is a Japanese actress. She has won three Japanese Academy Awards: the 2000 Best Actress award for Railroad Man, and the 1979 awards for both Best Actress for The Incident, and Best Supporting Actress for Seishoku no ishibumi. She also won the award for best actress at the 12th Hochi Film Award for Eien no 1/2. At the 25th Moscow International Film Festival she won the award for Best Actress for her role in Owl. She has received a total of twelve nominations.
She was the favoured lead actress of director Kaneto Shindo after his previous lead actress, Nobuko Otowa, died in 1994, and featured in four of his films from Will to Live (1999) and Postcard (2011).
Otake has also acted on the stage. She performed during the last segment of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Closing Ceremony along Tokyo’s Suginami Children Chorus, singing the song "Hoshimeguri no Uta" (Star Tour Song) composed by Kenji Miyazawa, as the Olympic flame was extinguished. Otake had a leading role of Dr. Ruth Wolff in a Japanese stage adaptation of The Doctor (2021).
Personal life
Otake was born and grew up mostly in Tokyo. In 1982 she married Seiji Hattori, a Tokyo Broadcasting director who died in 1987. One year later, Otake married Akashiya Sanma, but got divorced in 1992. In the early 1990s Otake lived with playwright Hideki Noda.
Otake has two children, Nichika, a son by Hattori and Imaru, a daughter by Sanma. After her divorce she kept custody.
Filmography Film Year Film RoleNotes1975The Gate of Youth Orie Maki1976The Human Revolution 2 Nobuko1977The Gate of Youth Part 2 Orie MakiTora-san Plays Cupid 1978The Demon The Incident Seishoku no ishibumi 1979Nomugi Pass Mine MasaiLead role Oh, My son! 1980Twelve Months Anja (voice)Lead role 1983Children of Nagasaki 1984Mahjong Hōrōki Mayumi1985The Empty Table 1986Beyond the Shining Sea 1987Eien no 1/2 Lead role1992Original Sin Nami TsuchiyaLead role 1993Rex: A Dinosaur's Story Naomi Ito1996Five Women 1998Gakko III: The New Voyage 1999Railroad Man Shizue SatōThe Black House Will to Live 2000Shiki-Jitsu 2001Go 2003Like Asura Lead roleOwl Lead role 2004Otakus in Love 2007Kitokito! Lead roleInto the Faraway Sky Welcome to the Quiet Room Nishino2010My Darling is a Foreigner Arrietty Homily (voice)Surely Someday Here Comes the Bride, My Mom! Yōko MoriiLead role2011Postcard Lead role2013Before the Vigil Leaving on the 15th Spring The Wind Rises Mrs. Kurokawa (voice)2015The Mourner Pieta in the Toilet Our Little Sister Galaxy Turnpike 2016Black Widow Business Sayoko TakeuchiLead roleSanada 10 Braves Yodo-dono2017Mary and the Witch's Flower Charlotte (voice)2018Flea-picking Samurai Osuzu2019Shadowfall Naomi Makabe2021Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko Nikuko (voice)Lead roleThe House of the Lost on the Cape Kiwa (voice)2022Hell DogsNoriko Kinugasa2023The Boy and the Heron Aiko (voice)2024Who Were We?Kii2025Tokyo TaxiKeiko (voice)2027Boke BiyoriChiharu TorikaiLead role
Television Year Title Role Network1975Mizuiro no Toki Tomoko MatsumiyaLead role; Asadora1977Kashin OsatoTaiga dramaTaiyō ni Hoero! Yōko HamadaEpisode 2761980Shishi no Jidai ChiyoTaiga drama1983Tokugawa Ieyasu Odai no KataTaiga drama1986Seven Men and Women, Summer Story Momoko Kanzaki1987Seven Men and Women, Autumn Story Momoko Kanzaki1994The Misery of Others is as Sweet as Honey Mayuko KurebayashiLead role1999Genroku Ryōran RikuTaiga drama2011Gō Kōdai-inTaiga drama2017I'm Sorry, I Love You Reiko Hyūga2019Idaten Ikue IkebeTaiga drama2022The 13 Lords of the Shogun MikoTaiga drama2023What Will You Do, Ieyasu? Ōkurakyō no TsuboneTaiga drama; cameo
Dubbing Live-action Cats, Old Deuteronomy (Judi Dench) West Side Story (1979 TBS edition), Maria (Natalie Wood)
Animation Inside Out, Sadness Inside Out 2, Sadness
Commercials In 2012, she became a representative for NTT DoCoMo's "Raku-Raku Smartphone", a smartphone aimed at the over-55s.
Honours Kinuyo Tanaka Award (1992) Medal with Purple Ribbon (2011)
References
External links