Biography

Kōji Yakusho

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Koji Yakusho is an acclaimed and famed Japanese actor who has appeared in many notable films, including Tampopo, Unagi and Babel, but may be best known internationally for his role in Shall We Dance, which at the time of its release was Asia's biggest film export. He was born in the southern city of Nagasaki as Koji Hashimoto, but moved to Tokyo and began working in the city's municipality from which he borrowed his alias. Yakusho means 'government office.' While at acting school he met actress Saeko Kawatsu whom he soon married in 1982. He picked up stage roles, moved to a TV serial on Japan's national broadcaster NHK in 1983 and had his first major break playing a mostly silent role in the avant-garde food drama Tampopo. Koji has collaborated with director Kurosawa Kiyoshi several times, won the Best Actor Award at the Japanese Academy Awards more than once and been nominated for it and other awards even more often. He directed Gaman No Abura in 2009. In 2023, he received the Best Actor award at the 76th Cannes Film Festival for his lead role in Wim Wenders' Perfect Days.
- IMDb mini biography by: aghaemi

Known for subtly expressing his character's inner emotions, often without dialogue

Frequently cast by director Kiyoshi Kurosawa; he is one of his favorite actors.
In 1988, he was given a special award for work in cinema by the Japanese Minister of Education, Science, Sports and Culture.
In the 2011 war drama Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet (2011) Yakusho portrayed Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Reportedly, he was the only actor considered for the role; had he not accepted it, the film would have been canceled.
His name Yakusho (a Japanese word meaning "public office") originates from the fact that he worked at Chiyoda Ward Office of Tokyo before starting his acting career.
He won the prestigious Hochi Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Bounce Ko Gals (1997), a film which deals with high school prostitution specifically, as well as the worship of money.

When people who have fallen into despair meet by chance, what does it take to find hope for life?
I come from Nagasaki, and growing up in those rural areas, smalltown areas, everyone dreams of living in the big city, Tokyo. So that was the initial motivation. I worked as a civil servant for about four years and I would probably have gone home in the end, if I hadn't encountered this thing called acting and decided to pursue it, which I am still doing now.
In Japan we have a saying. We say that fulfilment is to be satisfied with the situation you're put in and to feel grateful for every second you have. If you can manage that, you're fulfilled. You have a rich, full life. So yes, I'd like to live like that.
Overall, in a film, whether there's incredible violence that happens or if there's a strained family dynamic ... there's always something beautiful to be found. When I sense that in a story, in a film, that's when I feel like I can jump on board, and even if I'm not a beautiful character, for instance, if the story is beautiful or overall the film is beautiful, then there's a role there for me.
With samurai dramas, they're challenging because their whole way of life was different - from eating to greetings - it takes a lot of work to get that right and be realistic. However, it's an important part of Japanese film that we have to preserve. I'd like to see more of them made. There's a place for those based on reality and fictional ones.

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