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Masumi is living by the sword these days.
The Japanese pop musician makes her feature debut in the action flick Yakuza Princess. Based on the graphic novel Samurai Shiro by Danilo Beyruth, the movie follows a 21-year-old Akemi (Masumi), who resides in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Akemi’s life gets thrown into chaos when her world collides with amnesiac assassin Shiro (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and his shiny ancient sword. As it turns out, Akemi — who survived a massacre as a child — is the heiress to half of the Yakuza crime syndicate… an organization that wants her dead.
Masumi recently spoke to CBR about transitioning from singer to actor, sword fighting, movie soundtracks and female empowerment.
CBR: You moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a singer. When did the acting bug bite you?
Masumi: I came to Los Angeles about 10 years ago now to pursue music. About two years ago, I approached a really big music agency in Japan. I was hoping they could manage me. I approached them and they basically told me to go audition for something. I said I had never done acting before, that I was here to talk about music. But they were like, “No, I just want you to go to this audition.”
I go to the audition, thinking that I have to do something to get the meeting. I went to the audition, did really well and they signed me as an actor. I was hoping that one day, if I kept doing well, that they were going to sign me as a musician, and they never did. I was never trained for it, so I didn’t know what I was doing.
It wasn’t until three months before the movie, I finally decided to go to an acting school and really try doing this acting thing. Music was really not going in the direction that I wanted it to go. So, three months before the movie, I went to school and really gave it my all, just focused on acting. The audition for Yakuza came and I landed it.
What was the audition process like for the role of Akemi?
My manager, now, heard from this Brazil producer that he was looking for a female Japanese actor. He sent in my self-tape, although he wasn’t my manager at the time. The producer, Tubaldini [Shelling], wanted to have a meeting with me right away. I first had a meeting with him in L.A., because he happened to be in Los Angeles at the time, which was a nice synchronicity. Then, he asked me to self-tape. I self-taped three scenes, and I think it took about three weeks because there were a couple of other girls that they were getting tapes from. Then, I got it. That’s how it happened.
It’s a safe bet that you did some research. What impressed you about the graphic novel this movie is based on?
One of the things that stood out to me was it’s about a Japanese girl. For me, Japanese in Brazil, I haven’t read a lot of comics about it. I haven’t read a lot about this kind of setting. It was cool because I feel the same way. I was born in America, but I was taken to Japan when I was five. So, I always dealt with this half-Japanese/half-American kind of feeling, not belonging exactly anywhere.
Akemi goes through the same thing. She was born in Japan, but quickly taken to Brazil. Although there’s a lot of Japanese communities in Brazil, she still feels like she doesn’t belong anywhere. She feels very small and that feeling, which was written by a Brazilian person, was a big shock to me.
Introduce us to Akemi and the situation she finds herself in.
The film is set in the Japanese community of Sao Paulo in Brazil. It’s about an orphan girl, who realizes that she is the last heiress to this powerful Yakuza clan in Japan. The Yakuza clan is split in two. Half of them want her dead. The story really starts when she meets this strange assassin, named Shiro, who has no memory. He brings this creepy sword and tells her their fates are somehow intertwined because of this sword.
How would you describe the dynamic between Akemi and Shiro?
Shiro doesn’t know anything about himself. He’s like a ghost, He doesn’t know his past. He doesn’t remember anything. All he has is this sword. Akemi is almost the same. She doesn’t know anything about her family. They don’t both know each other at all. They both don’t know themselves, either. But they have to work with each other to get closer to the truth. It’s constantly being on your toes with the other person, but also finding familiarity because there is a feeling of not belonging with both of them.
Akemi wields a sword. What kind of special training did this part require from you?
I had absolutely no formal training before. I have a phobia of sharp things; even butter knives scare me. We had about a month of training. They let me take a few classes. There was a lot of other fighting, too, that wasn’t sword fighting. There was a lot of choreography I had to learn, along with the Kendo fights. All of them were a loss for me because I’ve never done martial arts before. But I was really grateful because my husband with me and he’s a martial arts U.S. Champion. He was able to help me through it all, but he wasn’t able to quite help me with the sword… I received a lot of help from the Brazilian Kendo masters.
Is there a fight sequence you are particularly proud of?
Me and my husband got married two days before we were in Brazil. He was not supposed to be in the movie, but he got hired. We also got to choreography our own fight sequence, where we have a fight together. That was my proudest moment.
How does it feel to have your original song, “Run Baby Run,” on the soundtrack?
It was my dream come true. Five years ago, I wrote in my diary, “One day, I will have my song in a movie.” It was a moment that came true. I’m never going to forget this happened.
Do you see Akemi as a role model for female empowerment?
Yes, I do. There’s a lot of violence in this, but I think violence is a symbolism of how much you have to work in real life when a lot of tragedy and obstacles can come your way. You really have to find the strength to combat your fear and keep on moving forward. That’s something I want young females to find in themselves.
Yakuza Princess is now playing in select theaters and on VOD.
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