Yoshiko Kuga

Yoshiko Kuga (久我 美子), was a Japanese actress.

Life and career
Kuga was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her father, Michiaki Koga (久我通顕), was a marquis and a member of the House of Peers.

In 1946, while still attending Gakushuin Junior High School, she became an actress for Toho studios. In June 1946, Toho had sponsored a search for "new faces", choosing Kuga as one of 48 new actresses and actors from 4,000 applicants. In 1947, she made her debut as one of the lead actresses in the omnibus movie Four Love Stories (四つの恋の物語). She was one of the actors active in the 1948 union strike at Toho studios. In the 1950s, she started working independently and starred in many productions of the Shochiku studios under the direction of Keisuke Kinoshita. Other important directors include Kenji Mizoguchi (The Woman in the Rumor), Yasujirō Ozu (Equinox Flower), and Tadashi Imai (An Inlet of Muddy Water). In 1954, she co-founded the film production company Ninjin Club (Bungei purodakushon ninjin kurabu) with actresses Keiko Kishi and Ineko Arima to enable better working conditions for actors within the studio system. Since the 1970s, she appeared mainly on television and on stage.

Kuga was married to actor Akihiko Hirata from 1961 until his death in 1984. She died from aspiration pneumonia on 9 June 2024, at the age of 93.

Film

 * 1948: Drunken Angel (dir. Akira Kurosawa)
 * 1950: Until We Meet Again (dir. Tadashi Imai)
 * 1951: The Idiot (dir. Akira Kurosawa)
 * 1953: Older Brother, Younger Sister (dir. Mikio Naruse)
 * 1953: An Inlet of Muddy Water (dir. Tadashi Imai)
 * 1953: Love Letter (dir. Kinuyo Tanaka)
 * 1954: The Woman in the Rumor (dir. Kenji Mizoguchi)
 * 1954: The Garden of Women (dir. Keisuke Kinoshita)
 * 1955: Shin Heike Monogatari (dir. Kenji Mizoguchi)
 * 1956: The Rose on His Arm (dir. Keisuke Kinoshita)
 * 1956: Farewell to Dream (dir. Keisuke Kinoshita)
 * 1957: Yellow Crow (dir. Heinosuke Gosho)
 * 1957: Elegy of the North (dir. Heinosuke Gosho)
 * 1958: Equinox Flower (dir. Yasujirō Ozu)
 * 1959: The Snow Flurry (dir. Keisuke Kinoshita)
 * 1959: Good Morning (dir. Yasujirō Ozu)
 * 1960: Cruel Story of Youth (dir. Nagisa Ōshima)
 * 1961: Zero Focus (dir. Yoshitarō Nomura)
 * 1961: The Story of Osaka Castle (dir. Hiroshi Inagaki)
 * 1964: Whirlwind (dir. Hiroshi Inagaki)
 * 1989: Godzilla vs. Biollante (dir. Kazuki Ohmori) (cameo)
 * 1997: Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (dir. Haruki Kadokawa)

Television

 * 1974–1975: Karei-naru Ichizoku (NET)

Awards

 * 1954: Mainichi Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
 * 1956: Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress
 * 1994: Kinuyo Tanaka Memorial Award at Mainichi Film Awards
 * 1995: The Golden Glory Award