Ayako Fujitani
Encyclopedia
Ayako Fujitani is a writer and actress. She is fluent in English
and Japanese
.
, Japan
. She is the daughter of Steven Seagal
from his first wife, aikido
master Miyako Fujitani. As a teenager, she also resided in Los Angeles
, California
, US.
. At age 13 she became the sixth girl to lead the Mitsui
ReHouse advertising campaign. This began her modeling career. She was featured regularly in magazines and television commercials.
Gamera
(1995–1999) series, after a chance meeting at a film festival with director Shusuke Kaneko
. She worked again with him on an episode he directed of Ultraman Max
.
Other film roles include parts in the French film Sansa
(2003) and in Michel Gondry
's "Interior Design" segment of Tokyo! (2008).
Along with writer and director Hideaki Anno
, Ayako co-adapted her novella Touhimu (Flee-Dream) into the film Shiki-Jitsu
in 2000. It was the first non-animated feature released by Studio Ghibli
under the Studio Kajino
label. She also stars in the title role. Shiki-Jitsu won the Artistic Award at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival
and showed at the Hong Kong International Film Festival
.
Ayako has established herself as a writer in Japan of both fiction and non-fiction, contributing essays and short stories to various national publications.
's Drama Factory program.
Ayako has also displayed musical talent, being a member of the band Father's Girls.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
.
Early life
Ayako Fujitani was born in OsakaOsaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. She is the daughter of Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan...
from his first wife, aikido
Aikido
is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
master Miyako Fujitani. As a teenager, she also resided in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, US.
Modeling
At age 12, she won the Asian Beauty Contest, held in commemoration of the Japanese release of the film Police Story 3Police Story 3
Police Story 3: Super Cop , also known as Super Cop in North America, is a 1992 Hong Kong martial arts action crime comedy film starring Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh. Jackie reprises his "Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui character, a Hong Kong cop from Police Story and Police Story 2...
. At age 13 she became the sixth girl to lead the Mitsui
Mitsui
is one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...
ReHouse advertising campaign. This began her modeling career. She was featured regularly in magazines and television commercials.
Acting
An avid fan of film, she made her screen debut and appeared in the sequels of the HeiseiHeisei era (daikaiju eiga)
In the context of Japanese monster cinema the Heisei Era refers not to the current era in Japan but to all kaiju eiga made between 1984 and 1999...
Gamera
Gamera
is a giant, flying turtle from a popular series of kaiju films produced by Daiei Motion Picture Company in Japan. Created in 1965 to rival the success of Toho Studios' Godzilla during the daikaiju boom of the mid-to-late 1960s, Gamera has gained fame and notoriety as a Japanese icon in his own...
(1995–1999) series, after a chance meeting at a film festival with director Shusuke Kaneko
Shusuke Kaneko
is a Japanese filmmaker and screenwriter.-Career:Shūsuke Kaneko began his career in film with Nikkatsu's Roman Porno film series, in which he served as assistant director to Kōyū Ohara. The series also gave Kaneko his directorial debut with writer Kōichirō Uno's, Kōichirō Uno's Wet and Swinging ,...
. She worked again with him on an episode he directed of Ultraman Max
Ultraman Max
was an Ultraman TV series which started airing on 7 July 2005, and produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd.. The show tried to return to the true formula of new monsters every week and being a fast paced show like previous series with the exception of Ultraman Nexus...
.
Other film roles include parts in the French film Sansa
Sansa (film)
Sansa is a 2003 French film directed by Siegfried, starring Roschdy Zem. Siegfried also composed music for his film together with violoncellist Ivry Gitlis who play own role in the film...
(2003) and in Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
's "Interior Design" segment of Tokyo! (2008).
Writing
After spending a few teenage years in Los Angeles studying acting and English, Ayako began to write for the Japanese magazine Roadshow. Her literary skills became more evident with the publication of her coupled novellas Touhimu (Flee-Dream) and Yakeinu (Burnt Dog). The former is often incorrectly referred to as semi-biographical, though it is a completely fictional story of a young suicidal girl trying to make sense of life, death, family, and love. The latter is the story of the relationship between a man and the girl he has raised in his cellar.Along with writer and director Hideaki Anno
Hideaki Anno
is a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. His style has come to be defined by the touches of postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions,...
