46 years after her debut, she is still at the peak! This actress really deserves to be a myth of Japanese entertainment...

The 80s of the last century was the golden age of Japanese girl idols and the golden age of Japanese idol movies.

Under normal circumstances, when the word "idol" and "movie" are put together, the first thing that comes to most people's minds should be some negative impressions: no acting skills, low completion, only fans are willing to pay...

But Yakushimaru Hiroko broke this norm.

Debut is the pinnacle

In 1978, Hiroko Yakushimaru, who was in her first year of junior high school, participated in the audition for Kadokawa Eikai's third work, "Proof of Wildness", and stood out from 1,200 people and won the role of Yoriko Nagai.

When Kadokawa's examiners announced the results, they said that it was her impressive eyes that ultimately became the deciding factor.

So at the age of 13, she co-starred in this movie with Ken Takakura and officially debuted as an actor. "Proof of the Wild" is also the first work in Kadokawa Films to reach the top of the annual box office charts of Japanese films.

After filming this work, Hiroko Yakushimaru, who didn't want to waste her studies, considered retiring, and President Kadokawa and the people around her also expressed respect for her idea and would help her quit the showbiz if she really hated the job.

During his hesitation, Yakushimaru filmed a single-episode TV series "Loading いの Street", Shiseido's advertisements, and magazine photos.

And her feature-length commercial "Color" for Shiseido was broadcast only once and won the Gold Award at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.

At that time, Yakushi Maru Hiroko, who was busy with the high school entrance examination, suspended her acting work and only shot the promotional posters and flyers of Kadokawa Bunko's "時間がないんだ青春は".

At that time, every time the magazine "バラエティ" published a photo of Yakushimaru, it would cause a strong response from readers.

Yakushimaru Hiroko's first photo album was priced at 1,800 yen at the time, and sold 15,000 copies within three days of its release, eventually becoming a bestseller with more than 100,000 copies.

And she only made a cameo appearance in the movie "Jiguo Self-Defense Force", but fans still flocked to the cinema.

In 1980, at the suggestion of Ken Takakura, she took over the movie "Flying Pair (翔んだカップル)", which she originally refused.

Hiroko Yakushimaru won the 4th Japan Academy Film Award for Best Topic Actor and the 2nd Yokohama Film Festival for Best Actress for this film.

After that, she readily agreed to Shinji Aime to take over the script of "Sailor Suit and Machine Gun", and persuaded the firm to let her star in the movie.

While filming the scene where he was shooting indiscriminately with a submachine gun in hand, the flying glass bottle fragments scratched the left side of Yakushimaru Hiroko's face. However, Yakushimaru did not interrupt his appearance and insisted on ending the filming of this scene.

The day after the release of the movie "Sailor Suit and Machine Gun", there was originally a live greeting from the main creative cast at Toei, Osaka. However, about 8,000 fans gathered at the scene that day, and in the end, the police had to be mobilized to maintain order, and the stage greeting and screening were canceled.

And this film also made her a young star who can represent the Japanese film industry.

In 1983, the movie "Detective Story" was released, and this work was decided to star Yakushimaru before it took shape.

This movie is also the best box office performance among the Kadokawa movies starring Hiroko Yakushimaru.

And her masterpiece "The Tragedy of W" has also received high praise and box office. Yakushimaru Hiroko also won the Best Actress at the 27th Japanese Film Blue Ribbon Awards for this work.

Although the movies she starred in were all popular, in fact, she has always wanted to retire from the actor industry. At the awards ceremony, she said: "This movie made my passion burn to the extreme, so I thought about whether to give up (being an actor)." This award is a way to encourage me to keep working hard.

At the age of 20, Hiroko Yakushimaru finally made up her mind to quit the firm and set up her own studio. President Kadokawa didn't stop her from leaving too much: I know, it's a shame. But if you want to do it again, you can do it at any time.

40 years of acting career

In 1990, she won the 14th Japan Academy Film Award for Most Topical Actor for the comedies "Towards the Hospital" and "Tasmania Story".

In 1993, Hiroko Yakushimaru co-starred with Etsuji Toyokawa in the movie "Star Twinkle (きらきらひかる)", for which she won Best Actress at the Takasaki Film Festival.

Yakushimaru, who has been focusing on the film industry since her debut, is also known as the "last movie actress". When she first worked on the TV series, she was also confused because the script for the last episode was not ready.

In 1997, she starred in the TV series "Modern Cinderella (ミセスシンデレラ)" again after 18 years, and won the Best Actress at the 13th Japanese Drama Academy Awards for this work.

