is a Japanese actress and activist. She has won four Japan Academy Best Actress awards, more than any other actress, and has been called "one of the foremost stars in the postwar world of film."

Career

Her first media appearance was in the radio drama "Akado Suzunosuke" in 1957, and she has been one of the most popular actresses in Japan since the 1960s, with fans called "Sayur- ists" (''Sayurisuto'') - for example,

Akiyuki Nosaka was a Japanese novelist, singer, lyricist, and member of the House of Councillors. As a broadcasting writer he used the name and his alias as a chanson singer was . Early life Nosaka was born in Kamakura, Kanagawa, the son of Sukeyuki Nosak ...

and Tamori. She made a contract with the movie corporation Nikkatsu and played the lead role in many of its films. In 1962, Yoshinaga played a junior-high school girl in her most famous film, "

Foundry Town is a 1962 Japanese drama film directed by Kirio Urayama. It was entered into the 1962 Cannes Film Festival and won the Blue Ribbon Awards in 1962. Cast * Sayuri Yoshinaga as Jun * Mitsuo Hamada as Tsukamoto, Katsumi * Eijirō Tōno as Ishigu ...

", and got the Japan Record Award for ''"Itsudemo Yume wo"'' (Always Keep the Dream) with the male singer

Yukio Hashi is a Japanese enka singer and an actor. His real name is , using a different kanji. Discography * : Co-starring with Sayuri Yoshinaga (1962) * * Itako Gasa Filmography Film His filmography includes 36 films: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p00848 ...

. In the 1970s and 1980s, Yoshinaga appeared in films made by other companies, as well as in TV drama serials, commercials, and talk shows. After this period, she returned to films and she has featured in commercials for some big companies such as

Sharp Aquos The Sharp Aquos is a product brand name for LCD televisions and component screens, originally sold by Sharp Corporation of Japan and also used by licensees. History It encompasses small, portable models (e.g. the 13" B series) up to large h ...

, Nissey and Kagome. She has been awarded the Japan Academy Prize four times. Yoshinaga has appeared in 123 films, mostly in the leading role. Yoshinaga starred in Kon Ichikawa's ''

Ohan Ohan is a common masculine Armenian name and can be used as a nickname for Hovhannes or Ohannes. Ohan may refer to: People * Ohan Durian (1922–2011), Armenian conductor *Mikho-Ohan, pen name of Armenian writer Nar-Dos Films * ''Ohan'' (film ...

'' and ''

The Makioka Sisters is a novel by Japanese writer Jun'ichirō Tanizaki that was serialized from 1943 to 1948. It follows the lives of the wealthy Makioka family of Osaka from the autumn of 1936 to April 1941, focusing on the family's attempts to find a husband fo ...

''. She also starred in Yoji Yamada's ''Kabei: Our Mother'' and ''About Her Brother''. In 2012, she starred in Junji Sakamoto's ''A Chorus of Angels''.

Character

Yoshinaga graduated from Waseda University, the Schools of Letters, Arts and Sciences II in 1969. Under a tight schedule, she took the runners-up value in the school among the graduates in that year. In 1975, she married Taro Okada, a TV director worked in Fuji Television, keeping her maiden name "Yoshinaga" as her stage name. She has no children. From the 1980s, after playing Yumechiyo in TV drama, a hibakusha geisha by Atomic bombings of Hiroshima, she has worked for the anti-nuclear movement. Her most well-known action is reading the poems about atomic bombs over 20 years, and she worked without guarantees for voice guidance in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. She is also famous for supporting a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) club, Seibu Lions.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi is a Japanese businessman. During the Japanese economic bubble, ''Forbes'' listed Tsutsumi as the wealthiest person in the world during 1987–94 due to his extensive real estate investments through the Seibu Corporation, which he controlled. ...

, the former owner of this team is a fan of Yoshinaga, and she bought a pension from Tsutsumi's Seibu Railway group.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

Awards

* 1961:

Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year The Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year is an award given at the Elan d'or Awards The are awards presented annually by the All Nippon Producers Association (ANPA) in Japan to recognize outstanding achievements in domestic motion picture ...

* 1962: Japan Record Award * 1984: 9th Hochi Film Award - Best Actress for ''

'' and ''

Station to Heaven is a 1984 Japanese film directed by Masanobu Deme. Awards and nominations 9th Hochi Film Award * Won: Best Actress - Sayuri Yoshinaga Japan Academy Prize * Won: Best Actress - Sayuri Yoshinaga Kinema Junpo Awards * Won: Best Actress - Sayuri ...

'' * 1985: Japan Academy Prize - Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role * 1986: Kinuyo Tanaka Award * 1989: Japan Academy Prize - Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role * 1997: Japan Record Award for Concept * 2001: Japan Academy Prize - Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role * 2006: Japan Academy Prize - Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role * 2006: Medals of Honour with Purple Ribbon * 2010:

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

* 2015: Kikuchi Kan Prize

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshinaga, Sayuri Japanese actresses 1945 births Living people People from Tokyo Waseda University alumni Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Persons of Cultural Merit People from Shibuya