Kabuki actor Nakamura Shido (32) appeared at an event yesterday to promote the upcoming TV Tokyo period drama about the Tokugawa clan. Shido will play the role of legendary swordsman Yagyu Jubei in the second episode of the 3-part mini-series. The series tells of the power struggles that continued for 20 years after the sudden death of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who unified Japan after centuries of civil war. According to a statement from the management agency of actress Takeuchi Yuko (25), she and Shido recently moved into a new home in Tokyo and are eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child. The couple married in June.
• Another kabuki actor is also in the news. Yamauchi Takaya (33) is rumored to be romantically involved with the recently divorced actress Okina Megumi (26). When asked about the rumor at a PR event for an upcoming stage production, he just smiled. Okina, who divorced the president of an IT company in July, flatly denied the rumor through her agency, which is standard practice.
• Some big names known for their “cute” appeal are making a few bucks on the side. Hollywood actress Meg Ryan (49) is to appear in the new TV commercial for Nescafe Excella coffee from next month. World No.1 women’s tennis player Maria Sharapova (18) will appear in the commercials for Canon’s new range of digital cameras. They will go on air from August 26. And local girl Suzuki Ami (23) is to make her CM comeback after 4 years. Enjoying a resurgence in a career that saw her at the top of the idol singer pack in the late 1990s but almost disappear for several years, she will be the face of Internet shopping mall N’s Street.