Yoko Morishita

Yoko Morishita (森下洋子) is a Japanese ballerina born in Hiroshima on December 7, 1948. She began studying ballet at age three and relocated to Tokyo in 1963, at age twelve, to pursue her training more seriously. She studied ballet in America in 1969 and joined the Matsuyama Ballet Company in 1971, the institution with which she has maintained her longest and most central professional association, assuming a leadership role there in 2001.

Morishita's Broadway appearances span the years 1975 to 1983, with credits that include the Boston Ballet Company and Ballet Theatre. Her international stage presence extended well beyond Broadway during this period. In 1977 she performed for the 25th anniversary celebration of Queen Elizabeth, and in 1981 she danced at the Palais Garnier in Paris, becoming the first Japanese ballerina to perform there. Beginning in 1983, she performed alongside Rudolf Nureyev. She has also served as a judge at international ballet competitions.

Her competitive career yielded significant recognition, including the Gold Medal at the 1974 Varna International Ballet Competition. She received the Japan Academy Prize in both 1975 and 1977, followed by the Japan Academy of Arts Award in 1985 and recognition at the 10th Laurence Olivier Awards that same year. In 1997 she was named one of Japan's Persons of Cultural Merit, and in 2000 she received the Hiroshima Prefectural Prize of Honour. She became a member of the Japan Art Academy in 2002 and was awarded the Praemium Imperiale on October 23, 2012.