is a Japanese actress and model. She made her film debut as Shiori Tsuda in Shunji Iwai's 2001 film All About Lily Chou-Chou. She subsequently portrayed Tetsuko Arisugawa in Hana and Alice (2004), also directed by Iwai, Kimiko Tanigawa in the hula dancing film Hula Girls and Hagumi Hanamoto in the 2006 live-action adaptation of the Honey and Clover manga series.
She has won numerous awards for her performances on screen, including the Japan Academy Prize and Kinema Junpo Awards for best supporting actress in 2007 for Hula Girls and Rookie of the Year for continued performances in the field of Films in Media and Fine Arts by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan in 2009.
Early life Aoi was born on August 17, 1985, in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. She moved to Tokyo in junior high school and lived in Kasai, Edogawa ward.
Career Early career Yu Aoi made her stage debut as Polly in the 1999 rendition of Annie, followed by her appearance as a regular on TV Tokyo's Oha Suta (The Super Kids Station) in 2000. A year later, she debuted in Shunji Iwai's All About Lily Chou-Chou playing Shiori Tsuda alongside Hayato Ichihara, Shugo Oshinari, Miwako Ichikawa, and Ayumi Ito. Aoi would later work in Ao to Shiro de Mizuiro and Gaichu with friend Aoi Miyazaki. With her first roles on the small and big screen came TV commercials and endorsements for Sony, Yamaha, DoCoMo, Toshiba and Coca-Cola.
In 2003, commemorating the 30th anniversary of Kit Kat in Japan, Shunji Iwai shot a series of short films starring Yu Aoi and Anne Suzuki, which later was expanded into the feature film called Hana & Alice, which earned Aoi the Best Actress award at the Japanese Professional Movie Award.
2005–2007 In 2005, Aoi played her first lead on the big screen in Letters from Kanai Nirai, which was sold in Korea with the alternate title of Aoi Yu's Letter due to her popularity. She also had supporting roles in the Satoshi Miki film Turtles Swim Faster than Expected starring Juri Ueno, and Yamato with Shido Nakamura and Kenichi Matsuyama. This supporting role would earn her one of her double-nomination as Best Supporting Actress at the 2007 Japanese Academy Award. She won against herself for her work as Kimiko Tanikawa in the Japanese hit Hula Girls, which was sent to the Academy Awards as the Japanese official selection that year.
To this date, her role as the hula dancing girl from small town Iwaki remains her most successful role yet, earning her a dozen awards as Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, alongside her other smaller roles that year as Hagu in Honey & Clover, and Kana Sato in the Shunji-Iwai-produced and Nirai-Kanai-directed Rainbow Song. Aoi also lent her voice to play Shiro in the animated film Tekkon Kinkreet, the adaptation to the Taiyō Matsumoto manga, Black and White, directed by Michael Arias.
During these years, she made commercials for Nintendo, Canon, Shiseido Cosmetics, Shueisha Publishing, Kirin Beverage and continued endorsing DoCoMo. Aoi also released two photobooks with Yoko Takahashi as photographer, and distributed by Rockin'on: Travel Sand in 2005 and Dandelion in 2007.
In 2007, she participated in the live-action adaptation of the manga series Mushishi alongside Joe Odagiri, as well as WOWOW's Don't Laugh at My Romance, Welcome to the Quiet Room with Yuki Uchida, and going back to the stage to play Desdemona in a rendition of Shakespeare's Othello. For these last two roles, Aoi lost 7 kg for her role as eating disorder patient, Miki.
2008–present
Aoi began 2008 with the release of Don't Laugh at My Romance, which earned her a nomination as Best Supporting Actress at the Asian Film Awards 2009. She appeared in the experimental drama Camouflage (aka. Aoi Yu x 4 Lies), in which she collaborated with four different directors exploring the theme of lies. The series lasted for 12 episodes, and included work with Ryō Kase, Yoichi Nukumizu, Shoko Ikezu, Nobuhiro Yamashita, and Yuki Tanada.
A couple of months later, NTV signed Aoi to play her first TV leading role as Handa Sen in the live-action adaptation of Shota Kikuchi's manga series Osen, which aired until the end of June with ten episodes.
