Yuki Saito (actress)

, though she continues to work under her maiden name. She attended Kanagawa Prefectural Shimizugaoka High School (now Yokohama Seiryo Sogo High School). Her father owns a long-standing and respected obi shop, and her brother is the actor Ryūji Saitō.

Saito is well-known in Japan for being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as she refused to work on Sundays. Her hobbies include songwriting, illustrating and reading.

Brief history

In 1984, while attending high school, Saito won the third annual "Miss Magazine" Grand Prix contest run by Kodansha. She made her singing debut in 1985 with her release "Sotsugyō", and the telephone cards used to promote the single began selling for over ¥100,000 each (despite not being printed by NTT), setting the stage for her goods going for a premium whenever they appeared. She became one of the most popular idols in the 1980s.

That same year, Saito took the leading role in "Sukeban Deka", a TV series following the exploits of Saki Asamiya, a high school delinquent who is pressed into service as a yo-yo-wielding undercover police officer sent to a high school known for its vicious gangs. The outrageous plots in each episode earned Saitō overnight success, and the scenes where she used the yo-yo were the most popular.

Saito was selected to play the heroine in the NHK morning TV novel series "Hane Konma" in 1986. This series garnered a rating of over 40% for its timeslot, and made Saito a household name throughout Japan. At the end of the year, she was the captain of the Red Team on "Kōhaku Uta Gassen", where she debuted her song, "Kanashimi yo Konnichi wa", the first opening theme for the anime TV series "Maison Ikkoku". This song became one of the most popular anime theme songs of all time [See [http://www.ldsfilm.com/actors/Saito.html LDSFilms.com] . Accessed July 25, 2006.] . She would later, in 2007, perform both the opening and ending theme songs for another anime series, "", an adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel and Nippon Animation's latest continuation to their famed "World Masterpiece Theater" series. Interestingly, Saitō had earlier played the title character, Cosette, in its 1987 musical version.

She wrote a commentary on Yasutaka Tsutsui's work "Kyakusō Gijitsu" in 1989. In 1994, Saito married Nobuyasu Isarai, and they currently (2006) have one son and two daughters. While she still occasionally takes acting roles, she spends most of her time with her family. During the 1990s, Saito began moving from the role of idol star to doing more acting in movies, television, and on stage. She also began writing poetry and doing voice-over narration. Saito is known for being a songwriter and lyricist, often compared to contemporaries such as Noriko Sakai and Minako Honda.

Saito has a wide range of roles, from serious to comedic. Throughout the 1992, most of her roles on stage, TV, and film were serious, dramatic roles. In 2006, she returned to her comedy roots with a role in "Wagahai wa Shufu Dearu", reestablishing herself as able to handle many different roles.

Along with Mitsuhiro Oikawa, she formed a duo called "Yanake" in 2006 and released nihongo|"Kateinai Date"|家庭内デート|, and made her first singing appearance in seven years on June 8, 2006. This year also marked the 17th year since her appearance on the Takaaki Ishibashi owarai show "Tonwarazu no Mina-san no Okage Desu".

In the 2006 movie, "Sukeban Deka", Saito plays Saki's mother.

