Yū Aoi

---

title: "Yū Aoi" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1985-births", "living-people", "people-from-kasuga,-fukuoka", "japanese-film-actresses", "japanese-stage-actresses", "japanese-television-actresses", "20th-century-japanese-actresses", "21st-century-japanese-actresses", "best-actress-asian-film-award-winners", "horikoshi-high-school-alumni"] description: "Japanese actress and model (born 1985)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yū_Aoi" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Japanese actress and model (born 1985) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Yū Aoi
image	Aoi Yu at Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2017 (40203519371) (cropped).jpg
caption	Aoi at the 2017 Tokyo International Film Festival
native_name	蒼井 優
native_name_lang	ja
birth_name	Yū Natsui
birth_date
birth_place	Kasuga, Fukuoka, Japan
othername	Yu Yamasato (after marriage)
occupation
yearsactive	1999–present
agent	Itoh Co.
spouse
children	1
website
::

| name = Yū Aoi | image = Aoi Yu at Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2017 (40203519371) (cropped).jpg | imagesize = | alt = | caption = Aoi at the 2017 Tokyo International Film Festival | native_name = 蒼井 優 | native_name_lang = ja | birth_name = Yū Natsui | birth_date = | birth_place = Kasuga, Fukuoka, Japan | death_date = | death_place = | othername = Yu Yamasato (after marriage) | occupation = | yearsactive = 1999–present | agent = Itoh Co. | spouse = | children = 1 | website = Yu Aoi is a Japanese actress and model. She made her film debut as Shiori Tsuda in Shunji Iwai's 2001 film All About Lily Chou-Chou. She subsequently portrayed Tetsuko Arisugawa in Hana and Alice (2004), also directed by Iwai, Kimiko Tanigawa in the hula dancing film Hula Girls and Hagumi Hanamoto in the 2006 live-action adaptation of the Honey and Clover manga series.

She has won numerous awards for her performances on screen, including the Japan Academy Prize and Kinema Junpo Awards for best supporting actress in 2007 for Hula Girls and Rookie of the Year for continued performances in the field of Films in Media and Fine Arts by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan in 2009.

Early life

Aoi was born on August 17, 1985, in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. She moved to Tokyo in junior high school and lived in Kasai, Edogawa ward.

Career

Early career

Yu Aoi made her stage debut as Polly in the 1999 rendition of Annie, followed by her appearance as a regular on TV Tokyo's Oha Suta (The Super Kids Station) in 2000. A year later, she debuted in Shunji Iwai's All About Lily Chou-Chou playing Shiori Tsuda alongside Hayato Ichihara, Shugo Oshinari, Miwako Ichikawa, and Ayumi Ito. Aoi would later work in Ao to Shiro de Mizuiro and Gaichu with friend Aoi Miyazaki. With her first roles on the small and big screen came TV commercials and endorsements for Sony, Yamaha, DoCoMo, Toshiba and Coca-Cola.

In 2003, commemorating the 30th anniversary of Kit Kat in Japan, Shunji Iwai shot a series of short films starring Yu Aoi and Anne Suzuki, which later was expanded into the feature film called Hana & Alice, which earned Aoi the Best Actress award at the Japanese Professional Movie Award.

2005–2007

In 2005, Aoi played her first lead on the big screen in Letters from Kanai Nirai, which was sold in Korea with the alternate title of Aoi Yu's Letter due to her popularity. She also had supporting roles in the Satoshi Miki film Turtles Swim Faster than Expected starring Juri Ueno, and Yamato with Shido Nakamura and Kenichi Matsuyama. This supporting role would earn her one of her double-nomination as Best Supporting Actress at the 2007 Japanese Academy Award. She won against herself for her work as Kimiko Tanikawa in the Japanese hit Hula Girls, which was sent to the Academy Awards as the Japanese official selection that year.

