Kirin Kiki (樹木 希林 Kiki Kirin) (15 January 1943 – 15 September 2018) was a Japanese actress known for her work in Japanese cinema and television.

Biography

Kiki was born in the Kanda area of Tokyo as the daughter of a master of the biwa lute. After graduating from high school, she started her acting career in the early 1960s as a member of the Bungakuza theater troupe using the stage name Chiho Yūki (悠木千帆). She eventually gained fame for performing uniquely comedic and eccentric roles on such television shows as Jikan desu yo and Terauchi Kantarō ikka and in television commercials. She changed her name to "Kirin Kiki" when, after being asked on a television show to auction off something of hers, she ended up selling her first stage name, claiming she had "nothing else to sell." While battling various ailments, including a detached retina in 2003 and breast cancer in 2005, Kiki has continued to act and has won several awards, including the best actress Japan Academy Prize for Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad in 2008,[4] the best supporting actress award from the Yokohama Film Festival for her work in Kamikaze Girls and Half a Confession in 2004, and the best supporting actress Blue Ribbon Award for Still Walking in 2008.

Personal life

Kiki married fellow Bungakuza actor Shin Kishida, but they divorced in 1968. She wed musician Yuya Uchida in 1973, and remains legally married to him though they separated in 1975. Their daughter, Yayako Uchida, is an essayist and musician, and portrayed the younger self of Kiki's character in the film Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad. Yayako Uchida is married to the actor Masahiro Motoki, who was adopted into the Uchida family as a mukoyōshi. Kirin's granddaughter Kyara Uchida has appeared with her in two films, I Wish and Sweet Bean.

Kiki was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and underwent a mastectomy. She died of cancer, and related illnesses, on 15 September 2018.

Selected filmography

Films

• Tora-san, His Tender Love (1970)
• Ballad of Orin (1977)
• Zigeunerweisen (1980)
• Tenkōsei (1982)
• Hometown (1983)
• Capone Cries a Lot (1985)
• Lonely Heart (1985)
• Rainbow Kids (1991) as Kura Nakamura
• The Triple Cross (1992)
• Rintaro (輝け！隣太郎, Kagayake! Rintaro) (1995) – she also sang the title song (with Toshiaki Karasawa)
• Pistol Opera (2001)
• Returner (2002)
• Kamikaze Girls (2004)
• Half a Confession (2004)
• Still Walking (2008)
• Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (2008)
• The Borrower Arrietty (2010)
• Ghost: In Your Arms Again (2010)
• Villain (2010)
• Chronicle of My Mother (2011)
• I Wish (2011)
• Like Father, Like Son (2013)
• Our Little Sister (2015)
• Sweet Bean (2015) ; Best Performance by an Actress, Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2015
• After the Storm (2016) – Yoshiko
• Mori, The Artist's Habitat (2018)
• Every Day A Good Day (2018), Ms. Takeda
• Shoplifters (2018), Hatsue Shibata

Television

• Tobu ga Gotoku (1990) – Ikushima
• Aoi Tokugawa Sandai (2000) – Lady Kasuga

Honours

• Medal with Purple Ribbon (2008)
• Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2014)