Fuji was born in
Wakayama as the third child and younger daughter of future film producer Koji Shundo. Her family eventually moved to
Osaka, where, as a big fan of
Takarazuka Revue, Fuji started to attend a dancing, singing and acting school during junior high. At 17 her family moved to
Kyoto, shortly after which her and her older sister Nobuko started to appear on the local TV show
Hai Hai, Mahinadesu. After visiting
Toei's Kyoto studio, Fuji attracted the attention of director
Masahiro Makino, who invited her to appear in one of his films. Although Shundo initially opposed his daughter entering show business, wanting a "normal" life for her instead, he acquiesced figuring it would be better she work for Toei instead of their rivals. In 1963, Fuji made her film debut in Makino's
Hashu Yukyoden: Otoko no Sakazuki, and went on to appear in 10 movies that year while making regular appearances on
NHK and
TV Asahi television dramas.
Mark Schilling wrote that by the mid-1960s, Fuji was the leading actress for Toei, often playing the love interest for
Kōji Tsuruta and
Ken Takakura in
Ninkyo eiga. But she reached her peak in popularity between 1968 and 1972, starring as a sword-wielding gambler in the
Hibotan Bakuto series of films. In 1972, Fuji married a
kabuki actor she met while making the NHK drama
Minamoto no Yoshitsune. After making Makino's
Kanto Hizakura Ikka, she retired from acting that same year. Schilling wrote that the popularity of
Ninkyo eiga subsequently declined, and a search for a successor failed. ==Selected filmography==