YĆko Minamida
Acting
YĆko Minamida (ćç° æŽć, Minamida YĆko, March 1, 1933 â 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: âA Story from Chikamatsuâ and âPrincess Yang Kwei-fei.â In 1955, she moved to the Nikkatsu studio, where she starred in Takumi Furukawaâs âSeason of the Sunâ (1956), a smash hit that launched the so-called âSun Tribeâ boom for films about rebellious youth looking for sex and kicks on Shonan Beach â Japanâs 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 âSeason of the Sun,â 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 Obayashiâs âSong of Goodbyeâ 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.
