Yoshiko Kuga

She was the wife of actor Akihiko Hirata.

• Name — Yoshiko Kuga • Native Name — 久我 美子 • Birth Name — Haruko Koga • Born — 21 January 1931 • Birthplace — Tokyo, Japan • Died — 9 June 2024 • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1947–2000

Kuga was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her father Marquess Michiaki Koga was a member of the House of Peers. In 1946, while still attending Gakushuin Junior High School, she became an actress for Toho studios.

In June 1946, Toho had sponsored a search for "new faces", choosing Kuga as one of 48 new actresses and actors from 4,000 applicants. In 1947, she made her debut as one of the lead actresses in the omnibus movie Yottsu no Koi no Monogatari. She was one of the actors active in the 1948 union strike at Toho studios. In the 1950s, she started working independently and starred in many productions of the Shochiku studios under the direction of Keisuke Kinoshita. She acted in The Woman in the Rumor by Kenji Mizoguchi, in Equinox Flower by Yasujirō Ozu, and in An Inlet of Muddy Water by Tadashi Imai. In 1954, she co-founded the film production company Ninjin Club (Bungei purodakushon Ninjin Kurabu) with actresses Keiko Kishi and Ineko Arima to enable better working conditions for actors within the studio system. Since the 1970s, she appeared mainly on television and on stage.

Kuga was married to actor Akihiko Hirata from 1961 until his death in 1984.

She died from aspiration pneumonia on 9 June 2024, at the age of 93.

• 1974–1975: Karei-naru Ichizoku (NET)