Remember the hit drama "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" 20 years ago?
At that time, the family was guarding the TV, and they wanted to watch the battle of wits between Gazi and the Japanese Saito, and the "eight ga eight ga" of Saito's qi, not to mention too enjoyable.
But who would have thought that 20 years later, the reputation of "Gazi" Xie Mengwei became more and more smelly, and the Japanese actor Koji Yano who played "Saito" became more and more popular in China,
Not only married a Chinese daughter-in-law, but also let her daughter follow her mother's surname and become a Chinese national, and said more than once:
"I love China, and China is my second home."
Some netizens even shouted:
"Stay in China forever, China welcomes you."
But some netizens said:
"He only came to China to earn money, don't be deceived by his appearance."
Because of the nationality issue, there has been a lot of controversy about Koji Yano,
So what kind of person is he, and why did he come to China in the first place?
01
Koji Yano was born in Osaka, Japan in 1970, when the Japanese economy was developing rapidly, but unfortunately, he did not enjoy the dividends of the times.
Because the development is too fast, the huge gap between the rich and the poor is like a big mountain, which presses the heads of poor families, and Koji Yano was born into a somewhat poor family.
After graduating from high school at the age of 18, Koji Yano chose to drop out of school and began his part-time job, and there were many young people like Koji Yano in Japan at that time.
They are not enterprising, addicted to consumption enjoyment, and live a decent and flat life, they are also known as the "confused generation".
Koji Yano, who has no education and no skills, cannot find a good job, so he can only work as a waiter in a luxuriously decorated bar.
He looked at those rich people drunk and singing night and night here, and he felt indescribably uncomfortable in his heart.
Stimulated by the outside world, Koji Yano also began to cheer up, he didn't want to continue messing around, he tried hard to please the bartender in the bar, hoping that he could teach him a few hands.
Koji Yano looks good, handsome, and has a bit of elegance, and has a good personality, many guests like him, so under the promotion of the boss,
He went from being a little waiter to being a bartender in a bar.
Although the salary received is still not much, it is already much better than being a waiter, and Koji Yano is very satisfied with this.
But soon after, a serious illness of his mother broke his comfortable and self-sufficient life, and the high hospital fee soon emptied his pockets.
In the end, he really couldn't get the money, so he could only take his mother out of the hospital in frustration.
In order to treat his mother, Koji Yano worked crazy overtime, and finally a friend suggested him:
"You just can't earn much money by working 24 hours a day, you look so handsome, why don't you try to be an actor?"
Koji Yano was a little unconfident, but when he thought of his mother lying in bed and in urgent need of treatment, he still decided to fight,
So he packed his bags and left home for the first time and went to Tokyo.
In Japan, he pays great attention to dignity and humility, and after successfully joining the Sun Music Company, Koji Yano can only do some work of serving tea and pouring water, kneeling down to say hello to seniors, and handing slippers,
Getting a chance to run the trick was enough to get him excited for a long time.
It was not until 2000 that Koji Yano received a role with slightly more roles, playing a drama actor in the fourth part of the movie "Midnight Bell",
Although the character doesn't even have a name, Koji Yano excitedly calls his father to tell him that he has taken an important step in his career.
But my father did not show joy, but told him very sadly:
"You hurry home, your mother can't do it."
Koji Yano immediately put down all his work and bought the fastest ticket, but he still didn't see his mother for the last time,
He was full of self-blame for his mother's death.
02
Also in this year, Teng Huatao planned to shoot "Eternal Lover", and needed to find an actor who could speak Japanese, and a Chinese friend of Koji Yano recommended him,
What better option than to let the Japanese play the Japanese?
More importantly, he wants a low salary.
In this way, Koji Yano set foot in China for the first time, as an outsider, but also a small actor, he treated everyone respectfully in the crew,
Whenever it comes to eating, he always consciously ranks last, and in his opinion, everyone here is his senior.
But in the end, everyone had eaten, and he was not lined up, and he expressed it very bl Chinese untly:
"It's okay."
This is one of the few Chinese he has just learned.
At this time, many Chinese actors and group actors followed suit:
"People come all the way to China to film, how can people go hungry, go and make him a copy."
What Koji Yano felt was that the people here were very easy-going and friendly, and when this drama was filmed, he was a little reluctant to leave.
