Actress Kaho has impressed lately with her performances in tricky roles, from a troubled soul to a femme fatale, all the while maintaining the crystalline allure she had at her debut.
In her latest film, "Blue Hour ni Buttobasu" (Blue Hour), she took on the challenge of playing the difficult, complex role of a commercial film director with a deep-rooted inferiority complex.
"I've met a character that I can play only now at this age of 28," said the actress, who continues with her brave metamorphosis, shedding her pretty-girl image.
Portrait of director
The film's title refers to a moment during dawn and dusk when the sky is all blue, when it is neither morning, daytime nor night. "Blue Hour ni Buttobasu" depicts the inner turmoil and loneliness of a woman who is around 30 -- she's no longer a child but not mature enough to be philosophical about her life. She may seem to be doing fine, but an inferiority complex fills her heart.
"Do all the roles I play feel right to me at that time? No, it doesn't work like that. I've been doing this acting job since I was a teenager, and I thought of quitting many times. But I'm glad I didn't give up and continued," Kaho said when asked what she's gained from squarely facing the film's protagonist, Yuka Sunada.
A self-proclaimed successful commercial director, Sunada is extremely busy with her work, watched over by her kindly, understanding husband (Daichi Watanabe). Worn out by life, however, Sunada uses profane language every day.
She finds solace in her childhood friend, the cheerful, carefree Asami Kiyoura (Shim Eun-Kyung). When she heads to her hometown in Ibaraki Prefecture, which she despises, to see her ailing grandmother, Kiyoura gives her a ride. The nicely paced dialogue between Sunada and Kiyoura is comical, while the last scene with a big twist is very moving.
Sunada adeptly swims through the glamorous, creative industry. Feeling unfulfilled and irritated, however, she descends into adultery and alcohol. Sunada is a cinematic self-portrait of the film's director, Yuko Hakota, who also wrote the script and is a successful commercial director herself.
"The film depicts Ms. Hakota's personal worries and struggles over her job, family and life," Kaho said. "But when I read the script, I thought this is my own story."
Sunada says things like: "I don't really like people who say they like me," "I was invincible when I was a child" and "I'm lonely because I'm not lonely."
Kaho said all those awkward, painful lines sank deep into her. She stood in front of the camera, ready to expose every part of herself, after Hakota told her she wanted to see a new Kaho and she wanted the actress to show off her own personality onscreen, which may be larger than her acting.
"I wonder whether the role of Sunada is more like Ms. Hakota, Kaho or someone else. I hope this one role will look like a mosaic."
Plagued by insecurity
Born in 1991 in Tokyo, Kaho was scouted in Harajuku, Tokyo, when she was a fifth-grade elementary school student, which led to her debut.
After modeling in girls' fashion magazines, Kaho had her first breakthrough when she appeared in a long-running series of commercials for a housing company that had also featured Rie Miyazawa and Yu Aoi, actresses who subsequently went on to become big stars. Kaho's wide, lively eyes and pure demeanor won her instant popularity, and she started being cast as the lead in films and TV shows.
She won the newcomer's award in the Japan Academy Film Prize in 2007 for the first lead role she played, in "Tennen Kokekko" (A Gentle Breeze in the Village).
Yet she suffered from an inferiority complex, worrying whether she deserved the leading roles.
"I didn't have enough skills, and I was struggling to do one job after another. I really had no confidence at all. I was afraid to make up my mind to become an actress," Kaho recalled.
A turning point came when she was 21 and appeared in a late-night drama "Minna! Esupa dayo!" (Everyone has extrasensory perception!) on TV Tokyo. It was a silly, flirty young adult comedy based on a manga by Kiminori Wakasugi and directed by Shion Sono. Some people around Kaho wondered whether it was a good idea for her to appear in such an eccentric show, but Kaho was determinedly positive, saying she wanted to do it no matter what.
"This work completely changed the way people looked at me," she said. "I was worried about whether I'd be able to do it. When the filming started, though, it was so fun. Up until that time I felt stifled but after that I felt liberated a bit."
Since then, she has broadened her repertoire to dark heroines in violent and horror films, genres she used to avoid. There was a time when she pursued roles that belied her image, but now she isn't picky.
"Whether I just want to play the role or whether I can take responsibility for the role -- those are the only things that matter. Of course, it's no good to stay in the same place all the time. I'm always thinking of doing something new."
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