To this date, her role as the hula dancing girl from small town Iwaki remains her most successful role yet, earning her a dozen awards as Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, alongside her other smaller roles that year as Hagu in Honey & Clover, and Kana Sato in the Shunji-Iwai-produced and Nirai-Kanai-directed Rainbow Song. Aoi also lent her voice to play Shiro in the animated film Tekkon Kinkreet, the adaptation to the Taiyō Matsumoto manga, Black and White, directed by Michael Arias.

During these years, she made commercials for Nintendo, Canon, Shiseido Cosmetics, Shueisha Publishing, Kirin Beverage and continued endorsing DoCoMo. Aoi also released two photobooks with Yoko Takahashi as photographer, and distributed by Rockin'on: Travel Sand in 2005 and Dandelion in 2007.

In 2007, she participated in the live-action adaptation of the manga series Mushishi alongside Joe Odagiri, as well as WOWOW's Don't Laugh at My Romance, Welcome to the Quiet Room with Yuki Uchida, and going back to the stage to play Desdemona in a rendition of Shakespeare's Othello. For these last two roles, Aoi lost 7 kg for her role as eating disorder patient, Miki.

2008–present

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Yu_Aoi.jpg" caption="Yu Aoi at the LG exhibition fair in 2009"] ::

Aoi began 2008 with the release of Don't Laugh at My Romance, which earned her a nomination as Best Supporting Actress at the Asian Film Awards 2009. She appeared in the experimental drama Camouflage (aka. Aoi Yu x 4 Lies), in which she collaborated with four different directors exploring the theme of lies. The series lasted for 12 episodes, and included work with Ryō Kase, Yoichi Nukumizu, Shoko Ikezu, Nobuhiro Yamashita, and Yuki Tanada.

A couple of months later, NTV signed Aoi to play her first TV leading role as Handa Sen in the live-action adaptation of Shota Kikuchi's manga series Osen, which aired until the end of June with ten episodes.

Next, Aoi released One Million Yen Girl written and directed by Camouflage director Yuki Tanada, and also released by WOWOW. This was her latest leading film role since Nirai Kanai in 2005. She briefly participated in the Japanese World-War-II-jury-themed film Best Wishes for Tomorrow, as well as the international Tokyo! - a three-short-film collection by Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon Ho.

In 2009, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan named Yu Aoi Rookie of the Year in the field of Films in Media and Fine Arts, citing her work in her film debut in All About Lily Chou Chou, until her work in One Million Yen Girl. Later that year, Aoi provided the voice of Ikechan in the film Ikechan and Me, a live-action adaptation of the picture book of the same name by Rieko Saibara, as well as playing supporting roles in Honokaa Boy and Yoji Yamada's Ototo. The following year Aoi starred in Ryūichi Hiroki's 2010 film The Lightning Tree. She later appeared in Vampire, Rurouni Kenshin, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2012 television drama Penance.

