On the long road of life, one soul after another is walking. Each of us is coming to the world for the first time, and when we make important life choices, we are often desperate, and we don't know which choice can bring happiness and which will lead us to unhappiness. Each of us must have gains and losses in life, not always smooth sailing, nor always loss. But we all prefer people who are determined, brave, and dare to follow their hearts in the face of choices. Today's story is about such a person: when faced with the choice of life, she always listens to her inner voice and makes the choice that she feels is right. She is the Japanese actress who was once a household name in China, Kurihara Komaki.
In 1945, as the war that had been going on all over the world for several years was coming to an end, peace came with the surrender of Germany and Japan. The whole world is filled with the joy of ushering in peace, and how beautiful the days of peace and tranquility are. In the same year, on March 14 in Tokyo, Japan, a little girl was born in a wealthy family, and this girl had a good face and was very cute.
Her father was a children's literature writer, the family conditions were very good, the father hoped that his daughter could grow into a wise girl with her own soul, but also hoped that she would not lose her innocence in a complex world, so he named her Xiaohuan. Small scrolls mean small scrolls, what a cute name. This girl is Kurihara Komaru.
Kurihara's parents have had high hopes for her since she was a child. As a result, Kurihara was very well educated. From an early age, in addition to going to school, she also studied violin and ballet. For ballet, her parents had the greatest expectations of Kurihara, who wanted her to grow up to be a professional ballet dancer and make a living. Kurihara's ballet skills were so high that she completed eight years of ballet studies in four years and was successfully admitted to the Tokyo Ballet School. At that time, it was natural for students who graduated from ballet schools to enter the theater and become ballet dancers. Kurihara's future looks bright enough.
But in fact, she herself did not think so. Ballet was actually a path chosen by her parents for her when she had great potential. When she was young, she didn't know what she was supposed to do, so she accepted it. But as she grew up and was exposed to more and more things, she had a new dream in her heart, that is, to be an actor.
Kurihara is passionate about acting and hopes to become an actress. There was nothing more fascinating to her than acting. Therefore, despite his parents' objections, Kurihara entered the Haiyunza Actor Training Institute after graduation and began to study acting. Haiyouza Actor Training Institute has produced many outstanding actors in Japan, just like the Chinese film academy. During her training at the training institute, her beautiful face and excellent acting skills have been discovered, and she has starred in many NHK TV series.
After officially becoming an actor, Kurihara Komaki has starred in many TV series and movies. In 1968, she starred in the romantic love series "Family of Three", playing the beautiful heroine, and performed with the idol actor of the time, Takewaki Mukai, which was also introduced by the Shanghai Film Studio in 1986 as the voice of Chinese. In 1970, she starred in the famous Japanese film series "The Story of Injiro 4", "The Story of Injiro" is well-known in Japan, and has made more than 40 films, participating in such excellent works, making Kurihara Komara more familiar to Japanese audiences. Her career is thriving, and the film is constantly dating. Kurihara is very serious about acting, and takes the script seriously.
In 1972, she starred in one of the most important works of her acting career, "The Love of Shiokawa". Directed by Kei Kumai, the story is based on a novel by Japanese writer Tetsuro Miura. The film is a pure love film, the story tells the story of the male protagonist Tetsuro Miura, who falls in love with the waitress Shino while staying at the Ninja River Hotel, and the two fall in love. Tetsuro Miura confides in Shino about his tragic life, and Shino is deeply moved.
When Shino's father died, he agreed to the marriage between the two. So the young lovers got married. The two got married and set off for their honeymoon. Such a simple film, because it is very different from the erotic and violent style popular in the Japanese film industry in the 1970s, shows pure human truth, so it is widely praised. Kurihara won the Best Actress Award at the 27th Mainichi Film Awards for this film.
In 1978, Kurihara starred in the film "Wangxiang", which later caused a huge reaction in China. After the film was introduced into China, it received a warm response, and everyone was fascinated by the beautiful and stable female reporter Kurihara Komaru in the film. She is like a most perfect portrait of a modern woman, deeply imprinted in the hearts of every young man who has seen the movie, and even set off the phenomenon of "Kurihara small volume fever" in China.
Still directed by Kei Kumai, "Hopeland" is adapted from the novel "Yamadakan Hachibankan" by Japanese writer Tomoko Yamazaki, in which Kurihara plays the heroine of the film, the obsessive intellectual female journalist Keiko Tanaya, who travels around to investigate the history of Japanese women who were trafficked overseas as prostitutes, and finally learns the tragic historical truth. The film was widely acclaimed internationally, and was even nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival that year and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
After that, in 1979, Kurihara appeared in another movie called "Life and Death Love.". This film, like "Wangxiang", gained a high degree of popularity in China at that time and received a lot of praise. Many people after a hard day's work, after work to see the Kurihara small roll of the film, some people watched a film five or six times, indulged in the charm of the Kurihara small roll can not extricate themselves, rely on this movie to ease their work brought about by the fatigue.
The director of the movie "Life and Death Love" is Noboru Nakamura, and the film tells the story of a love triangle. The male protagonist Yuji Omiya is played by actor Shin Klee, Yuji Omiya falls in love with the girlfriend of a good friend, and the heroine Nakata Natsuko, played by Kurihara Komaki, Nakata Natsuko is lively and cheerful, very new, Omiya Yuji does not dare to express her love to her good friend's girlfriend. However, Natsuko Nakada bravely confessed to Yuji Omiya, and the two met on the tennis court, and Kurihara Komaki said a line on the tennis court, "I'm sorry, the ball is too high." It also became a famous line of the year. But in the end, Natsuko Nakada was unfortunately killed in an explosion accident, and the love ended in the death of the heroine.