After returning to Japan again, Koji Yano decided to seek development in China after much deliberation.
Not only because China's film and television industry was developing at a high speed at that time, but more importantly, China made him feel peace of mind and happiness that he had lost for a long time.
In 2001, 31-year-old Koji Yano tearfully knelt goodbye to his father and went to Beijing Language and Culture University to study Chinese.
It was his hardest year in China, and for a long time, he didn't dare to take a taxi.
One of the characteristics of taxi drivers in Beijing is that they can say that when they know that Koji Yano is Japanese,
Some people called "Little Japan", and some people came up to talk about history: "My grandfather fought in the war..."
But there are also many friendly masters who tell him all kinds of fun things in Beijing, and he listens stunned but he can't understand, let alone how to talk,
But the last sentence he understood:
"This Japanese really doesn't know how to be polite."
All this made Koji Yano embarrassed, in order to integrate as soon as possible, he could only redouble his efforts to study Chinese, every night at seven o'clock, turn on the TV on time to watch "News Network",
Practice pronunciation with the host on TV.
Soon after, Koji Yano, who was not famous in Japan, got a chance to play the role of "Emperor Meiji" in the TV series "Towards the Republic",
Many friends ridiculed him:
"You see you've come right, you're all becoming emperors."
Although this was just a joke, it greatly encouraged Koji Yano, because he was keen to shoot various anti-war dramas at that time, which gave Koji Yano a lot of opportunities.
03
Since then, Koji Yano has become a "devil" professional, and in those film and television dramas, he can speak the purest Japanese and the Chinese with the most Japanese accent,
It greatly enriched the audience's audio-visual and completely said goodbye to the embarrassment that actors would only shout "eight quacks and eight quacks" in the past.
The broadcast of dramas such as "Proof of Memory", "Railway Guerrilla", "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" and other dramas made Koji Yano quickly popular in China,
As his popularity increased, his life in China became better and better.
In the past, he was afraid of taking a taxi, but since he became famous, it has been different, and many driver masters have praised him without hesitation:
"It's good that you play a villain, it's very likable, I like to watch your work."
And when he got out of the car, the driver's master did not charge him money and encouraged him to act well.
The kindness of the people around him made Koji Yano feel like a spring breeze, and he gradually realized that Chinese did not hate the Japanese, but only those who refused to face history squarely.
Actors like Koji Yano who seek truth from facts are still very popular.
Although Koji Yano has developed very well in China, and the various images he plays are very popular, how fragrant he is in China, how smelly he is in Japan,
"Traitor", "traitor", "You will never return to Japan", all kinds of bad voices filled major websites in Japan, making Koji Yano miserable.
He also gradually realized that not all Japanese people are as rational as Chinese, and all he can do is bring back what he has seen and heard.
Let them all know that China is a very friendly and tolerant country.
In 2008, Koji Yano was invited to become the host of Hunan Guard's "Every Day Up" program, although he only served as a foil for Wang Han and others,
But this also allowed many viewers to see his cute and interesting side.
As his fame grew, many viewers tested him on his nationality:
"Koji, you Japanese did a lot of bad things back then, do you know all of this?"
Koji Yano thought about it and replied very seriously:
"Although those things are not directly related to me, as a Japanese person, I should understand and do my best to atone for my sins, let more people know, let more people face up, and contribute to friendship and peace together."
Koji Yano did not evade his attitude of not playing slippery, and brushed another wave of good feelings, and was named the best foreign artist in 2010 by the Global Times, a subsidiary of People's Daily
During this period, Koji Yano also met his wife, she is a girl from Chongqing, Sichuan, Koji Yano likes his wife's frankness and kindness,
His wife also likes Koji Yano's integrity, humor, and responsibility.
In order to be a good Sichuan son-in-law, Koji Yano also put in some effort, he changed his previous light and less oily eating habits, and began to try the heavy oil and spicy Sichuan cuisine.
In order to be able to eat at the same table with his wife, he was often sweaty and tearful, and even he specially learned to cook Chinese food.
He said:
"My wife is Chinese, and as her husband, I should learn to do this."
However, the happier Koji Yano lives in China, the worse his reputation in Japan will be, and there are even rumors that Koji Yano is often beaten when he returns to Japan to visit relatives.
