On September 17, actor Shirin Kiki passed away at his home in Tokyo accompanied by his family.
Born in Tokyo in 1943, Kiki joined the "Literature Seat" troupe in 1961 and has played the role of an elderly person since his twenties. Representative works include the TV series "Terauchi Kantaro Family", the NHK morning drama "Lieju", "Tokyo Tower" and so on. In 2008, she won the Japan Purple Satin Medal and in 2013, she won the Japan Academy Award for Best Actress for "RememberIng My Mother". From "Footsteps" to "Thief Family", the director who has worked with Kiki Shirin six times is Hirokazu Kore-eda, saying: "I have the privilege of witnessing the last decade of her long career. We went beyond the relationship between the director and the actors to have a fulfilling and happy time together, and my heart was full of gratitude. ”
Kiki Shirin during the "Literature Block" troupe period
On life and death: "Be prepared to die at any time"
In 2003, Kiki Shirin's retina was stripped of his left eye and blind. He developed breast cancer in 2005 and metastasized to the intestines, kidneys and body in 2008.
"After getting sick, I was ready to die at any time, and the idea of making myself feel at ease became stronger. Every morning from the beginning of the sweep, I don't like to see the mess, but it's easy to do without anything. Although I was an actor, I only had five pairs of shoes, boots for rain, sneakers for hiking, and then black, brown, and red leather shoes. Cosmetics only have lipstick, and shampoos are not needed. When I was working, I was covered with all kinds of things and went to the barbershop. I like simplicity and speed. The back of the shirt I'm wearing now has a thread because I've become fat and cracked. I wanted to sort it out, but I didn't have time to come to the guests just now. Wear the clothes until they are torn to the point of ending their mission. The uneasiness about 'getting older' because I was not a child with hope or expectation for sparkling since I was a child, and I didn't have the feeling of working towards any goal. So I don't compare myself to others, and that becomes my weapon. ”
"'At least when you die, come as I like', that's not my own words, it's the slogan of the Treasure Island Agency. I usually do my own thing, but the response of the advertisement is very large, and I find that people in the world have lived so badly. Although death is seen as a special thing, death is not a bad thing. I should have played a role in conveying this. ”
—Interview with AREA magazine, May 2017
"At least when you die, come as I like" – Treasure Island advertisement
On Aging: "I Am What I Am"
Kiki Has been playing the role of an old man since his twenties, and in recent years has taken over the old woman in Japanese movies. Until the 75-year-old starred in the movie "Where There is Shoichi Kumagaya", Kiki Shirin still played a role nearly 20 years older than her actual age. Kiki often jokes about her age, talking about the actress Yoshinaga Sayuri, who is two years younger than herself, and she said: "I have carefully looked at Yuri's face, and there are no seams. Chatting with Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, who was ten years older than herself, she asked, "Haven't your face moved anything?" It's really young. ”
Stills from "Thief Family"
The director is Hirokazu Kore-eda, who said, "'Kiki Shirin' is a unique presence as a performer, and when I wrote the script for Thief Family, I didn't think about the second person", but Kiki Shirin initially wanted to refuse, "Every time such a role comes to me, I am tired of watching it myself." Being an actor in physical strength has also become difficult, after all, it is an old man. Kiki Shirin originally brought the "aging" of her body to the screen, and it was because she was different from other actresses that she became irreplaceable.
"When you are old, you have to wear clothes that match your age, to match the roles of your wife, mother, grandmother, and people around you, this narrow 'common sense' is no longer necessary." You can have more personality. Even if it's fancy and bold, you can put on the clothes you want to wear. In this way, when thousands of flowers of personality bloom, no one has foreseen an era that will take a step forward.
This year, you're another year older. Whenever this happens, there are always boring words like 'right age for you' and 'at a good age' that want to bind you. You don't have to listen to these words. The eyes of the world will always change in the future. Put on new clothes you've never worn before and rejoice in yourself for someone you've never seen before. Enjoy the unique 'me'. Take off your age and put on the adventure. I am what I am. ”
——Advertisement for Seibu Sogo Department Store
About Acting: Putting Yourself in the "Ordinary"
As early as the early twenties of the "Yugi Chiho" stage name event, Kiki Shirin starred in the role of a domestic woman in "Seven Grandchildren", and the 30s played an elderly role in the "Terauchi Kantaro" series. With the change of the times, in countless family stories, various family forms, there is always her existence.
Kiki Shirin said, "The characters in Terauchi Kantaro Family are really very ordinary, but the blessing of the image of 'Kantaro' has left me with the impression of an elderly character." Participating in the TV series directed by Mitsuhiko Kuse became the wealth of my life. I learned not to act in a pattern, but to stare at the characters themselves. ”
Starred in the morning drama "Lieju" (left)
In 1986, when she starred in the role of mother in NHK's morning drama "Lieju", Kiki Shirin said: "The biggest problem now is how to put yourself in the 'ordinary'. How to perform the 'ordinary' state is where the acting skills open up the gap. Entering the work in a natural state, playing the state of 'existence' to a state, at the time of the character's death, people sincerely feel that 'it was good to have her once'. ”
About marriage: forty-five years of marriage and forty-three years of separation
Wedding photo (1973)
After divorcing her first husband, she married singer Hiroya Uchida in 1973 and separated after a year and a half, and 43 of the 45-year marriage was separated. On the talk show Tetsuko's Room, Kiki Shirin said of her husband, Yuya Uchida: "'It's hard to find a second rock singer who is so happy at seventy years old. He also said to me, 'Women who are over seventy years old and still working as actors, it's hard to find a second one.' The marriage continued, and the daughter-in-law Masahiro Motoki's family lived overseas for many years, and in Tokyo, Kiki Shirin lived alone because "this life is the most relaxed."
Fear of death, resistance to aging, attachment to beauty, and nostalgia for the eyes of the world - after getting rid of these things that bind ordinary people, Kiki Shirin, who projects a free attitude to life into his acting skills, is more free and unrestrained. Kiki's posthumous film "Every Day is a Good Day" will be released in Japan on October 13.