Personal life

Aoi married comedian Ryota Yamasato on June 3, 2019. On February 10, 2022, they announced that she was pregnant with their first child and due in the summer. On August 10, 2022, Yamasato revealed that Aoi had given birth to their daughter.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2001	All About Lily Chou-Chou	Shiori Tsuda
2002	Kinema Tōri no Hitobito	Hikari
Harmful Insect	Natsuko Yamaoka
Hashire! Kettamashin: Wedding Kyosō Kyoku	Lead	Musical
2003	Worst by Chance	Harada's girlfriend
1980	Rika Hashiba
2004	Hana and Alice	Tetsuko "Alice" Arisugawa	Lead role
Mask de 41	Haruka Kuramochi
Sea Cat	Miya Noda
2005	Tetsujin 28: The Movie	Mami Tachibana
Turtles Swim Faster Than Expected	Kujaku Ogitani
Letters from Nirai Kanai	Fuki Asato	Lead role
Shining Boy & Little Randy	Emi Murakami
Henshin	Kei Hamura
Jukai	Harumi
Yamato	Taeko
2006	Honey and Clover	Hagumi Hanamoto
Hula Girls	Kimiko Tanikawa
Tekkon Kinkreet	White (voice)
Rainbow Song	Kana Sato
Sugar and Spice		Cameo
2007	Mushishi	Tanyu
Welcome to the Quiet Room	Miki
2008	Sex Is No Laughing Matter	En-Chan
Best Wishes for Tomorrow	Kazuko Moribe
One Million Yen Girl	Suzuko Sato	Lead role
Tokyo!	Pizza delivery girl	Segment Shaking Tokyo
2009	Honokaa Boy	Kaoru
Good Bye, My Secret Friend	Ikechan (voice)
2010	About Her Brother	Koharu Takano
Flowers	Rin	Lead role
The Lightning Tree	Yū	Lead role
Redline	Sonoshee (voice)
2011	Patisserie Coin de rue	Natsume Usuba	Lead role
Vampire	Mina
By Chance	Traveler	Lead role
2012	Fukushima Hula Girls	Narration
Rurouni Kenshin	Megumi Takani
2013	Tokyo Family	Noriko Mamiya
Space Pirate Captain Harlock	Miime (voice)
2014	Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno	Megumi Takani
Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends	Megumi Takani
Climbing to Spring	Ai Takazawa		url=http://www.haruseotte.jp/cast.html	title=Cast
2015	The Case of Hana & Alice	Tetsuko "Alice" Arisugawa (voice)	Lead role
Journey to the Shore	Tomoko
2016	Over the Fence	Satoshi Tamura
Japanese Girls Never Die	Haruko Azumi	Lead role
What a Wonderful Family!	Noriko Mamiya
2017	What a Wonderful Family! 2	Noriko Hirata
Tokyo Ghoul	Rize Kamishiro
Mixed Doubles	Yo
Birds Without Names	Towako	Lead role
2018	What a Wonderful Family! 3: My Wife, My Life	Noriko Hirata
Penguin Highway	Lady (voice)
Killing	Yū
2019	Miyamoto	Yasuko Nakano
A Long Goodbye	Fumi Higashi	Lead role
Children of the Sea	Ruka's mother (voice)
They Say Nothing Stays the Same	A geisha
2020	Romance Doll	Sonoko	Lead role
Ora, Ora Be Goin' Alone	Young Momoko
Wife of a Spy	Satoko Fukuhara	Lead role
2021	Rurouni Kenshin: The Final	Megumi Takani
2022	Dr. Coto's Clinic 2022	Mina Nakai	Cameo	url= https://mantan-web.jp/article/20221013dog00m200002000c.html
2023	Sylvanian Families the Movie: A Gift from Freya	Teri Chocolate (voice)
2025	Soreike! Anpanman: Chapon no Hero!	Chapon (voice)
How Dare You?	Keiko
Meets the World	Yuki
Tokyo Taxi	Sumire (young)
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2001	Ao to Shiro to Mizuiro	Kimiko Shiina	TV movie
2002	Ukiwa - Shōnen-tachi no Natsu	Miyuki Yamashita	TV movie
Shin Zukkoke Sanningumi	Megumi
2003	High School Teacher	Mami Ezawa
Engimono	Koyomi	Mini-series
14 Months	17-year-old Yūko Igarashi
2004	Ichiban Taisetsu na Dēto Tokyo no Sora- Shanghai no Yume	Kaori
Yo ni mo Kimyō na Monogatari: Kako kara no Nikki	Yurie Kotajima	Short drama
*Nanako and Nanao: The Day They Became Sister and Brother *	Nanako	Lead role; TV movie
2005	Tiger & Dragon	Risa
Twenty-Four Eyes	Kotoe Katagiri	TV movie
Trilogia: Bitter Sweet	Sayaka	Lead role; short drama
2006	Dr. Coto's Clinic 2006	Mina Nakai
2008	Camouflage	Chika / Makoto/ Umeko / Suzuko	Lead role
Osen	Sen Handa	Lead role
2010	Ryōmaden	Omoto	Taiga drama
2012	Penance	Sae Kikuchi	Mini-series
2013	Galileo Season 2	Atsuko Kanbara	Episode 8
Mottomo Tooi Ginga	Akane	Mini-series
2014	Mozu Season 2	Shiori Nanami
All About My Siblings	Azusa
2015	Stitch! Perfect Memory	Tila-3000 (voice)	TV special
2017	Dr. Rintarō	Yumeno
Hello, Detective Hedgehog	Setsuko Kawai
2018	Miyamoto kara Kimi e	Yasuko Nakano
2020	Wife of a Spy	Satoko Fukuhara	Lead role; TV movie
2021	Shikatanakatta to Iute wa Ikan no desu	Fusako Torii	TV movie
2023	Boogie Woogie	Reiko Yamato	Asadora
2025	Asura	Takiko	Lead role
2026	Human Vapor		Lead role
::

