflict with th ...

*''Mōri Motonari'' (1997),

Amago Haruhisa was a ''daimyō'' warlord in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. He was the second son of Amago Masahisa. Initially named Akihisa (詮久), he changed his name to Haruhisa in 1541 after Ashikaga Yoshiharu offered to let him use a ''kanji'' chara ...

*''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 fellow ...

*''

Yae no Sakura is a 2013 Japanese historical drama television series and the 52nd NHK taiga drama. Written by Mutsumi Yamamoto, the drama focuses on Niijima Yae, who is portrayed by Haruka Ayase. Yae is a strong believer in women's rights and the story follow ...

'' (2013), Makimura Masanao *''

'' (2014),

*''

Prison School is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Hiramoto. It was serialized in Kodansha's '' Weekly Young Magazine'' from February 2011 to December 2017. Yen Press licensed the manga for English release in North America. The sto ...

'' (2015), Chairman Kurihara *'' Naotora: The Lady Warlord'' (2017),

Honda Tadakatsu , also called Honda Heihachirō (本多平八郎) was a Japanese samurai, general and daimyo of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Honda Tadakatsu was one of the Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings along with Ii N ...

*''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'', and '' ...

*''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