Erika Sawajiri

Acting

Erika Sawajiri

Born 1986-04-08 · Nerima, Tokyo, Japan

Erika Sawajiri is a Japanese actress, singer, and model. She was born on **April 8, 1986**, in Tokyo, Japan. Her father was Japanese, and her mother is of Algerian Kabyle origin who was raised in France. She began her career as a model before becoming an actress in the early 2000s. Erika became famous for her role as Aya Ikeuchi in the television drama **1 Litre of Tears** (2005), which earned her great praise for her emotional performance. She also starred in films such as **Shinobi: Heart Under Blade**, **Helter Skelter**, and the drama **Taiyō no Uta**. Through *Taiyō no Uta*, she started a music career and released several successful songs under the names **Kaoru Amane** and **Erika**. Throughout her career, Erika received several acting awards and became one of Japan's most popular actresses. Although her career was affected by personal controversies and legal issues, she later returned to acting and continues to work in the entertainment industry. Today, Erika Sawajiri is recognized for her talent, versatility, and memorable performances in Japanese television and cinema.

Acting credits

Helter Skelter poster
6.7

Top model Lilico, having recently undergone multiple cosmetic surgeries, begins to experience troubling side effects. As she desperately tries to retain her perfect image, Lilico descends into a world of nightmares and makes those around her miserable.

Helter Skelter

2012

L et M: The Reason I Love You, Other Stories poster
NR

Eru is a 28-year-old woman, good at working but scared of dating. Emu is a 25-year-old woman who enjoys love but does not know what real love is. This drama series depicts the two different love styles of these women.

L et M: The Reason I Love You, Other Stories

2013

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade poster
6.6

Even though Gennosuke and Oboro are from rival ninja villages, they are secretly in love. At an annual conference with the Lord, it is dictated that a competition--a fight to the death--will take place between the five best shinobi from each village. Gennosuke and Oboro's love is made even more impossible when they each got picked as the leader of the five to represent their respective villages.

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade

2005

No Longer Human poster
6.0

The story of Osamu Dazai, one of Japan's most celebrated novelists, absorbed in alcohol and love; married and in a relationship with two other lovers.

No Longer Human

2019

Impossibility Defense poster
7.2

At a certain park, there is a mysterious man, who has red eyes and a black suit, that people can go to and request him to kill someone. His assassinations can never be blamed on him because he takes no illegal action. His strength is in the power of suggestion and the arrangement of events. He accepts these requests, all the while privately mocking the foolishness of those whose unwise wishes he grants.

Impossibility Defense

2018

Sugar & Spice poster
5.1

Recently graduated from high school, 17-year-old Shiro decides to put off college and work at a gas station instead. Shy and introspective, Shiro understands he is at a turning point of his life, but is unsure of what lies ahead. Though his parents disapprove of his decision, he has the support of his flower child grandmother who declares that a gas station is a romantic place for life's drifters. Surely enough, soon a new co-worker, college student Noriko, drifts into Shiro's life. He falls headfirst into a bittersweet first love that ushers him into the world of adulthood.

Sugar & Spice

2006

Angel's Egg poster
6.5

The film follows a young aspiring art university student, who falls in love with the older sister of his girlfriend. The heartrending longing and the true love that the three characters pursue, is pure, but almost painful. Is the person who stands next to you, is the person that gives you true comfort and love? Can you say that you love him/her from the bottom of your heart?

Angel's Egg

2006

Shinjuku Swan poster
5.5

Shiratori Tatsuhiko works as a scout for talent agency Burst in Kabukichō, Shinjuku's red light district, recruiting young girls for the adult entertainment industry. In a business where money means everything, Tatsuhiko finds himself in a constant struggle between rival scouts and the Yakuza.

Shinjuku Swan

2015

The Winds of God poster
NR

Two Osaka comedians, Makoto (Tomomitsu Yamaguchi) and Kinta (Go Morita), are riding bicycles in Tokyo when they're hit by a dump truck. They regain consciousness in 1945, but not of their own bodies. Somehow, their souls have been transported into the bodies of two tokkotai (special forces, or "kamikaze") pilots. Having grown up in a peaceful, carefree Japan, the two comedians experience severe disorientation at having to suddenly deal with the realities of war. They attempt to escape their squadron, knowing that Japan will eventually lose the war, but are nevertheless moved by the young men they meet, all of whom have very different opinions about their fate and the responsibilities that have been placed upon them.

The Winds of God

2005

We Shall Overcome Someday poster
6.4

Romeo, A.K.A. Kosuke Matsuyama, is a second-year high school student. A nice, normal, nonviolent type, he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a rampaging crowd of Korean boys, outraged by insults perpetrated by several of his idiotic class-mates on two Korean girls. He makes a narrow escape, but soon after, he and his best bud Yoshio are sent by their home-room teacher to invite the Korean students to a friendly soccer game as a way of restoring the peace.

We Shall Overcome Someday

2005

Ashura poster
5.3

Adapted from the successful play, the film takes place in 19th-century Japan, where a war between demons and their slayers is fought. Izumo, a kabuki actor with a demon-slaying past, meets and falls in love with Tsubaki. However, something is not right, as mysterious marks appear on her body as time progresses. At the same time, it is announced that Ashura, the queen of all demons, will be resurrected and bring destruction to the universe.

