Biography
Click on the underlined program ID > Browse on the Broadcast Library, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation
Click on the underlined program ID > Browse on the Broadcast Library, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation
Cherry blossoms at Yukyuzan, Nagaoka
Tomoko Hoshino was born in 1957 in the old town of Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, as the eldest daughter of her father, Tomosaburo Hoshino, and mother, Etsuko Hoshino. Her ancestors served the Makino clan, lords of Ushikubo Castle in Mikawa during the 16century Sengoku period, and passed through Joshu before being transferred to Echigo. Generations of her family served as Nagaoka samurai from the establishment of the Echigo-Nagaoka Domain until the end of the Edo period. Her great-great-grandfather, Sadakata Hoshino, was killed in action in 1868 during the Hokuetsu Boshin War, led by chief retainer Tsugunosuke Kawai. <Footnote 1> Her grandfather was a classmate of the Nagaoka-born novelist Yuzuru Matsuoka and French literature scholar Daigaku Horiguchi at the old Nagaoka Middle School. Due to this connection, during the WWⅡ Pacific War, Yuzuru Matsuoka, Soseki Natsume's daughter Fudeko, whom Matsuoka married, and Soseki's granddaughter Mariko Hando, evacuated to the Sato family home of Hoshino's grandmother. <Commentary 1> Mariko Hando's husband, the writer Kazutoshi Hando, also evacuated to Nagaoka during the war, and was a classmate of Hoshino's uncle at the old Nagaoka Junior High School. Tomoko Hoshino went from the Senju Elementary School to the Minami Junior High School, where Masashi Hisaka, a novelist who would later become known for his historical novel "Tenchijin," was a year ahead of her. She then went on to the Nagaoka High School, just like his grandfather and father. ☞
<Footnote 1> Weekly Asahi MOOK "Shiba Ryotaro II" (Tomoko Hoshino "Me and Shiba-san") Asahi Shimbun Publications, 2007. Yomiuri Shimbun “A Heartfelt Local Chronicle: Nagaoka City - Actress Tomoko Hoshino,” Yomiuri Shimbun, August 21, 1999.
<Commentary 1> Mariko Hando’s book "Soseki's Nagajuban" (Bungeishunju, 2009) describes the old Hoshino family home, where she were evacuated during the war, as follows: "That year, there was a record amount of snowfall. The snow completely buried the two-story house, and people tripped over utility poles and wires, so the interior, with only a kotatsu for heating, was like a refrigerator covered in white walls, and it was dark even during the day. ... In the backyard, there were tall giant cedar trees, and many owls lived at the tops of the trees, and at night they hooted plaintively".
A scene from the "Another Journey." Morio Kita (left) and Tomoko Hoshino on the Danube River boat
Hosei University graduation day
Shortly after moving to Tokyo to attend Hosei University's Faculty of Sociology, her mother sent her daughter’s photo to the fashion magazine "Soen" to recruit exclusive models, which led to Tomoko Hoshino entry into the entertainment industry. <Footnote 2> Because Tomoko is tall and had difficulty finding clothes that suited her, her mother was an avid reader of the magazine and would make her own clothes using patterns from the magazine. She was selected as the 16th Soen model in 1976, and continued as an exclusive model for over two years while still a university student. ☞ Yoshihiro Tatsuki, the second son of Katsuko Tatsuki, the third generation owner of Tatsuki Photo Studio, who was the model for the NHK drama series "Natchan's Photo Studio," later starring Tomoko Hoshino, and a photographer, also took photos of her gravure photos for "Soen." Around the same time, she was appointed as the image character for "JALPAK," a Japan Airlines campaign, and appeared in the commercial "Ningen Ryojyo" <Footnote 3> filmed in Mexico, making her television debut. Furthermore, while still a student, she served as an overseas reporter for "Another Journey" (MBS & Zenzo Matsuyama coproductions), which was broadcast on the TBS network, and the program was recorded in Europe, including France, Italy, and Austria, as well as Southeast Asia, alongside famous novelist Morio Kita, composer Ikuma Dan, and industrial designer Sori Yanagi.
