is a Japanese actress.

Biography

She was born in Osaka. In early 1984, the Japanese movie studio

Toho Company Ltd. is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer a ...

held their first Toho

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

beauty contest, and Yasuko, almost 19 at the time, was chosen as the first Toho Cinderella, beating out the other 30,000 contestants. Shortly after, she made her film debut in the film ''Karate Cop III: Song of the Sea'', before co-starring as the heroine Naoko Okumura in ''

The Return of Godzilla is a 1984 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Koji Hashimoto, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. The film features the fictional monster character Godzilla. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is ...

'', which was the grand comeback film for the famous movie monster ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

''. She appeared in the next Godzilla film 5 years later, 1989's ''

Godzilla vs. Biollante is a 1989 Japanese ''kaiju'' film written and directed by Kazuki Ōmori, with special effects by Koichi Kawakita. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 17th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, the sec ...

'', but as another character (Erika Shiragami, who later becomes Godzilla's titular adversary). At the Toho Cinderella beauty contest that same year, she took place with the 2nd Toho Cinderella, 1987 winner

Megumi Odaka , is a former Japanese idol, actress and singer. She is best known for the role of Miki Saegusa in six Godzilla films from 1989 to 1995. Biography Megumi Odaka was born on May 9, 1972 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. She graduated from Horikoshi ...

(who was also in ''Biollante'', starting her Miki Saegusa character). She has since appeared in numerous movies and television (her TV show debut was ''Miotsukushi'' in 1985), and is considered one of Japan's most beautiful and talented actresses. She has played scientific criminal investigator Mariko Sakaki, the lead role in the television show ''Kasōken no Onna'' (and its successor ''Shin Kasōken no Onna''), which have aired on

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 ...

since 1999. In

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

Taiga dramas she has portrayed Iroha-hime in the ''Dokuganryū Masamune'' (1987), Akahashi Tōko in ''

Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see '' gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923� ...

'' (1991), and Nene in ''

Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

'' (1996). She starred as Rui in the ''

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait of H ...

'' ''Shin On'yado Kawasemi'' (TV Asahi, 1997). She has also played the villain in one episode of

Furuhata Ninzaburo Furuhata (written: 古畑 or 降旗) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Koji Furuhata (born 1933), Japanese actor *, Japanese idol and singer *, Japanese model and actress *, Japanese film director {{surname Japanese ...

in 1996. She also voiced Chihiro's mother in the original

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

version of ''

Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and distrib ...

''. This involved her sounding as though she was talking with her mouth full, so she initially tried biting her finger while acting. When this didn't create the desired effect, some KFC chicken was ordered into the recording studio.

Filmography

Television

Film

Awards

References

External links

Yasuko Sawaguchi at Toho Entertainment
* * 1965 births Living people Japanese actresses People from Sakai, Osaka Asadora lead actors {{Japan-actor-stub