Yoshiko Yamamoto (voice actress)

Yamamoto was born in Tokyo Prefecture, Japan on October 16, 1936.^[2]

She graduated from the Nihon University College of Art.^[8][9]

While she was in university, she joined the TBS Broadcasting Drama Troupe as a 6th-term member in March 1958,^[10][9][11] with her classmates including Takako Sasuga and Sumiko Shirakawa.^[12] Before she had joined, she was a part of the Sanno Theater Company.^[10]

Yamamoto has been affiliated with Seinen Kobo,^[13] Nakagawa Pro,^[6] Tsuchi no Kai,^[14] Akasaka Production,^[15] Mausu Promotion,^[8][9] and Sun Ace Kikaku,^[5] with her current affiliation being with Office Kaoru.^[2][3]

As of 2024, following the deaths of Ichirō Nagai (Namihei Isono) in 2014,^[16] Miyoko Asō (Fune Isono) in 2018,^[17] Shinsuke Chikaishi (Masuo Fuguta) in 2022,^[18] Takako Sasuga (Tarao Fuguta) in 2023,^[19] and Nobuyo Ōyama (Katsuo Isono) in 2024,^[20] she and Midori Katō (Sazae Fuguta) are the last surviving original cast members of the Sazae-san anime series.

Her vocal range is alto.^[3]

Her personal hobby is pottery.^[3] She is fluent in speaking French^[8] and obtained a certification in Braille.^[3]

Yamamoto frequently portrayed roles that required her to "dub naturally" and would portray characters who acted in a straightforward manner. She has also portrayed characters driven into tragic situations.^[9]

In October 1958, she was selected to portray Nami Katagiri, the heroine of the National Arts Festival-participating television drama Mammoth Tower.^[11] Director Hajime Ishikawa initially planned to cast a theater actress, but noticed Yamamoto's performance in the television drama O Sage Shachō and decided to cast her, feeling that her naturally bright and straightforward demeanor perfectly suited the role.^[11][21] In preparation, she learned horseback riding at Seifukai in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, and Western dancing from Dan Yada.^[21]

She stepped down from the role of Wakame Isono on Sazae-san after the March 28, 1976 broadcast.^[22] While her official reason for leaving was claimed to have been because of "health issues",^[22] Michiko Nomura, her successor from 1976 to 2005, revealed that Yamamoto stepped down because she had gone to France, which prompted the production staff to hold auditions to find a new voice.^[23]

Yamamoto has revealed that she is a mother of a few children, and that whenever she would go to PTA meetings in 1975, the other mothers present there would ask her to "do Wakame-chan", much to her embarrassment.^[24]