is a Japanese former ''

pink film in its broadest sense includes almost any Japanese theatrical film that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. The Western equiv ...

'' actress and

AV idol An or is a type of pornographic film actress in Japan. It is a sub-category of the idol culture in Japanese pop entertainment. AV idols work in the pornographic business, often both as an actress as well as a model as the video performances ...

. She appeared in award-winning ''pink films'', and was herself given a Best Actress award for her work in this genre in 2006.

Life and career

Minami Aoyama was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

on May 28, 1982 and began her career as an

adult video Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include eroticall ...

(AV) actress in 2003 at the age of 21. She made her ''

'' debut that same year in director Toshiya Ueno's ''

Ambiguous Ambiguity is the type of meaning (linguistics), meaning in which a phrase, statement or resolution is not explicitly defined, making several interpretations wikt:plausible#Adjective, plausible. A common aspect of ambiguity is uncertainty. It ...

'' (December 2003), which was the winner of the Best Film award at the

Pink Grand Prix The or is an annual Japanese film award ceremony which recognizes excellence in the pink film genre. Referred to by Miho Toda as the "Academy Awards of the Pink Film", the ceremony attracts a diverse audience of industry personnel, film scholar ...

. In October 2004, she appeared with AV idol

Sora Aoi is a Japanese former AV idol, nude model, and film and television actress. Starring in more than 600 adult films between 2002 and 2011, Aoi is widely considered one of the most famous AV idols of the 2000s, with her popularity as an adult video a ...

in the mainstream revenge film directed by Kōsuke Suzuki. Aoyama had a featured role alongside Mayu Asada and

Lemon Hanazawa , a.k.a. Remon Hanazawa, is a Japanese ''pink film'' actress who has also performed in adult videos (AV). She has appeared in award-winning ''pink films'' such as '' Lunch Box'' (2004) and '' Molester's Train: Sensitive Fingers'' (2007). She was ...

in the September 2005

J-horror Japanese horror is horror fiction derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror. Japanese horror tends ...

pink film , also known as ''Kannō byōtō: nureta akai kuchibiru'', based on the Japanese

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

of the

Kuchisake-onna is a malevolent figure in Japanese urban legends and folklore. Described as the malicious spirit, or ''onryō'', of a woman, she partially covers her face with a mask or other item and carries a pair of scissors. She is most often described as ...

. As an AV actress, Aoyama was nominated for the Best Actress Award at the 2006

Adult Broadcasting Awards The Sky PerfecTV! Adult Broadcasting Awards are given for performances in adult video programs shown on SKY PerfecTV! satellite TV channels in Japan. The awards complement those presented by the AV Open / AV Grand Prix contests which are given fo ...

ceremony for her work on the Japanese adult satellite TV network

SKY PerfecTV! is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service that provides satellite television, audio programming and interactive television services to households in Japan, owned by parent company SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation The SKY Perfect JSAT Group is ...

in 2005. Among her more prominent ''pink film'' performances was in

Shinji Imaoka a.k.a. is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of a group of '' pink film'' directors of the 2000s known collectively as the , which besides Imaoka, also includes Toshiya Ueno, Mitsuru Meike, Yūji Tajiri, Yoshitaka ...

's '' Uncle's Paradise'', released in May 2006. At the annual

, the film was chosen as the eighth best ''pink'' release of the year, and Aoyama was given an award as Best Actress. Aoyama was one of the leads in the 2006 mainstream romantic fantasy , which was also released in the United States in May 2007. Aoyama announced her retirement from AV work at the June 2007 event ''Momotaro Night 2007!'' (桃太郎Ｎight！2007) held in

Shinjuku, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

. Her retirement was marked by simultaneous releases of videos from the Momotaro and

Attackers is a Japanese adult video (AV) production company located in Tokyo, Japan. History Attackers started as an independent ("indie") studio but is now one of the companies that make up the large AV group, the Hokuto Corporation, which distributes A ...

studios on June 7, 2007 and a special photo session appearance by Aoyama for Attackers. After her retirement from adult videos, Aoyama continued to make pink films including starring roles in the 2008 '' Nakagawa Jun Kyōju no Inbina Hibi'' with

Rinako Hirasawa is a Japanese AV idol and '' pink film'' actress. She has appeared in award-winning ''pink films'', and was given a "Best Actress" award for her work in this genre in 2007. Life and career Hirasawa had a part-time job at the video arcade in T ...

, and director

Yoshikazu Katō is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life and career Yoshikazu Katō was born in Kyoto in 1972, and became a fan of the ''pink film'' while still in junior high school. He graduated from the Nikkatsu Visual Arts Academy in 1993, and b ...

's November 2009 film , which won the Best Film at the Pink Grand Prix for 2009. Aoyama was also named Best Actress, 2nd place for her performance in this film. Also in 2009, Aoyama won the Best Supporting Actress prize at the

Pinky Ribbon Awards The are a Japanese cinema awards ceremony which recognizes excellence in the ''pink film'' genre. The award is held by , a Kansai region paper covering the ''pink film'' industry. Readers of the paper elect the winners of the awards, which have ...

. In addition to appearances on television and in

V-cinema Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

, Aoyama also joined "Gesshoku Kagekidan", an avant-garde theatrical group, and in August 2008 performed in a play by

Shūji Terayama was a Japanese avant-garde poet, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. His works range from radio drama, experimental television, underground (''Angura'') theatre, countercultural essays, to Japanese New Wave and "expanded" cinema ...

. In April 2011, Aoyama co-starred with Nao Ayukawa in director

's pink film and soon afterwards she announced her retirement from the entertainment business and closed her official blog as of June 2011.

Partial filmography

* ''

'' (December 2003) * ''Bitter Sweet (October 2004) * '' Uncle's Paradise'' (May 2006) * '' Nakagawa Jun Kyōju no Inbina Hibi'' (March 2008)

References

External links

Minami Aoyama's official blog
(in Japanese) (closed) * * , - ! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" ,

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Aoyama, Minami Living people 1982 births Actresses from Tokyo Japanese pornographic film actresses Pink film actors