Stage

• Zipang Punk: Goemon Rock III (2014), Silver Cat Eyes

Awards and nominations

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Yu_Aoi_20190312.jpg" caption="Aoi receiving the New Artist Award from the Arts Encouragement Prize in 2019"] ::

::data[format=table]

Year	Award	Category	Work(s)	Result	Ref.
2005	14th Japan Film Professional Awards	Best Actress	Hana and Alice
2006	31st Hochi Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Hula Girls, Honey and Clover		url= https://www.hochi.co.jp/award/hochi_eigashou/history.html
19th Nikkan Sports Film Awards	Best Newcomer	Hula Girls		url= https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/award/ns-cinema/history/	title= 日刊スポーツ映画大賞 歴代受賞者・作品
2007	26th Zenkoku Eiren Awards	Best Supporting Actress
31st Elan d'or Awards	Newcomer of the Year	Herself
61st Mainichi Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Hula Girls, Rainbow Song, Honey and Clover
80th Kinema Junpo Awards	Best Supporting Actress
49th Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Actress	Hula Girls, Honey and Clover
28th Yokohama Film Festival	Best Actress
30th Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Supporting Actress	Hula Girls		url= https://eiga.com/award/japan-academy/2007/	title= 第30回 日本アカデミー賞(2007)
Yamato
Newcomer of the Year	Hula Girls
2009	3rd Asian Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Don't Laugh at My Romance
2010	23rd Nikkan Sports Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	About Her Brother
2011	34th Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Supporting Actress
5th Asian Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress
2014	37th Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Supporting Actress	Tokyo Family
8th Asian Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress
2017	42nd Hochi Film Awards	Best Actress	Birds Without Names
30th Nikkan Sports Film Awards	Best Actress
2018	39th Yokohama Film Festival	Best Actress
60th Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Actress
41st Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Actress
91st Kinema Junpo Awards	Best Actress
12th Osaka Cinema Festival	Best Actress
12th Asian Film Awards	Best Actress
2019	32nd Nikkan Sports Film Awards	Best Actress	A Long Goodbye, Miyamoto
2020	Elle Cinema Awards 2020	Elle Best Actress	Wife of a Spy and others
74th Mainichi Film Awards	Best Actress	Miyamoto
Kinuyo Tanaka Award	Herself
62nd Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Actress	A Long Goodbye
33rd Nikkan Sports Film Awards	Best Actress	Wife of a Spy
2021	40th Zenkoku Eiren Awards	Best Actress
75th Mainichi Film Awards	Best Actress
63rd Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Actress
15th Asian Film Awards	Best Actress
2026	49th Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Supporting Actress	Tokyo Taxi
::

