Horikita Maki

Maki Horikita to star in NTV drama special "Higanbana - Onnatachi no Hanzai File"

Horikita Maki will be playing a police detective for the first time as she takes on the lead role in the NTV drama SP "Higanbana ~ Onnatachi no Hanzai File ~" which will be shown on 24 October at 9pm. She plays the character Kinomiya Nagisa who works in the 7th investigation division of the Metropolitan Police Department which is well-known for its beautiful female detectives with unique traits and nicknamed as "Higanbana" (flowers with poison in their roots). As a murder case took place at a wedding hall, the 7th division is then deployed to work on this case. Kinomiya is known to be a weirdo with a venomous tongue which is in contrast to Horikita's usual image.

Source: Sanspo

Maki Horikita to star in TV Asahi Special

Horikita Maki will be playing an evil woman in the TV Asahi SP "Matsumoto Seicho ~ Kiri no Hata" which will be shown this winter. She plays the character Yanagida Kiriko which had been taken on by famous actresses Baisho Chieko, Otake Shinobu and Yamaguchi Momoe in previous adaptations of the novel.

In this latest adaptation shot on location in Kitakyushu, Horikita's character Kiriko will take revenge on a famous lawyer Otsuka who caused the death of her younger brother (in the novel, the setting is her elder brother) after the lawyer refused to defend the brother in court due to their inability to pay the litigation costs, his tight schedule and his eagerness to go on a holiday with his lover. As a result, the brother who was intellectually-disabled, had to die as a convicted murderer. The time setting of the drama will also be changed from the 60s to the present day.

Source: Nikkansports

Maki Horikita marries Koji Yamamoto

Yamamoto Koji and Horikita Maki got married on 22 August and released their fax statements to the media through their respective agencies on the same day. The couple who are 12 years apart in terms of age, last worked together in the stage play "Arashigaoka" in May this year and soon begun dating in June. They started living together in early August and got married in just two months.

In Horikita's statement, she mentioned that she and Yamamoto first met about 6 years ago through work but only became attracted to him after working on the stage play "Arashigaoka" where she got to know him better. As such, this was what led to them getting married eventually. She ended her statement by asking for everyone's support as they begin life as a married couple.

Meanwhile, in Yamamoto's statement, he said that they had submitted their marriage application on 22 August which he saw as a necessary step to fulfill the responsibilities needed of a man. He mentioned that he met Horikita while filming the 2009 drama "Atashinchi no Danshi" but it took them about 6 years before they reunited in the play this May which led to the start of their relationship. Yamamoto asked everyone around them and Horikita's fans to continue supporting them as the two of them embark on a new phase of life hand-in-hand.

Source: Oricon / Nikkansports

Wow. I'm shocked. Didn't see that coming.
Congrats to them though.

gaijinmark wrote:Maki Horikita marries Koji Yamamoto

And so it follows:

Maki Horikita and Koji Yamamoto expecting their first child

Horikita Maki announced through her agency on 20 June that she is currently pregnant with her first child and due to give birth in January next year. Rumours of her pregnancy first surfaced in the 21 June issue of "Josei Jishin" where she was caught seeing a famous gynecologist in early June. As such, in response to the report, her agency confirmed the news but called upon the media not to disturb Horikita at the moment as she is in the early stage of her pregnancy.

Horikita got married to actor Yamamoto Koji in August last year and has always expressed her wish to be a mother soon. Soon after the filming for NTV Winter 2016 drama "Higanbana ~ Keishicho Sousa Nanaka ~" wrapped up in March 2016, Horikita has been taking time off work to prepare for pregnancy. At present, she can only be seen in CMs from three companies and rumours of her planning a retirement from showbiz were rife as she did not renew the contracts for more than 10 CM deals which she had been holding. There are also no plans for her to appear in any dramas, movies or stage plays for now.

Sources: Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi

gaijinmark wrote:
Maki Horikita and Koji Yamamoto expecting their first child

And it's a, , , , boy?, girl?, Klingon? For some reason, they don't want to tell us.

Maki Horikita gives birth to her first child

Yamamoto Koji and Horikita Maki welcomed the arrival of their first child recently as confirmed by her agency on 18 December. In the statement, the agency confirmed that both mother and child are doing well but there are no plans to announce the details such as the date of birth or gender of the baby.

On the previous night, SMAP's Katori Shingo who is a close friend of Yamamoto, broke the news first by congratulating the couple at the beginning of his TV Asahi programme "Sma Station!!". Katori said at the introduction which was filmed at the rooftop of TV Asahi's building that it was very cold but he had some warm news to share with everyone. He revealed that his friend Yamamoto had become a father and congratulated him and Horikita about this.

Yamamoto and Horikita got married in August last year and announced her pregnancy in June this year.

Sources: Nikkansports 1 / Nikkansports 2 / Sanspo

Maki Horikita announces her retirement from show business

Horikita Maki announced her retirement from showbiz through a handwritten statement released by her agency on 1 March 2017. She expressed thanks to her fans and everyone she had worked with over the last 14 years and revealed that her decision to quit was because she wanted to concentrate fully on her family especially after becoming a mother. She had also discussed this with her husband Yamamoto Koji who expressed understanding and support for her decision.

Horikita made her debut in the 2003 movie "COSMIC RESCUE" at the age of 14 after winning the heroine's role at the audition and had appeared in many dramas and movies to date. Her signature works include 2005 drama "Nobuta wo Produce", 2007 drama "Hanazakari no kimitachi e Ikemen Paradise", NHK's 2012 morning drama "Ume-chan Sensei" and 2005 movie "ALWAYS Sanchome no Yuuhi". She got married to Yamamoto in August 2015 and gave birth to their first child last December. Ever since her last drama "Higanbana" in Winter 2016, she had not appeared publicly except for her TV CMs which ran till end of January this year.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon

^I didn't follow Japanese entertainment in a long time. Just found out reading your posts Maki had a baby now she is retiring. That's a double shocker to me :omg: