Hiromi Nagasaku

2.1. Birth and Early Life

Hiromi Nagasaku was born on October 14, 1970, in Aso Town, Namegata District, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, which is now part of Namegata. Her given name, Hiromi (博美_Hiromi^Japanese), was chosen by her grandfather and was inspired by the Japan World Exposition (Osaka Expo) held in 1970, the year of her birth. She is known by her married name, Hiromi Naito, with Nagasaku being her maiden name. Nagasaku is also known for her youthful appearance, often playing roles younger than her actual age, such as a high school student in the 1995 drama Sankaku Heart at the age of 24. Her blood type is B.

2.2. Education and Career Beginnings

Nagasaku graduated from Ibaraki Prefectural Aso High School. Although she enjoyed singing since childhood, she did not initially aspire to a career in entertainment. Her first foray into television was in 1988, when she participated in the "High School Girls Special" of Fuji TV's All Night Fuji, where she won the Best Performer Award. She intended this to be a one-time appearance, but she subsequently appeared for six months on Fuji TV's variety show Tashiro Masashi no Oishii Jan. Encouraged by the show's director, she auditioned for and passed the first-generation Otomejuku program, which led to her appearance on Paradise GoGo!!. In 1989, after graduating from high school, she formed the idol group Ribbon with Arimi Matsuno and Aiko Sato through the "Otomejuku" segment of Paradise GoGo!!. In 1993, she made her solo music debut with the single "My Home Town". Her acting career officially began in 1994 with her full-fledged debut in the Fuji TV drama Hi no Ataru Basho.

3.1. Idol Group Activities (Ribbon)

As a member of the J-pop idol group Ribbon, Nagasaku, alongside Arimi Matsuno and Aiko Sato, achieved considerable popularity. While Arimi Matsuno was initially the center of the group's debut song "Little★Date", Nagasaku took on the center position from the second single onwards. Her straightforward, somewhat masculine personality led her fellow members to affectionately call her "Oyaji_{old man}^Japanese". Due to being the oldest member of Otomejuku, she was also respected as an older sister by the other members.

3.2. Solo Music Career

Following her success with Ribbon, Nagasaku embarked on a solo music career. She released several singles and albums, showcasing her individual musical style. Her solo debut single was "My Home Town" in 1993. Other singles include "Without You" (1994), "Ai ni Kite" (1994), and "9:01PM" (1998), the latter of which served as the opening theme for the TV Tokyo program ASAYAN. Her solo albums include N (1993) and Here and Now (1994). A best-of album, Hiromi Nagasaku SINGLES Complete, was released in 2007.

4.1. Film

Nagasaku has appeared in numerous significant film roles. In 2003, she featured in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's film Doppelganger. She played a supporting role in the 2007 film Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!, for which she received the Best Supporting Actress award at the 32nd Hochi Film Awards and from Kinema Junpo magazine. Her performance as Kiwako Nonomiya in the 2011 film Rebirth earned her the Best Supporting Actress award at the 35th Japan Academy Prize. She also received the Best Actress award at the 54th Blue Ribbon Awards for Rebirth. Other notable film credits include Hanging Garden (2005), Su-ki-da (2005), Dolphin Blue (2007), Closed Note (2007), Sex Is No Laughing Matter (2007), Dosokai (2008), R246 Story (2008), The Clone Returns Home (2009), Cast Me If You Can (2010), Solomon's Perjury (2015), The Furthest End Awaits (2015), and True Mothers (2020), for which she was nominated for Best Actress at the 44th Japan Academy Prize. She also starred in The Recipe of Forty-Nine Days (2013) and co-starred with Kuranosuke Sasaki in Fufu Fufu Nikki (2015).

4.2. Television Dramas

Nagasaku has an extensive and prominent career in television dramas, often taking on leading or pivotal roles. She has frequently appeared in the omnibus TV drama series Tales of the Unusual (Fuji TV), holding the record for the most lead roles (8 times) in the series as of 2017. Her roles in Tales of the Unusual include:

• "Telephone Card" (1991)
• "Penalty Game" (1994)
• "Baby Rearing Software" (1996)
• "The Collaborator" (1999)
• "The Last Moment" (2004)
• "Atmosphere Value Education" (2007)
• "Can Kicking" (2011)
• "Missing One" (2017)

Other significant television drama appearances include:

