Makiko Esumi is a former Japanese model, actress, writer, essayist, and lyricist. Esumi is most well known for her role as Chinatsu Tsuboi in the Japanese television drama seriesShomuni. Esumi won the 1995 Rookie of the Year Award at both the 19th Annual Japan Academy Prize ceremonies and at the 38th Blue Ribbon Awards for her role in the 1995 film Maborosi. She was nominated in 2002 for the Best Actress Award at the 26th Annual Japan Academy Prize ceremonies for her role in Inochi. In 2000, she released her single, One Way Drive, featuring guitar work and production by Tomoyasu Hotei, who also co-wrote the song with Esumi. She wrote a children's book in 2005. Esumi is married to Fuji TV director Shin Hirano and is distantly related to Koji Ezumi, a goalkeeper for Omiya Ardija. She was previously married to photographer Rowland Kirishima. She gave birth in 2005 to her first daughter, with her second due to be born in December 2009. She is represented by the talent management firm Ken-On.
History
While a high school student, Esumi worked as a miko at Izumo-taisha. After graduating from high school, she signed with the Japan Tobacco Women's Volleyball team. She was injured in 1989 while playing and decided to pursue a career in show business after watching actress and singer Miki Imai on television while recovering in the hospital. She then focused on a career as a fashion model. In 1995, Esumi made her acting debut as Yumiko in Maborosi, a film directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle gave her acting high praise, describing it as "extraordinary" and stating she played the role with "delicacy and physical grace". Esumi won the Rookie of the Year Award at both the 19th Annual Japan Academy Prize ceremonies and at the 38th Blue Ribbon Awards for her role in Maborosi. Esumi married photographer Rowland Kirishima in February 1996, though they divorced only nine months later. After her scandal in which she cheated on her husband while he was on a Business Trip. Her affair with a young Japanese actor was widely covered by the media. She is probably best known for her leading role as the rebellious office lady Tsuboi Chinatsu in the Shomuni series of TV dramas, the first of which aired on Fuji TV from April to July 1998. A second series aired from April to June 2000, with a third airing from July to September 2002. Several specials were also produced. Esumi made her singing debut on 26 April 2000 with the release of her One Way Drive single. The title song was used as the ending theme to the second Shomuni series, with the lyrics by Esumi and the music by guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei. Esumi was described as "stunning" in her lead role of Stray Cat in the 2001 Pistol Opera, one of Seijun Suzuki last films. She was nominated in 2002 for the Best Actress Award at the 26th Annual Japan Academy Prize ceremonies for her role in Inochi. Esumi and Fuji TV director Shin Hirano were married in 2003. That same year, she began appearing in Japanese government television and print advertisements encouraging the public to make their pension contributions, but started a small scandal in 2004 when it was reported that she was not making those same pension contributions herself. She stated that she thought she had been making the payments, and then corrected the issue by becoming current on her contributions. Esumi's image was removed from the ads at the direction of the Social Insurance Agency after the scandal broke. Her eldest daughter was born in February 2005, and a second daughter was announced in July 2009 as due to be born in December. Esumi wrote a personal note about this announcement which her talent agency subsequently published on their site. In a 20 May 2007 article in the Asahi Shimbun, Esumi revealed that her younger brother had died at the age of 36 the previous May of complications due to cancer.
Esumi has released two artistic nude photo books: Esumi in October 1996 ; and E-Mode in November 1999. She has also published two works of literature: an autobiography titled Moeru Gomi, published in December 1997 and reprinted in July 1999 ; and an essay titled Mō, Mayowanai Seikatsu, published in March 2006.