In 2005, Hiroko Yakushimaru won many awards such as Best Supporting Actress at the 29th Japan Academy Film Awards for her acting skills in "Sunset in Forever Three-chome".

In 2008, she won the Japan Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress again with the sequel "Sunset 2 of the Forever Trichome".

In 2010, Yakushimaru won the 34th Japan Academy Film Award for Best Actress for the movie "Beloved Wife's Home".

Mr. Miri in "Kisarazu Cat's Eye", the popular actress Hiromi Suzuka in "Amenye", the eldest daughter Takako in "Fuji Family"...

"Kisarazu Cat's Eye"

"Ama"

"Fuji Family"

Hiroko Yakushimaru, who has entered the 40s, has received many invitations to play the role of a mother.

2005 "A Liter of Tears"

2010 "Flowers, Water and Wood"

2018 "Unnatural Death"

2020 "Support"

2021 "The Favorite"

Film and television songs

When he first debuted, the firm proposed to debut as a singer, but Yakushimaru refused because he felt it was unrealistic. So in the three years from her debut to 1981, the media always described her as "the (last) idol who doesn't sing".

In 1981, she sang the theme song for the movie "Sailor Suit and Machine Gun". As a result, the single topped the Oricon charts for 22 consecutive weeks and became the number one of the weekly charts, with official sales of about 1.2 million pieces.

Originally, it was only a movie-limited star Yakushi Hiroko, but because of singing the theme song, she became the idol of most people of her generation.

The composer has also said that this is not a song written specifically for her, so it is a work that is quite difficult for idols. At first, I was worried about "Is it okay?", but after listening to her singing, I changed my mind. The pitch is well mastered, giving the impression that "this person also plays music".

After that, the singles "Detective Story", "メイン・テーマ", and "Woman, Beginning with the Tragedy of W" were all released as the theme song of the same name for the movie.

In 1984, Hiroko Yakushimaru released her debut album "Ancient and Modern Collection", which sold a total of 480,000 copies. And her masterpiece "元気を出して" is also included, which was created especially for her by Maria Takeuchi.

In March 2011, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the singer's activities, Yakushimaru released the album "Utagatari".

At the end of 2014, Hiroko Yakushimaru appeared on the stage of the Red and White Song Society for the first time and sang the song "Woman, Beginning with the Tragedy of W".

At the end of 2021, she sang "Woman, Beginning with the Tragedy of W" on the stage of the Red and White Song Club again.

Yakushimaru Hiroko's pure vacuum spirit timbre, as soon as she opens her mouth, it is like a spring breeze blowing on her face, which is unforgettable...

Twists and turns in marriage

In 1987, with the single "Chest Zhenzi" as the fate, Koji Tamaki and Hiroko Yakushimaru quickly approached each other.

In 1991, the two were married at a church in Hawaii. The popular combination of top idols and musicians has also sparked heated discussions, and they are also known as "big-name couples".

For a year after she got married, she stopped all acting activities and concentrated on being a housewife at home. Sometimes he also accompanies Koji Tamaki to a concert tour in a safe place.

In December 1996, when Koji Tamaki was replaced with a large intestine inflammation, Yakushimaru not only took care of him when he was sick, but also appeared in the live broadcast of the music program in his place, apologizing to the audience.

After seven and a half years of marriage, in June 1998, at the birthday party of Hiroko Yakushimaru, Koji Tamaki disclosed the news of their divorce to everyone.

At that time, it was rumored that the two divorced because of domestic violence by Yuzhi Haoji.

And Koji Tamaki once admitted that he had been hospitalized for schizophrenia in the past, and his mental state was very unstable. The actress Mariko Ishihara, who later dated him, was also injured by him and hospitalized.

We can't know the real reason for the divorce of the two, and we only hope that Yakushimaru Hiroko can get her own happiness in the future~

She is synonymous with beauty

Today, Hiroko Yakushimaru, who was born in June 1964, will be 60 years old. Time inevitably left its mark on her, but it seemed as if nothing had changed.

When she was young, she was immature and innocent, and now she is elegant and temperamental. Yakushimaru Hiroko, she should be synonymous with all the good in the world.

The years have changed, her looks, her smile, and her singing voice have not aged to this day.

Strong, hard-working, sober and transparent, Yakushimaru Hiroko lives out the way everyone dreams of becoming. The precipitation of time makes her more moving and shining in front of everyone~