is a Japanese actress from Osaka Prefecture, Japan. She has won several acting awards during a long career working in both film and television, after she graduated from Meiji University.

Life and career

Early career

At the beginning of her career in 1979, Tanaka had a leading role in the

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

TV drama series and she also voiced the role of Judy in the Fuji Television

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

movie , based on the novel by Jean Webster, which was broadcast in October 1979. Tanaka appeared in her first theatrical film in 1981, the historical drama '' Eijanaika'' and later that year she starred in '' Edo Porn'', a fictional biography of the artist Hokusai. Tanaka received a number of accolades for her work in these two films including Best Supporting Actress and one of the Best Newcomer of the Year awards from the Japan Academy. She also won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as the Hochi Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. Tanaka returned to television drama in late 1981 with the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) series about three office ladies (OL) reaching their 25th birthdays. The series, which also starred Masako Mori and Yūko Kotegawa, ran from September to December 1981. In May 1982, Tanaka starred in the film directed by Yōichi Higashi, a role which earned her a nomination for Best Actress from the Japan Academy. Later that year, Tanaka played "Keiko", the love interest of Torajirō (Tora-san), in the comedy, '' Tora-san, the Expert'', part of a long running series of films. In early 1983, Tanaka played the part of a prostitute in the murder mystery with Tsunehiko Watase. Reviewer Kevin Thomas at the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

called Tanaka "So gorgeous and talented" that the film "becomes something extraordinary." For her part in the film she won both the Blue Ribbon Award and the Kinema Junpo award for Best Actress.

''Oshin'' and afterwards

As part of the celebration of their 30th anniversary in 1983, the Japanese TV network

inaugurated a new NHK Serial TV Novel titled . The serial told the story of a peasant girl, Oshin, born in 1900, who endures poverty and mistreatment but in later life finds success and happiness. Oshin as a young girl was played by Ayako Kobayashi but Tanaka took over the role as the adult Oshin. The series ran in almost 300 fifteen-minute episodes broadcast from April 1983 to March 1984 and its peak rating (62.9%) made it "the most popular drama in Japanese TV history". The series was also popular outside Japan and Tanaka became a "household name" in China in the 1980s. After ''Oshin'', Tanaka returned to feature films with starring roles in the comedy '' Capone Cries a Lot'' which was distributed by

Shochiku is a Japanese entertainment company. Founded in 1895, it initially managed '' kabuki'' theaters in Kyoto; in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and establis ...

in February 1985, and in the August 1985 drama opposite Ken Takakura. Tanaka received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress from the Japan Academy for the two films. Over the next ten years, Tanaka mostly worked in television, appearing in a dozen TV movies and in the lavish

historical series chronicling the period of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, , which ran in 48 episodes from January to December 1990. During this period, Tanaka also appeared in two films, one of them the July 1987 sentimental drama about a teacher, . Kevin Thomas at the

called her "exquisite in her portrayal". In May 1988, Tanaka starred as Kino (Catherine in the novel) in '' Wuthering Heights'', director Yoshishige Yoshida's film adaptation of the classic Emily Brontë novel set in medieval Japan.

Personal life

Tanaka met singer and actor Kenji Sawada when they were both in the 1982 film '' Tora-san, the Expert'' and they also appeared together in the 1985 movie '' Capone Cries a Lot''. Sawada at the time was married to singer Emi Īto but they separated in 1986 and were divorced in 1987. Tanaka and Sawada married in November 1989.

Later career

When director Yōji Yamada reworked a script from his popular '' Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' film series after the death of "Tora-san" star Kiyoshi Atsumi as in December 1996, Tanaka, who had earlier worked with Yamada in '' Tora-san, the Expert'', was chosen to play the true love of a manager of a failing movie theater ( Toshiyuki Nishida). In July 1997, Tanaka provided the voice of Lady Eboshi in the

fantasy '' Princess Mononoke'' and in the 1999 , Tanaka played one half of a manzai comedy duo whose failing marriage affects their daughter Wakana ( Ikewaki Chizuru). Tanaka continued performing in both film and television roles throughout the 2000s including starring with Ken Takakura in the 2001 Yasuo Furuhata drama, , about Japanese families after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The film was nominated for 13 awards by the Japan Academy including a Best Actress nomination for Tanaka. In the January 2005 film , Tanaka took on the role of real life ceramic artist Kiyoko Koyama. When her son was diagnosed with leukemia, Kiyoko worked to form a patients' group for bone marrow transplants, and she was instrumental in the formation of the Japan Marrow Donor Program (JMDP). The film was directed by Banmei Takahashi who is better known for his early work in '' pink film''. The movie brought Tanaka both the Hochi Film Award and the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actress. Tanaka's next film role was a fifty-year-old single woman who meets an old flame while delivering milk in the July 2005 romantic drama . She won a Best Actress Award for her roles in this film and ''Hibi'' at the 2006 Japanese Professional Movie Awards. Tanaka voiced the character of the wizard Cob () in the July 2006

movie '' Tales from Earthsea'' which was also released in an English language version in the United States in August 2010. Tanaka returned to television drama starring as the Empress Dowager Cixi in the

historical drama . The Sino-Japanese production ran in 28 episodes in Japan from January to July 2010 and in China from March 2010, with both versions receiving excellent ratings. She also reunited with previous co-star Ken Takakura in Yasuo Furuhata's film in August 2012. The next year she took the part of Keisuke Kinoshita's mother in the June 2013 ''Dawn of a Filmmaker: The Keisuke Kinoshita Story'', a drama based on the life of the famous Japanese film director, and she also played a leading role in Shinji Aoyama's in September 2013.

Filmography

Films

TV dramas

TV anime

Honours

* Medal with Purple Ribbon (2010) *Kinuyo Tanaka Award (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Yuko 1955 births Living people Japanese film actresses Japanese television actresses Japanese voice actresses Meiji University alumni People from Ikeda, Osaka Asadora lead actors Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon