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Ayako Fujitani (藤谷文子 Fujitani Ayako; b. December 7, 1979 in Osaka, Japan). A writer and actress, she is the daughter of Steven Seagal and his first wife, aikido master Miyako Fujitani. She is fluent in English and Japanese.

Acting

At age 12, Ayako won 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.

Along with writer and director Hideaki Anno, Ayako co-adapted her own novella, Touhimu (Flee-Dream), into the film Shiki-Jitsu in 2000; it was the first non-animated feature released by Studio Ghibli under the Studio Kajino label. She also stars in the title role. Shiki-Jitsu won the Artistic Award at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival and showed at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

Other film roles include parts in the French film Sansa (2003) and in Michel Gondry's Interior Design segment of Tokyo! (2008).

In 2006 she directed a short drama for TV Tokyo's Drama Factory program. Ayako has also displayed musical talent, being a member of the band Father's Girls.

Literature

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. 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)
• Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys (1999)
• The Patriot (1998)
• Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)
• Musashi (1995)
• Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (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")
• Giant Robot (Asian American art and culture magazine, guest contributor)

External links

• ayablue (Official site)
• Ayako Fujitani at the Internet Movie Database
• Profile at JMDb (Japanese)
• Ken's Force review of Shikijitsu
• KFC Cinema review of Gamera