--- name: "Nanako Matsushima" canonical: "https://film.one/person/nanako-matsushima" fi1m_id: "nanako-matsushima" imdb_id: "nm0559652" tmdb_id: 27776 wikidata_id: "Q253909" roles: ["Actor"] born: "13 October 1973" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-26T02:59:41.063341+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Nanako Matsushima ## Identity Nanako Matsushima - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/nanako-matsushima - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** nanako-matsushima - **IMDb ID:** nm0559652 - **TMDB ID:** 27776 - **Wikidata ID:** Q253909 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanako_Matsushima, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q253909, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0559652/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/27776 Actor. Born 13 October 1973 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 13 October 1973, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan - **Also known as:** 松嶋菜菜子 - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanako_Matsushima, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q253909, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0559652/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/27776 ## Streaming the US now - **The Roku Channel:** [*Ring*](https://film.one/film/ring.md) (84) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Nanako Matsushima > Nanako Matsushima brings urgency without fuss to people expected to know what to do. Her restraint is a considerable asset in *Ring*, where she keeps us interested in the investigation even when the writing falters. In *Ring* (1998), Nanako Matsushima makes the business of finding things out feel urgent, even when the film is taking too long to do it. Her Reiko Asakawa is a journalist investigating a cursed videotape, a premise that needs an actor who will take it seriously without insisting that we do. Matsushima supplies that seriousness without fuss. We were frightened because her urgency kept us involved through stretches that might otherwise have felt like waiting for the next clue. The television career places her repeatedly in jobs that require authority: teacher, doctor, housekeeper. After the lead in *Himawari* (1996), *A Story of Love* (1997) and *Great Teacher Onizuka* (1998) helped establish her. *Ring* belongs to that period, rather than marking a permanent departure for horror. Television remained central, with the title role in *I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper* (2011) among her later leads. That continuity matters: the everyday credibility needed for these roles is also what makes Reiko's predicament persuasive. Hideo Nakata's direction gives that performance room to work. He allows us time to look and worry, and Matsushima does not try to fill the pauses by announcing how serious everything is. Hiroyuki Sanada, playing Ryuji Takayama, works with a similar restraint; the two had already appeared together in *A Story of Love*. They hold our interest when the script is busy supplying information. The writing is not always sure of itself, and neither actor can make every stage of the investigation compelling, but they give us a reason to stay attentive. Later work includes supporting roles, among them *Shield of Straw* (2013), and animation, voicing Yoriko Sasaki in *When Marnie Was There* (2014). Those are different uses for an actor whose established strength is the authority she brings to professional women under pressure. We would welcome more genre work that tests that authority, giving her a problem to solve rather than simply a threat to react to. Start with *Ring*, provided a few slow stretches do not put you off. ## Biography Nanako Matsushima is a Japanese actress and model. She made her screen debut in the mid-1990s after beginning her career as a fashion model and rose to prominence with leading roles in television dramas, including the NHK Asadora *Himawari* (1996) and *GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka* (1998). She is best known internationally for her role as Reiko Asakawa in the horror film *Ring* (1998). Other notable screen credits include *Ring 2* (1999), *Whiteout* (2000), *Shield of Straw* (2013) and the voice of Yoriko Sasaki in the animated feature *When Marnie Was There* (2014). Matsushima has received multiple Japan Television Drama Academy Awards for her television work. In 2001 she married actor Takashi Sorimachi, with whom she had previously co-starred. