Atsuko Kawada


Atsuko Kawada is a Japanese Actor, model, singer, and author. She was named "Miss Young Jump Queen" in 1981 by Shueisha in their Weekly Young Jump magazine. She became an overnight sensation following her acting debut as the heroine in the TBS television series adaptation of the best selling novel, Ningen Banji Saiō ga Hinoe Uma, by Yukio Aoshima. She has starred in several films and television series, published a novel that was made into a film in which she starred, and had several photo collections released.
She has been married to actor Yūrei Yanagi since 1999.

Life and career

Kawada was born on 10 August 1965 in Tokyo, Japan. She attended Meiji University Nakano Junior and Senior High School before transferring to Tokyo Municipal Yoyogi High School, where she graduated.
In 1981, she won the "Miss Young Jump Queen" Grand Prix contest sponsored by Weekly Young Jump, a magazine published by Shueisha. She made her singing debut with the single, Secret Music Box, released in April 1982 by CBS Sony. The song was used in a commercial for House Foods gelatin dessert Jelly Ace. That same year, she made her acting debut as Hana, the heroine in the TBS drama Ningen Banji Saiō ga Hinoe Uma. This series was based on a best-selling novel of the same name by Yukio Aoshima, and the appearance made her popular overnight.
Kawada's other major roles include the heroine in The Wiseman's Prank, Atsuko in Shufu ken Fukei 28-nen Shinmai Deka ni Meisuiri!! Bijinzuma Satsugai Jiken no Kagi wa Reizōko no Nakami to Ryōshūsho no Yama!?, Yoko in Rain: Nemurazaru Machi, voicing Gisuke in the animated Azumi Mamma Mia, and Miss Pheromone in Little Spy War: Cute & Aggressive Spy Miss Pheromone. She became a regular on the TBS 1982–1983 television variety show Tanokin Zenryoku Tokyū!, and has appeared in multiple other series and films.
Kawada published her novel Rain: Nemurazaru Machi through Kosaidō in March 1996, and a film by the same title was released direct-to-video at the same time. In 1999, she married Yūrei Yanagi. In recent years, she has worked with her husband producing short films. She is represented by Last Scene, a talent management firm. Four gravure photo collections were released from 1987 through 2000.

Filmography

Main characters are indicated in bold.

Films

  • Sorobanzuku
  • Yamada Village Waltz as Miki
  • Bell of Purity Temple as Michiko Katō
  • Rain: Nemurazaru Machi as Yōko
  • Hassenbon: Kasutori Kinema: Urakumachi Yakei
  • ''The Man Who Wipes Mirrors''

Television

;Series
  • Ningen Banji Saiō ga Hinoe Uma as Hana
  • Spring Comes
  • On'yado Kawasemi as Mamiana's daughter
  • Gekai Sangatsu Made no... as Mayumi Imai
  • Taiyō ni Hoero! as Yōko Hirota / Kiyomi Suzuki / Akiko Yaguchi
  • Kaijin Nijū Mensō to Shōnen Tanteidan as Reiko Hachisuga
  • Ki ni Naru Aitsu
  • Birth of a Star as Yōko Mitamura
  • Abunai Deka as Yuka Takahashi
  • Gendai Kyōfu Sasupensu
  • Cooking Love Story
  • Will You Open the Window?
  • Haimisu de Warukatta ne!
  • Inaka no Ōji-sama: Sukī e Iku
  • The Wiseman's Prank as the Heroine
  • Shufu ken Fukei 28-nen Shinmai Deka ni Meisuiri!! Bijinzuma Satsugai Jiken no Kagi wa Reizōko no Nakami to Ryōshūsho no Yama!? as Atsuko Umenoki
  • Kyōtarō Nishimura Suspense: Inspector Totsugawa Series "The Woman Who Disappeared in Hagi and Tsuwano" as Mayumi Okazaki
  • Azumi Mamma Mia as Gisuke
  • Little Spy War: Cute & Aggressive Spy Miss Pheremone as Miss Pheromone
;Films
;Variety / Other
  • ''Tanokin Zenryoku Tokyū!''

Published works

Single albums

  • "Secret Music Box / Today Is Sad"
  • "I'm Sorry / How Are You?"

Books

;Novels
  • Rain: Nemurazaru Machi
;Photo collections
  • Reservation: Atsuko Kawada Photo Collection
  • Karisome no Karen: Atsuko Kawada Photo Collection
  • Photographs: Atsuko Kawada Photo Collection
  • ''ALL.A''