Biography
Yoshiko Kuga (久我 美子, Kuga Yoshiko, 21 January 1931 – 9 June 2024) was a Japanese actress. Kuga was born in Tokyo, Japan. In 1946, while still attending Gakushuin Junior High School, she became an actress for Toho studios. In 1947, she made her debut as one of the lead actresses in the omnibus movie Four Love Stories (四つの恋の物語, Yottsu no Koi no Monogatari). In the 1950s, she started working independently and starred in many productions of the Shochiku studios under the direction of Keisuke Kinoshita. Other important directors include Kenji Mizoguchi (The Woman in the Rumor), Yasujirō Ozu (Equinox Flower), and Tadashi Imai (An Inlet of Muddy Water). Since the 1970s, she appeared mainly on television and on stage. Kuga was married to actor Akihiko Hirata from 1961 until his death in 1984. She died from aspiration pneumonia on 9 June 2024, at the age of 93.
Movies & TV Shows
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Good Morning (1959) — Setsuko Arita
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Drunken Angel (1948) — Schoolgirl
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Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) — Prime Minister's Wife
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Equinox Flower (1958) — Fumiko Mikami
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The Idiot (1951) — Ayako
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Cruel Story of Youth (1960) — Yuki
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The Woman in the Rumor (1954) — Yukiko Mabuchi
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Taira Clan Saga (1955) — Tokiko
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Love Letter (1953) — Michiko Kubota
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Portrait of Madame Yuki (1950) — Hamako Abe
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Samurai Banners (1969)
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Zero Focus (1961) — Teiko Uhara
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Brother and Sister (1953) — San
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Daredevil in the Castle (1961) — Kobue
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The Garden of Women (1954) — Akiko Hayashino
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Four Days of Snow and Blood (1989) — Suzuko Watanabe
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The Snow Flurry (1959) — Sakura
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Farewell to Dream (1956) — Yôichi's older sister, Toyoko
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Till We Meet Again (1950) — Keiko Ono
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Whirlwind (1964) — Kikusato
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Elegy of the North (1957) — Reiko Hyodo
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Okoge (1992) — Women's clothing store manager
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Yagyu Secret Scrolls: Ninjitsu - Part II (1958) — Yuhime
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Beautiful Days (1955) — Sakurako
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Spring Dreams (1960) — Kazuko Yasugi
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An Inlet of Muddy Water (1953)
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Tokyo Fair Weather (1997)
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The Rose on His Arm (1956) — Keiko Hase
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Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky (1954) — Hiroko, Ryoichi's wife
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Thus Another Day (1959) — Yasuko Satô
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Yellow Crow (1957) — Yasuko Ashihara
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The Angry Street (1950)
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Ballad of a Workman (1962) — Chiyo
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Yagyu Secret Scrolls (1957) — Yuhime
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Spring Awakens (1947) — Kumiko Hirobe
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Nowhere Man (1991) — Lady who walks
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Four Love Stories (1947)
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Mother Country (1962)
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A Billionaire (1954) — Sute Kagami
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The Eternal Rainbow (1958) — Chie