Yoko Shimada (Japanese: 島田 陽子, Hepburn: Shimada Yōko, 17 May 1953 – 25 July 2022) was a Japanese actress, best known to Western audiences for her portrayal of Mariko in the 1980 miniseries Shōgun.[1]

Yoko Shimada
Born(1953-05-17)17 May 1953
Kumamoto, Japan
Died25 July 2022(2022-07-25) (aged 69)
Tokyo, Japan
OccupationActress
Years active1970–2022
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Spouse
Hitoshi Yoneyama
(m. 1994; div. 2019)
AwardsGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama
1981: Shōgun

Shogun miniseries

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Shimada was the only female member of Shōgun's massive cast of Japanese actors shown speaking English, for which she relied on a dialogue coach, as she was not fluent in the language at the time. Her English improved greatly during the production, however, allowing her to work in a few English language films during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1981, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama,[2][1] and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her work on Shōgun.[3] While the nine-hour long Shōgun was a critical success in the U.S., it flopped in Japan when it was released as a severely truncated theatrical version.[1]

Personal life

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In 1988, Shimada had an affair with singer Yuya Uchida, who was married at the time. She reportedly had resorted to alcoholism and appeared in a nude photo book in 1992[4] in an attempt to clear her personal debts. Though the book was a bestseller, it damaged her reputation as an actress. In 2011, at the age of 58, she starred in an adult video.[1]

Shimada died at a hospital in Tokyo on 25 July 2022, due to complications from colorectal cancer.[5][6]

Filmography

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Movies

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Year Title Role Country
1971 Go Go Kamen Rider
(ゴーゴー仮面ライダー)
Hiromi Nohara
(野原ひろみ)
Japan
1972 First Love
(初めての愛)
Mitsuyo Sakamoto
(坂本光代)
Japan
1973 Kigeki Nihon Rettō Shindo 0
(喜劇 日本列島震度0)
Earthquake Research Institute staff member
(地震研究所所員)
Japan
1974 Nagare no Fu Part I: Disturbance, Part II: Dawn
(流れの譜 第一部 動乱 第二部 夜明け)
Saeko Kubo
(久保冴子)
Japan
1974 Castle of Sand
(砂の器)
Rieko Takagi
(高木理恵子)
Japan
1975 I Am a Cat
(吾輩は猫である)
Yukie
(雪江)
Japan
1975 Kyūkei no Kōya
(球形の荒野)
Kumiko Nogami
(野上久美子)
Japan
1975 Yogiri no Hōmon-sha
(夜霧の訪問者)
Etsuko Ichiki / Noriko Tazawa (dual roles)
(市木江津子・田沢のり子(二役))
Japan
1976 Truck Guys 3: Bōkyō Ichibanboshi
(トラック野郎・望郷一番星)
Akiko Mikami (3rd generation Madonna)
(三上亜希子(三代目マドンナ))
Japan
1976 The Inugami Family
(犬神家の一族)
Tamayo Nonomiya
(野々宮珠世)
Japan
1977 Village of Eight Gravestones
(八つ墓村)
Okisa Tajimi (cameo)
(多治見おきさ (カメオ出演))
Japan
1979 Dead Angle
(白昼の死角)
Ayaka
(綾香)
Japan
1979 Dog of Fortune
(黄金の犬)
Reiko Kitamori
(北守礼子)
Japan
1980 Shōgun [theatrical edit]
Mariko Toda
(戸田まり子)
U.S. / Japan
1981 Little Champion (aka My Champion)
(リトルチャンピオン)
Michiko Suwa (Miki Gorman)
(諏訪美智子(ミキ・ゴーマン))
Japan
1987 The Man Who Assassinated Ryoma
(竜馬を斬った男)
Kozakae
(小栄)
Japan
1988 Hanazono no Meikyū
(花園の迷宮)
Tae Akimoto
(秋元多恵)
Japan
1988 Hashi
(橋)
Umiko Takagi
(高樹海子)
Japan
1991 Dohten
(動天)
Oran
(おらん)
Japan
1991 Kaze, Slow Down
(風、スローダウン)
Bike club manager's wife
(バイククラブ監督の妻)
Japan
1993 Ring! Ring! Ring! The Champion Belt of Tears
(リング・リング・リング 涙のチャンピオンベルト)
Devil Naomi
(デビル奈緒美)
Japan
1995 Police Department Crime Prevention Section 5104 Incident
(ゴト師株式会社スペシャル 警視庁防犯課第5104号事件)
Ryōko Amachi
(天地猟子)
Japan
1995 The Hunted
Mieko Takeda
(武田美恵子)
U.S. / Japan
1995 Crying Freeman
Kimie Hanada
(花田君江)
Canada / France / Japan
2000 Ane Gokudō Bosatsu no Ryūko
(姐極道 菩薩の龍子)
Japan
2001 Hero Zheng Chenggong (aka The Sino-Dutch War 1661)
(英雄鄭成功)
Matsu Tagawa
(田川マツ)
China
2002 Undiscovered Tomb
(極地皇陵)
Professor Ivy Chan
Hong Kong
2005 The Deep Red
(深紅)
Dr. Tanaka
(田中医師)
Japan
2009 Dear Heart: Furuete Nemure
(Dear Heart-震えて眠れ-)
Japan
2010 To Live as an Actress
(島田陽子に逢いたい)
Herself
(島田陽子)
Japan
2011 Secret Affair (aka Yōko Shimada – Assignation)
(密会)
Japan
2011 Faithless Love
(不貞愛)
Japan
2011 Ashita Naku
(明日泣く)
Japan
2012 Kanojo wa Umi e
(彼女は海へ)
Nanako
(菜々子)
Japan
2015 Santa Claus
(サンタクロースズ)
Santa Kurosu
(黒須三太)
Japan
2016 God in Jail
(塀の中の神様)
Fusako
(房子)
Japan
2016 Kanon
(カノン)
Sumiko Arai
(新井澄子)
Japan
2022 Ever Garden
(エヴァーガーデン)
Haruko Segara
(相楽晴子)
Japan

Television

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Schilling, Mark (25 July 2022). "Shimada Yoko, Golden Globe-Winning Japanese Actor in 'Shogun,' Dies at 69". Variety. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Yoko Shimada". GoldenGlobes.com. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie Nominees / Winners 1981 Emmy Awards". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  4. ^ Kir Royale - Yoko Shimada Photos (1992) ASIN: B0BBNCPZLV ISBN 488475168X
  5. ^ 女優、島田陽子さんが69歳で死去 「白い巨塔」「砂の器」出演. Sankei Sports (in Japanese). 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  6. ^ 島田陽子さん死去 69歳、大腸がん闘病 「続・氷点」でヒロイン 宇宙葬の予約などが話題. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  7. ^ "華麗なる一族". Family Gekijyo. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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