Kazuko Hosoki
Kazuko Hosoki | |
|---|---|
細木 数子 | |
| Born | 4 April 1938 |
| Died | 8 November 2021 (aged 83) Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1982–2019 |
| Family |
|
Kazuko Hosoki (細木 数子, Hosoki Kazuko; 4 April 1938 – 8 November 2021[1]) was a Japanese fortune teller and writer. She was an author of over 100 books. In addition to her regular celebrity appearances on Japanese television, she was known for her belief that ancestor worship is central to Japanese identity.[2]
Hosoki was associated with Six-Star Divination, known in Japanese as Rokusei Senjutsu. Religious studies scholar Yoshihide Sakurai wrote that Hosoki published on the system in the early 1980s and "quickly set off a fortune-telling boom".[3] Guinness World Records lists Hosoki as having written 81 fortune-telling books totaling 34 million copies sold.[4] Netflix's media materials for the 2026 drama Straight to Hell also describe Hosoki as famous for Six-Star Divination.[5]
Biography
Hosoki began managing Tokyo clubs and coffee shops while still a teenager, eventually running up debts to Japanese organized crime members.[6] In 1983, she married influential Japanese power broker Masahiro Yasuoka, who died that same year.[6]
Celebrity
Hosoki appeared frequently on the original Iron Chef, where she served as one of the four celebrity judges that would determine the outcome of each match.[7] She was often seen stating her opinions very strongly on Japanese TV shows.[8][9] Some of her views may be taken as conservative.[10] She had repeatedly made very traditionalist statements on women in the family, stating that a woman's main function should be to support her husband's career.[10] She also endorsed the controversial visits made by Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Yasukuni Shrine.
Hosoki's celebrity fans include sumo wrestling yokozuna (grand champion) Asashōryū.[10] They appeared together on TV specials and Asashōryū once rented her white Rolls-Royce. She maintained a residence in Arashiyama, Kyoto City.
In popular culture
Hosoki's life was dramatized in the 2026 Netflix biographical drama series Straight to Hell, in which she was portrayed by Erika Toda. The series depicts Hosoki's rise from postwar poverty to her later career as a celebrity fortune teller and television personality.[11][12]
Death
Hosoki died in Tokyo on 8 November 2021, at the age of 83.
References
- ↑ 占術家・細木数子さんが83歳で死去 娘のかおりさんが「8日に永眠しました」と明かす Archived 20 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
- ↑ Nelson, John (2008). "Household Altars in Contemporary Japan Rectifying Buddhist "Ancestor Worship" with Home Décor and Consumer Choice". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 35 (2): 305–330. JSTOR 30233835.
- ↑ Sakurai, Yoshihide (March 2011). "Social Disparity and the Pop Spiritualism in Recent Japan" (PDF). Journal of the Graduate School of Letters. 6. Hokkaido University: 27–38. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
- ↑ "Best-selling author - fortune telling books". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
- ↑ "Straight to Hell". Netflix Media Center. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
- 1 2 Dorman, Benjamin (1 December 2006). "Religion in the News: Tokyo's Dr. Phil". Trinity College. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ↑ Maldanado, Juan. "Judges: Kazuko Hosoki". The Iron Chef Battle Database. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ↑ "Hosoki Kazuko in TBS's "Zubari Iu Wa Yo! and more". The Japan Times. 8 August 2004. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ↑ "Fortune-teller forecasts pop singer, conversations with the dead and psychic powers". The Japan Times. 15 April 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- 1 2 3 Dorman, Benjamin (3 September 2012). "Defining Religion in the Post-Aum Era". In Prohl, Inken; Nelson, John (eds.). Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions. Brill. pp. 509–528. ISBN 9789004234352.
- ↑ "Straight to Hell". Netflix. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- ↑ "'Straight to Hell' gets stuck in purgatory". The Japan Times. 28 April 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.