Kirin Kiki Explained

Kirin Kiki
Native Name:樹木 希林
Native Name Lang:ja
Birth Date:15 January 1943
Birth Place:Tokyo, Japan
Death Place:Tokyo, Japan
Other Names: first stage name;
current legal name
Occupation:Actress
Years Active:1961–2018
Spouse:
    Children:1

    was a Japanese actress for Japanese cinema and television.

    Biography

    Kiki was born on January 15, 1943, in Kanda, Tokyo. Her father was a master of the biwa lute and a former police officer.[1] [2] Her mother owned a cafe in Jinbōchō, Tokyo and a restaurant in Noge, Yokohama, the latter being Kiki's maternal parents' home.[3] Her mother was seven years senior to her father and had a child from both her two previous marriages.

    After graduating from high school, she started her acting career in the early 1960s as a member of the Bungakuza theater troupe using the stage name Chiho Yūki (悠木千帆).[4] She eventually gained fame for performing uniquely comedic and eccentric roles on such television shows as Jikan desu yo and Terauchi Kantarō ikka and in television commercials. She changed her name to "Kirin Kiki" when, after being asked on a television show to auction off something of hers, she ended up selling her first stage name, claiming she had "nothing else to sell."

    While battling various ailments, including a detached retina in 2003 and breast cancer in 2005,[5] Kiki continued to act and won several awards, including the best actress Japan Academy Prize for Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad in 2008,[6] the best supporting actress award from the Yokohama Film Festival for her work in Kamikaze Girls and Half a Confession in 2004,[7] and the best supporting actress Blue Ribbon Award for Still Walking in 2008.[8]

    Personal life

    Kiki married fellow Bungakuza actor Shin Kishida. They separated in 1968. She married musician Yuya Uchida in 1973, and remained legally married to him though they separated in 1975.[9] Their daughter,, is an essayist and musician, and portrayed the younger self of Kiki's character in the film Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad. Yayako Uchida is married to the actor Masahiro Motoki, who was adopted into the Uchida family as a mukoyōshi.[10] Kirin has three grandchildren by her daughter, including actress Kyara Uchida, who has appeared with her in two films, I Wish and Sweet Bean.[11]

    Kiki was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and underwent a mastectomy.[12] She died of cancer, and related illnesses, on 15 September 2018.[13]

    Selected filmography

    Film

    Television

    Honours

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Kiki Kirin. 21 July 2010. Tarento meikan. Sponichi Annex. ja.
    2. 斎藤明美. これがはじまり 最終回 樹木希林 『行きがかり上、役者になって、自分にはずっと合っていないなと思いつつ.....。』. キネマ旬報. キネマ旬報社. 2008年12月下旬号. 152–155.
    3. 松井清人『オカン、おふくろ、お母さん』 文藝春秋、2006年、71-73頁
    4. Web site: Kiki Kirin. Nihon jinmei daijiten. Kodansha. ja. 21 July 2010.
    5. News: Asahi shinbun shinpojiumu: Gan ni makenai, akiramenai kotsu. 25 March 2006. Asahi shinbun. ja. 23 July 2010.
    6. Web site: Dai 31-kai Nihon Academī Shō yūshū sakuhin. Nihon Academī Shō kōshiki saito. ja. 19 July 2010.
    7. Web site: Dai 25-kai Yokohama Eigasai: Nihon eiga kojin shō. Yokohama Eigasai. ja. 23 July 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20090213182813/http://homepage3.nifty.com/yokohama-eigasai/26-2004/26_2004_shou.html. 13 February 2009. dead.
    8. Web site: Burū Ribon Shō hisutorī 2008 . Cinema Hochi . ja . 23 July 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100726082851/http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/b_award/2008/ . 26 July 2010 .
    9. Web site: Japan's grandmother Kirin Kiki has defied conventions throughout her long film career. Japan Times.
    10. Web site: Motoki Masahiro. Nihon jinmei daijiten. Kodansha. ja. 23 July 2010.
    11. Web site: tokyoguy . 26 March 2010 Japan Zone . Sekine, Amami are the Ideal Bosses . https://web.archive.org/web/20240511070515/https://www.japan-zone.com/news/2010/03/26/ . 2024-05-11 . 2024-05-11.
    12. News: Actress Kirin Kiki wants an ending with no twists. Yoshikawa. Mai. June 28, 2018. The Japan Times. en-US.
    13. News: Veteran TV, movie actress Kirin Kiki dies in Tokyo at age 75 . 16 September 2018 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20180916164202/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2018/09/16/films/veteran-japanese-actress-kirin-kiki-dies-75/ . 16 September 2018 . live . dmy.
    14. Book: Stuart Galbraith IV. The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. 16 May 2008. Scarecrow Press. 978-1-4616-7374-3. 375.
    15. Web site: REX 恐竜物語. January 1, 2024. eiga.com.

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