The Shochiku movie studio announced this week that SMAP star Kimura Takuya (32) is to play the lead in the latest samurai movie by director Yamada Yoji (69). In “Bushi no Ichibun,” Kimutaku will have his first period drama role, as Mimura Shinnosuke, a retainer to a feudal lord who loses his sight after tasting poison intended for his master. He loses his job, and his wife seeks the help of a powerful local bureaucrat. But she is raped, leading Shinnosuke to plot his revenge. The movie is Yamada’s third samurai flick after many years directing the “Otoko wa Tsurai Yo” series. He received an Academy Award nomination for “Tasogare Seibei” (Twilight Samurai) in 2004, the year he made “Kakushi Ken, Oni no Tsume” (The Samurai’s Hidden Sword).
• Actor and model Shoei (31) is engaged to freelance announcer Abe Wakako (31), it was announced yesterday. The athletic Shoei, who became an overnight star several years ago when he appeared on the TBS “Muscle Ranking” TV show, has chosen the Taiiku no Hi (Sports Day, October 10) national holiday to register their marriage. Abe is a 3rd-dan in kendo and also a proficient swimmer and skater. The couple are both busy so the wedding ceremony and reception will have to wait until next year. Shoei has a regular part as a ninja on the long-running period drama series “Mito Komon,” while Abe has several regular TV and radio jobs in the the Fukushima Prefecture area. They are said to have first met four years ago on a local TV show but romance didn’t bloom until the autumn of last year. They have been living together in Tokyo since June.
• Appearing at a book signing for her latest collection of essays, actress Kuroki Hitomi denied that she and her husband are separated. Wednesday was her 45th birthday, but she still hardly looks a day over 30, which is part of the secret to her huge popularity among people of all ages. She won a literary award in April for an essay on life with her 44-year old ad-man husband and their 7-year old daughter.