Yoshiko Kuga


Yoshiko Kuga was a Japanese actress. She starred in The Woman in the Rumor, Equinox Flower, and An Inlet of Muddy Water. She won a Mainichi Film Award in 1954, and a Blue Ribbon Award in 1956. She was the wife of actor Akihiko Hirata.

Early life and education

Kuga was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her father Marquess Michiaki Koga was a member of the House of Peers.
In 1946, while still attending Gakushuin Junior High School, she became an actress for Toho studios.

Career

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. 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. She acted in The Woman in the Rumor by Kenji Mizoguchi, in Equinox Flower by Yasujirō Ozu, and in An Inlet of Muddy Water by Tadashi Imai.
In 1954, she co-founded the film production company Ninjin Club 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.

Personal life

Kuga was married to actor Akihiko Hirata from 1961 until his death in 1984.

Death

She died from aspiration pneumonia on 9 June 2024, at the age of 93.

Selected filmography

Film