Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Yamamoto Koji reveals how he got Horikita Maki to marry him

On August 24, Yamamoto Koji (38) gave an interview on Fuji TV's morning news program 'Tokudane!' detailing the 6-year journey from the time he met Horikita Maki (26) to their marriage on August 22.


They first met while filming for 2009 spring drama 'Atashinchi no Danshi' and he said he was taken in by her mental strength although she was only 20 or 21 years old at the time. He asked for her number and got it, but it was the number for her agency.

In 2010, they played husband and wife in 'Wagaya no Rekishi'. He was impressed with her strong skills as an actress and also charmed by how reserved she can be at times. On the last day of filming, he invited her out for drinks with everyone but she declined.

He did not give up. After that, whenever she had a stage play, he will go backstage to say hello and give her handwritten letters asking if maybe it was about time he could have her mail address but she never responded. (not in direct interview, off-camera & from Daily Sports Online)

In 2012, Horikita was filming for NHK Asadora 'Umechan Sensei' and Yamamoto just happened to be filming for NHK Taiga drama 'Taira no Kiyomori' in the studio next door. Everyday, still in his costume, he would drop by to see her until she actually said that he didn't have to anymore. (not in direct interview, off-camera & from Daily Sports Online)

Then this year, they were cast to play Catherine and Heathcliff in the stage play 'Arashi ga Oka' (Wuthering Heights) which ran in May. He had a moment of doubt then if he was good enough. About halfway through the practice sessions, he started writing letters to her almost daily, adding up to about 40 letters in total. In them, he would ask how she was doing that day, or to let him know if she needed any help. The final one though, was essentially a love letter. She did not reply to any of them.

The play wrapped up and and he still did not have her number. In a last-ditch attempt, he asked her if he could at least let her have his contact information but he thought it was finally over.

That night, she contacted him on LINE.
'Otsukaresama deshita. Maki da yo.'
At first he thought it was a fake, but it was the real thing.

From there, they gradually started to share tidbits about themselves but he thought it couldn't progress if they didn't meet up. But unlike him, she was a scandal-free actress and he had to make sure it stayed that way. He also added that of course, she has not told him her home address.

Then, he got to know that Horikita was heading to Kyoto. Following his intuition, he got on the shinkansen at Tokyo Station. He thought that if she got on the same train, it would be a miracle or destiny. At that moment, he had with him a ring 'packed with all his emotions' as he described it. Then, at Shinagawa Station, Horikita actually boarded the train. He gave the ring to her and asked her, not to start dating him, but to marry him. He thought that if marriage was something important to her at that moment, he would get through to her heart if he said it. Apparently it did.

From there, the relationship progressed rapidly and they moved in together in early August. 5 days before they submitted their marriage registration, he wrote her another letter asking her to marry him. This time, she finally replied with 'Yoroshiku onegai shimasu'. (not in direct interview, off-camera & from Sanspo)


19 comments:

  1. awwwwww....I like their story. He is sure a great guy, doesn't give up on her easily. Somehow, I feel great that both of them got married.

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  2. It's heart-warming to see that he never gave up despite of the rejections he got from Maki~ He's definitely head over heels for her. haha I wish them a blissful married life!

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  3. Perseverance and hard-work. beautiful love story indeed.

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  4. as long as he treat Maki better during marriage, never hurt her and she get married after have feeling/love for him then i wish them all the happiness in the world<3
    Maki is precious to me so as long as she happy then it ok even all my other otp involve here having heartbreak lol XD
    ganbare Maki, i hope he is the other half that deserve you and give you happiness^^

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  5. damn, i want to curse their relationship after i heard she had married. but after i read this story, i felt like... (T.T) ... i want maki to marry with a great guy and koji had shown his greatness in loving her. huhu. may ur marriage be blessed

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  6. if she really likes him then it's good! :)
    although there is a age difference of 12 years..
    but they both look happy so why not.. :D

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  7. Damn

    After horikita maki and kamenashi got reunited in yamaneko..somehow..i want maki and kami get married.
    As kame also really like maki since nobuta...and at the time when maki as catoon kattum guest..it is abvious kame really like maki..when the other mmbers tease him when he used spoon that maki just used...he smiled shyly..oww...futhermore...kame has interesting personality..he friendly
    .especially with maki..he alwaus smile when talking to maki...


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  8. Damn

    After horikita maki and kamenashi got reunited in yamaneko..somehow..i want maki and kami get married.
    As kame also really like maki since nobuta...and at the time when maki as catoon kattum guest..it is abvious kame really like maki..when the other mmbers tease him when he used spoon that maki just used...he smiled shyly..oww...futhermore...kame has interesting personality..he friendly
    .especially with maki..he alwaus smile when talking to maki...


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    1. You need to rewatch that episode of cartoon kat-tun because the members were teasing Kame with Jin as he used the same chopsticks he did.

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  9. I was really shocked that Maki married Koji Yamamoto. I felt so frustrated...I was like "WHY HIM?! WHY? MY SHIP HAS SUNK! NOOOO! IS THIS SOME KIND OF PRANK?!" But after reading this article.... omg... why... This is actually beautiful... As long as Maki is happy then.. :)

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  10. Wow, she married her stalker. Seriously, 40 letters?

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  11. Wow, so he stalked her relentlessly and she suddenly gave in and married him?? Something about it sounds very strange... This is sad. I can't imagine that this marriage will last long or even be a happy one with him being so possessive and creepy to get her. It makes me even more worried that there are fans commenting how they think that the way he pursued her is "romantic". It's not romantic, it's stalking!! If someone clearly shows no interest in you (like not replying to any letters) then you shouldn't keep pushing!

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    1. This is in Japanese we talked about, silent sometimes
      means something more a yes instead of no

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    2. my thoughts exactly. I am glad if she is happy but the story of how they got together is creepy to me and not romantic. If a guy is ever that persistent, it's not cute, it's creepy. I'm just hoping she did not feel pressured to marry him because they found out she was pregnant or something, gosh I really hope that isn't it and that she actually fell for him and his weird ways

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  12. I find that borderline creepy but- if that's her thing? ig good for him. Other women would have probably called that stalking. No means no, but in this case I guess it didn't

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  13. It's not for anyone else to say whether he was a stalker or not, just persistent. He wasn't hanging around her house after dark or watching her sleep, he just liked her and calmly and politely pursed her over years. She's the one who made the ultimate choice to start things, so I hope that they'll have many, many years of happiness.

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  14. She's one of my absolute faves I've been a fan of her since 2013 after watching Nobuta Wa Produce and Hanazakari no Kimitachi e and got smitten after Atashinchi no Danshi! The young me with a weird taste of crossdressing dramas loved her so much! Gosh time flies I was like 10 years when I discovered her and now I'm 20 still can't move on. She's a part of my core summer memories spent watching doramas. I was wondering how she was doing. Sigh ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)

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