Yōko Minamida
Biography
Yōko Minamida (南田 洋子, Minamida Yōko, March 1, 1933 – October 21, 2009) was a Japanese actress. Born in Tokyo, Minamida made her screen debut in 1953 for the Daiei studio and quickly rose to stardom, working with Kenji Mizoguchi on two films: “A Story from Chikamatsu” and “Princess Yang Kwei-fei.” In 1955, she moved to the Nikkatsu studio, where she starred in Takumi Furukawa’s “Season of the Sun” (1956), a smash hit that launched the so-called “Sun Tribe” boom for films about rebellious youth looking for sex and kicks on Shonan Beach — Japan’s nearest equivalent to Malibu. Minamida acted in dozens of movies for Nikkatsu, working with Shohei Imamura, Seijun Suzuki, and other directors. In 1961 she married her co-star on “Season of the Sun,” Hiroyuki Nagato. As she acted in fewer movies after the mid-1960s, Minamida made a smooth and successful transition to TV as both an actress and MC. She also continued to appear occasionally in movies, with the last being Nobuhiko Obayashi’s “Song of Goodbye” in 2006.
She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in November 2008, and a TV documentary was made about her condition and the efforts of her husband to care for her. She died in Tokyo.
Acting (102 movies)
Pigs and Battleships
1961
A Modern Samurai Village
1963
Tale of the Last Japanese Yakuza
1969
Otoko to otoko no ikiru machi
1962
Chikamatsu Monogatari
1954
Zoku jūdai no seiten
1953
Black Dice
1962
Okashina yatsu
1963
Salaryman Senka
1995
A Young Man's Stronghold
1970
Princess Yang Kwei-fei
1955
A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era
1957
Ankoku gai jingi
1965
Umi no jōji ni kakero
1960
Sun and Stars
1962
He Killed Dad
1961
Streetlights
1957
Last Round
1962
The Soundless Cry
1965
Yellow Fangs
1990
The Wild Daisy
1977
Season of the Sun
1956
The Crimson Plains
1961
Yuganda tsuki
1959
The Doctor
1955
The Kingdom of Jirocho 4
1965
Jūdai no seiten
1953
Return of the Vagabond
1960
The Guys Who Put Money on Me
1962
The Rambler Rides Again
1960
Voice Without a Shadow
1958
Love Comes with Youth
1963
Chivalrous Pride
1969
Wind and waves of the South
1961
I Have the Sun in My Back
1963
Our Town
1956
An Outlaw
1964
Time of First Love
1975
Beyond the Green Hills
1963
Glorious Fights
1966
The Barefoot Girl
1957
The Poem of the Blue Star
1960
This Story of Love
1987
Glass-Hearted Johnny
1962
Jakoman and Tetsu
1964
Tokyo Knights
1961
The Domain
1964
Ame no meguri ai
1977
The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang
1972
Portrait of Chieko
1967
House
1977
The Champion
1957
The Man with a Shotgun
1961
Kyu-chan, Draw Your Sword
1963
A Turning to Hell
1959
Stolen Desire
1958
At Noon
1978
Quick Draw Joe
1961
But the Flesh is Weak
1957
Hungry Soul
1956
The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry
1965
Farewell to Southern Tosa
1959
Jungle Block
1960
Dancing Sisters
1957
Karafuto 1945 Summer
1974
Song of Goodbye
2007
Hungry Soul, Part II
1956
The Gambling Monk
1963
The Rambler Returns Home
1962
Showdown of Men
1966
Zero
1984
The Domain: The Naniwa Story
1965
A Girl Isn't Allowed to Love
1955
Prison Gambler
1964
Gambler
1964
The Law's Bloody Wounds
1960
Jūdai no yūwaku
1953
The Tattooed Lord
1965
Wounded Beast
1959
Umi wa kurutte iru
1959
Osaka no kaze
1958
When a Man Risks His Life
1959
Taiyō o buchi otose
1958
Joe of Aces: Gambling for a Living
1961
Lone Wolf
1960
Zoku zoku Jûdai no seiten
1953
Nosappu no jū
1961
To Your Majesty, The Emperor 2
1964
The Motive
2004
Take Me Away!
1978
The Domain: Where The Blade Enters
1967
The Domain: White Blade
1967
Tales of a Gunman: The Man Without Tomorrow
1960
Elegy to Youth
1959
Mountain Pass
1957
The Awakening
1957
Kamen no Onna
1959
We Live Today
1959
Japanese Humanity and Justice
1977
Kiriko's Tango
1963
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