04
In 2007, a photo of Koji Yano with a blue nose and swollen face went viral, saying that he had been retributed for earning money in China, beaten up after returning to Japan, and went to the hospital alone to see a doctor.
Because Koji Yano never came forward to clarify the matter, this statement intensified, and by 2012, some even said that he was killed in Japan.
When he learned that he was "beaten to death", Koji Yano was also a little crying and laughing, and quickly posted a selfie, ridiculing himself:
"Alive!"
It's hard to endure.
This year was an eventful year for Koji Yano, for some reason, he had to suspend his work on Hunan Satellite TV's "Every Day Up",
During that time, Koji Yano kept a lot of a low profile.
But even so, some trouble still found him, and a program in his early years in Japan was maliciously edited and spread wildly on the Internet.
It is said that Koji Yano made a bad speech and insulted China.
After this incident, Koji Yano quickly stood up and apologized, and said:
"My wife and children are all Chinese, I am my son-in-law, China is my second hometown, say I insult China, am I insulting myself?"
Finally, he also solemnly reminded:
"I love China, I will always love you, always love, always love."
What made Koji Yano even more unexpected was that many netizens not only did not blame him for this, but also stood on his side, thinking that Koji Yano was right.
Such a change made Koji Yano a little confused, and a little moved, he was even ready to be scolded, but what greeted him was recognition.
These warm and rational comments have made Koji Yano's sense of belonging in China stronger and stronger, even to the point that he is no longer very comfortable with life in Japan.
In 2016, Koji Yano returned to Japan to develop, although he is very famous in China, he is still a newcomer in Japan.
Driven by Japan's concept of inferiority, he had to kneel down to say hello to many of his predecessors, and because he had been in China, he was ostracized a lot.
Some fans in China were a little distressed after watching it:
"Why did he have to develop in Japan?"
And Koji Yano himself said:
"The Japanese have one thing in the dark, which is impossible if they are in China."
In 2017, the scene that made netizens laugh came again, and after the tense relationship, Koji Yano was finally able to return to China to film,
As a native Japanese, he actually said:
"Anyway, I'll go to China to film right away, bear with it."
This is as if he is not Japanese and Chinese, but it is often these details that can really see some people.
When the domestic epidemic broke out in 2020, Koji Yano bought 130,000 masks from Japan, and he also made a very detailed mailing list,
Pack them overnight and send them to those who need them most.
A few months later, when many foreigners boycotted China's vaccine, Koji Yano also actively stood up for vaccination and set an example for all foreigners in China.
I call on everyone to obey the management and fully cooperate with China's anti-epidemic work.
Koji Yano's various performances have completely won the trust of Chinese, and now he is no longer limited to playing Japanese people in many film and television dramas, nor only playing villains,
This is not only the progress of his career, but also the recognition and trust of the Chinese audience.
In recognition of Koji Yano's contribution to Sino-Japanese exchanges, as early as 2015, he was awarded the Foreign Minister Commendation Award by Japan.
And I wish him well in Japan.
In 2010, after Koji Yano's daughter Shingetsu was born, he not only let her daughter take her mother's surname, but also made her daughter a Chinese national.
Both daughters and wives are Chinese, which makes Koji Yano more and more Chinese, and in 2022, he married himself a Chinese name, called Haoge,
In his subsequent film and television works, he also used this name.
In March of this year, Koji Yano announced that his performance in Japan would also use the Chinese name Hao Ge, and his pronunciation would also use the pronunciation of Chinese.
Koji Yano's move is not only to express the friendship between China and Japan, but also to thank China and all Chinese audiences.
Without the support of the Chinese audience, he would not be where he is today, let alone form a happy family in China.
The reason why Koji Yano is welcomed and trusted is not because of how good his acting skills are,
The most important thing is that he can face history squarely, do not run away, and dare to face it.
After he became famous, he did not forget who gave him all this, and he is also doing his best to make his own contribution to Sino-Japanese exchanges,
Let more Japanese people know the real history.
Drinking water and thinking of the source, knowing the entourage, is the traditional virtue of our country, and as a Japanese actor conquered by Chinese culture, he has done a good job at this point,
I hope Koji Yano can continue to work hard and set a good example for all foreign artists who develop in China,
We do not exclude outsiders, but we also have to look at what kind of person this person is.
-END-
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