<Footnote 2> Weekly Asahi serialization, Yamashita Katsutoshi, "Too Early Autobiography: 25 Dazzling Women", Asahi Sonorama Asine, 1984
<Footnote 3> [JALPAK MEXICO "Human Journey"] Broadcast Library Program ID: A27456 ACC Tokyo Creativity Award / ACC-CM Festival 18th TV Film CM Division Outstanding Work Award
Drama "Sazae-san." 2nd year of debut Tomoko Hoshino (right), co-star Akira Onodera (left)
Feb. 22, 1980 media release of "Nacchan's Photo Studio." Age 22
In the fall of 1979, when Hoshino Tomoko was a senior in college, she auditioned for the NHK drama series "Natchan's Photo Studio" <Footnote 4> and was selected from 600 other applicants for the lead role. ☞ She played the role of Natsuko Saijo in the 1980 broadcast. Her refreshing and cheerful performance alongside Sakae Takita, who played Natsuko's husband, was highly praised, achieving a peak audience rating of 45.1% and an average audience rating of 39.6%. She later admitted, "I didn't really feel like I was an actress. It was like I was working for TV for six months." <Footnote 5> The following year, in 1981, she took on a comical role in her second starring role, the Fuji TV’s national famous drama "Sazae-san." ☞ That same year, she appeared in the socially conscious drama "Gogo no Tabidachi" (TV Asahi), written by Taichi Yamada, and also co-starred with legendary star actor Kiyoshi Atsumi in the drama "Father of the Bride" (Shochiku/Yomiuri TV), written by Yoji Yamada, playing father and daughter roles. In 1983, she starred as the heroine Sadako in the drama adaptation of "Zero no shoten" (TBS), based on the novel by Seicho Matsumoto and written by Shinobu Hashimoto and Yoji Yamada. In 1982, she was selected to appear on Fuji TV's "Music Fair" <Footnote 6>, succeeding actors Yoko Minamida and Hiroyuki Nagato as the show's fourth host, serving as the sole presenter for six years until 1988. ☞ In 1987, she was selected as the main anchor for "News Shuttle," a new news program planned by TV Asahi. ☞ Satoshi Asaoka, a TV Asahi announcer, served as assistant anchor. At the time, she was a pioneer of celebrity newscasters in Japan, attracting attention from both domestic and international media. <Footnote 7> The anchor's first appearance on the show on October 19th was the day of the global stock market crash "Black Monday," and by the time the show ended in September 1989, he had reported on news from turbulent times that shook the world, including Japan's first communication between the space station and the studio, Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev's perestroika reforms, the Tiananmen Square incident in China, and the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
<Footnote 4> [TV drama series "Nacchan's Photo Studio"] Broadcast Library Program ID: 001589
NHK Archives, digest video "Nacchan's Photo Studio" (25th series)
<Footnote 5> Weekly Asahi serialization, Yamashita Katsutoshi, "Too Early Autobiography - 25 Dazzling Women", Asahi Sonorama Asine, 1984
<Footnote 6> [Music Fair '86 1100th episode] Broadcast Library Program ID: 004476
<Footnote 7> The Japan Times, "Tokyo's only actress-newscaster finds early viewer criticism replaced by praise", May.5.1988
The host of "Music Fair"
The anchor for "News Shuttle"
Tomoko Hoshino appeared in nearly 50 TV dramas in the 1980s, but in the 1990s, her opportunities to appear in documentaries increased. In 1983, at the age of 25, Hoshino founded two companies: Limaçon, a personal production company, and Yu, a documentary production company. She also served as a producer, providing programming for TBS such as "Earth Romance" and "New World Travelogue." <Footnote 8> Shortly after "News Shuttle" ended in 1989, she spent a month and a half living in an indigenous village in the depths of the Brazilian Amazon to film the TV Asahi documentary "Naturing Special," which was broadcast as "Amazon: The Great River of Desire." <Footnote 9> ☞ This program won four awards, including the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association Award (38th Best Educational Program Award), the Galaxy Award (28th Encouragement Award), the Broadcasting Culture Foundation Award (17th Encouragement Award in the Documentary Category), and the ATP Award (8th Best 22 Programs). At the same time, she published her debut non-fiction work, "Riding the Muddy Current: The Amazon, the Great River of Desire." Furthermore, through the production company "Yu," Tomoko Hoshino has both produced and starred in programs such as "A Great Journey Across the Canals of France" (1991, TV Asahi), "A Journey Through European Glass Crafts" (1995, NHK-BS), and "The German Dream Road: The Road of Kings and Emperors" (2000, TV Asahi).
<Footnote 8> Nihon Keizai Shimbun, "Currently in Production: The Emotion of Witnessing a Moment", Nihon Keizai Shimbun, December 13, 1991. Yomiuri Shimbun, "A 1,300-kilometer Journey Along the French Canal," Yomiuri Shimbun, December 10, 1991
<Footnote 9> [Naturing Special: The Amazon, The Great River of Desire] Broadcast Library Program ID: 004544
Poster for the movie "Soon Spring"
White chrysanthemums & bridge over the Shinano-river, Nagaoka
In films, Tomoko Hoshino has appeared on the screen directed by Shinobu Hashimoto, Yoshimitsu Morita, and Nobuhiko Obayashi. Her first film was "Maboroshi no Mizuumi; Phantom Lake," released in 1982 and directed by Shinobu Hashimoto to commemorate Toho's 50th anniversary. She continued to have contact with Shinobu Hashimoto, who was known for writing scripts for Akira Kurosawa films. Tomoko Hoshino has reflected that reading scripts by leading Japanese screenwriters such as Shinobu Hashimoto, Yoji Yamada, and Taichi Yamada helped her grow as an essayist. In 1986, she starred in the film "Yagate Haru; Soon Spring," which directly portrayed school bullying, a social problem that had become a major issue. The film was selected by the Ministry of Education and screened in schools across the country. <Footnote 10> In "Shitsurakuen," directed by Yoshimitsu Morita and based on a novel by Junichi Watanabe, she played the wife of Koji Yakusho, who, like Hoshino, made his television drama debut in "Natchan's Photo Studio." Tomoko Hoshino won the Excellence Supporting Actress Award at the 21st Japan Academy Awards and was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in 1998. <Footnote 11> ☞ She also appeared in director Morita's film "Let's Take the A-Train Express," released in 2011. Hoshino's first film set in her hometown of Nagaoka was "Kono Sora no Hana, Nagaoka Hanabi Monogatari; Flowers of the Sky, The Story of Nagaoka Fireworks," directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi . The film depicts the 1945 Nagaoka air raid at the end of the Pacific War and the history of Nagaoka fireworks, and the protagonist is based on Seiji Kase, a fireworks maker who launched "Shiragiku" fireworks as memorials in Hawaii and Siberia. In the film, Tomoko Hoshino played the role of Kase's daughter, Yasuko Kase. <Commentary 2>
<Footnote 10> Asahi Shimbun, “’Soon Spring': A Film Dealing in Bullying to the Fullest," Asahi Shimbun, February 21, 1986. Yomiuri Shimbun, "A Film Dealing in Bullying - Setsuo Nakayama's ‘Soon Spring'," Yomiuri Shimbun, July 31, 1986.
