Yuriko Yoshitaka

Yuriko Yoshitaka (Japanese: 吉高 由里子, Hepburn: Yoshitaka Yuriko; born July 22, 1988) is a Japanese actress. She has played numerous roles in film and television, including lead roles in Snakes and Earrings, Yurigokoro, and the NHK asadora Hanako to Anne.

Yuriko Yoshitaka
吉高 由里子
Born	(1988-07-22) July 22, 1988 (age 37) Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2004–present
Agent	Amuse, Inc.
Website	www.amuse.co.jp/artist/yoshitaka_yuriko/

Career

At age 16, her first year of high school, Yoshitaka joined the entertainment industry when she was scouted by an agency while shopping at Harajuku.^[1] Yoshitaka made her acting debut in 2006. She was given the lead role in the live-action adaptation of Hitomi Kanehara's award-winning novel Snakes and Earrings in 2007. Portraying Lui, a teenager whose life goes into a downward spiral after meeting the forked-tongued and tattooed Ama, the role was Yoshitaka's breakthrough role.^[2][3] The Japanese public began to take notice of her, and in a poll conducted by Oricon, Yoshitaka was the fifth promising young actress of 2009^[4] and 2009's freshest female celebrity.^[5] In 2010, Oricon again conducted a poll on the most promising actress and she managed climb up to top the poll.^[6]

Yoshitaka began to receive more work in 2008 as she appeared in Flow's music video "Arigatō" (ありがとう; "Thanks"), was given her first lead role in the comedy drama Konno-san to Asobo (紺野さんと遊ぼう, Let’s Play with Konno-san) and took up the lead role in the film Yubae Shōjo (夕映え少女, A Girl in the Sunset) before the theatrical release of her other lead film Snakes and Earrings.

In 2009, Yoshitaka was given the role of the suicidal Kairi Hayakawa in the romantic-comedy drama Love Shuffle. Later in the year, she portrayed Yūki Matsunaga (松永 由岐, Matsunaga Yūki) in the police drama Tokyo Dogs with Shun Oguri and Hiro Mizushima as her co-stars.^[7]

In 2010, she starred as all three sisters in a short drama series titled Tofu Shimai (豆腐姉妹, lit. Tofu Sisters).^[8] It was announced on May 13, 2010 that Yoshitaka was given her first lead role in a network television drama series called Mioka (美丘), portraying a university student with an incurable illness.^[9]

She played Tae Kojima in the two-part 2011 live-action adaptation of the sci-fi and action manga Gantz.^[10][11] She also took the lead role in Kōji Maeda's movie Konzen Tokkyū, portraying a young woman dating multiple men in hopes of finding the right one to marry. It premiered in Spring 2011.^[12]

From March 31, 2014 to September 27, 2014 she portrayed Hanako Muraoka (1893–1968) in Hanako to Anne (花子とアン, Hanako to An), a Japanese television drama series, the 90th Asadora series broadcast on NHK. She hosted the 65th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve 2014 alongside Arashi.

Personal life

While she was preparing for her role in Snakes and Earrings, Yoshitaka was involved in a traffic accident in September 2007, and suffered a fractured jaw. She was in the intensive care unit (ICU) for five days as a result.^[13]

Filmography

TV drama

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
2006	Jikō Keisatsu	Mayumi	Episode 6
	Children	young Miharu	Television film
	PS Rashōmon	Yukari Sonoda	Episode 2
	Ii Onna	Mika Nakamura
2007	Jodan Ja Nai!		Episode 8
	Yonimo Kimyona Monogatari: Countdown
2008	Ashita no Kita Yoshio	Shinobu Yoimachi
	Atsuhime	Otetsu	Taiga drama
	Konno-san to Asobo	Miyuki Konno	Lead role
	Average
	Taiyo to Umi no Kyoshitsu	Akari Yashima
	Tonsure	Mika Kashiwaba	Lead role
	Average 2
	The Naminori Restaurant	Misaki
2009	Love Shuffle	Kairi Hayakawa
	True Horror Stories: Chi Nurareta Ryokan	Moe Yasuda	Lead role; short drama
	Shiroi Haru	Shiori Nishida
	Ikemen Shin Sobaya Tantei	Glico	Episode 5
	Tokyo Dogs	Yūki Matsunaga
2010	Tofu Shimai	Three sisters: Kinuyo, Momen, Yuriko	Lead role; miniseries
	Mioka	Mioka Minegishi	Lead role
2011	The Reason I can't Find Love	Saki Ogura	Lead role
2012	Vampire Prosecutor 2	Luna
2013	Galileo 2	Misa Kishitani
2014	Hanako to Anne	Hanako Muraoka	Lead role; Asadora	[14]
2017	Tokyo Tarareba Girls	Rinko Kamata	Lead role	[15]
2018	Ms. Justice	Ririko Takemura	Lead role	[16]
2019	I Will Not Work Overtime, Period	Yui Higashiyama	Lead role	[17]
2020	Off the Record	Keito Makabe	Lead role	[18]
	The Dangerous Venus	Kaede Yagami		[19]
2021	Dearest	Rio Sanada	Lead role	[20]
2022	Kaze yo Arashi yo	Itō Noe	Lead role; television film	[21]
2023	On a Starry Night	Suzu Yukimiya	Lead role	[22]
2024	Dear Radiance	Murasaki Shikibu	Lead role; Taiga drama	[23]

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
2005	Zoo	"Seven Rooms" Room 7 girl
2006	Noriko's Dinner Table	Yuka Shimbara
2007	Maruyamacho	Seta
	Kayokyoku Dayo, Jinsei wa
	Adrift in Tokyo	Fufumi
2008	Yubae Shōjo		Lead role
	Cyborg She	Student in the 22nd Century
	Your Friends	Hanai Kyōko
	Snakes and Earrings	Lui	Lead role	[24]
2009	Gravity's Clowns	Natsuko
	Kaiji 2	Hiromi Ishida
2010	Subete wa Umi ni Naru	Shizuko
2011	Gantz	Tae Kojima
	Gantz: Perfect Answer	Tae Kojima
	Cannonball Wedlock	Chie	Lead role
2012	Robo-G	Yoko Sasaki
	We Were There: First Love	Nanami Takahashi	Lead role	[25]
	We Were There: True Love	Nanami Takahashi	Lead role	[25]
2013	The Story of Yonosuke	Shoko Yosano
	Midsummer's Equation	Misa Kishitani		[26]
2017	Yurigokoro	Misako	Lead role	[27]
2018	Killing for the Prosecution	Saho Tachibana		[28]
2020	Your Eyes Tell	Akari Kashiwagi	Lead role	[29]
2024	Kaze yo Arashi yo	Itō Noe	Lead role	[21]

Awards and nominations

Year	Organization	Award	Work	Result	Ref(s)
2007	28th Yokohama Film Festival	Best Newcomer	Noriko's Dinner Table	Won	[30]
2009	32nd Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Newcomer	Snakes and Earrings	Won	[31]
	51st Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Newcomer		Won	[32][33]
	18th Japan Movie Critics Awards	Best New Actress		Won	[34]
2012	36th Elan d'or Awards	Newcomer of the Year	Herself	Won	[35]
	33rd Yokohama Film Festival	Best Actress	Cannonball Wedlock	Won
2014	68th Mainichi Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	The Story of Yonosuke	Won
2018	41st Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Actress	Yurigokoro	Nominated
2022	15th Tokyo Drama Awards	Best Actress	Dearest	Won	[36]