is a Japanese actress and

gravure idol A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Tho ...

Life and career

Yoshino was born on September 5, 1975, in

Kanagawa is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...

, Japan. She started out as a

in 1994 in a swimsuit campaign for Toyobo and in the same year she was also chosen as one of the Fuji Television Visual Queens. She made her film debut as a nineteen-year-old starring in the role of schoolgirl Misa Kuroi in the

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

-based live action movie '' Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness'', released in April 1995. Her work in this film brought her the award for Best Newcomer at the fifth Japanese Professional Movie Awards. The next year, she reprised her role in the sequel '' Eko Eko Azarak 2: Birth of the Wizard''. Also in 1996, she appeared in the fantasy film ''Acri: The Legend of Homo-Aquarellius'', directed by singer-songwriter Tatsuya Ishii. In September 1997 she had a feature role in ''OL Chu-Singura'', a comedy about women office workers fighting against an evil corporation, and in 1998, she appeared as the heroine in the black comedy ''Unlucky Monkey'' directed by Sabu. Yoshino continued to appear in films, TV shows and

V-cinema Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy w ...

productions in the early 2000s. In the

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certif ...

series '' Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora'', a live action TV drama based on a series of novels which aired in October to December, 2006, she played the role of the nurse Akiko Tanizaki. In August 2008, the adult video (AV) firm Muteki announced that Yoshino would be the star of their second video production (the first starred actress Mio Saegusa). According to reports, Yoshino was to be paid about 20 to 25 million yen (about US$170,000 to 200,000) and it was considered that the video might sell as many as 100,000 copies. The video, , released by Muteki in October 2008, was an "adult image" video which did not contain any hardcore sex. Yoshino returned to mainstream film in 2010 with a role in the horror film ''Kyofu''. In 2011, she starred in the title role for the TBS version of the manga classic ''

Lady Snowblood ''Lady Snowblood'' may refer to: * ''Lady Snowblood'' (manga), 1972–1973 serialized manga * ''Lady Snowblood'' (film), 1973 film adaptation of the manga ** '' Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance'', the 1974 sequel to the film {{Disambig ...

'' which was broadcast on March 27, 2011.

Filmography

*'' Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness'' (1995) *'' Eko Eko Azarak 2: Birth of the Wizard'' (1996) *''Acri: The Legend of Homo-Aquarellius'' (1996) * (1997) * (1998) *''

Gozu is a 2003 Japanese horror comedy crime film directed by Takashi Miike and written by Sakichi Sato. The film blends yakuza stories with ghost stories, bizarre vignettes, and urban legends. Plot Ozaki (Aikawa), a mentally unstable yakuza, kills a ...

'' (2003) *'' Garo'' (2005, TV series) *'' Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora'' (2006, TV series) *'' Waru'' (2006) *'' Kyofu'' (2010)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshino, Kimika 1975 births Japanese gravure models Living people People from Odawara Actresses from Kanagawa Prefecture