[KineJapan] Kiki Kirin

[Gerow Aaron]

While this was not unexpected, it is sad to hear of the passing of Kiki Kirin, one of the more creative and original performers in Japanese media today. Studying at the Bungakuza, she debuted as an actor in 1964 under the name Yuki Chiho (she later, quite famously, auctioned off that name on a TV show). It was with the name Kiki Kirin that she came to national fame in the late 1970s with a series of hit TV dramas like Jikan desu yo and Terauchi Kantaro ikka in which she humorously played women much older than herself. She also appeared in many films, making a mark especially in the last decade or so in films by Koreeda Hirokazu (Still Walking) and Matsuoka Joji (Tokyo Tower). She was of course crucial to Koreeda's Shoplifters, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year. Kiki was also known for her rather eccentric marriage to the rock star Uchida Yuya. Their daughter, Uchida Yayako, who played the younger version of Kiki's character in Tokyo Tower, is an essayist married to actor/singer Motoki Masahiro (Departures, etc.). Since he is a muko yoshi, he is legally Kiki's son. Japanese film will not be the same without her.

https://mainichi.jp/articles/20180917/k00/00m/040/015000c <https://mainichi.jp/articles/20180917/k00/00m/040/015000c>

Aaron Gerow
Professor
Film and Media Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Director of Graduate Studies, Film and Media Studies
Yale University
143 Elm Street, Room 210
PO Box 208324
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Phone: 1-203-432-7082
Fax: 1-203-432-6729
e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu <mailto:aaron.gerow at yale.edu>
website: www.aarongerow.com

















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