Juri Manase

Juri Manase (also known as Julie Manase, born 1 January 1975) is a Japanese actress.

Juri was inspired to be an actress at the age 5 by seeing her parents on sets and stage. While she was in school, she received varieties of lessons and trainings to acquire various skills and become a versatile actress. Throughout her secondary school years, she was being a member of the English acting club. After graduation, she studied acting at Nippon University and was a member of the university Tate (Japanese sword-action) club.

She began her acting career in 1994, in the same year landing a significant role by auditioning for a movie called "ButouhaJingi -Kanketsuhen-" She then appeared in several TV series, movies and plays in Japan. In 1998, Juri was praised in her role as a guest lead in an NHK TV series about Samurai called “Terakoya Yume Shinan.” Her career extended overseas when in 2002 she was invited to the US to teach 'Tate' (Japanese stage combat) to the leads in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill." Along the way, she was offered the role of a "Crazy 88". The director asked her to be Lucy Liu's stunt double for a few takes due to her level of expertise in Tate and Japanese traditional dance. In 2007, she landed a role as a Shinobi (Ninja) in the NHK samurai TV series Fūrin Kazan. Her performance as well as her expertise in sword-action fascinated the viewers.

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