Actor Watanabe Ken (44) didn’t manage to win an Oscar, but he was thrilled just to have been the first Japanese nominated in 37 years, for his role in “The Last Samurai.” And he vowed that the Academy Awards hadn’t seen the last of him. “To be honest, I wanted the award,” he said after the ceremony. “I wanted to have a chance to stand on that stage and thank everyone in Japanese theater and movies.” The other Japanese nominee that didn’t quite make it was Yamada Yoji’s movie “Tasogare Seibei” (The Twilight Samurai) in the Best Foreign Feature category.
Monthly Archives: March 2004
From Momus to Mama
According to the latest edition of Flash magazine, former Morning Musume member Ichii Sayaka (20) is five months pregnant and on the verge of getting married. The couple were spotted moving to Ichii’s family home. Ichii left the mega-popular group in May 2000 and formed the trio Ichii Sayaka and Cubic Cross. Not one to avoid mixing business with pleasure, she is now hooked up with her guitarist, Yoshizawa Naoki (28). She officially retired from the music business last November.
Second Girl for Washio
Actress Washio Isako (35) has given birth to her second child. She and actor Nakamura Toru (38) already have a five-year old daughter. Nakamura is currently in rehearsals for a stage production to start next month. Washio regularly appears in TV commercials and magazines and plans to continue her career.
• Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke (64) has had to drop out of an Osaka production due to start next week for medical reasons. His part will be taken by Ichikawa Danjiro (35). Ennosuke was diagnosed late last year with a brain aneurism during a run at a Fukuoka theater and hospitalized for a month.