Yoko Narahashi

Yoko Narahashi (奈良橋陽子, Yoko Narahashi, born June 17, 1947) is a prominent Japanese casting director and film producer.[1] She gained prominence due to her involvement with The Last Samurai, Babel, and Memoirs of a Geisha.[2][3] The Japan Times, the only independent English-language newspaper in Japan, referred to her as an "all-round interpreter of Japan for U.S. movies".[4]

Yoko Narahashi
Born17 June 1947
Ichikawa, Chiba
NationalityJapan
Alma materInternational Christian University
OccupationCasting Director
Film Producer

Biography

Born in Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan, Narahashi moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1952 at the age of five when her father got a job at the International Civil Aviation Organization.[5] She returned to Japan a decade later to attend International Christian University in Mitaka, Tokyo. In 1967, she returned to New York City where she studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre .[6]

Returning again to Japan, Narahashi founded two companies. The first was an English conversation school (Eikaiwa), Model Language Studio (MLS), which taught English through theater. The school now has branches in 34 countries.[5] The second was a production and management company, United Performers' Studio (UPS), based on the Actors Studio in New York City.[1][7] In 1998, she served as the founding director of UPS Academy, a method acting school geared towards foreign actors.[6]

Narahashi was once married to Johnny Nomura, the producer behind the popular Japanese band Godiego. She wrote the lyrics for Gandhara, The Galaxy Express 999, and Holy and Bright. They have since been divorced.[4]

Selected filmography
YearFilmCredits
2013The WolverineCasting Director
2012EmperorProducer
201347 RoninCasting Associate
2008The Ramen GirlCasting Director
2006BabelCasting Director
2005Memoirs of a GeishaActress, Japan Liaison
2003The Last SamuraiAssociate Producer, Casting Associate
1995The Winds of GodDirector (Won "Best New Director" at the Japan Film Critics Awards)
1989CipherDialogue Director, Dialogue Translator, Interviewer (voice)

References
  1. YOKO NARAHASHI Chopsticks New York
  2. Metropolis - News & Features | Yoko Narahashi
  3. Gallery: Producers Eugene Nomoura, Yoko Narahashi and Gary Foster — New Zealand: Inspiring Filmmakers Archived May 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  4. From Hollywood to Hirohito | The Japan Times
  5. United Performers' Studio Archived June 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ÆàÎɶ¶ÍÛ»Ò ¸ø¼°¥Ö¥í¥° ¥×¥í¥Õ¥£¡¼¥ë - GREE
  7. United Performers' Studio Archived August 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
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