Profile | プロフィール
Born / 生年月日
January 2, 1956 | Nagasaki, Japan
Age / 年齢
69 years old (as of 2025)
Occupation / 職業
Actor
俳優
Nationality / 国籍
Japanese (日本)
Biography | 経歴
[English] Koji Yakusho is the greatest Japanese film actor of his generation and one of the finest screen performers in the world today. His work is defined by a radical internal stillness and an extraordinary psychological depth, combined with a physical intelligence that communicates complex human emotions through the most minimal means. For four decades, he has maintained a body of work of immense range and international significance. From his portrayal of a man living with the weight of murder in The Eel to the psychological intensity of Cure, Yakusho has mastered the art of making the invisible visible. His role as Hirayama in Perfect Days—which earned him the Best Actor award at Cannes—showcased his ability to find radical contentment in the everyday. Most recently, his performance as Toranaga in Shogun brought his mastery to a vast global audience, set within a production that honored Japanese historical tradition with unprecedented seriousness. He is, quite simply, an irreplaceable global treasure of cinema.
[Japanese / 日本語] 役所広司は、同世代の日本映画界において最も偉大な俳優であり、世界を見渡しても、現在活動する最高のスクリーン俳優の一人です。彼の真骨頂は、魂の根源的な「静止」と並外れた心理的深み、そして最小限の表現で人間の最も複雑な内面を伝える「身体的知性」の融合にあります。40年以上にわたり、彼は極めて広範な役柄を演じながら、一貫して国際的な重要性を持つ作品群を世に送り出してきました。殺人の罪を背負い沈黙の中で生きる『うなぎ』の山下、極限の心理状態を描いた黒沢清監督作『CURE』の高部など、彼の名演は数知れません。カンヌ国際映画祭で最優秀男優賞に輝いた『PERFECT DAYS』の平山役では、純粋に身体的な所作のみを通じて、日常に潜む「至福」という目に見えない経験を可視化させました。また、『SHOGUN 将軍』の虎永役は、日本の歴史伝統をかつてない誠実さで描いた作品の中で、彼の至高の演技を世界中の視聴者へと届けました。日本アカデミー賞最優秀男優賞を最多受賞（7回以上）しているという事実は、彼が歩んできた卓越したキャリアに対する、揺るぎない公的・制度的な証明といえるでしょう。
Filmography | 主な作品
Feature Films — Selected (主要映画出演作)
| Year | Title (Japanese / English) | Director | Role | Box Office | Awards/Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | ションベン・ライダー / Urinators | Obayashi Nobuhiko | — | — | Film debut |
| 1985 | タンポポ / Tampopo | Itami Juzo | Gun | — | Career breakthrough / Ramen comedy / Western parody / Deadpan authority |
| 1987 | マルサの女 / A Taxing Woman | Itami Juzo | — | — | Itami second collaboration |
| 1989 | 社葬 | Ito Shunya | — | — | |
| 1993 | ひかりごけ | Kumagai Koichi | — | — | Serious theatre-derived performance |
| 1994 | 眠る男 / Sleeping Man | Oguri Kohei | — | — | Oguri / Art film |
| 1996 | Shall We Dance? / Shall We ダンス？ | Suo Masayuki | Sugiyama Shohei | ¥10.2B | Japan Academy Award Best Actor 🏆 / Salaryman / Ballroom dancing / Enormous commercial success / Hollywood remake 2004 |
| 1997 | うなぎ / The Eel | Imamura Shohei | Yamashita Takuro | — | Cannes Palme d’Or (film, shared with Kiarostami) 🏆 / Japan Academy Award Best Actor 🏆 / Prison release / Radical simplicity / Pet eel / Imamura first collaboration |
| 1997 | CURE / キュア | Kurosawa Kiyoshi | Takabe Kenichi | — | Kurosawa collaboration begins / Police detective / Hypnosis / Psychological horror / International reputation of Kurosawa launched |
| 1999 | ダンスウィズミー | Suo Masayuki | — | — | |
| 2000 | カリスマ / Charisma | Kurosawa Kiyoshi | Yabuike Goro | — | Second Kurosawa collaboration / Forest / Alienation |
| 2001 | 赤い橋の下のぬるい水 / Warm Water Under a Red Bridge | Imamura Shohei | Yosuke | — | Second Imamura collaboration / Final Imamura film |
| 2003 | ドッペルゲンガー / Doppelganger | Kurosawa Kiyoshi | Hayasaki | — | Third Kurosawa collaboration / Identity |
| 2003 | たそがれ清兵衛 / The Twilight Samurai | Yamada Yoji | Iguchi Seibei | — | Japan Academy Award Best Actor 🏆 / Low-ranking samurai / Yamada |
| 2004 | ローレライ / Lorelei | Higuchi Shinji | — | — | WWII submarine |
