Life
Yūjirō grew up in Kobe, Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, in Otaru, Hokkaidō, and in Zushi, Kanagawa. His father, an employee of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, was from Ehime Prefecture, and his mother was from Miyajima, Hiroshima.
He attended Otaru Fuji Kindergarten (小樽藤幼稚園) and then Otaru City Inaho Elementary School (小樽市立稲穂小学校). During his elementary school years he participated in competitive swimming, and skied on Mt. Tengu (天狗山, tenguyama?). He then attended Zushi City Zushi junior High School (逗子市立逗子中学校, zushi shiritsu zushi chuugakkō?), where he began playing basketball. He aimed to enter Keio Senior High School (慶應義塾高等学校), but did not pass the entrance examination. He enrolled at Keio Shiki Boys' Senior High School (慶應義塾志木高等学校), but in 1951 was admitted to Keio Senior High School. Afterward he entered the political science department of the school of law at Keio University, associated with the high school, but reportedly spent all his time playing around.
Wanting to become an actor, he auditioned at Toho, Daiei Film and Nikkatsu, but did not pass any of his auditions. However, in 1956, with help from producer Takiko Mizunoe and his brother Shintaro, he got a bit-part in the film adaptation of Shintaro's Akutagawa Prize-winning Season of the Sun, making his film debut. Afterward, he withdrew from Keio University to work for Nikkatsu. He then played the main role in the film adaptation of Shintaro's novel Crazed Fruit, which was made after Season of the Sun.
He would go on to become one of the representative stars of the Showa Era with his career of acting and singing, but his life was one made harder by illness and injury.
His grave is a granite gorintō, at Sōji-ji temple in Tsurumi, Yokohama, Kanagawa.
Read more about this topic: Yujiro Ishihara
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