Kirin Kiki

Kirin Kiki
Kirin Kiki
樹木希林
	Kirin Kiki at the 2015 Odesa International Film Festival
Born	Keiko Nakatani (中谷啓子, Nakatani Keiko); January 15, 1943; Tokyo, Japan
Died	September 15, 2018 (aged 75); Tokyo, Japan
Other names	Chiho Yūki (悠木千帆, Yūki Chiho) first stage name;; Keiko Uchida (内田啓子, Uchida Keiko) current legal name
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1961–2018
Spouses	; Shin Kishida (m. 1964; div. 1968) ; Yuya Uchida (m. 1973; died 2019)
Children	1

Kirin Kiki (Japanese: 樹木希林, Hepburn: Kiki Kirin, 15 January 1943 – 15 September 2018) was a Japanese actress for Japanese cinema and television.

Biography

Kiki was born on January 15, 1943, in Kanda, Tokyo. Her father was a master of the biwa lute and a former police officer.^[1]^[2] Her mother owned a cafe in Jinbōchō, Tokyo and a restaurant in Noge, Yokohama, the latter being Kiki's maternal parents' home.^[3] Her mother was seven years senior to her father and had a child from both her two previous marriages.^[2]

After graduating from high school, she started her acting career in the early 1960s as a member of the Bungakuza theater troupe using the stage name Chiho Yūki (悠木千帆).^[4] She eventually gained fame for performing uniquely comedic and eccentric roles on such television shows as Jikan desu yo and Terauchi Kantarō ikka and in television commercials.^[4] She changed her name to "Kirin Kiki" when, after being asked on a television show to auction off something of hers, she ended up selling her first stage name, claiming she had "nothing else to sell."^[1]

While battling various ailments, including a detached retina in 2003 and breast cancer in 2005,^[5] Kiki continued to act and won several awards, including the best actress Japan Academy Prize for Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad in 2008,^[6] the best supporting actress award from the Yokohama Film Festival for her work in Kamikaze Girls and Half a Confession in 2004,^[7] and the best supporting actress Blue Ribbon Award for Still Walking in 2008.^[8]

Personal life

Kiki married fellow Bungakuza actor Shin Kishida. They separated in 1968. She married musician Yuya Uchida in 1973, and remained legally married to him though they separated in 1975.^[9] Their daughter, Yayako Uchida [jp], is an essayist and musician, and portrayed the younger self of Kiki's character in the film Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad. Yayako Uchida is married to the actor Masahiro Motoki,^[1] who was adopted into the Uchida family as a mukoyōshi.^[10] Kirin has three grandchildren by her daughter, including actress Kyara Uchida, who has appeared with her in two films, I Wish and Sweet Bean.^[11]

Kiki was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and underwent a mastectomy.^[12] She died of cancer, and related illnesses, on 15 September 2018.^[13]

Selected filmography

Film

Zoku Yoidore hakase (1966) - Fumiko
Lake of Tears (1966) - Kayo Sugumo
Tonogata goyôjin (1966)
Tabiji (1967) - Chie
Aniki no koibito (1968) - Sanae
Kamisama no koibito (1968) - Aiko Yamagami
Dai bakuhatsu (1969)
Tora-san, His Tender Love (1970) - Maid in Shinshû
Aka chôchin (1974)
Akumyo: shima arashi (1974) - Oshige
Jack and the Beanstalk (1974) - Madam Noir (voice)
Honô no shôzô (1974)
Abayo dachikô (1974)
Mamushi to aodaishô (1975) - Kiku Matsukawa
Za.Dorifutazu no kamo da!! Goyo da!! (1975) - tomiko
Eden no umi (1976) - Orittsan
Sachiko no sachi (1976) - Momoe
Onna kyôshi (1977) - Yuriko Yokoyama
Ballad of Orin (1977) - Tama Ichise
Wani to oum to ottosei (1977) - Mary
Taro the Dragon Boy (1979) - Yamanba (voice)
Sochô no kubi (1979) - Okonomiyaki Manager
Kindaichi Kosuke no boken (1979) - Tane
Kamisamaga kureta akanbô (1979) - Woman who brought a boy
Zigeunerweisen (1980) - Kimi
Otake shinobu no a! Kono ai nakuba ganbasseyo Kuni-chan (1980)
Tosa No Ipponzuri (1980) - Fuki
Nogiku no haka (1981) - Omasu
Tenkōsei (1982) - Naoko Saitoh
Keiji monogatari (1982) - Sumi Yashiro
Santô kôkôsei (1982)
Amagi goe (1983) - Ryosaku's Wife
Hometown (1983) - Yoshi
Capone Cries a Lot (1985) - Sene Tachikawa
Lonely Heart (1985) - Terue Amano
Yumechiyo nikki (1985) - Kikuyakko
Kyôshû (1988) - Mine Kamioka
Tsuru (1988) - Yura
Daidokoro No Seijo (1988) - Hisajo Sugita
Kaze no Matasaburô - Garasu no manto (1989) - Otane
Donmai (1990) - Hanako
Rainbow Kids (1991) - Kura Nakamura^[14]
Sensou to seishun (1991) - Etsuko Onoki
Za Chugaku kyoshi (1992)
The Triple Cross (1992)
Yearning (1993) - Omatsu
Rex: A Dinosaur's Story (1993)^[15]
Rampo (1994) - House wife / Head of maid
Toki no kagayaki (1995) - Nagashima
Rintaro (輝け！隣太郎, Kagayake! Rintaro) (1995, she also sang the title song (with Toshiaki Karasawa))
Oishinbo (1996)
Koi to hanabi to kanransha (1997) - Sanae Mita
Hissatsu shimatsunin (1997) - Otora
Ashita heno kakehashi (1997)
39 keihô dai sanjûkyû jô (1997) - Defence Counsel Shigure Nagamura
Zawa-zawa Shimo-Kitazawa (2000) - Fan of Kyushiro
Drug (2001) - Yoshie Hirakawa
Tôkyô Marîgôrudo (2001) - Ritsuko Sakai
Pistol Opera (2001) - Rin
Danbôru hausu gâru (2001)
Inochi (2002) - Mother
Returner (2002) - Xie
Yoru o kakete (2002)
Hotaru no hoshi (2003) - Headmistress
Half a Confession (2004) - Yasuko Shimamura
Kamikaze Girls (2004) - Momoko's Grandmother
Izo (2004)
Chekeraccho!! (2006) - Chisa Haebaru
Brave Story (2006) - Onba (voice)
Akai kujira to shiroi hebi (2006) - Midori Ohara
Tôkyô tawâ: Okan to boku to, tokidoki, oton (2007) - Eiko Nakagawa
Saido kâ ni inu (2007) - Granny Tome
Still Walking (2008) - Toshiko Yokoyama
Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (2008)
Miyagino (2008) - Madam
The Borrower Arrietty (2010) - Haru (voice)
Villain (2010) - Fusae Shimizu
Ghost: In Your Arms Again (2010)
Ôki-ke no tanoshii ryokô: Shinkon jigoku-hen (2011)
Hanezu (2011) - Takumi's Mother
I Wish (2011) - Hideko (Grandmother)
Chronicle of My Mother (2011) - Yae
Tsunagu (2012) - Aiko
Yakusoku: Nabari dokubudôshu jiken shikeishû no shôgai (2013) - Iatsuno okunishi
Like Father, Like Son (2013) - Riko Ishizeki
Sweet Bean (2015; Best Performance by an Actress, Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2015) - Tokue
Our Little Sister (2015) - Fumiyo Kikuchi
Kakekomi onna to kakedashi otoko (2015) - Genbee
After the Storm (2016) – Yoshiko
Mori, The Artist's Habitat (2018) - Hideko Kumagai
Shoplifters (2018) - Hatsue Shibata
Every Day A Good Day (2018) - Ms. Takeda
Cherry Blossoms and Demons [de] (2019) - Yu's Grandmother
Erica 38 (2019) - Erica's mother (final film role)

Television

Shadow Warriors (1980-1986) - Orin
Hanekonma (1986) - Yae (Hanekonma's mother)
Tobu ga Gotoku (1990) - Ikushima
Kimi no Na wa (1991)
Aoi (2000) - Lady Kasuga