Next, Aoi released One Million Yen Girl written and directed by Camouflage director Yuki Tanada, and also released by WOWOW. This was her latest leading film role since Nirai Kanai in 2005. She briefly participated in the Japanese World-War-II-jury-themed film Best Wishes for Tomorrow, as well as the international Tokyo! - a three-short-film collection by Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon Ho.
In 2009, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan named Yu Aoi Rookie of the Year in the field of Films in Media and Fine Arts, citing her work in her film debut in All About Lily Chou Chou, until her work in One Million Yen Girl. Later that year, Aoi provided the voice of Ikechan in the film Ikechan and Me, a live-action adaptation of the picture book of the same name by Rieko Saibara, as well as playing supporting roles in Honokaa Boy and Yoji Yamada's Ototo. The following year Aoi starred in Ryūichi Hiroki's 2010 film The Lightning Tree. She later appeared in Vampire, Rurouni Kenshin, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2012 television drama Penance.
Personal life Aoi married comedian Ryota Yamasato on June 3, 2019. On February 10, 2022, they announced that she was pregnant with their first child and due in the summer. On August 10, 2022, Yamasato revealed that Aoi had given birth to their daughter.
Filmography
Film Year Title RoleNotes2001All About Lily Chou-ChouShiori Tsuda2002Kinema Tōri no HitobitoHikariHarmful InsectNatsuko YamaokaHashire! Kettamashin: Wedding Kyosō KyokuLeadMusical2003Worst by ChanceHarada's girlfriend1980Rika Hashiba2004Hana and AliceTetsuko "Alice" ArisugawaLead roleMask de 41Haruka KuramochiSea CatMiya Noda2005Tetsujin 28: The MovieMami TachibanaTurtles Swim Faster Than ExpectedKujaku OgitaniLetters from Nirai KanaiFuki AsatoLead roleShining Boy & Little RandyEmi MurakamiHenshinKei HamuraJukaiHarumiYamatoTaeko2006Honey and CloverHagumi HanamotoHula GirlsKimiko TanikawaTekkon KinkreetWhite (voice)Rainbow SongKana SatoSugar and SpiceCameo2007MushishiTanyuWelcome to the Quiet RoomMiki2008Sex Is No Laughing MatterEn-ChanBest Wishes for TomorrowKazuko MoribeOne Million Yen GirlSuzuko SatoLead roleTokyo!Pizza delivery girlSegment Shaking Tokyo 2009Honokaa BoyKaoruGood Bye, My Secret FriendIkechan (voice)2010About Her BrotherKoharu TakanoFlowersRinLead roleThe Lightning TreeYūLead roleRedlineSonoshee (voice)2011Patisserie Coin de rueNatsume UsubaLead roleVampireMinaBy ChanceTravelerLead role2012Fukushima Hula Girls NarrationRurouni KenshinMegumi Takani2013Tokyo FamilyNoriko MamiyaSpace Pirate Captain HarlockMiime (voice)2014Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto InfernoMegumi TakaniRurouni Kenshin: The Legend EndsMegumi TakaniClimbing to SpringAi Takazawa2015The Case of Hana & AliceTetsuko "Alice" Arisugawa (voice)Lead roleJourney to the ShoreTomoko2016Over the FenceSatoshi TamuraJapanese Girls Never DieHaruko AzumiLead roleWhat a Wonderful Family!Noriko Mamiya2017What a Wonderful Family! 2Noriko HirataTokyo GhoulRize KamishiroMixed DoublesYoBirds Without NamesTowakoLead role2018What a Wonderful Family! 3: My Wife, My LifeNoriko HirataPenguin HighwayLady (voice) KillingYū2019MiyamotoYasuko NakanoA Long GoodbyeFumi HigashiLead roleChildren of the SeaRuka's mother (voice)They Say Nothing Stays the SameA geisha2020Romance DollSonokoLead roleOra, Ora Be Goin' AloneYoung MomokoWife of a SpySatoko FukuharaLead role2021Rurouni Kenshin: The FinalMegumi Takani2022Dr. Coto's Clinic 2022 Mina NakaiCameo2023Sylvanian Families the Movie: A Gift from FreyaTeri Chocolate (voice)2025Soreike! Anpanman: Chapon no Hero! Chapon (voice)How Dare You?KeikoMeets the WorldYukiTokyo TaxiSumire (young)2027In My Father's RoomSatomi HashimaLead role
Television Year Title RoleNotes2001Ao to Shiro to Mizuiro Kimiko ShiinaTV movie2002Ukiwa - Shōnen-tachi no Natsu Miyuki YamashitaTV movieShin Zukkoke SanningumiMegumi2003High School TeacherMami EzawaEngimonoKoyomiMini-series 14 Months17-year-old Yūko Igarashi 2004Ichiban Taisetsu na Dēto Tokyo no Sora- Shanghai no YumeKaoriYo ni mo Kimyō na Monogatari: Kako kara no NikkiYurie KotajimaShort drama Nanako and Nanao: The Day They Became Sister and Brother NanakoLead role; TV movie2005Tiger & DragonRisaTwenty-Four EyesKotoe KatagiriTV movieTrilogia: Bitter SweetSayakaLead role; short drama2006Dr. Coto's Clinic 2006Mina Nakai2008CamouflageChika / Makoto/ Umeko / SuzukoLead roleOsenSen HandaLead role2010RyōmadenOmotoTaiga drama2012PenanceSae KikuchiMini-series 2013Galileo Season 2Atsuko Kanbara Episode 8Mottomo Tooi GingaAkane Mini-series2014Mozu Season 2Shiori NanamiAll About My SiblingsAzusa2015Stitch! Perfect MemoryTila-3000 (voice)TV special2017Dr. RintarōYumenoHello, Detective HedgehogSetsuko Kawai2018Miyamoto kara Kimi e Yasuko Nakano2020Wife of a Spy Satoko FukuharaLead role; TV movie2021Shikatanakatta to Iute wa Ikan no desuFusako ToriiTV movie2023Boogie WoogieReiko YamatoAsadora2025AsuraTakikoLead role2026Human VaporKyoko KonoLead roleUntil the T-shirt DriesSakikoLead role
Stage Zipang Punk: Goemon Rock III (2014), Silver Cat Eyes
Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work(s) Result200514th Japan Film Professional AwardsBest ActressHana and Alice200631st Hochi Film AwardsBest Supporting ActressHula Girls, Honey and Clover19th Nikkan Sports Film AwardsBest NewcomerHula Girls200726th Zenkoku Eiren AwardsBest Supporting Actress31st Elan d'or AwardsNewcomer of the YearHerself 61st Mainichi Film AwardsBest Supporting ActressHula Girls, Rainbow Song, Honey and Clover80th Kinema Junpo AwardsBest Supporting Actress49th Blue Ribbon AwardsBest ActressHula Girls, Honey and Clover28th Yokohama Film FestivalBest Actress30th Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Supporting ActressHula GirlsYamatoNewcomer of the Year Hula Girls20093rd Asian Film AwardsBest Supporting ActressDon't Laugh at My Romance201023rd Nikkan Sports Film AwardsBest Supporting ActressAbout Her Brother201134th Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Supporting Actress5th Asian Film AwardsBest Supporting Actress201437th Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Supporting ActressTokyo Family8th Asian Film AwardsBest Supporting Actress201742nd Hochi Film AwardsBest ActressBirds Without Names30th Nikkan Sports Film AwardsBest Actress201839th Yokohama Film FestivalBest Actress60th Blue Ribbon AwardsBest Actress41st Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Actress91st Kinema Junpo AwardsBest Actress12th Osaka Cinema FestivalBest Actress12th Asian Film AwardsBest Actress201932nd Nikkan Sports Film AwardsBest ActressA Long Goodbye, Miyamoto 2020Elle Cinema Awards 2020Elle Best ActressWife of a Spy and others74th Mainichi Film AwardsBest ActressMiyamotoKinuyo Tanaka AwardHerself 62nd Blue Ribbon AwardsBest ActressA Long Goodbye33rd Nikkan Sports Film AwardsBest ActressWife of a Spy202140th Zenkoku Eiren AwardsBest Actress75th Mainichi Film AwardsBest Actress 63rd Blue Ribbon AwardsBest Actress15th Asian Film AwardsBest Actress202649th Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Supporting ActressTokyo Taxi
References
External links