Ashura

2005

First Class poster
NR

Chinami (Erika Sawajiri) works at a fabric shop, dreaming of one day working in the fashion industry. By accident, she begins work in the editing section for a fashion magazine. Chinami believes her new job may open doors for her to new opportunities, but it turns out her new job is like working in a war zone with daily fights and competitiveness between the women who work there. Can Chinami survive in such a cutthroat environment?

First Class

2014

Closed Note poster
7.5

Kae Horii moves into her new flat in an undisclosed area of Kyoto. While unpacking her belongings, she discovers a hidden compartment behind a inconspicuous mirror. In that compartment, Kae finds a notebook, that turns out to be a diary belonging to the previous tenant. Later that evening Kae starts to read the diary. The writer of the diary is Ibuki Mano, a young lady about to embark on her first year as an elementary school teacher. Ibuki is also in love with a man named Takashi, who may or may not hold similar feelings for Ibuki.

Closed Note

2007

Shinjuku Swan II poster
4.8

Tatsuhiko relocates from Shinjuku to Yokohama, where he comes into conflict with Masaki Taki, CEO of the local scout company.

Shinjuku Swan II

2017

悪女について poster
NR

Erika Sawajiri plays Kimiko, the main character of the story who has died. Although the title implies that it is a story of a “wicked woman,” the original novel was divided into 27 chapters, one for each “testimony” by someone who knew Kimiko at some point in her life, providing a range of perspectives on what kind of person Kimiko was. ~~ Adapted from 1978 novel series "Akujou ni Tsuite" by Ariyoshi Sawako.

悪女について

2012

Eating Women poster
7.4

Follows the daily lives of 8 women with different backgrounds through what they eat and whom they date.

Eating Women

2018

Million Dollar Man poster
6.0

A man, who is repaying a 30 million yen debt left by his brother, wins the 300 million yen lottery. He grapples with the question of whether money can buy him happiness.

Million Dollar Man

2018

Ghost Train poster
4.9

On her way to school, high school girl Nana sees a train accident. Then Nana and her friend Kanae start to come across various bizarre phenomena, including red fingerprints and a female spirit who 'lives' on the station platform. One day, Nana's younger sister is lost, and the only possibility seems to be that she had been taken by these spirits. The missing tracks. The predictions that a mysterious woman makes.

Ghost Train

2006

The Mamiya Brothers poster
5.4

The main characters are the Mamiya brothers who are living together although they are over 30-years-old. Unconcerned with appearance and reputations, they enjoy their life in their own way. The only concern is the lack of girlfriends. One day, however, a change occurs to their mundane lives. The elder brother, Akinobu (Kuranosuke Sasaki), falls in love with a girl at a video shop. The younger brother, Tetsunobu (Muga Tsukaji), scrambles around to aid his brother achieve love and arranges various dates. The elder brother strives to return the effort, but gets the cold shoulder. The two brothers return to their original lives, continuing with their ordinary, but happy days.

The Mamiya Brothers

2006

The Letters poster
6.5

How have you been? Takeshi's letter is delivered one each month to his younger brother, Naoki. Takeshi is serving a life term in prison for the crime that he had committed to save his brother. But the crime's aftereffect extends to Naoki, and, branded as a "murderer's brother," Naoki is deprived of his love, career and dream. His desperate situation gradually changes when he finds true love with Yumiko, who always stands by him. To protect the love that he has finally found, Naoki begins writing a letter to Takeshi... The touching story of a man who was powerless against his irreversible fate, but still tried to overcome it in the quest for his dream.

The Letters

2006

Ōoku poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Ōoku

2016

1 Litre Of Tears SP poster
6.0

The Story of the 1 Litre of Tears special takes place after the events in the main drama. The Special takes the view of Asou Haruto who is remembering life the way it used to be before the events of the last episode of the series.

1 Litre Of Tears SP

2007

Welcome to Our Home poster
7.0

Kenta Kurata (Masaki Aiba) lives with his father, Taichi (Akira Terao), his mother, Keiko (Kaho Minami), and his younger sister, Nana (Kasumi Arimura) in an isolated home in the suburbs. He works as an unpopular commercial designer. Kenta Kurata possesses a timid personality, which he picked up from his father. Kenta doesn't like his father. One day, while waiting for the train, Kenta warns a man who pushed a woman and cut in line. Kenta is surprised that he spoke out with his normally timid personality. After that incident, Kenta's family home is targeted by an unknown person with flowers from their garden being pulled out and the seat of a bicycle being torn. Also, Kenta's younger sister Nana is stalked by her ex-boyfriend. Kenta and his family try to find out who is responsible.

Welcome to Our Home

2015

Mondai no Nai Watashitachi poster
8.0

Mio Sasaoka hears of a middle school student that was a victim of bullying and then committed suicide. Mio thinks the girl should have confronted her tormentors rather than committing suicide. Mio herself is the leader of a group of students at her school. She is a bully. Her main target is Maria Shiozaki who is weak. Mio pushes her into the swimming pool and scribbles on her book, justifying her actions because Maria is disagreeable.

Mondai no Nai Watashitachi

2004