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Actress Nobuku Miyamoto first appeared on Japanese television in the early 1980s. The majority of her acting roles in film have been in the works of the late director Juzo Itami, who was Miyamoto's husband. Itami's satire and social commentary have usually revolved around the comic, intelligent performances of Miyamoto, in roles such as a clever tax inspector in A Taxing Woman (1987), and a tough lawyer in Minbo (1992). Her performance as the title character in Tampopo (1986) is probably her best-known role; the film was embraced by critics worldwide and earned Miyamoto and her husband a permanent place in contemporary Japanese cinema.