Acting
Yōko Minamida
Biography
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.
Movies with Yōko Minamida
House
1977
Debt of Honor
1966
Chikamatsu Monogatari
1954
Princess Yang Kwei-fei
1955
Pigs and Battleships
1961
Zero
1984
A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era
1957
Jakoman and Tetsu
1964
Song of Goodbye
2007
Yellow Fangs
1990
The Motive
2004
Portrait of Chieko
1967
An Outlaw
1964
The Gambling Monk
1963
The Rambler Rides Again
1960
The Champion
1957
Stolen Desire
1958
Glass-Hearted Johnny
1962
Season of the Sun
1956
Karafuto 1945 Summer
1974
Tokyo Knights
1961
Beyond the Green Hills
1963
Jungle Block
1960
Quick Draw Joe
1961
A Modern Samurai Village
1963
The Man with a Shotgun
1961
The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang
1972
The Domain: Where The Blade Enters
1967
The Tattooed Lord
1965
The Rambler Returns Home
1962
Otoko to otoko no ikiru machi
1962
Glorious Fights
1966
The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry
1965
The Kingdom of Jirocho 4
1965
Take Me Away!
1978
To Your Majesty, The Emperor 2
1964
Japanese Humanity and Justice
1977
A Girl Isn't Allowed to Love
1955
Salaryman Senka
1995
I Have the Sun in My Back
1963
Dancing Sisters
1957
Farewell to Southern Tosa
1959
The Domain: The Naniwa Story
1965
Bet on a Seaside Romance
1960
The Soundless Cry
1965
He Killed Dad
1961
Get Over Her
1959
Love Comes with Youth
1963
The Barefoot Girl
1957
Ame no meguri ai
1977
Kiriko's Tango
1963
At Noon
1978
Streetlights
1957
The Motherless
1955
Zoku zoku Jûdai no seiten
1953
The Guys Who Put Money on Me
1962
But the Flesh is Weak
1957
Ai yo, Nemuranaide
1993
Jūdai no yūwaku
1953
Rakka no mon
1954
Sun and Stars
1962
Yuganda tsuki
1959
Hungry Soul, Part II
1956
When a Man Risks His Life
1959
Mountain Pass
1957
Voice Without a Shadow
1958
Joe of Aces: Gambling for a Living
1961
Masked Woman
1959
A Daughter's Life Guide
1955
Wind and waves of the South
1961
Zoku jūdai no seiten
1953
The Happy Dancers
1956
Hungry Soul
1956
The Domain
1964
This Story of Love
1987
Ankoku gai jingi
1965
Our Town
1956
Last Round
1962
The Crimson Plains
1961
A Turning to Hell
1959
Yakuza Song
1960
The Doctor
1955
Tales of a Gunman: The Man Without Tomorrow
1960
Gambler
1964
The Domain: White Blade
1967
Miss Teacher
1955
Lone Wolf
1960
Tonari no yome
1956
A Young Man's Stronghold
1970
Gun of Nosappu
1961
Showdown of Men
1966
Time of First Love
1975
The Awakening
1957
Taiyō o buchi otose
1958
Black Dice
1962
Himitsu
1952
Return of the Vagabond
1960
Elegy to Youth
1959
Prison Gambler
1964
Okashina yatsu
1963
Irogotoshi harudanji
1965
Umi wa kurutte iru
1959
Chivalrous Pride
1969
The Law's Bloody Wounds
1960
We Live Today
1959
Wounded Beast
1959
Unga
1958
Tale of the Last Japanese Yakuza
1969
Aishū no sono
1957
The Wild Daisy
1977
Kyu-chan, Draw Your Sword
1963
Star Ranch
1987
Osaka no kaze
1958
Jūdai no seiten
1953
Zurari oretacha yōjinbō
1961
Haha tokidori
1954
