Hotaru Hazuki (葉月螢 or 葉月蛍, Hazuki Hotaru) is a Japanese actress and gravure model known for her work on the stage and in more pink films. She has appeared in award-winning pink films and was given "Best Actress" awards at the Pink Grand Prix for her work in this genre in 1995 and 1996. Including second-place awards, Hazuki has won five awards in the Best Actress category and one Best New Actress award, a record at the Pink Grand Prix.[3] She has been called the "Queen of Pink Eiga" and the "Last Pink Actress."[3]
Life and career
Hotaru Hazuki was born in Fukushima Prefecture in 1970 as Sayoko Ishii (石井佐代子, Ishii Sayoko).[1] She joined the Suizokukan Gekijō (Aquarium Theater) theatrical group while in university.[3] Besides performing in the groups' productions, she works as co-organizer.[1] She uses her birth name in her stage career.[1]
Hazuki made her screen debut in director Takahisa Zeze's 1993 film Modern Story About Bandits aka The Legend of the Thief.[1][3] Her role in Toshiya Ueno's Keep on Masturbating: Non-Stop Pleasure (1994) won her the Best New Actress, 2nd Place at the Pink Grand Prix.[4] To pink film audiences she is known less for her beauty than for her strong stage presence and unique vocal performance.[3] Anglophone pink film critic Jasper Sharp notes her "aloof, composed and slightly melancholic figure."[5]
She became closely associated with the work of Toshiki Satō, starring in some of his highest-regarded films,[6] including the Pink Grand Prix Best Film-winners Blissful Genuine Sex: Penetration! (1995) and Adultery Diary: One More Time While I'm Still Wet (1996). Hazuki was given the Best Actress award for her work in both films.[7][8] Her work in Satō's Apartment Wife: Midday Adultery (1997), Ueno's The Lustful Sister-in-Law 2: Erotic Games (1999) and pink film actor-director Yutaka Ikejima's Obscene Stalker: It Holds in Darkness! (2002) won her the Best Actress Silver Prize in three more of the annual ceremonies.[9][10][11]