• Hi no Ataru Basho (1994, Fuji TV) as Fumie Yamamoto
• Level 7 - The 90-Day Blank (1994, Kansai TV)
• Sankaku Heart (1995, TV Asahi) as Ikuko Nanami
• Kakeochi no Susume (1995, TV Asahi) as Yui Uguisudani
• Kyoto Buried Treasure Legend Murder Case (1996, TBS)
• Appare Yorojuro (1996, NHK General) as Oren
• Hitorigurashi (1996, TBS) as Kyoko Nishijima
• Aoi Tori (1997, TBS) as Mikiko Akimoto
• Tsumetai Tsuki (1998, NTV) as Misaki Morishita
• Hitoribocchi no Kimi ni (1998, TBS) as Satomi Honda
• Kurage ga Nemuru Made (1998, SKY Perfect TV!) as Yoko Demachi (lead role)
• Shumatsukon (1999, TBS) as Tsukiko Asai (lead role), including a special in October 1999
• Black Jack: Organ Farm Ghost Bus (2000, TBS) as Reiko Sayama
• Densetsu no Kyoshi (2000, NTV) as Kinuka Jinguuji
• Hyakunen no Monogatari Part 2 (2000, TBS) as Yoshie Shimazaki
• Pure Soul (2001, NTV) as Kaoru Seta (lead role)
• Kongai Renai (2002, TV Asahi) as Mitsuru Yuasa (lead role)
• Umizaru (2002, Fuji TV) as Miharu Urabe, reprising the role in Umizaru 2 (2003)
• Densetsu no Madam (2003, Yomiuri TV) as Reiko Kozanji
• Last Present: Musume to Ikiru Saigo no Natsu (2004, NTV) as Yuri Momose
• Koisuru Karasawagi Drama Special: Aniki to Yobareta Onna (2004, NTV) as Sumiko Karino (lead role)
• Komyoga Tsuji (2006, NHK General) as Chacha (later Yodo-dono)
• Magerarenai Onna (2010, NTV) as Riko Osabe
• Hebi no Hito (2010, WOWOW) as Yoko Mitsube (lead role)
• 11 Moji no Satsujin (2011, Fuji TV) as Rikako Yuki (lead role)
• Dirty Mama! (2012, NTV) as Takako Maruoka (lead role)
• Watashi to Iu Unmei ni Tsuite (2014, WOWOW) as Aki Fuyuki (lead role)
• Sayonara Watashi (2014, NHK General) as Tomomi Hoshino (lead role)
• Ito no Mori no Ie (2015, NHK General, Kyushu/Okinawa region, later nationwide) as Kanako (lead role)
• Onna Sakka Mysteries: Utsukushiki Mittsu no Uso Episode 1 "Moonstone" (2016, Fuji TV) as Sayuri Oba (lead role)
• Keiji Ballerino (2016, NTV) as Azusa Fukahira
• Chinmoku Hotei (2017, WOWOW) as Miki Yamamoto (lead role)
• Mikazuki (2019, NHK General) as Chiaki Akasaka
• Princess Michiko-sama Monogatari: Shirarezaru Ai to Kunou no Kiseki (2019, Fuji TV) as Tokiko Hamamura (lead role)
• Ano Ie ni Kurasu Yonin no Onna (2019, TV Tokyo) as Yukino Taniyama
• Hidari Te Ippon no Shoot (2020, BS-TBS) as Kazume Tanaka
• Hankei 5 Meter (2021, NHK General) as Takarako Kameyama
• Kono Hana Sakuya (2022, NHK BS Premium) as Ayako Takeoka
• Maiagare! (2022-23, NHK General) as Megumi Iwakura
• Vanilla na Mainichi (scheduled 2025, NHK General) as Manami Sadoya

4.3. Web Dramas

Nagasaku has also extended her acting presence to digital platforms, appearing in web-based drama series. She was part of Modern Love Tokyo (2022), specifically in the episode "The 13 Days I Believed in Him," which was distributed on Amazon Prime Video.

