Yoshiko Kuga

was a Japanese actress. She starred in The Woman in the Rumor, Equinox Flower (1958), and An Inlet of Muddy Water (1953). She won a Mainichi Film Award in 1954, and a Blue Ribbon Award in 1956. She was the wife of actor Akihiko Hirata.

Early life and education Kuga was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her father Marquess Michiaki Koga was a member of the House of Peers.

In 1946, while still attending Gakushuin Junior High School, she became an actress for Toho studios.

Career In June 1946, Toho had sponsored a search for "new faces", choosing Kuga as one of 48 new actresses and actors from 4,000 applicants. In 1947, she made her debut as one of the lead actresses in the omnibus movie . She was one of the actors active in the 1948 union strike at Toho studios. Since the 1970s, she appeared mainly on television and on stage.

Personal life Kuga was married to actor Akihiko Hirata from 1961 until his death in 1984.

Death She died from aspiration pneumonia on 9 June 2024, at the age of 93.

Selected filmography Film 1948: Drunken Angel (dir. Akira Kurosawa) 1950: Until We Meet Again (dir. Tadashi Imai) 1951: The Idiot (dir. Akira Kurosawa) 1953: Older Brother, Younger Sister (dir. Mikio Naruse) 1953: An Inlet of Muddy Water (dir. Tadashi Imai) 1953: Love Letter (dir. Kinuyo Tanaka) 1954: The Woman in the Rumor (dir. Kenji Mizoguchi) 1954: The Garden of Women (dir. Keisuke Kinoshita) 1955: Shin Heike Monogatari (dir. Kenji Mizoguchi) 1956: The Rose on His Arm (dir. Keisuke Kinoshita) 1956: Farewell to Dream (dir. Keisuke Kinoshita) 1957: Yellow Crow (dir. Heinosuke Gosho) 1957: Elegy of the North (dir. Heinosuke Gosho) 1958: Equinox Flower (dir. Yasujirō Ozu) 1959: The Snow Flurry (dir. Keisuke Kinoshita) 1959: Good Morning (dir. Yasujirō Ozu) 1960: Cruel Story of Youth (dir. Nagisa Ōshima) 1961: Zero Focus (dir. Yoshitarō Nomura) 1961: The Story of Osaka Castle (dir. Hiroshi Inagaki) 1964: Whirlwind (dir. Hiroshi Inagaki) 1989: Godzilla vs. Biollante (dir. Kazuki Ohmori) (cameo) 1997: Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (dir. Haruki Kadokawa)

Television 1974–1975: Karei-naru Ichizoku (NET)

Awards 1954: Mainichi Film Award for Best Supporting Actress 1956: Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress 1994: Kinuyo Tanaka Memorial Award at Mainichi Film Awards 1995: The Golden Glory Award