Minami Aoyama

Minami Aoyama (Japanese: 藍山みなみ, Hepburn: Aoyama Minami) is a Japanese former pink film actress and AV idol. She appeared in award-winning pink films, and was herself given a Best Actress award for her work in this genre in 2006.

Minami Aoyama
藍山みなみ
Born	May 28, 1982[1] Tokyo, Japan
Height	1.55 m (5 ft 1 in)

Life and career

Minami Aoyama was born in Tokyo on May 28, 1982[1] and began her career as an adult video (AV) actress in 2003 at the age of 21.[2] She made her pink film debut that same year in director Toshiya Ueno's Ambiguous (December 2003),[2] which was the winner of the Best Film award at the Pink Grand Prix.[3] In October 2004, she appeared with AV idol Sora Aoi in the mainstream revenge film Stop the Bitch Campaign: Hell Version (援助交際撲滅運動 地獄変, Enjo-kōsai bokumetsu undō: jigoku-hen) directed by Kōsuke Suzuki.[4] Aoyama had a featured role alongside Mayu Asada and Lemon Hanazawa in the September 2005 J-horror pink film The Slit-Mouthed Woman (kuchisake 口裂け, Kuchisake), also known as Kannō byōtō: nureta akai kuchibiru, based on the Japanese urban legend of the Kuchisake-onna.[5]

As an AV actress, Aoyama was nominated for the Best Actress Award at the 2006 Adult Broadcasting Awards ceremony for her work on the Japanese adult satellite TV network SKY PerfecTV! in 2005.[6] Among her more prominent pink film performances was in Shinji Imaoka's Uncle's Paradise, released in May 2006.[7] At the annual Pink Grand Prix, the film was chosen as the eighth best pink release of the year, and Aoyama was given an award as Best Actress.[8] Aoyama was one of the leads in the 2006 mainstream romantic fantasy Cat Girl Kiki (萌えキュン＠MOVIE 猫耳少女キキ, Nekomimi shojo Kiki), which was also released in the United States in May 2007.[9][10]

Aoyama announced her retirement from AV work at the June 2007 event Momotaro Night 2007! (桃太郎Ｎight！2007) held in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Her retirement was marked by simultaneous releases of videos from the Momotaro and Attackers studios on June 7, 2007 and a special photo session appearance by Aoyama for Attackers.[11][12]

After her retirement from adult videos, Aoyama continued to make pink films including starring roles in the 2008 Nakagawa Jun Kyōju no Inbina Hibi with Rinako Hirasawa, and director Yoshikazu Katō's November 2009 film Tsubo Hime Sōpu: Nuru Hada de Urazeme (壺姫ソープ　ぬる肌で裏責め), which won the Best Film at the Pink Grand Prix for 2009. Aoyama was also named Best Actress, 2nd place for her performance in this film.[13] Also in 2009, Aoyama won the Best Supporting Actress prize at the Pinky Ribbon Awards.[14]

In addition to appearances on television and in V-cinema, Aoyama also joined "Gesshoku Kagekidan", an avant-garde theatrical group, and in August 2008 performed in a play by Shūji Terayama.[2] In April 2011, Aoyama co-starred with Nao Ayukawa in director Yoshikazu Katō's pink film Kateikyōshi to mibōjin gibo: Masaguri kyōen (家庭教師と未亡人義母 まさぐり狂宴)[15] and soon afterwards she announced her retirement from the entertainment business and closed her official blog as of June 2011.[16]

Partial filmography

• Ambiguous (December 2003)
• Bitter Sweet (October 2004)
• Uncle's Paradise (May 2006)
• Nakagawa Jun Kyōju no Inbina Hibi (March 2008)

References

1. PRIME AGENCY MODEL DATA Archived 2011-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Minami Aoyama". pinkeiga.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
3. "Best Ten of 2003 (２００３年度ベストテン)" (in Japanese). P.G. Web Site. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
4. "Enjo-kôsai bokumetsu undô: jigoku-hen". IMDb. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
5. "kuchisake 口裂け" (in Japanese). AllCinema. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
6. "日本アダルト放送大賞2007 (Japanese Adult TV Awards 2007)" (in Japanese). www.avact-lab.net. March 28, 2007. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
7. Takatoshi, Naoi (2007-02-02). "Archived copy" 2006年度ピンク映画ベスト10＋α (in Japanese). www.walkerplus.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-23. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 【藍山みなみ】2006年に最も印象に残った女優は藍山みなみ。実力派とされながらなかなか主演に恵まれなかった彼女だが、渡邊元嗣監督の「萌えメイド　未成熟なご奉仕」で主演デビューすると、一般公開された「絶倫絶女（おじさん天国）」「熟母・娘　乱交」など次々と主役に抜てきされた。中でも「怪談・牡丹灯籠」のリメイク「熟母・娘　乱交」の幽霊役の美しさは尋常ではなかった。CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. "Best Ten of 2006 (２００６年度ベストテン)" (in Japanese). P.G. Web Site. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
9. "萌えキュン＠MOVIE 猫耳少女キキ" (in Japanese). AllCinema. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
10. "Cat Girl Kiki (2007)". IMDb. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
11. "Archived copy" 卒業イベント (in Japanese). Official Blog. Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2010-05-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
12. "June 2007" (in Japanese). mblog.dmm.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2012-07-06. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
13. "2009年度ベストテン (Best 10 of 2009)" (in Japanese). P.G. Web Site. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
14. "もろもろ告知 (Various notices)" (in Japanese). Pinky Ribbon Award site. Archived from the original on 2009-06-07. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
15. 家庭教師と未亡人義母 まさぐり狂宴 (in Japanese). Japanese Cinema Database. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
16. "VIVID COLOR vol.3「サリー【s'æli】」@下落合TACCS1179" (in Japanese). Livedoor. Retrieved 2013-02-06.

External links

• Minami Aoyama's official blog (in Japanese) (closed)
• Minami Aoyama at IMDb
• Minami Aoyama at the Internet Adult Film Database