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Ring* (1998), Fi1m 84, as Reiko Asakawa — [page](https://film.one/film/ring.md) ## Complete filmography (62) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *GTO (2026)* (2026), series, as Azusa Fuyutsuki - *One in a Million: Tax Squad* (2026), series, as Yoneda Seiko - *Anpan* (2025), series, as Tomiko Yanai - *Haha no Matsu Sato* (2024), series, Actor - *GTO Revival* (2024), Actor - *Ougon No Toki - Kintaro Hattori Story* (2024), as Hattori Man - *Don't Call It Mystery: The Movie* (2023), Actor - *Kissing the Ring Finger* (2023), series, as Nitta Shizuka - *Neighbor Chikara* (2022), series, as Yoriko Michio（道尾 頼子） - *The Great Yokai War: Guardians* (2021), as Reika Watanabe - *夢の本屋をめぐる冒険* (2020), series, as 노조미 사사키 - *America ni Makenakatta Otoko - Bakayaro Souri Yoshida Shigeru* (2020), as Kiyo Yoshida - *AI Amok* (2020), as Nozomi Kiryu - *Nozaki Shuhei President of Bank* (2020), series, as Shoko Tachikawa - *The World of Machida-kun* (2019), as Machida Momoka - *Natsuzora* (2019), series, Actor - *Yuukai Houtei: Seven Days* (2018), Actor - *The Crimes That Bind* (2018), as Hiromi Asai - *Nozaki Shuhei - Auditor of Bank* (2018), series, as Shoko Tachikawa - *Onna no Kunsho* (2017), series, Actor - *Tower of Sand* (2016), series, as Sasaki Yumiko - *Natsuko Kira* (2016), series, as Natsuko Kira · Creator - *Red Cross* (2015), series, as 希代 - *Another Story* (2015), series, Actor - *Murder on the Orient Express* (2015), as Maiko Baba - *Murder on the Orient Express* (2015), series, Actor - *When Marnie Was There* (2014), as Yoriko Sasaki (voice) - *Shield of Straw* (2013), as Atsuko Shiraiwa - *Lucky Seven Special* (2013), Actor - *Lucky Seven* (2012), series, as Toko Fujisaki - *I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper* (2011), series, as Akari Mita - *Ghost* (2010), as Nanami Hoshino - *Jungle Emperor: Courage Changes the Future* (2009), as Eliza (voice) - *BOYS OVER FLOWERS the movie* (2008), as Tsubaki Dōmyōji - *Bizan* (2007), as Sakiko Kouno - *Murder of the Inugami Clan* (2006), as Tamayo Nonomiya - *Furuhata Ninzaburo Final: Last Dance* (2006), Actor - *Grave of the Fireflies* (2005), as Hisako - *BOYS OVER FLOWERS* (2005), series, as Domyoji Tsubaki - *Beauty or Beast* (2003), series, Actor - *Toshiie and Matsu* (2002), series, as Matsu - *Perfect Woman* (2000), series, as Jinno Sakurako - *The Story of One Century* (2000), series, as Main Role - *Whiteout* (2000), as Chiaki Hirakawa - *Ice World* (1999), series, as Egi Toko - *Forbidden Love* (1999), series, as Michi Hirose - *Ring 2* (1999), as Reiko Asakawa - *Emergency Room 24 Hours* (1999), series, as 小島楓（こじま かえで） 演 - 松嶋菜々子 - *GTOスペシャル座談会* (1998), series, as Azusa Fuyutsuki - *GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka* (1998), series, as Azusa Fuyutsuki - *Ring* (1998), as Reiko Asakawa — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/ring.md) - *The Spiral* (1998), as Reiko Asakawa (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Sweet Season* (1998), series, as Fujitani Mahiro - *Dramatic Travelogue: Midnight Express ’98 – Toward the Light, Europe* (1998), Actor - *The Doctor Is In* (1997), series, Actor - *こんな恋のはなし* (1997), series, Actor - *Dramatic Travelogue: Midnight Express ’97 – Westward to Eurasia* (1997), Actor - *A Story of Love* (1997), series, Actor - *Fireworks, Ferris Wheels and Love* (1997), as Fumika Nonomura - *Dramatic Travelogue: Midnight Express ’96 – Torrid Asia* (1996), Actor - *Himawari* (1996), series, as Nozomi Minamida - *Furuhata Ninzaburo* (1994), series, Actor ## Gallery - ![Nanako Matsushima](https://film.one/media/person/1001161/gallery-cabb1a11ddcd.jpg) Nanako Matsushima — Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Nanako_Matsushima_Cannes_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![松嶋菜々子 (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/1001161/gallery-5e4318fb82d4.jpg) 松嶋菜々子 (2009) — KIYOUNG KIM, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Nanako_Matsushima_in_2010_10.jpg/1280px-Nanako_Matsushima_in_2010_10.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![松嶋菜々子 (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/1001161/gallery-da48bf337f34.jpg) 松嶋菜々子 (2009) — KIYOUNG KIM, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Nanako_Matsushima_in_2010_7.jpg/1280px-Nanako_Matsushima_in_2010_7.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![松嶋菜々子 (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/1001161/gallery-37ee735953ec.jpg) 松嶋菜々子 (2009) — KIYOUNG KIM, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Nanako_Matsushima_in_2010.jpg/1280px-Nanako_Matsushima_in_2010.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Nanako Matsushima](https://film.one/media/person/1001161/gallery-2ea906ffed9b.jpg) Nanako Matsushima — Image via TMDB - ![Nanako Matsushima](https://film.one/media/person/1001161/gallery-6ef05b929e92.jpg) Nanako Matsushima — Image via TMDB - ![松嶋菜々子 (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/1001161/gallery-61950837dafb.jpg) 松嶋菜々子 (2009) — KIYOUNG KIM, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Nanako_Matsushima_in_2010_17.jpg/1280px-Nanako_Matsushima_in_2010_17.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![松嶋菜々子 (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/1001161/gallery-c6f77ab69a7f.jpg) 松嶋菜々子 (2009) — KIYOUNG KIM, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Nanako_Matsushima_in_2010_6.jpg/1280px-Nanako_Matsushima_in_2010_6.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) ## Awards ### Other awards — 1 won - Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year 1999: Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/nanako-matsushima