About

You can see Ako as Daiyoin/Iyo no Kata in the exciting new Disney/FX/Hulu series ‘SHOGUN’, based on the famous James Clavell novel. It begins airing February 27th 2023. She is in 5 of the 10 episodes.

Born in Japan and raised in Tokyo, Ako is a former member of the world-famous Takarazuka Theatre Company in Japan. There she played featured roles in musicals, revues, contemporary and traditional dramas. Following a successful stage and television career in Japan, Ako moved to New York. She has appeared in films including SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS directed by Scott Hicks, a BBC-film called PRISONERS IN TIME with John Hurt and Randall Duk Kim, I ORIGIN, TOO TIRED TO DIE, SHADOW PLAY, DAITORYO NO CHRISTMAS TREE, NO RESERVATIONS also for Scott Hicks, and TWELVE directed by Joel Schumacher. Television work includes a recent episode of 30 ROCK with Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, and Jennifer Aniston and ‘MERCY.’

Ako is also the founder artistic Director of Japanese-English bi-lingual theater company Amaterasu Za, and she is well known as a Kabuki choreographer and a Japanese authenticity advisor, and is a Certified teacher of Japanese Kabuki Dance. Ako adopted/produce/directed/costume design/act in all productions of Amaterasu Za. ‘CHUSHINGURA -47 RONIN’ 2022 Oct-Nov. off-Broadway was critically acclaimed.

New York Off Broadway productions include GOD SAID THIS,(Lucile Lortel award leading actress nomination), KENTUCKY, SAYONARA, SONG OF SONG OF SONGS, TAMAR OF THE RIVER, TEA WITH THE HAIKU GEISHA, TWO CITIES, TEA HOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON, A MAJORITY OF ONE, SHOGUN MACBETH, GASHRUM KOTWAL, Velina Hasu Houston’s play TEA and KOKORO .

She has worked in some of America’s leading regional theaters, including Actors Theatre of Louisville (KY), Williamstown Theatre Festival, Arena Stage (DC), Alley Theater (Houston), Papermill Playhouse (NJ), TUTS (Houston and Seattle), ESIPA (Albany), ACT (Seattle), Pittsburgh Public Theater, and the Contemporary American Theater Festival (WV) andO’Neal Playwright Conference.

She was the Oregon Shakespeare Festival acting company member, 2010-2012 season; she played as Lady Asaji (Lady Macbeth) in ‘THRONE OF BLOOD’, that was adapted/directed by Ping Chong from Akira Kurosawa’s film based on Macbeth, it was transferred to BAM as a part of the Next Wave Festival. 2011 season; as Soothsayer/Caius Ligarius in ‘Julius Caesar’ and as Madame Mercade in ‘Love’s Labor’s Lost’. 2012 season; as Acolyte/Ensemble in Mary Zimmerman’s ‘The White Snake’ and as Cook/u/s Polina in ‘Seagull’.

AKO was critically-acclaimed on tour throughout the U.S. as Katsumi in the musical SAYONARA based on James A. Michener’s book SAYONARA made famous in the Marlon Brando film.

AKO recorded an Original Cast Album for the musical TAMAR OF THE RIVER (music by Marisa Michelson, book Joshua H. Cohen) in which she appeared in an Off Broadway production in New York in 2014.

Ako appeared in 'MOSCOW, MOSCOW, MOSCOW, MOSCOW, MOSCOW, MOSCOW' by Halley Feiffer directed by Trip Culman at MCC July and August 2019, and was performing in Ma-Yi Theater’s production of ‘Suicide Forest’ in February of 2020 until we were forced to close by COVID..

She dedicates her work to her mother Akiko and her husband Joshua Dachs, principal of Fisher Dachs Associates, a theater planning and design firm. She has appeared on stages he has designed at the Pittsburgh Public Theater and Arena Stage.

 二年間の宝塚音楽学校を主席で通し卒業式では社長賞と優等賞を受賞、その後、宝塚歌劇団の月組で８年間「夏海陽子」と云う芸名で「オクラホマ」「ウェストサイド・ストーリー」「嵐が丘」等に出演し新人賞、歌唱賞、演技賞を受賞。

その後は、テレビではレギュラー「たぬき先生奮戦記」「たぬき先生繁盛記」「別れて生きる時も」、準レギュラー「ぬかるみの女」「江戸を斬るll」ゲスト出演「水戸黄門」「江戸を斬る」「破れ傘刀舟」「破れ奉行」等、舞台は「大川橋蔵公演」「高橋英樹公演」「美空ひばり公演」「里見浩太朗公演」「中村鴈治郎公演」等に出演する傍ら、藤間宗家の師範名執り「藤間公紫」として歌舞伎等の振り付け助手も務める。

NHKの軽音楽コンクールに入賞し「昼のメロディー」に出演。

１９８１年にニューヨークへ渡り、リー・ストラスバーグ演劇学校に入学。

１９８５年に「C級横浜裁判」のオーディションに受かり芸名を「AKO」として、アメリカでの演劇活動が始る。

映画/TVは「ヒマラヤ杉に降る雪」「ノー・リザベーション」「スリープ・ウォーク」「大統領のクリスマスツリー」「I Origin], 「30 Rock], 「Mercy], BBC「プリズナーズ・イン・タイム」等、

舞台はオレゴン・シェイクスピア・フェスティヴァルに三年在籍し２０１０年に黒澤明監督の「蜘蛛の巣城」を英語版にリメイクした「Throne of the Blood」で主役の浅茅を演じる。その他ミュージカルは「さよなら」「ミカド・インク」「タマー・オヴ・ザ・リヴァー」。プレイは「ゴッド・セッド・ディス（ルシル・ローテル主演女優賞ノミネーション）」「ケンタッキー」「ジュリアス・シーザー」「モスコー、モスコー、モスコー、モスコー、モスコー、モスコー、」「M・バタフライ」「八月十五夜の茶屋」「こころ」「ティー」「クラスCトライアル・イン・ヨコハマ」「スリーピング・ビューティー」等。「タマー・オヴ・ザ・リヴァー」はCDとしても発売。又、オーディブル・ドットコムの童話の日本語版の朗読も務める。

１９９９年に劇場デザインプランナーのジョシュア・ダックス氏www.dfa-online.comと結婚。現在ニューヨーク・マンハッタンのトライベッカ在住。

2018年にNPOの日米両語の劇団「Amaterasu Za」www.amaterasuza.orgをニューヨークで設立、芸術監督を務める。全作品の制作／脚色／演出／衣装／主演を担当。2022年10−11月のオフ・ブロードウェイ「CHUSHINGURA -47 Ronin」は日本人による本格的な時代劇で好評を博した。

2024 年公開のFX ‘SHOGUN’で大蓉院／伊予の方を演じている。

REPRESENTATION:

Wolf Talent Group
1-212--840-6787

Teresa Wolf: teresa@wolftalentgroup.com

Emily Morgan: emily@wolftalentgroup.com

Kym Smith: kym@wolftalentgroup.com