Albums

Filmography

TV dramas

*"Yakyūkyō no Uta" (1985, Fuji TV) (Yūki Mizuhara)
*"Sukeban Deka" (1985, Fuji TV) (Saki Asamiya)
*"Pappa kara no Okurimono" (1985, NHK)
*"Hane Koma" (1986, NHK) (Orin)
*"Omae Naide yo!" (1987, Fuji TV)
*"Totte Oki no Seishun" (1988, NHK)
*"Asobi ni Oide yo!" (1988, Fuji TV)
*"High School Rakigaki" (1989, TBS) (Izumi Suwa)
*"Shōnan Monogatari" (1989, NTV)
*"Lucky Tenshi, Miyako e Iku" (1989, Fuji TV)
*"High School Rakigaki 2" (1990, TBS) (Izumi Suwa)
*"Yo ni mo Kimyō na Monogatari "Zettai Iya!" (1990, Fuji TV)
*"Kazunomiya-sama O-Tome" (1991, TV Asahi)
*"Jojiken Kisha Tachibana Keiko" (1992, TV Asahi)
*"Mattanashi!" (1992, NTV)
*"If: Moshimo "Kanojo ga Suwaru no wa, Migi no Isu ka? Hidari no Isu ka?" (1993, Fuji TV)
*"Dōsōkai" (1993, NTV)
*"Fukui-sanchi no Isan Sōzoku" (1994, Kansai TV)
*"Yo ni mo Kimyō na Monogatari "Derarenai" (1990, Fuji TV)
*"Hachidai Shōgun Yoshimune" (1995, NHK) (Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's daughter Princess Tsuru)
*"Kimi no Omō yori Kimi ni Aitai" (1995, Kansai TV)
*"Bōryoku Kyōshi: Kimi ni Tsutaetai Koto" (1996, NHK)
*"Eien no Atom: Tezuka Osamu Monogatari" (1999, TV Tokyo) (Yumiko Igarashi)
*"Wakaretara Suki na Hito" (1999, TV Tokyo)
*"Aru Hi, Arashi no yō ni" (2001, NHK)
*"Kindaichi Kōsuke Series "Jinmensō" (2003, TBS)
*"Onna no Ichidaiki: Jakucho Setouchi" (2005, Fuji TV) (Tsuya Setouchi (Jakucho's older sister))
*"Wagahai wa Shufu Dearu" (2006, TBS) (Midori Yana)

Films

*"Yuki no Danshō: Jōnetsu" (1986, Toho) (Iori Natsuki)
*"Koisuru Onnatachi" (1987, Toho) (Takako Yoshioka)
*"Rakko Monogatari" (1987, Kansai TV) (voice over)
*"Totto Channel" (1987, Toho) (Tetsuko Shibuyanagi (modelled after Tetsuko Kuroyanagi))
*"Sayonara" no Onnatachi" (1988, Toho) (Ikuko Adachi)
*"Yūshun Oracion" (1988, Fuji TV) (Kumiko Wagu)
*"Kimi wa Boku o Suki ni Naru" (1989, Toho)
*"Godzilla vs. Biollante" (1989, Toho) (not credited)
*"Hong Kong Paradise" (1990, Toho)
*"Oishii Kekkon" (1991, Toho)
*"Watashi no Kokoro wa Papa no Mono" (1992, Tohokushinsha)
*"Waga Kokoro no Ginga Tetsudō: Miyazawa Kenji Monogatari" (1996)
*"June Bride: 6/19 no Hanayome" (1998, Matsutake)
*"A, Haru" (1999, Matsutake)
*"Zeitaku na Fune" (2001)
*"Inochi" (2002)
*"Aoi Uta: Nodo Jiman Seishun Hen" (2006)
*"" (2006)

Theatre

*"Les Misérables" (1987) (Cosette)
*"Kara Sawagi" (1990)
*"5-ji no Koibito" (1992)
*"Nijūyon no Hitomi" (1994)
*"Kimi to Naru: Nobody Else But You" (1995)
*"Ningen Kazaguruma" (2000)
*"Sora no Kaa-sama" (2001)
*"Friends" (2001)
*"Nikui Anchi Kushō" (2002) (Kosode)
*"Claudia kara no Tegami" (2006)

Trivia

In the 1986 film "Koisuru Onnatachi", Saito used a fake cigarette used for asthma patients due to her LDS beliefs, which forbid the use of tobacco, including smoking.

References

External links

*en icon [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=22691 Anime News Network]
*en icon [http://www.idollica.com/saitoy/SaitoYuki.html Encyclopedia Idollica]
*en icon imdb name|id=0756877|title=Yuki Saito
*en icon [http://www.ldsfilm.com/actors/Saito.html LDSFilms.com]
*ja icon [http://www.toho-ent.co.jp/talent/saito/saito.html Toho Entertainment] (official site)
*ja icon [http://www.yo.rim.or.jp/~mutsu/idol80/artist/SaitouYuki.html Idol Pop's 80s] (discography)