4.4. Stage Appearances

Beyond her screen work, Nagasaku has performed in various stage productions, showcasing her versatility in live theatre. Her stage credits include:

• TIMESLIP Ougonmaru (1993)
• Stand by me (1994)
• Shimokita Beatniks (1996)
• Mizu Monogatari (One-Woman Show) (1997)
• Love Letters (1998)
• Oleanna (1999)
• Renai Gikyoku (2000)
• Ningen Fusha (2003)
• Futatabi no Koi (2003)
• LAST SHOW (2005)
• Dracul God Fearing Dracul (2007)
• Shiawase Saikou Arigatou Majide! (2008)
• Ame (2011)
• Shiren to Ragi (2012) as Shiren (lead role)
• Pluto (2015) as Uran / Helena (dual roles)
• Higuchi Ichiyo (2016, Theatre Creation) as Ichiyō Higuchi (lead role)
• A Doll's House Part 2 (2019) as Nora (lead role)
• Tsuki to Cinema 2023 (2023) as Machiko Takayama

4.5. Voice Acting and Dubbing

Nagasaku has lent her voice to several animated and dubbed projects. She provided the Japanese voice for K.W. in the 2010 Japanese dub of Where the Wild Things Are. She also voiced Chloe the cat in the Japanese dub of The Secret Life of Pets (2016) and reprised the role in its sequel, The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019).

5.1. Commercials

Nagasaku has been a prominent figure in Japanese television commercials (CMs) for numerous major brands across diverse sectors. Her commercial endorsements include:

• Toyota (Corolla Touring Wagon, TNGA STORY)
• OMMG (O-net)
• Sony Computer Entertainment (PlayStation)
• Recruit Holdings (Zexy)
• Tokiwa Pharmaceutical (Vegetable Water)
• Kao Corporation (Essential Damage Care)
• Kirin Beverage (Nama-cha)
• Shiseido (Richard Whity's, ELIXIR SUPERIEUR)
• Suntory (Sorekara)
• Gekkeikan (Tsuki)
• Daiwa House Industry (xevo)
• Otsuka Pharmaceutical (Nature Made)
• Nippon Ham (Shinseikatsu ZERO Sugar 0% Loin Ham)
• Lion Corporation (Smile 40EX)
• Sapporo Breweries (Sapporo Kin no Off)
• Kanebo Cosmetics (Coffret D'Or)
• Meiji (Premium Ice Cream Gran)
• Acom
• Coca-Cola Japan (Georgia Hot Georgia)
• Eisai (Chocola BB)
• SMEs Power Project (Chusho Kigyo kara Nippon o Genki ni Project)

5.2. Narration

Nagasaku has also worked as a narrator for various documentaries and television programs, lending her voice to enhance storytelling. Her narration credits include:

• Takeshi no Banbutsu Soushiki (1996, Asahi Broadcasting Corporation)
• Onnatachi no Beijing Olympic SP (2008, TBS)
• Kiseki no Chikyu Monogatari: Kinmirai Souzou Science (2009, TV Asahi)
• Tsuioku! AtoZ (2010, NHK General)
• Cosmic Front☆NEXT (2015-2018, NHK BS Premium)
• Supojikara! (2021, NHK BS1), where she narrated an episode on Kashima Antlers, a team from her hometown.
• The Nonfiction (Fuji TV), including episodes like "Tokyo, Taxi Story" (2021) and "Beloved One, Seeing Me Off" (2021).
• Sekai Fureai Machi Aruki (NHK BS/BS Premium 4K)

5.3. Television Programs

In addition to dramas and documentaries, Nagasaku has appeared in a range of variety shows, talk shows, and other non-scripted television programs. She was a regular panelist on Yomiuri TV's Oshiete! Galileo and TV Asahi's Hanakin Data H (1995-1996). She also served as a host for TV Tokyo's popular audition show ASAYAN from 1996 to 1998. In 2013, she provided narration for an episode of NTV's Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! titled "Gaki no Tsukai Graduation Sayonara Yamazaki Hōsei".

5.4. Publications

Nagasaku has authored a book and released several photo books, showcasing her creative endeavors beyond performance. Her book, Yauyau, was published in 2008. Her photo books include:

• Uk.asagan (1997, photographed by Ryu Hanabusa)
• Gekkan Hiromi Nagasaku (1998, photographed by Itaru Hirama)
• NAGASAKU BOXX (2001, photographed by Kazumi Kurigami and Sae Saito)

She has also been featured in the travel web magazine Tabiiro SELECTION since 2008.

8.1. Singles

8.2. Albums

The song "9:01PM" was used as the opening theme for the TV Tokyo program ASAYAN.