With the popularity of the two films in China, Kurihara has become a well-known actress in China. There were few young men and women who loved to watch movies at that time who did not like her. The clothes she wears in the movie, the hairstyles she does, and everything she dresses up is imitated. In this way, Kurihara's small roll has become a typical example of a beautiful exotic woman and is loved by everyone. Kurihara himself came to China, and in 1979, Kurihara came to China for the first time with the troupe.
She was shocked by the love and enthusiasm shown by the Chinese people, and she really did not expect that foreigners across the sea would like her in this way. Kurihara couldn't help but be very touched, and she was more certain that acting was the most important profession in her life, and acting was the most important thing for her. She wants to devote her limited life to infinite art.
With many visits to China, Kurihara's feelings for China have become deeper and deeper. She gradually fell in love with this neighbor with water. Coupled with her own appearance in many anti-war-themed film and television works, she deeply understood the injustice and horror of war, and this experience made her grow into a staunch anti-war activist. Kurihara Komaki regards the promotion of Sino-Japanese friendship as an indispensable job in her life, and she has come to China many times to participate in various Sino-Japanese friendship meetings, becoming a well-known Sino-Japanese friendly person in the Japanese performing arts industry. She has appeared in many Sino-Japanese films and Chinese productions, and even appeared in dramas adapted from Chinese works. She devoted the rest of her life to the cause of Sino-Japanese friendship.
In 1980, Kurihara starred in a Chinese-Japanese film, "Wangxiang Star", which can be seen from the title of the film, which took the name of her highly acclaimed film in China, "Wangxiang". This can be said to be a way to maximize the use of the star effect of Kurihara's small rolls. In the film and television industry at that time, it was really interesting to use this practice bluntly to attract audiences. Later, in 1986, she participated in the drama "The Good Man of Sichuan", a work related to China, the original author was Brecht.
In 1991, Kurihara starred in a Chinese film. That is the film "Qingliang Temple Bells" directed by the famous Chinese director Xie Jin. This is a very well-known and excellent movie. In the film, she played kazuko Oshima, the biological mother of the male protagonist Pu Cunxin. "The Bells of Qingliang temple" tells a sad story related to the war. Pu Cunxin, a Japanese orphan, was abandoned in China by his biological mother, Kurihara Komaki, and the Chinese lady could not bear to pick him up and take him home. But the son of the family objected, so he had to throw him away again. But the daughter of the family took pity on him and picked him up again.
As they got along day by day, the son gradually fell in love with this cute child, but unfortunately he died in the construction of the railway, and Pu Cunxin lost his father. The family's conditions were getting worse and worse, and they could no longer support the child, and the daughter could only marry someone to get some dowry money, and Pu Cunxin was sent to Qingliang Temple to become a monk. When Pu Cunxin grew up, he went to Japan for Buddhist exchanges, met his biological mother Kurihara Komaru, and the mother and son were reunited, and both of them were full of excitement and tears flowed all over their faces. But Pu Cunxin finally decided to return to China to live, because he had already regarded China as his own eternal hometown.
Behind Kurihara Komaki starring in this movie, there is also a small story. At that time, director Xie Jin wanted to find a Japanese actress who could not star, and he was in distress when he suddenly heard that Kurihara Hadrow had come to China to participate in an event. He quickly found someone to contact Kurihara Komaki, who watched the film clip that Xie Jin had given her and was deeply moved by the story. Although the role was very challenging, she resolutely decided to star, which ultimately contributed to the success of this excellent work. Regarding this film, Kurihara Komaki once said movingly in an interview: "The plot of this movie deeply touched me, but if it were not for my friends in China, I would not have made it." It can be seen how much Kurihara loves China, and she truly regards Chinese as her good friend. Chinese people gave her sincere love, and she also returned Chinese sincere friendship, how worthy of learning from today's people.
Kurihara loves to attend events in China. As early as 1986, on the 30th anniversary of the Japan-Chinese Exchange Association, Kurihara Komaki came to China. Until 2016, she visited China 36 times. She visited the University of Foreign Chinese in Beijing, Qiao Tsujii, who participated in the Chinese ambassador's meeting with the then president of the Japan-Chinese Exchange Association, attended the Chinese New Year reception of the Japan-China friendship group held by the Chinese Embassy, and participated in the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival. It can be said that on occasions of Sino-Japanese friendship, Kurihara Komaki is present, she not only participates in folk activities, film-related activities, but also many major activities related to the embassy will be invited to participate, it can be said that both China and Japan recognize her as a representative figure of Sino-Japanese friendship.
In 2008, she won the China-Japan Cultural Exchange Promotion Award at the China Film Week at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and Kurihara was very happy to receive this award, which proved that her decades of unremitting participation in Sino-Japanese friendly diplomatic activities are meaningful, and she is happy to see the development of China and Japan getting better and better.
In the 1990s, Kurihara gradually faded out of the film stage and began to perform on the theatrical stage. Kurihara believes that the art of film belongs to the director, because when shooting a movie, everything is carried out according to the director's plan, and the actor is actually just a pawn of the director; but the drama is different, the drama is live, real-time, and the art of the actor throughout. Kurihara has the ultimate passion for art, and she hopes to do her best to use her artistic talents, so she chooses to act in drama works more late in her career. This is undoubtedly a pity for the audience, because we can't see the performance of this excellent actor in the movie.
Kurihara had never been married in her life, and when someone once asked about her, she replied softly, "Because art is my boyfriend." Kurihara is willing to dedicate her life to the art she loves, marriage is not important to her, what matters is how to live the wonderful life she wants. Such an attitude is undoubtedly worth learning from each of us, being ourselves, and doing what we love.