is a Japanese actor.

Life and career

Miura attended Hino high school in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. He was originally a member of rock group RC Succession, but was asked to leave the group by their management when they signed a record contract. However, impressed by his looks, the management company asked him to try out acting. In 1974 he appeared in an advertisement for

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with young singer

Momoe Yamaguchi , known by her maiden name , is a Japanese former singer, actress, and idol whose career lasted from 1972 to 1980. Often simply referred to by her given name "Momoe," Yamaguchi is one of the most successful singers in Japanese music, releasing 32 ...

. When casting the male lead for her film ''

Izu no Odoriko is a novel by Japanese writer and Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata first published in 1926. Plot The narrator, a twenty-year-old student from Tokyo, travels the Izu Peninsula during the last days of the summer holidays, a journey which he ...

'', they thought of Miura, and he was chosen as the male lead. The popularity of the Miura/Yamaguchi combination led to them starring together in a series of films and television series. They became known as the "Golden Combi". Although Yamaguchi had a separate career as a singer, this was Miura's main form of employment through the 1970s. In 1980 Miura and Yamaguchi married, and the 21-year-old Yamaguchi retired from show business. Initially Miura struggled with his acting career, which had consisted of playing Yamaguchi's romantic partner. However, after a few years of struggle, he was able to establish himself as an actor, changing his type from the "clean cut youth" roles he had played with Yamaguchi to "bad boy" roles. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 10th Hochi Film Award and at the 7th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Typhoon Club''. Miura is a keen pachinko player and was a smoker until he gave it up at the age of 50. Because of his appearance in cigarette advertisements, it was debated in the Japanese diet whether Miura was an "idol" who could be considered to have a strong influence on underage smoking. Due to his wife's relatively greater fame and popularity, he is sometimes referred to as just "Momoe's husband" (Momoe-chan no Danna-san), a name which he dislikes. The couple have two sons, Yutaro, who went on to marry singer and seiyuu

Yui Makino is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer, and pianist. She is best known for her work in the anime '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' where she voices Sakura and some of the theme songs for the ''Aria'' anime series. She is associated with ...

, and Takahiro, and have repeatedly been chosen as "the ideal celebrity couple". According to Miura, they have never had a marital quarrel.

Filmography

Film

Television

Japanese dub

Books

*Hishatai (被写体) 1987 *Aisho (相性) 2012

Honours

* Medal with Purple Ribbon (2012)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miura, Tomokazu 1952 births Japanese male film actors Living people People from Yamanashi Prefecture 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors Male actors from Tokyo Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon