Yōko Narahashi

• Name — Yoko Narahashi • Native Name — 奈良橋 陽子 • Born — 17 June 1947 • Birthplace — Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan • Education — International Christian University • Occupation — * Casting director • film producer • lyricist

Born in Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan, Narahashi moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1952 at the age of five when her father got a job at the International Civil Aviation Organization. She returned to Japan a decade later to attend International Christian University in Mitaka, Tokyo. In 1967, she returned to New York City where she studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. Returning again to Japan, Narahashi founded two companies. The first was an English conversation school (Eikaiwa), Model Language Studio (MLS), which taught English through theater. The school now has branches in 34 countries. The second was a production and management company, United Performers' Studio (UPS), based on the Actors Studio in New York City. In 1998, she served as the founding director of UPS Academy, a method acting school geared towards foreign actors. Narahashi was once married to Johnny Nomura, the producer behind the popular Japanese band Godiego. She wrote the lyrics to the songs Gandhara, The Galaxy Express 999 and Holy and Bright, as well as the lyrics for The Glacier Fox soundtrack. Nomura and Narahashi have since been divorced.

• Year — Film — Credits • 1976 — The Youth Killer — Lyrics • 1978 — The Glacier Fox — Lyrics • 1989 — Cipher — Dialogue Director, Dialogue Translator, Interviewer (voice) • 1995 — The Winds of God — Director (Won "Best New Director" at the Japan Film Critics Awards) • 2003 — The Last Samurai — Associate Producer, Casting Associate • 2005 — Memoirs of a Geisha — Actress (Mameha's Maid), Japan Liaison • 2006 — Babel — Casting Director • 2008 — The Ramen Girl — Casting Director • 2012 — Emperor — Producer • 2013 — 47 Ronin — Casting Associate • 2013 — The Wolverine — Casting Director • 2024 — Touch — Actress (Miko)