Honours

Medal with Purple Ribbon (2008)
Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2014)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Kiki Kirin". Tarento meikan (in Japanese). Sponichi Annex. Retrieved 21 July 2010.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ ^a ^b 斎藤明美. "これがはじまり最終回樹木希林『行きがかり上、役者になって、自分にはずっと合っていないなと思いつつ.....。』". キネマ旬報 (2008年12月下旬号). キネマ旬報社: 152–155.
^ 松井清人『オカン、おふくろ、お母さん』文藝春秋、2006年、71-73頁
^ ^a ^b "Kiki Kirin". Nihon jinmei daijiten (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
^ "Asahi shinbun shinpojiumu: Gan ni makenai, akiramenai kotsu". Asahi shinbun (in Japanese). 25 March 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
^ "Dai 31-kai Nihon Academī Shō yūshū sakuhin" (in Japanese). Nihon Academī Shō kōshiki saito. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
^ "Dai 25-kai Yokohama Eigasai: Nihon eiga kojin shō" (in Japanese). Yokohama Eigasai. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
^ "Burū Ribon Shō hisutorī 2008" (in Japanese). Cinema Hochi. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
^ "Japan's grandmother Kirin Kiki has defied conventions throughout her long film career". Japan Times.
^ "Motoki Masahiro". Nihon jinmei daijiten (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
^ tokyoguy. "26 | March | 2010 | Japan Zone" [Sekine, Amami are the Ideal Bosses]. Archived from the original on 2024-05-11. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
^ Yoshikawa, Mai (June 28, 2018). "Actress Kirin Kiki wants an ending with no twists". The Japan Times.
^ "Veteran TV, movie actress Kirin Kiki dies in Tokyo at age 75". The Japan Times. 16 September 2018. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018.
^ Stuart Galbraith IV (16 May 2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. p. 375. ISBN 978-1-4616-7374-3.
^ "REX 恐竜物語". eiga.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024.

External links

Kirin Kiki at IMDb
Kirin Kiki at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)

[Sponichi-1] "Kiki Kirin". Tarento meikan (in Japanese). Sponichi Annex. Retrieved 21 July 2010.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[キネ旬200812_1-2] 斎藤明美. "これがはじまり最終回樹木希林『行きがかり上、役者になって、自分にはずっと合っていないなと思いつつ.....。』". キネマ旬報 (2008年12月下旬号). キネマ旬報社: 152–155.

[3] 松井清人『オカン、おふくろ、お母さん』文藝春秋、2006年、71-73頁

[kotobank-4] "Kiki Kirin". Nihon jinmei daijiten (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved 21 July 2010.

[5] "Asahi shinbun shinpojiumu: Gan ni makenai, akiramenai kotsu". Asahi shinbun (in Japanese). 25 March 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2010.

[6] "Dai 31-kai Nihon Academī Shō yūshū sakuhin" (in Japanese). Nihon Academī Shō kōshiki saito. Retrieved 19 July 2010.

[7] "Dai 25-kai Yokohama Eigasai: Nihon eiga kojin shō" (in Japanese). Yokohama Eigasai. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2010.

[8] "Burū Ribon Shō hisutorī 2008" (in Japanese). Cinema Hochi. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010.

[9] "Japan's grandmother Kirin Kiki has defied conventions throughout her long film career". Japan Times.

[10] "Motoki Masahiro". Nihon jinmei daijiten (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved 23 July 2010.

[11] tokyoguy. "26 | March | 2010 | Japan Zone" [Sekine, Amami are the Ideal Bosses]. Archived from the original on 2024-05-11. Retrieved 2024-05-11.

[12] Yoshikawa, Mai (June 28, 2018). "Actress Kirin Kiki wants an ending with no twists". The Japan Times.

[13] "Veteran TV, movie actress Kirin Kiki dies in Tokyo at age 75". The Japan Times. 16 September 2018. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018.

[14] Stuart Galbraith IV (16 May 2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. p. 375. ISBN 978-1-4616-7374-3.

[15] "REX 恐竜物語". eiga.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024.

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