Akiko Koyama Explained

Akiko Koyama
Birthname:Akiko Usui
Birth Date:25 January 1935
Birth Place:Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Occupation:Actress
Years Active:1955–present
Children:2

is a Japanese stage and film actress who appeared in over 80 films,[1] many directed by her husband Nagisa Ōshima.[2] [3] [4]

Biography

Koyama was born Akiko Usui in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture as the youngest of six children. She graduated from Kanagawa Prefectural Tsurumi High School in 1953 and entered a dressmaking school to study fashion design. After appearing on the cover of Katei Yomiuri magazine, she received an offer by the Shochiku film studios, where she gave her screen debut in 1955. In 1960, she married film director Nagisa Ōshima and left Shochiku with him, becoming a co-founder of the independent film company Sozosha which produced Ōshima's subsequent films and in which she regularly starred. In the 1980s, she switched from film to television work, while still appearing on stage. Koyama temporarily retired from acting after Ōshima's collapse from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1996 to nurse her husband. She and Ōshima, who died in 2013, had two sons. In recent years, she has been active as a lecturer and essayist on the subject of nursing care.

Selected filmography

Awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 小山 明子 . Japanese Movie Database . 9 August 2023 . ja.
  2. Web site: 小山 明子 . Kinenote . 9 August 2023 . ja.
  3. News: In the realms of true love and devotion, few could fault Akiko Koyama . The Japan Times . 9 August 2023.
  4. Book: Goodbye Cinema, Hello Cinephilia: Film Culture in Transition . 9780226726656 . 2018-10-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181019205701/https://books.google.com/books?id=4X-4lPDhkKwC&pg=PA161&lpg=PA161&dq=Akiko+Koyama+actress&source=bl&ots=OfbbwpWEiq&sig=nK4Wo15bHYmg1qehdhPVDvZgvF0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwikporM2JLeAhWKXysKHXKOBcAQ6AEwDXoECAEQAQ#v=onepage&q=Akiko%20Koyama%20actress&f=false#v=onepage&q=Akiko%20Koyama%20actress&f=false . 2018-10-19 . live . Rosenbaum . Jonathan . 15 October 2010 . University of Chicago Press .
  5. Web site: 毎日映画コンクール 第24回(1969年) . Mainichi . ja . 9 August 2023.
  6. Web site: 第44回日本アカデミー賞 . Japan Academy Film Prize . ja . 9 August 2023.