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Ayako Fujitani

Ayako Fujitani (藤谷文子 Fujitani Ayako; b. 7 December 1979 in Osaka, Japan). A writer and actress, she is the daughter of Steven Seagal and his first wife, aikido master Miyako Fujitani. Is fluent in English and Japanese. Ayako currently stars in Michel Gondry's Interior Design, one of three stories comprised in Tôkyô! (2008). Despite popular belief that her fame is a mere result of her father's influence, Ayako has earned attention in her own right from a young age, and has since proven her unique talents in both acting and writing. At age 12, Ayako's looks and martial arts skills enabled her to win the Asian Beauty Contest, held in commemoration of the Japanese release of the film Police Story 3. At age 13 she became the 6th girl to lead the prestigious Mitsui ReHouse advertising campaign. This sparked off her career as a model, featuring regularly in magazines and television commecials. An avid fan of film, she made her screen debut and appeared in the sequels of the Heisei 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. 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. Ayako has since established herself as an accomplished writer in Japan of both fiction and non-fiction, regularly contributing essays and short stories to various national publications. After returning to Japan, Ayako co-adapted Touhimu (Flee-Dream) into the film Shiki-Jitsu (2000) with writer and director Hideaki Anno, of Evangelion and Love & Pop fame. She also stars in the title role. Being the first non-animated feature released by Studio Ghibli (under the Studio Kajino label), Shiki-Jitsu won the Artistic Award at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival, was officially invited to the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and co-stars Swallowtail Butterfly director Shunji Iwai. Ayako has also displayed musical talent, being a member of the band Father's Girls, and in 2006 she directed a short drama for TV Tokyo's Drama Factory program. Being raised in Osaka, which is commonly referred to as the comedy capital of Japan, she is also renowned for her keen sense of humor. Despite being relatively unknown to non-Japanese audiences, she has also been featured in the French film Sansa (2003). She is currently busy writing her next novels. (more)

Type: person

Genres: entertainment, movies

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