Photo/Illutration Meiko Kaji plays Genkai in the live-action series adaptation of “YuYu Hakusho” ((c) Y.T.90-94)

Nearly 60 years after making her big screen debut, the iconic “Lady Snowblood” actress and singer, Meiko Kaji, is breaking new ground.

In addition to releasing an album in March that will reflect upon her career in the entertainment industry, Kaji shines in the live-action “YuYu Hakusho” series currently streaming on Netflix--where she pulls off wildly flamboyant action scenes.

In the 1970s, Kaji starred in numerous female-centric crime and revenge films, including the “Stray Cat Rock” series, the “Female Prisoner Scorpion” series and “Lady Snowblood,” which would influence U.S. director Quentin Tarantino.

Kaji saw a career resurgence in 2023 when her album “Hajiki Uta,” which was released in 1973, was re-issued as a vinyl record by a European label and caused a stir on the charts.

The unexpected audience response led to the production of her new album titled “Sette,” which means “seven” in Italian.

The album will be streaming before hitting store shelves in March.

It contains 11 songs, 10 of which are new compositions. One is a new arrangement of her song “The Flower of Carnage,” which was used in Tarantino’s film “Kill Bill Volume 1.”

Its popularity was eclipsed when another of her songs, “Urami Bushi,” was featured in “Kill Bill Volume 2.” But for Kaji, “Sette,” which features collaborations with many important figures from her long career, is “an album of returning kindness.”

“Masaaki Hirao, who composed “The Flower of Carnage,” used to tell me I should sing this song more often,” Kaji said. “I’m sure he would be happy in heaven (to see “The Flower of Carnage,” appear on the new album).”

“Sette” also contains several songs written by filmmakers Kaji has worked with over the years.

“Tattooed Love” and “Makka na Michi” (A crimson road), for example, both feature lyrics by director Yasuzo Masumura. Kaji appeared in his film “Double Suicide of Sonezaki” and won several acting awards for her performance.

Kaji explained that the songs on her new album “are a very different style from my earlier work, but I think they clearly reflect the tone of ‘Meiko Kaji movies.’”

Meanwhile, Kaji is also exploring new territory in her acting career.

She appears in “YuYu Hakusho,” a live-action adaptation of the manga of the same name by Yoshihiro Togashi, which started streaming on Netflix in December 2023.

The fantasy series centers around Yusuke (portrayed by Takumi Kitamura), who becomes a supernatural detective after dying in a freak accident.

Kaji plays Genkai, a martial arts master, who trains Yusuke. The role gives her a chance to show off her flair for action.

However, the production was not without its setbacks. The COVID-19 pandemic broke out just before filming was scheduled to begin and Kaji was forced to adjust to a stay-at-home lifestyle.

“My body was stiff, so I drank vinegar and stretched every day while filming was suspended,” Kaji said. “When the production resumed three months later, I was flexible enough to do exercises even young crew members couldn’t manage.”

The actress said she never ceased to be surprised by the U.S.-style production.

“At one time, 170 cameras were arranged in a circle around me, and another time I was asked to pronounce each syllable--‘a-i-u-e-o’--in front of a dozen or more cameras,” Kaji recalled. “I had a hard time at first because I’d never had an acting session like that before, but I found myself enjoying it eventually.”

Kaji said she feels fulfilled.

Her life hasn’t always been smooth sailing because she hates to make concessions.

“There have been many difficulties, but I have no regrets because I decided everything by myself,” Kaji said. “It was the word ‘kyoji’ (self-pride) that protected me when I was having a tough time.”

She came across the word soon after making her acting debut as a teen.

“I learned that the writer Yukio Mishima had said, ‘Dictionaries are not meant to be consulted, but to be read,’ and carried one with me at all times to read as if it were a Bible. And I accidentally found this word.”

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