Yoshiko Kuga
Actor
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.
Filmography
Drunken Angel
as Schoolgirl 1948
Godzilla vs. Biollante
as Prime Minister's Wife 1989
Equinox Flower
as Fumiko Mikami 1958
The Idiot
as Ayako 1951
Cruel Story of Youth
as Yuki 1960
The Woman in the Rumor
as Yukiko Mabuchi 1954
Taira Clan Saga
as Tokiko 1955
Portrait of Madame Yuki
as Hamako Abe 1950
Love Letter
as Michiko Kubota 1953
Samurai Banners
1969
Zero Focus
as Teiko Uhara 1961
Brother and Sister
as San 1953
The Snow Flurry
as Sakura 1959
The Garden of Women
as Akiko Hayashino 1954
Daredevil in the Castle
as Kobue 1961
Till We Meet Again
as Keiko Ono 1950