is a Japanese actress, singer, and model. She is best known in the West for her roles as Takako Chigusa in

Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking," Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty yakuza films, typified by the ''Battles Without Honor ...

's 2000 film '' Battle Royale'' and Gogo Yubari in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

's 2003 film '' Kill Bill: Volume 1''.

Life and career

She was born in

Tsuchiura, Ibaraki is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 138,033 in 60,069 households and a population density of 1123 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 29.7%. The total area of ...

. Kuriyama was a popular model during Japan's

child model {{unsourced, date=August 2020 A child model refers to a child who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art, such as photography, painting and sculpture. Practice Artists have used ...

boom in the mid-1990s. In 1997, she appeared in the photobooks ''Shinwa-Shōjo'' (''Girl of Myth'') and ''Shōjokan'' (''Girl's Residence''), photographed by

Kishin Shinoyama is a Japanese photographer. He is well-known for photographing the covers for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's albums, Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey. Before his marriage to Saori Minami in 1979, he took majority of the photographs for her album co ...

. ''Shinwa-Shōjo'' became a best-seller but, as it contained some nudity, was discontinued by the publisher in 1999 after the institution of new anti–

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

laws. She also posed as a model for the child fashion magazines '' Nicola'' (1997–2001) and ''

Pichi Lemon was a Japanese fashion magazine published by Gakken. The magazine targets girls from early- to mid-teens. The magazine was known for its models (called "Pichimo" as an abbreviation for "Pichi Lemon model"), as well as its abundance of fashion and ...

'' (1996–2001). She first achieved widespread recognition as an actress in Japan for her starring roles in the horror films ''

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

'' (1999) and '' Ju-on'' (2000). Chiaki also appeared in the 2000 action film '' Battle Royale'' as Takako Chigusa. Following feature appearances on several notable Japanese television programs (including ''

Rokubanme no Sayoko also known as ''The 6th Sayoko'' is a Japanese television series which was produced in the year 2000. Story Nishihama Junior High School is haunted by the legend of Sayoko. Every three years a student is chosen to play the role of Sayoko by his ...

''), Kuriyama made her Hollywood debut in director

's 2003 film '' Kill Bill: Volume 1'' as Gogo Yubari, the schoolgirl bodyguard of

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

boss

O-Ren Ishii ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) an ...

(

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has star ...

). Kuriyama's other film appearances include major roles in the ninja drama '' Azumi 2: Death or Love'' and

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over one hundred theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films run through a variety of different genres, and range from violent an ...

's '' Yōkai Daisensō''. In 2010, she released the CD single "Ryūsei no Namida" on DefStar Records under the artist name "CHiAKi KURiYAMA". The song was used as the first ending theme for ''

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn is a novel by popular Japanese author Harutoshi Fukui (''Shūsen no Lorelei'', ''Bōkoku no Aegis'', '' Samurai Commando: Mission 1549''). The novel takes place in Gundam's Universal Century timeline. Character and mechanical designs ar ...

''. This single was followed by three others under her name as traditionally written in Japanese: "Kanōsei Girl", "Cold Finger Girl", and " Oishii Kisetsu" / " Ketteiteki Sanpunkan"; "Kanōsei Girl" was used as the third opening theme for '' Yorinuki Gin Tama-san'' and "Cold Finger Girl" was used as the opening for the anime adaptation of ''

Level E is a Japanese comic science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The plot follows the misadventures of alien Prince Baka Ki El Dogra, who crash-lands on Earth and forcibly begins living with high school student ...

''. She followed the singles with an album, ''Circus'', in 2011.

Discography

Album

Singles

Filmography

Television

Films

Voice roles

Video games

Stage

*''Dogen's adventure'' (2008) *''Coast of Utopia'' (2009) *''Midnight in Bali'' (2017)

Photobooks

*Namaiki! Photo:

.Text:

Akio Nakamori , real name , is a columnist and editor born on January 1, 1960, in Mie Prefecture, Japan. He is credited as popularizing the term "otaku" in its modern colloquial usage. After dropping out of Meiji University's Nakano Junior and Senior High Scho ...

. (,1996) *Tenshi/angel (天使) Photo: Mitsuo Kawamoto. (,1996). *Sinwa-Shoujo (神話少女）Photo:

. Text:

.(,1997) *Shoujokan (少女館)Photo: Kishin Shinoyama. (,1997) *Shikoku nite (死国にて)(,1999) *Kuriyama Chiaki ACCESS BOOK (栗山千明ACCESS BOOK)(,1999) *Princess (プリンセス栗山千明×蜷川実花）Photo: Mika Ninagawa. (,2004) *digi+KISHIN DVD:Chiaki Kuriyama. Image Film by Kishin Shinoyama. (ASIN B0001LNO7O,2004) *digi+Girls kishin NO.4 Kuriyama Chiaki (digi+Girls kishin NO.4 栗山千明) Photo: Kishin Shinoyama. (ASIN: 4255002797, 2004) *Car girl Photo: Kishin Shinoyama. (,2004) *Emergence Uka (羽化) Photo: Chikashi Kasai. (,2014)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuriyama, Chiaki 1984 births Living people Voice actresses from Ibaraki Prefecture People from Tsuchiura 20th-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers Japanese film actresses Japanese stage actresses Japanese television actresses Japanese voice actresses Japanese female models Child models Japanese women pop singers Defstar Records artists Musicians from Ibaraki Prefecture Japanese video game actresses