Keiko Matsuzaka
Encyclopedia
is an actress.

Born in Ōta, Tokyo
Ota, Tokyo
is one of the 23 Special wards of Tokyo, Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 676,458, with 348,492 households, and a population density of 11,376.69 persons per km²...

, her father was a naturalized South Korean while her mother was Japanese. Active as a child actress in the 1960s, she came into her own as an adult with Daiei
Kadokawa Pictures
is a Japanese movie studio.-History:One of the most famous studios in Japan and founded in 1942 as , it is best known for having produced the giant monster Gamera film series and the Daimajin Trilogy. It also produced the Zatoichi and Nemuri Kyoshiro film series and the television series Shōnen Jet...

, then in 1972 with Shochiku
Shochiku
is a Japanese movie studio and production company for kabuki. It also produces and distributes anime films. Its best remembered directors include Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Yōji Yamada...

.

Keiko played the "Madonna" role in the 1981 film Naniwa no Koi no Torajirō, the 27th in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo
Otoko wa Tsurai yo
Otoko wa tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as "Tora-san" , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans...

series. The producers called on her again for that role in Torajirō no Endan, the 46th of the 49 installments (1993). Keiko also appeared in Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983), Shin Izakaya Yūrei (1996), Dr. Akagi
Dr. Akagi
Dr. Akagi, known in Japan as , is a 1998 Japanese film by director Shohei Imamura.- Plot :The film concerns Dr. Akagi, a doctor on an island in the Seto Inland Sea area during World War II. He runs into conflict with the military while trying to combat a hepatitis epidemic. Akagi earns the nickname...

by Shōhei Imamura
Shohei Imamura
was a Japanese film director. Imamura was the first Japanese director to win two Palme d'Or awards.His eldest son Daisuke Tengan is also a script writer and film director, and worked on the screenplays to Imamura's filmsThe Eel , Dr...

 (1998), Runin: Banished
Runin: Banished
is a 2004 Japanese film directed by Eiji Okuda. The film is set in 1838, and follows the fate of various people exiled to remote Hachijo Island in the Pacific Ocean. The main character is Toyogiku, a courtesan exiled a number of years ago for arson, who longs to return to the mainland. The exiles...

by Eiji Okuda
Eiji Okuda
is a Japanese actor and film director. Born in Kasugai, Aichi, he was nominated for the Best Actor award at the 1990 Japanese Academy Awards for his performance in Sen no Rikyu...

 (2004), and Inugamike no Ichizoku (scheduled for release in 2007). She won the award for best actress at the 6th Hochi Film Award
Hochi Film Award
The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by the Hochi Shimbun.- Categories :*Best Picture*Best International Picture*Best Actor*Best Actress*Best Supporting Actor*Best Supporting Actress*Best New Artist*Special Award*Best Director- Winner :...

 for The Gate of Youth
The Gate of Youth
is a 1981 film directed by Kinji Fukasaku and Koreyoshi Kurahara.It is based on a story by Hiroyuki Itsuki that was originally serialized in the magazine Shukan Gendai in 1969-70...

and Tora-san's Love in Osaka
Tora-san's Love in Osaka
aka Tora's Many-Splintered Love is a 1981 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma , and Keiko Matsuzaka as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Love in Osaka is the twenty-seventh entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series...

, and at the 15th Hochi Film Award for The Sting of Death
The Sting of Death
is a 1990 Japanese film directed by Kôhei Oguri. It tells the story of a writer with a wandering eye and his jealous wife.-Cast:*Keiko Matsuzaka as Miho*Ittoku Kishibe as Toshio*Midori Kiuchi as Kuniko*Takenori Matsumura as Shinichi*Yuri Chikamori as Maya...

.

Her early television appearances have included the tokusatsu superhero series Ultra Seven
Ultra Seven
is tokusatsu SF TV series that aired on Japanese TV in 1967. Created by Eiji Tsuburaya, this follow up to Ultraman went on to become one of Japan's greatest fantasy TV series...

(1968). She portrayed Nohime
Nohime
also Kichō or Lady Noh, was the wife of Oda Nobunaga, a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. Her proper name was Kichō, but since she came from Mino Province, she is most commonly referred to as Nōhime . She was renowned for her beauty and cleverness.Nōhime's father was the...

, wife of Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

, in the 1973 NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

 Taiga drama
Taiga drama
is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music...

 Kunitori Monogatari. From 1973 to 1981, she appeared in Edo o Kiru
Edo o Kiru
Edo o Kiru or Slashing Edo was a popular jidaigeki on Japan's Tokyo Broadcasting System. During the decades from its September 24, 1973 premiere until the July 25, 1994 finale, 214 episodes aired. It lasted through eight series, with several casts and settings...

, including five seasons as the character Oyuki. The 1975 Taiga drama Genroku Taiheiki featured Keiko as Aguri (Yōzen'in), the wife and later widow of Asano Naganori
Asano Naganori
was the daimyo of the Akō Domain in Japan . His title was Takumi no Kami . He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as Chushingura, one of the favourite themes of kabuki, joruri and Japanese books and films.He was born in Edo as the eldest son of Asano...

 in the dramatization of the events of the Forty-seven Ronin
Forty-seven Ronin
The revenge of the , also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century...

. She then appeared in Kusa Moeru in the same time slot in 1979, and portrayed Sada (Kawakami Sadayakko), the lead role in the 1985 Taiga drama Haru no Hatō. Having portrayed Aguri, Keiko also played Riku, the wife of Oishi Yoshio
Oishi Yoshio
was the chamberlain of the Akō Domain in Harima Province , Japan . He is known as the leader of the Forty-seven Ronin in their 1702 vendetta and thus the hero of the Chūshingura...

, in Chūshingura Yōzen'in no Inbō, broadcast on January 2, 2007. She has made numerous other television appearances in series and specials, jidaigeki
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...

,
contemporary dramas, and variety shows. Recently she is portrayed "Ikushima" in the 2008 NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

 Taiga Drama
Taiga drama
is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music...

 Atsuhime.

Matsuzaka has represented a variety of products and companies in television commercials. These include Nippon Menard Cosmetic Co., Nissin Foods, Yutoku Phamaceutical Industries, Nissan Sunny
Nissan Sunny
The Nissan Sunny is a small car from Nissan. It was launched in 1966 as the Datsun 1000 and although production in Japan ended in 2004, it remains in production today for the African, American and Sri Lankan markets. In the US, the later models were known as the Nissan Sentra; in Mexico, the Sunny...

, Rohto Pharmaceutical Co.
Rohto Pharmaceutical Co.
is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Tatsumi-nishi, Ikuno-ku, Osaka, Japan. founded "", the predecessor of Rohto, in Shimizucho, Higashi-ku , Osaka on February 22, 1899.Yamada sold "Rohto Eyedrops" in 1909...

, Kleenex
Kleenex
Kleenex is a brand name for a variety of toiletry paper-based products such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, and diapers. The name Kleenex is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. Often used as a genericized trademark, especially in the United States, "Kleenex"...

, and Ōtsuka Foods.

Among her other works are songs released in 1979 and 2002, and a book of photographs of her, also in 2002.

External links

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