is a Japanese actress,

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

, and dancer from

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

, Japan. She is best known for her performances as

Kayako Saeki is the main antagonist of the '' Ju-On'' horror franchise. History and characteristics Japanese timeline In the ''Ju-on'' timeline, as revealed in the official novel written by Kei Ohishi, both of her parents were present albeit highly negle ...

in the '' Ju-On'' and '' Grudge'' franchises.

Biography

A native of

, Fuji studied acting at the Aoyama Gakuin University, and subsequently joined the Ein Theatrical Company. Her work was usually on-stage or in voice-over studios, but occasionally she would also appear in films. Her most famous role to this date is that of

, the

vengeful ghost In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crem ...

in the ''Ju-on'' series, which she subsequently played in ''The Grudge'' series later on as well. She first played Kayako in the 1998 short movie '' Katasumi,'' part of the ''Gakkô no kaidan G'' collection. She then reprised her role in the direct-to-video film '' Ju-on'' and its sequel, '' Ju-on 2''. When director

Takashi Shimizu Takashi Shimizu (清水崇 ''Shimizu Takashi'', born 27 July 1972) is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for being the creator of the ''Ju-On'' franchise, and directing four of its films, internationally, in both Japan and the U.S. Accor ...

decided to direct two additional instalments for a broader theatrical release, which he called ''( Ju-on: The Grudge'' and '' Ju-on: The Grudge 2),'' Fuji played the character of Kayako twice more. When the films were subsequently remade for an American audience as ''

The Grudge ''The Grudge'' is a 2004 supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film '' Ju-On: The Grudge'', i ...

'' and ''

The Grudge 2 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', she returned as Kayako again. However, she declined the role in ''

The Grudge 3 ''The Grudge 3'' is a 2009 American supernatural horror film and the third and final installment in ''The Grudge'' original trilogy. Toby Wilkins, who had previously directed the successful film ''Splinter'' and the short film series '' Tales fro ...

'' which subsequently went to Aiko Horiuchi.

Filmography

Films

Anime

Dubbing

References

External links

Official agency profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuji, Takako 1972 births Living people Japanese film actresses Japanese video game actresses Japanese voice actresses Voice actresses from Tokyo 20th-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese actresses