Text | Aqua
If you ask who the first beauty in the hearts of Japanese women is, the answer is neither Yui Niigaki nor Rimi Ishihara, but Kitagawa Keiko.
In a variety show this year, in a beauty contest with 50,000 people participating in the voting, 32-year-old Kitagawa Keiko ranked first in almost all age groups, and is the most beautiful person in the hearts of Japanese people.
Looking back on her experience along the way: at the age of 17, she debuted as Rei Hono in the live-action version of "Sailor Moon", graduated from the Faculty of Business of Meiji University, won the top spot in the "Face That Women Want to Be" for many consecutive years, married to the well-known handsome singer DAIGO, and incidentally became the granddaughter-in-law of former Japanese Prime Minister Takeshita Noboru - Kitagawa Keiko's smooth life is fully worthy of this face.
Sailor Moon Live-Action (2003)
Chinese can get the cuteness of Niigaki Yui, but may not be able to understand the Japanese enthusiasm for Kitagawa Keiko. Japan is a nation that is good at finding beauty in its flaws, and as a result, it has given birth to a "cute culture" and cultivated many female artists with shortcomings but are very cute.
But at the same time, perhaps due to the inferiority complex, they also have a deep vision of perfection in their hearts, which is why a "beauty" actor like Kitagawa Keiko, who is known for her facial features and flawlessness, has such a high status. Since her debut, Kitagawa Keiko has continued the image of a strong cold beauty in the style of Fire Wild's regal intellect, and has become an absolute benchmark for "beauty" in the hearts of Japanese audiences.
But then again, only for acting, it is not necessarily a good thing to look too beautiful. The biggest problem is that the role suitable for playing is extremely limited - the most popular silly white sweet heroine in Japanese dramas, if you let Kitagawa play, how to look at it is not right. The evaluation of narrow drama paths, single expressions, and poor acting skills has always accompanied Kitagawa Keiko for a long time. Netizens even referred to those actresses whose acting skills were not as good as their appearance as the "Kitagawa Keiko type".
It is no wonder, after all, Kitagawa Keiko initially had no interest in the entertainment industry, but under the persuasion of the scouts, she accidentally bumped into the entertainment circle, first becoming a model for Seventeen magazine, and then becoming a hit in "Sailor Moon".
For the career of an actor, she has neither foundation nor consciousness, but just happens to enter this line. The reason why she did not give up being an actress was because she met a mentor who changed her life, that is, director Morita Yoshimitsu.
Kitagawa Keiko and Morita were only 18 years old when they met, when she auditioned for Morita's film "Brothers in the Palace", and the only acting experience she had was "Sailor Moon".
During the interview, she shyly said that she had never seen a film directed by Morita, and Morita said, "Then I'll send you one." At that time, Kitagawa felt that there must be no drama in his heart, but he did not expect that Morita really sent a videotape afterwards, which was Morita's debut work "Something Like That", a youth comedy that was similar to "Brothers in the Palace".
The Brothers in the Middle Palace (2006)
Morita said to her, "I want to see this, it will help you shape the character." In this way, Kitagawa Keiko got the opportunity to play the younger sister of Hideya Sakae Sawajiri in "Brothers in the Palace". A long time later, Kitagawa Keiko relied on comedy works to successfully open up the drama road, won the recognition of the audience, now think about it, the first person to discover the comedic potential of Kansai Keiko Kitagawa is Morita Yoshimitsu.
Kitagawa, who has just started acting, neither understands acting nor has self-confidence. Compared with the actresses around her who love acting and have high ambitions, the most frequently coiled idea in her mind is probably "quitting the circle". But Morita gave her a lot of encouragement, saying to her, "You are very attractive, so you are free to act", "Kitagawa in his natural state is the best, don't give up acting, continue to be an actor." These words gave her the motivation to stay in show business.
A year later, Kitagawa starred in another film directed by Morita, "Southern Battle", in which she played the daughter of Yuki Tenkai, and because it was a rural film, the actors hardly made up much, which was very new to Kitagawa. Morita told her, "It doesn't matter if you're not pretty," and gently unloaded her beauty baggage.
Southern Warfare (2007)
Along with the actor Kenichi Matsuyama, although Kitagawa and Matsuyama are not the protagonists in this film, director Morita happily said at the premiere, "Let's shoot Kitagawa and Matsuda in the next film!"
Unexpectedly, morita Yoshimitsu died suddenly in 2011 due to acute hepatitis, and this wish became a grudge. At his funeral, Kitagawa Keiko attended the ceremony, crying in spite of the reporter's camera, and the world saw for the first time the ugly appearance of the great beauty Kitagawa Keiko with a red nose and a wrinkled face.
In a later interview, Kitagawa confided in reporters: "When I learned that the director had died, I couldn't think about anything and lost my motivation." Everything I do is done because I want director Morita to see it,' and while it may be disrespectful to other directors, it's really like that."
For Kitagawa, Director Morita is like a pillar of her soul, she has been working hard to shoot and be active on the screen, just for such a simple purpose. In 2016, in honor of director Yoshimitsu Morita, his debut film "Something Like That" filmed a sequel, which brought together many actors who had worked with Morita, kenichi Matsuyama and Keiko Kitagawa as the male and female protagonists, fulfilling the last wish of director Morita that year.
Something Like "Something Like That" (2016)
Remember when "Solving puzzles is always after dinner" was replayed, netizens commented that Kitagawa's acting skills were so bad that people laughed, but it was because of the contrast that many people also saw her progress over the years. With the determination to repay the director's kindness, Kitagawa Keiko survived countless bad reviews, and finally waited for her to wake up as an actress, that is, Kitagawa Keiko's first starring in the TV series "The Woman Who Sold the House" after marriage.
"Reading lines without emotion", "expression is unchanged", "only staring at the eyes", the shortcomings that she has been criticized by the audience for a long time have been used by her in turn and become her unique weapons. The salesman Sanxuanya, played by her, is cold, fierce, and unkind, and does not have high and low ups and downs when she speaks, and occasionally shouts "Go!" to her subordinates.
The Woman Who Sold the House (2016)
This way of performing will feel exaggerated and uncomfortable at first, but once these characteristics are implemented to the end, it actually produces a unique comedic effect. The slow and measured performance, the short and fast pace, the tight and materialistic plot, and the values that resonate with the audience are the main reasons for the success of "The Woman Who Sold the House".
Due to the rave reviews, next January, the second season of "The Woman Who Sold the House" will start airing, and I believe many people have been waiting for it. For bad actors, looks are like an anesthetics they give to the audience, and when the audience is spicy to the eyes by the acting skills, they look at the actor's face to anesthetize it. After taking Kitagawa Keiko for so many years, this time, the audience finally did not have to take medicine.