<Footnote 11> Yomiuri Shimbun, "21st Japan Academy Awards: Excellence Awards Announced," Yomiuri Shimbun, January 28, 1998.
<Commentary 2> Seiji Kase, a fireworks maker, was detained in Siberia after World War II, and every year on August 1st he launched "Shiragiku", a white memorial firework, for his fallen comrades. When Tomoko Hoshino lived in Nagaoka, she watched these fireworks almost every year on the banks of the Shinano River. During the filming of the movie "Kono Sora no Hana: Nagaoka Hanabi Monogatari", she was approached by Yasuko, the daughter of Kase, the character played by Tomoko, who said, "I was so happy you played me".
Plum tree planted by the Inagakis in Nagaoka
"A Daughter of the Samurai" by Sugimoto Etsuko, 1934, NEW YORK. Owned by Tomoko Hoshino
Tomoko Hoshino is also known for her essays and short stories. ☞ Since publishing her non-fiction book, "Riding the Muddy Current: The Amazon, the Great River of Desire," she has traveled to over 50 countries around the world and has published a number of books, mainly on the themes of travelogues and overseas art. In addition to her writing, she hosted the NHK-BS program "Weekly Book Review" for three years, starting in 2001. In the 2000s, at the request of NHK's senior executive producer, Hirokazu Kawara, who worked on news documentaries, she appeared on programs with messages about Japanese peace and culture, such as the 80th anniversary program "Peace Pilgrimage 2005 Hiroshima: Telling the World the Hearts of Atomic Bomb Victims" and "Invitation to the Forest of the Gods: Kasuga Taisha Shrine's Eternal Forest." The documentary drama "Samurai's Daughter: Etsuko and Florence," produced by Hirokazu Kawara and broadcast on NHK-BS1 Special in 2015, tells the story of Etsuko Sugimoto, the daughter of Shigemitsu Inagaki, a former chief retainer of the Echigo Nagaoka domain. The book depicts Etsuko's life from when she moved to the United States and wrote "A Daughter Of The Samurai" in English to when she became a bridge between Japan and the United States. This program was made possible when Hoshino, who is from the same hometown as Etsuko, directly brought the idea of turning it into a drama to Kawara. <Commentary 3> Tomoko Hoshino herself wrote a book, "A Samurai's Daughter Living Today: Fan Letters to Etsuko," which provides an easy-to-understand explanation of Etsuko's achievements, and it was published by Kodansha.
<Commentary 3> The program "Samurai's Daughter - Etsuko and Florence", broadcast on NHK-BS1 Special, stars actress Maki Mizuno as Etsuko Sugimoto, and Cynthia Cheston as Florence, the American woman who supported Etsuko. Tomoko Hoshino herself appeared in documentary scenes, such as visiting Etsuko Sugimoto's grave, and also narrated the drama.
Tomoko Hoshino, January 2025, at the studio in Shichirigahama, Kamakura
In her private life, she married journalist Izuru Yokomura in 2008, a former Moscow correspondent for the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, who is now an author and novelist. <Footnote 12> ☞ The following year, in 2009, she moved from Tokyo to Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. In 2023, she published "Tomoko Hoshino's Kamakura Four Seasons’s Diary," an essay chronicling the changing seasons of life in Kamakura. Tomoko Hoshino has been writing the popular essay on monthly local magazine "Kamakura Day by Day" since January 2024, following the 30-year serialization of Taku Miki, a member of the Japan Art Academy and the Akutagawa Prize-winning author who passed away in 2023.
<Footnote 12> Weekly Asahi, "Tomoko Hoshino's marriage partner is a veteran Asahi journalist", Asahi Shimbun Publications, June 6, 2008