| 2005 | SAYURI / Memoirs of a Geisha | Rob Marshall | Chairman | $162.2M | International cast / English-language |
| 2006 | バベル / Babel | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Yasujiro | $135.3M | Japanese widower / Tokyo strand / International co-production |
| 2006 | レスキュー・ドーン / Rescue Dawn | Werner Herzog | Duane Martin | $5.5M | Performed entirely in English / Vietnam POW camp / Christian Bale / Herzog |
| 2008 | おくりびと / Departures | Takita Yojiro | Daigo Kobayashi | ¥6.2B | Oscar Best Foreign Language Film (film) 🏆 / Japan Academy Award Best Actor 🏆 / Funeral encoffinment / Cello |
| 2010 | 十三人の刺客 / 13 Assassins | Miike Takashi | Shinzaemon Shimada | $3.7M | Japan Academy Award Best Actor 🏆 / Edo period / Samurai / Miike |
| 2011 | 一命 / Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai | Miike Takashi | Kageyu Saito | — | Kobayashi Masaki remake / Samurai |
| 2013 | 風立ちぬ / The Wind Rises | Miyazaki Hayao | Horikoshi Jiro (voice) | $136.9M | Oscar nom. Best Animated Feature (film) 🌟 / Zero fighter designer / Miyazaki final film |
| 2016 | 後妻業の女 | Tsutsumi Yukihiko | — | — | |
| 2018 | 孤狼の血 / The Blood of Wolves | Shiraishi Kazuya | Ogami Shogo | — | Japan Academy Award Best Actor 🏆 / Yakuza detective / Hiroshima |
| 2022 | 蛇の道 / Shady Grove | Kurosawa Kiyoshi | — | — | Fourth Kurosawa collaboration / French co-production |
| 2023 | PERFECT DAYS / パーフェクト・デイズ | Wim Wenders | Hirayama | $4.7M | Cannes Best Actor (Prix d’interprétation masculine) 🏆 / Japan Academy Award Best Actor 🏆 / Second Japanese actor in Cannes history to win / Toilet cleaner / Tokyo / Attention and repetition / Wim Wenders |
| 2024 | Cloud クラウド | Kurosawa Kiyoshi | — | — | Fifth Kurosawa collaboration |
Television (テレビ)
| Year | Title | Network | Role | Awards/Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various 1980s–90s | Multiple NHK and commercial TV dramas | NHK, TBS, others | Various | Career formation / Sustained TV work throughout career |
| 2024 | SHOGUN / 将軍 | FX/Hulu | 吉井虎長 (Yoshii Toranaga) | Primetime Emmy Outstanding Drama Series 🏆 / Primetime Emmy nom. Outstanding Lead Actor 🌟 / Most-watched FX production in history / Tokugawa Ieyasu model / James Clavell |
Awards & Recognition | 受賞歴
Cannes Film Festival (カンヌ映画祭)
- Prix d’interprétation masculine (Best Actor) – Perfect Days (2023) 🏆
Second Japanese actor in the history of the Cannes Film Festival to win this prize
(First since Mifune Toshiro, 1997)
Japan Academy Awards (日本アカデミー賞)
Best Actor wins — multiple: 🏆
- Shall We Dance? (1997) 🏆
- The Eel (1998) 🏆
- The Twilight Samurai (2003) 🏆 (Yamada Yoji)
- Departures (2009) 🏆
- 13 Assassins (2011) 🏆
- The Blood of Wolves (2019) 🏆
- Perfect Days (2024) 🏆
- Additional nominations across career 🌟
Total Japan Academy Award Best Actor wins: 7+ — the most of any actor in the award’s history 🏆
Emmy Awards (エミー賞)
- Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series – Shogun (2024) 🌟 (nominated)
- Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Drama Ensemble – Shogun (2024) 🏆
Other International Recognition
- Asian Film Awards Best Actor — multiple wins 🏆
- Mainichi Film Awards Best Actor — multiple wins 🏆
- Kinema Junpo Best Actor — multiple wins 🏆
- Consistent recognition as the most significant Japanese screen actor of his generation by every major critical body 🏆
Box Office Achievements | 興行成績
| Film | Japan Box Office / Worldwide |
|---|---|
| Shall We Dance? (1996) | ¥10.2 billion (Japan) |
| The Wind Rises (2013) | $136.9 million (worldwide) |
| Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) | $162.2 million (worldwide) |
| Babel (2006) | $135.3 million (worldwide) |
| Departures (2008) | ¥6.2 billion (Japan) |
