I can’t believe she ended her career this way…”
It has been a long time since Ryoko Yonekura (50), one of Japan’s greatest actresses, disappeared from the public eye. According to Bunshun Online, on August 20, a raid by the so-called Matri, the Narcotics Control Department of the Kanto Shinetsu Health and Welfare Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, on Yonekura’s apartment on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Law resulted in the seizure of illegal drugs and equipment used in the search. Since then, Yonekura has cancelled all of her scheduled appearances at events, stopped updating her SNS, and is no longer even known. There have been no further reports on the drug case since the Bunshun report, and it is unclear whether the investigation is progressing. This has left fans feeling anxious. Yonekura says it’s a complex for her, but… her “divine legs” are still amazing. Although the truth of the matter is still unknown, many people who have seen glimpses of Yonekura’s personality in her work say that it would be too bad if her career were to end in this way after working so hard. One veteran writer said that he could not forget certain words he heard from her more than 20 years ago. At the time, Yonekura was just before 30 years old. She had not yet broken new ground with her role in “Black Leather Notebook” (2004, TV Asahi), and she had a strong impression of being an idol actress. So she herself must have felt impatient. When we asked her what she thought about marriage and childbirth, I strongly remember her repeating over and over, “I can’t have a baby now, I can’t have a baby now. She seemed to feel painfully that if she stopped working now because of childbirth, she could easily be replaced by someone else. But seeing that she got married at the age of 39 as if she was rushing into it, I don’t think she never had the desire to do so. After your divorce, you seemed to have blown it out of the water and went on to work even harder. そんなふうに、いろんなものを犠牲にして必死の思いで築いたキャリアだっただけに、こんな形で突然終わってしまうのかと思うと気の毒で気の毒で……」
◆「これから一回りも二回りも大きくなる人」
彼女の飾らない人柄も、関係者 Her unpretentious personality seems to be one of the reasons why those in the know lament the abrupt end of her career. As some articles have written, Yonekura is not a “strong woman,” unlike her image. Despite her good looks, she has low self-esteem, and in interviews, she always expresses her complexes. She is not modest, but rather she is very frank, saying things like, “I don’t have beautiful legs, I have O-shaped legs, and even my knees are too short. Yonekura is an honest person, and I don’t mean to say this, but she can be a bit careless at times. She cannot mend herself with appropriate niceties, but rather reveals her true feelings. It makes me wonder if it is safe for me to talk about such things with him. I am worried that I am talking about such a thing. I have watched her straightforward and somewhat clumsy way of life for a long time, so I am truly saddened by what has happened to her. When I ask my students about Ms. Yonekura, they say, ‘She has a great artistic ability on the screen,’ and ‘I respect her as a woman. I think Yonekura is a person who has faced many adversities in her life, but has risen to the occasion and carved out a life for herself, and has shown viewers and audiences what she is like. That is why there is an irreplaceable exhilaration in Yonekura’s performance. Especially in “Doctor X” (TV Asahi), the power of the three women, producer Seiko Uchiyama and screenwriter Miho Nakazono, made Yonekura’s performance as a lone wolf among men who are driven by power, right and left, even more exhilarating. And I think it also led to the words of his student.” Although “Doctor X” tends to feature “I Never Fail,” Kageyama says he finds Yonekura attractive in other ways. I loved the scene where, after the surgery, when the patient is still asleep under anesthesia, she touches the patient’s body and gazes lovingly at his face. In terms of movement and stillness, Yonekura Ryoko is the still one. Another glimpse of Yonekura’s future potential came in “Angel Flight” (Amazon Prime Video). In the same film, Yonekura played the role of following and watching over her subordinate, Ms. Hoka Matsumoto. Yonekura, who until now had the image of pushing forward without regard to her surroundings, slowed down in a good way and showed a performance of being considerate of others while keeping a close eye on her surroundings. This was something that showed the potential of Ms. Yonekura, who is now in her 50s. The truth of the “raid report” is still in the dark. All we can do is wait for her to tell us the truth. However, it seems certain that she is an actress too good to be left behind. FRIDAY Digital is looking forward to receiving information and tips from you. Please send your information to the following information form or to official X. Information Form: https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/tips Official X: https://x.com/FRIDAY_twit Interview and text by Nanako
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