Yōko Minamida

Acting

Yōko Minamida

Born 1933-03-01 · Tokyo, Japan

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 credits

House poster
7.3

Hoping to find a sense of connection to her late mother, Gorgeous takes a trip with her friends to visit her aunt's ancestral house in the countryside. The girls soon discover that there is more to the old house than meets the eye.

House

1977

Chikamatsu Monogatari poster
7.8

When the wife of a 17th-century Kyoto scrollmaker is falsely accused of having an affair with his best employee, the pair flee the city and find themselves truly falling for one another.

Chikamatsu Monogatari

1954

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Gendai shojo

1953

The Motive poster
6.9

Four people are discovered brutally murdered in an up-scale high-rise apartment. All the victims appear to be family, but as the investigation deepens it is discovered that one of the victims isn't related to the family.

The Motive

2004

Song of Goodbye poster
5.0

It is the second work of the Oita trilogy of Obayashi . Following " Nigori Snow ", Ise Masazo draws a song written by composers and songwriter "Farewell of 22 years old " as a motif and draws a story of love that spans two generations of mother and daughter.

Song of Goodbye

2007

Princess Yang Kwei-fei poster
6.7

In 8th-century China, the Emperor grieves the death of his wife. The Yang family wants to provide the Emperor with a consort so that they may consolidate their court influence. General An Lushan finds a distant relative working in their kitchen, whom they groom to present to the Emperor. The Emperor falls in love and she becomes the Princess Yang Kwei-fei. The Yangs are then appointed important ministers, though An Lushan is not given the court position he covets.

Princess Yang Kwei-fei

1955

Debt of Honor poster
NR

A hobo exposes the misdeeds of a new yakuza.

Debt of Honor

1966

The Champion poster
6.4

Eikichi Yamashiro, who is a former contender for the boxing title, works as a manager at a Club Champion owned by his fiancé Natsuko’s father. He lost a title match five years ago as he was besotted by Natsuko, but Eikichi actually cannot give up the dream of the championship. One day, he meets Shuntaro Fuma, who is a punk kid but a promising boxer, and realizes the dream that he himself could never fulfill. Then, they together start to train with the aim of the title. Mari Shiraki is an up-and-coming ballerina under the patronage of Eikichi as well. Eikichi forbids Shuntaro and Mari to be romantically involved with someone during their training, however, they start to go on a date.

The Champion

1957

Zenigata heiji torimono hikae: Kiniro no ōkami poster
NR

A series of murders surrounds the 70,000 ryō in buried treasure hidden by the Kanayama Magistrate.

Zenigata heiji torimono hikae: Kiniro no ōkami

1953

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Kinseimei shōbu monogatari: Kettō

1953

Hungry Soul poster
6.2

Reiko, who tolerates abuse in her marriage to a man 23 years her senior, is friends with Mayumi, a beautiful widow. Reiko meets her husband’s business rival, a young, capable businessman, and falls for him. Meanwhile, Mayumi enters into a relationship with Shimotsuma, a friend of her late husband.

Hungry Soul

1956

New Enoshima Elegy poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

New Enoshima Elegy

1953

Shinkon noroke bushi poster
NR

A comedy about newlyweds.

Shinkon noroke bushi

1953

Konna beppin mita koto nai poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Konna beppin mita koto nai

1954

Jakoman and Tetsu poster
7.5

In a village subsisting on its herring fishery, a one-eyed criminal named Jakoman terrorizes the inhabitants. One of them, the son of the head of one of the fish companies by the name of Tetsu, decides to overthrow Jakoman and his cohorts.

Jakoman and Tetsu

1964

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Red Camellia

1953

Love Comes with Youth poster
8.0

During his idle journey on the Izu Peninsula, a university student, Kawasaki, encounters a group of traveling entertainers – including Kaoru (Sayuri Yoshinaga), one of the “odoriko”. Kawasaki is taken and cannot take his eyes off her. When he is invited to stay at the same lodgings, the two grow closer. In time, the two come to learn the pain of love.

Love Comes with Youth

1963

Zoku zoku Jûdai no seiten poster
NR

Film directed by Eichi Koishi and starring Wakao Ayako

Zoku zoku Jûdai no seiten

1953

Haha no hitomi poster
NR

A blind little girl searches for her mother.

Haha no hitomi

1953

A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era poster
7.0

Saheji, a man-about-town, gets stuck at a high-class brothel when he can’t pay the bill. He makes the best of his situation by performing various tasks amidst the tumult of the end of the shogunate—but always by making sure to get a “commission” for his troubles.

A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era

1957

Black Dice poster
NR

1962 Japanese movie

Black Dice

1962

Pigs and Battleships poster
7.2

In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.

Pigs and Battleships

1961

Tokyo Knights poster
7.0

A college student takes over the family business in the field of organised crime.

Tokyo Knights

1961

Yellow Fangs poster
7.1

Based on actual events that occurred in Hokkaido, Japan, 1915. Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki yuusha-tachi tells the story of a group of bear hunters that are tracking a 900 pound brown bear nicknamed Red Spots that is terrorising the area. It attacks and kills men, but it feasts only on women.

Yellow Fangs

1990