Ayako Fujitani

Ayako Fujitani (藤谷文子 "Fujitani Ayako"; b. 7 December 1979 in Osaka, Japan).

A writer and actress, she is the daughter of Steven Seagal and his first wife, aikido master Miyako Fujitani.

Is fluent in English and Japanese.

Ayako currently stars in Michel Gondry's "Interior Design", one of three stories comprised in "Tôkyô!" (2008).

Despite popular belief that her fame is a mere result of her father's influence, Ayako has earned attention in her own right from a young age, and has since proven her unique talents in both acting and writing.

At age 12, Ayako's looks and martial arts skills enabled her to win the "Asian Beauty Contest", held in commemoration of the Japanese release of the film "Police Story 3".

At age 13 she became the 6th girl to lead the prestigious "Mitsui ReHouse" advertising campaign. This sparked off her career as a model, featuring regularly in magazines and television commecials.

An avid fan of film, she made her screen debut and appeared in the sequels of the Heisei "Gamera" (1995-1999) series, after a chance meeting at a film festival with director Shusuke Kaneko. She worked again with him on an episode he directed of "Ultraman Max".

After spending a few teenage years in Los Angeles studying acting and English, Ayako began to write for the Japanese magazine "Roadshow". Her literary skills became more evident with the publication of her coupled novellas "Touhimu (Flee-Dream)" and "Yakeinu (Burnt Dog)". The former is often incorrectly referred to as semi-biographical, though it is a completely fictional story of a young suicidal girl trying to make sense of life, death, family, and love. The latter is the story of the relationship between a man and the girl he has raised in his cellar.

Ayako has since established herself as an accomplished writer in Japan of both fiction and non-fiction, regularly contributing essays and short stories to various national publications.

After returning to Japan, Ayako co-adapted "Touhimu (Flee-Dream)" into the film "Shiki-Jitsu" (2000) with writer and director Hideaki Anno, of "Evangelion" and "Love & Pop" fame. She also stars in the title role. Being the first non-animated feature released by Studio Ghibli (under the Studio Kajino label), "Shiki-Jitsu" won the Artistic Award at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival, was officially invited to the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and co-stars "Swallowtail Butterfly" director Shunji Iwai.

Ayako has also displayed musical talent, being a member of the band "Father's Girls", and in 2006 she directed a short drama for TV Tokyo's "Drama Factory" program. Being raised in Osaka, which is commonly referred to as the comedy capital of Japan, she is also renowned for her keen sense of humor.

Despite being relatively unknown to non-Japanese audiences, she has also been featured in the French film "Sansa" (2003).

She is currently busy writing her next novels.

Filmography

* "Tokyo!" (2008)
* "Death of Domomata" (2008)
* "Shaolin Sakka" "(Shaolin Writer)" (2008)
* "Captain Tokyo" (2007)
* "Private Detective No.5" (2006)
* "Ikusa" (2005)
* "Sansa" (2003)
* "Maguro no Shippo (A Tuna Fin)" (2000)
* "Shiki-Jitsu" (2000)
* "" (1999)
* "The Patriot (1998)
* "" (1996)
* "Musashi" (1995)
* "" (1995)

Theatrical Works

* "The Black Cat" (December 2008)
* "Kung Fu John" (2007)
* "ROPE" (2006)
* "Hiking For Human Life" (2005)

Literary Works

* "Touhimu (Flee-Dream)" (novella,coupled with "Yakeinu" (Burnt Dog)")
* "Roadshow" (entertainment magazine, regular column "Hollwood Report")
* "Pee Wee" (fashion magazine, regular column "Expressionist Walking")
* "Eiga Hihou" (entertainment magazine, regular column "Ayako Fujitani's Silver Screen Stuff")
* "Re:S" (art magazine, regular short story column "Memos on Life")

External links

* [http://www.ayablue.com/ ayablue] (Official Site)
*imdb|id=0297858|name=Ayako Fujitani
* [http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p0428660.htm Profile at JMDb] ja icon
* [http://www.kensforce.com/Ayako_Fujitani.html Ken's Force review of "Shikijitsu"]
* [http://www.kfccinema.com/reviews/kaiju/gamera/gamera.html KFC Cinema review of "Gamera"]