
Yōko Minamida
Born March 1, 1933 · Tokyo, Japan
Yōko Minamida (南田 洋子, Minamida Yōko, March 1, 1933 – October 21, 2009) was a Japanese actress. Born in Tokyo, Minamida made her screen debut in 1953 for the Daiei studio and quickly rose to stardom, working with Kenji Mizoguchi on two films: “A Story from Chikamatsu” and “Princess Yang Kwei-fei.” In 1955, she moved to the Nikkatsu studio, where she starred in Takumi Furukawa’s “Season of the Sun” (1956), a smash hit that launched the so-called “Sun Tribe” boom for films about rebellious youth looking for sex and kicks on Shonan Beach — Japan’s nearest equivalent to Malibu. Minamida acted in dozens of movies for Nikkatsu, working with Shohei Imamura, Seijun Suzuki, and other directors. In 1961 she married her co-star on “Season of the Sun,” Hiroyuki Nagato. As she acted in fewer movies after the mid-1960s, Minamida made a smooth and successful transition to TV as both an actress and MC. She also continued to appear occasionally in movies, with the last being Nobuhiko Obayashi’s “Song of Goodbye” in 2006. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in November 2008, and a TV documentary was made about her condition and the efforts of her husband to care for her. She died in Tokyo.
Notable Appearances
More Movies

Konna bidanshi mita kotonai

Princess Yang Kwei-fei

Yellow Fangs

Atarashiki ten

Itsuki no komori uta

Rakka no mon

Jakoman and Tetsu

Pigs and Battleships

Haru no uzumaki

Inhibited Love

Shinkon noroke bushi

Zenigata heiji torimono hikae: Kiniro no ōkami

The Motive

Konna beppin mita koto nai

Debt of Honor

Mashiroki Fuji no mine

Haha tokidori

The Rambler Rides Again

A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era

Kimi machifune

Portrait of Chieko

Zero

Teenage Secrets

Quick Draw Joe

Haha nami

Miss Teacher

Musume hatsukoi yatton-bushi

The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang

Karafuto 1945 Summer

The Champion

Otoko to otoko no ikiru machi

The Man with a Shotgun

The Domain

Haha no hitomi

New Enoshima Elegy

A Daughter's Life Guide

At Noon

Our Town

Love Comes with Youth

The Kingdom of Jirocho 4

Hungry Soul

A Girl Isn't Allowed to Love

The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry

Joe of Aces: Gambling for a Living

Voice Without a Shadow

A Modern Samurai Village

This Story of Love

Beyond the Green Hills

But the Flesh is Weak

Star Ranch

Stolen Desire

Time of First Love

Japanese Humanity and Justice

Tokyo Knights

Take Me Away!

Bet on a Seaside Romance

We Live Today

死の壁の脱出

Kyu-chan, Draw Your Sword

The Gambling Monk

Gambler

Salaryman Senka

Masked Woman

The Domain: The Naniwa Story

Glass-Hearted Johnny

Return of the Vagabond

Ame no meguri ai

The Domain: Where The Blade Enters

The Soundless Cry

The Crimson Plains

Elegy to Youth

The Wild Daisy

Season of the Sun

Showdown of Men

Prison Gambler

The Law's Bloody Wounds

The Tattooed Lord

Kiriko's Tango

Last Round

When a Man Risks His Life

To Your Majesty, The Emperor 2

Her Secret

Dancing Sisters

Underworld Code

Hungry Soul, Part II

Jungle Block

He Killed Dad

An Outlaw

Streetlights

Black Dice

Glorious Fights

Mountain Pass

Umi wa kurutte iru

Zoku jūdai no seiten

The Domain: White Blade

Lone Wolf

Zoku zoku Jûdai no seiten

The Doctor

Yakuza Song

Sun and Stars

Okashina yatsu

Get Over Her

The Barefoot Girl

The Awakening

Jūdai no seiten

A Young Man's Stronghold

Irogotoshi harudanji

Unga

Chivalrous Pride

Osaka no kaze

Yuganda tsuki

Tale of the Last Japanese Yakuza

Zurari oretacha yōjinbō

A Turning to Hell

Farewell to Southern Tosa

Gun of Nosappu

The Rambler Returns Home

Tales of a Gunman: The Man Without Tomorrow

Wind and waves of the South

Aishū no sono

I Have the Sun in My Back

Wounded Beast

Jūdai no yūwaku

The Guys Who Put Money on Me