References

References

1. (2019-06-06). "国分太一、結婚会見直前の蒼井優に「マジっすか」メール…返信は「山里優になりました」".
2. link. The Agency for Cultural Affairs
3. (2023-08-22). "蒼井優の、本気で買い物 in 福岡 {{!}} ブルータス".
4. "Japanese Professional Movie Award".
5. link. Japan Academy Prize Association
6. "Yû Aoi".
7. Schilling, Mark. (October 29, 2010). "Raiou (The Lightning Tree)". [[The Japan Times]].
8. DeFore, John. (January 26, 2011). "SUNDANCE REVIEW: Vampire".
9. Lee, Maggie. (October 29, 2012). "Rurouni Kenshin". [[Variety (magazine).
10. Fainaru, Dan. (August 29, 2012). "Penance - Review - Screen". [[Screen International]].
11. (June 5, 2019). "山里亮太と蒼井優３日に結婚".
12. (February 10, 2022). "蒼井優、第1子妊娠「出産は夏頃を予定」 山里亮太と連名でコメント".
13. (August 11, 2022). "蒼井優、第1子女児出産 山里亮太がラジオで生報告「かわいくて仕方ない」".
14. "リリイ・シュシュのすべて".
15. "害虫".
16. (2014). "Cast". Toho.
17. Kevin Ma. (October 17, 2014). "Iwai Shunji to direct first anime feature".
18. link. eiga.com inc.
19. "ミックス。".
20. "彼女がその名を知らない鳥たち".
21. "妻よ薔薇のように 家族はつらいよIII".
22. "ペンギン・ハイウェイ".
23. "斬、".
24. "Miyamoto".
25. "長いお別れ".
26. "海獣の子供".
27. "ある船頭の話".
28. "ロマンスドール".
29. "田中裕子と蒼井優が2人1役 若竹千佐子『おらおらでひとりいぐも』映画化".
30. (19 June 2020). "蒼井優×高橋一生×黒沢清監督『スパイの妻』劇場公開へ！予告編も到着".
31. "るろうに剣心 最終章 The Final".
32. (13 October 2022). "Dr.コトー診療所:映画版にドラマキャストが復帰 神木隆之介、伊藤歩、蒼井優、堺雅人出演".
33. "「劇場版 シルバニアファミリー」声優に黒島結菜や松岡茉優 村方乃々佳も参加(コメントあり)".
34. "それいけ！アンパンマン チャポンのヒーロー！".
35. "ふつうの子ども".
36. "ミーツ・ザ・ワールド".
37. "TOKYOタクシー".
38. "高校教師（2003年版）の出演者・キャスト一覧".
39. (18 February 2005). "蒼井優など主演のショートドラマ3本「TRILOGIA(トリロジア)」をDVD販売に先立ち、無料で独占配信".
40. "龍馬伝の出演者・キャスト一覧".
41. Ressler, Karen. (2015-07-29). "Stitch! Anime Gets 1st Special in 3 Years".
42. link. oricon ME inc.
43. "ハロー張りネズミ(瑛太主演)の出演者・キャスト一覧".
44. (25 June 2024). "池松壮亮主演、『宮本から君へ』連ドラ化 主題歌はエレカシ".
45. "黒沢清×蒼井優の8Kドラマ「スパイの妻」20年春放送！ 脚本に濱口竜介＆野原位が参加".
46. "妻夫木聡がNHKの終戦ドラマで死刑判決受ける医師に、妻役は蒼井優".
47. (23 June 2023). "蒼井優:初の朝ドラ＆出産後初のドラマ出演「ブギウギ」で歌劇団のトップスターに「夢のような時間」".
48. "宮沢りえ×尾野真千子×蒼井優×広瀬すずが四姉妹に、昭和を代表する家族劇の傑作『阿修羅のごとく』是枝裕和監督が再ドラマ化".
49. "小栗旬×蒼井優が共演、片山慎三とヨン・サンホの日韓タッグでNetflix「ガス人間」制作".
50. "過去の受賞一覧".
51. "日刊スポーツ映画大賞 歴代受賞者・作品".
52. "エランドール賞歴代受賞者一覧". All Nippon Producers Association.
53. "第39回ヨコハマ映画祭 2017年日本映画個人賞".
54. "第30回 日本アカデミー賞(2007)".
55. "第41回 日本アカデミー賞(2018年)".
56. (7 December 2020). "蒼井優・横浜流星・池田エライザ・黒沢清監督 『エル シネマアワード2020』受賞".
57. "嵐・二宮和也主演の「浅田家!」が最多5部門でノミネート「第63回ブルーリボン賞」各部門候補を発表".
58. "The 15th Asian Film Awards Nominations Announced".
59. (19 January 2026). "「第49回日本アカデミー賞」優秀賞＆新人俳優賞発表 吉沢亮・松村北斗・長澤まさみほか【受賞者・作品一覧】".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::