, Ayako co-adapted her novella Touhimu (Flee-Dream) into the film Shiki-Jitsu
Shiki-Jitsu
is a live-action film directed by Hideaki Anno.The screenplay is an adaption by Hideaki Anno and Ayako Fujitani of Fujitani's novella Touhimu, which was inspired by an emotionally difficult time spent in Los Angeles during her work in her father's 1998 film, The Patriot.The film tells the story of...
in 2000. It was the first non-animated feature released by Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
under the Studio Kajino
Studio Kajino
Studio Kajino is a subsidiary of Japanese production company Studio Ghibli. It was created prior to 2000 to handle live action films for the studio which is otherwise known for its animation projects, including the award-winning Spirited Away...
label. She also stars in the title role. Shiki-Jitsu won the Artistic Award at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter...
and showed at the Hong Kong International Film Festival
Hong Kong International Film Festival
The Hong Kong International Film Festival is a platform for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from all over the world to launch and experience new film work. There are seminars, conferences, exhibitions, and parties celebrating the festival community...
.
Ayako has established herself as a writer in Japan of both fiction and non-fiction, contributing essays and short stories to various national publications.
Other pursuits
In 2006 she directed a short drama for TV TokyoTV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
's Drama Factory program.
Ayako has also displayed musical talent, being a member of the band Father's Girls.
Filmography
- Tokyo ! (2008)
- Death of Domomata (2008)
- Shaolin Sakka (Shaolin Writer) (2008)
- Captain Tokyo (2007)
- Private Detective No.5 (2006)
- Ikusa (2005)
- SansaSansa (film)Sansa is a 2003 French film directed by Siegfried, starring Roschdy Zem. Siegfried also composed music for his film together with violoncellist Ivry Gitlis who play own role in the film...
(2003) - Maguro no Shippo (A Tuna Fin) (2000)
- Shiki-JitsuShiki-Jitsuis a live-action film directed by Hideaki Anno.The screenplay is an adaption by Hideaki Anno and Ayako Fujitani of Fujitani's novella Touhimu, which was inspired by an emotionally difficult time spent in Los Angeles during her work in her father's 1998 film, The Patriot.The film tells the story of...
(2000) - Gamera 3: Awakening of IrysGamera 3: Awakening of Irysis a 1999 Kaiju film. It is the third and last film in the Gamera Heisei series, and the last to be distributed by Toho. It was released in the United States on DVD in 2003 under the title Gamera: Revenge of Iris.-Plot:...
(1999) - The PatriotThe Patriot (1998 film)The Patriot is a 1998 action film loosely based on the novel, The Last Canadian by William C. Heine. The film stars Steven Seagal, Gallard Sartain, L.Q. Jones, Whitney Yellow Robe, and Camilla Belle. It was directed by Dean Semler, written by M. Sussman, and produced by Patrick Choi, Nile Niami,...
(1998) - Gamera 2: Attack of LegionGamera 2: Attack of Legionis a 1996 Kaiju film directed by Shusuke Kaneko. It is a sequel to Gamera: Guardian of the Universe and the tenth Gamera film in the series.-Plot:...
(1996) - MusashiMusashiMusashi may refer to:* Japanese corvette Musashi * Japanese battleship Musashi* Musashi , a 1935 novel by Eiji Yoshikawa* Musashi's, a Japanese feline musical group* Brave Fencer Musashi, a 1998 Playstation video game...
(1995) - Gamera: Guardian of the UniverseGamera: Guardian of the Universe, is a 1995 Kaiju film directed by Shusuke Kaneko. It is a reboot of the Gamera film franchise. It is the ninth entry in the Gamera film series and first in Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera trilogy. It was followed by Attack of The Legion and Revenge of Iris....
(1995)
Theatrical works
- The Black Cat (December 2008)
- Kung Fu John (2007)
- ROPE (2006)
- Hiking For Human Life (2005)
Literary works
- Touhimu (Flee-Dream) (novella, coupled with Yakeinu ("Burnt Dog"))
- Hollywood Report column in Roadshow entertainment magazine
- Expressionist Walking column in Pee Wee fashion magazine
- Ayako Fujitani's Silver Screen Stuff column in Eiga Hihou entertainment magazine
- Memos on Life short story column in Re:S arts magazine
- Guest contributor to Giant RobotGiant Robot (magazine)Giant Robot is a bi-monthly magazine of Asian and Asian American popular culture founded in 1994. It was initially created as a small, punk-minded magazine that featured Asian pop culture and Asian American alternative culture, including such varied subject matter as history, art, music, film,...
(Asian American art and culture magazine)