Eisaku Yoshida talks about his “spiritual journey” that never ends… “My sharp remarks back then continue to this day.

He became the darling of the times with the hit “Nobody Loves Me Anymore,” but at the age of 26, he took an indefinite leave of absence and moved to the U.S.
In the 30 years since then, he has expanded his activities to period dramas and the stage, and has entered a new stage with his wife.

When I announced my “indefinite leave of absence” at the age of 26 and went to the U.S., I had no intention of coming back to Japan. I thought I had done everything I could, but I realized that was not the case at all.

Eisaku Yoshida, 55, looks back on that time with a calm and natural expression on his face.

At the age of 19, he made his debut on the silver screen in the movie “The Girl in the Glass” (released in 1988) starring Goto Kumiko, and at 22, he starred in the drama “Nobody Loves Me Any More” (Fuji Television Network, 1991), which became a big hit with a rating of over 23%. As an actor, he appeared in many high-profile productions, and along with Taishu Kasei (54) and Yuji Oda (56), he was dubbed the “Trendy Gosanke” (the three members of the “Trendy Family”), and gained popularity.

Yoshida became the darling of the times, but he recalls, “I had mixed feelings at the time.

I wanted to enter the entertainment business at the age of 16, and I had a sense of mission that I had to become famous in order to pursue this career. That is why I was always making sharp remarks, but I think it was a good thing in the end, considering that I have continued to do so to this day.

At the age of 21, I participated in the “NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen” with “Kokoro no Tabi” and the following year, “Nobody Loves Me Any More” became a hit, and I was hesitant about becoming the person I had envisioned. I felt a sense of loss because I had fulfilled my dream in my early twenties, without much training. It would not be good for me to go on like this. I wanted to have some time to adjust my books, and I thought about coming to the U.S.”

Yoshida has no regrets about leaving her success in the entertainment industry behind and crossing the ocean.

I am very glad I went to Los Angeles. If I had continued to work in Japan, I would have made a good amount of money, but I think I have gained something that money can’t buy.

Period drama” is a guidepost

In L.A., he spent his days doing everything by himself. He studied acting, auditioned, and performed live. He recalls that he made friends with people he didn’t feel comfortable with.

One day, I went into my favorite soba noodle shop in LA and bumped into Hiroyuki Sanada, 64. When I asked him about it, he told me that he had been at the same audition nearby (laughs). Even after I returned to Japan, he took time to see me whenever I visited L.A. For those of us from the generation that saw him in movies during his JAC (Japan Action Club) days, that makes me very happy.

Sanada won the Best Actor Award at this year’s Emmy Awards. Yoshida was naturally moved by the historical drama in which his idol played an active role.

When I was there in 1995, NHK historical dramas such as ‘Hideyoshi’ and ‘Mori Motonari’ were broadcast once a week on the Asian Channel in the US with English subtitles. I had never watched them when I was in Japan, but when I saw them in the U.S., I was hooked. Just as being surrounded by English and Spanish makes you miss Japanese food, when I watched historical dramas that I had never done before, I realized that I had not done all of them, and I thought, “I want to do this. Just then I got an offer to do a historical drama, and I decided to come back to Japan.

Yoshida played the original role of Tadatsugu Okajima in the 1999 historical drama “Genroku New Year’s Eve,” which had to be filmed in Japan for a year. Inevitably, Yoshida had to cut short his time in the U.S. after three years and move his base of operations back to Japan. Yoshida continued to appear in period drama productions, which marked a major turning point for him.

When he turned 36, he tried his hand at a new field: the stage.

To be honest, I never thought of myself as an actor on stage. I didn’t even like the feeling of straining my voice. But playwright Ai Nagai, 73, told me, ‘I really want to be you!　You can do everything the way you want.’ He was so eager to persuade me. ……”

Since then, Yoshida has been performing on stage at least once a year, and has performed in more than 20 plays. The stage became one of Yoshida’s main venues. As he continues to expand the scope of his work, he maintains an inquisitive mind.

I think life itself is a journey. Living as an expressive person is also a journey. It is nothing but a spirit of inquiry. It’s not a passion, but I don’t want to continue working if that flame is gone. I don’t want to work just to make money.

Reason for becoming independent

His methodology as an expressionist and the way he approached his work also changed. Through repeated trial and error, at the age of 45, he came face to face with an unquenchable “blur” within himself.

When I really thought about it, I thought, ‘It would be better to be on my own,’ in other words, to become independent. As I aged 45, 46, and ……, I thought it wasn’t the right time, but at the age of 50, I decided it was time! I acted on instinct and momentum at the age of 50.

In 2006, he became independent from the firm he had worked with for about 30 years. He named his new private practice “Doota. The name is a Sanskrit word meaning a zuda bag in which monks receive alms. Yoshida’s image was of himself traveling around with only a zuda bag.

In addition to acting, there is one other thing that he values. Music is a place for him to express himself.

Music is a place for me to express myself. If you ask me what my profession is, for me it is acting. But music is not a job or a business, it is something I love. I have taken a break from acting to come to the U.S., but I have never taken a break from music.”

He sometimes performs live in small bars and hand-sells autographed CDs. It is Yoshida’s way of enjoying himself where he likes and with whom he likes.

Wife and Late Mother

In his private life, he married actress Rina Uchiyama (42), with whom he had been in a relationship until 2009, and started a new life at the age of 52.

There was the Corona divorce, wasn’t there? Her husband, who had been working at a company until then, started staying at home all the time. We had been together for a long time, but I thought it was a good thing. It was a natural progression from there.

Uchiyama, who is a certified yoga instructor, also supports Yoshida in terms of health.

I do stretches with breathing exercises at home, and my wife sometimes gives me advice on how to do it more efficiently. She also helps me balance my meals, and I don’t eat out as much anymore. In any case, she cares about my body, and I am thankful and grateful to her every day.

Actually, about six months before she married Uchiyama, Yoshida lost her beloved mother. When she became independent from her office, she said only, “I believe in you, Sakae-chan,” and she was also Yoshida’s most understanding person.

She said, “I feel safe when we are together, or the timing of our marriage, or …… maybe my mother was in your wife’s life.　And so on.”

As Yoshida quietly revealed her feelings, she had in her mind the image of two important women watching over her.

Yoshida, who celebrated 35 years in show business last year, is about to enter a new stage of his life. He is now moving on to a new stage: producing movies for his hometown of Hadano City, where he serves as a tourism ambassador.

Of course, he is not slacking in his day job either: in the movie “BISHU: The Kindest Clothes in the World,” released in October, he passionately plays a father who cares for his daughter as she pursues her dreams. He is also scheduled to hold an acoustic live concert at Yatsugatake Kogen Ongakudo in November.

He will continue his journey until he finds the answer to the question, “What is the end of the story of my life? I will continue my journey until I find the answer.

Driven by his inquisitive mind, he will continue to live his life in his own way.

Eisaku Yoshida Live Information
Eisaku Yoshida ACOUSTIC LIVE at Yamaguchi Prefectural Education Center Hall on November 4 (Mon., holiday)
November 30 (Sat) Eisaku Yoshida Acoustic Concert at Yatsugatake Kogen Ongakudo

Films featuring Eisaku Yoshida
BISHU -The World’s Kindest Clothes-” will be released in advance from October 11, and will be expanded sequentially from October 18.
For more information, please visit the official BISHU website at https://bishu-movie.com

From the November 15, 2024 issue of FRIDAY