W9- Japan - Actresses and Early Cinema.

Ayako Wakao was born on 8 November 1933 in Tokyo, Japan. She is an actress, known for Seisaku's Wife (1965), Women Are Born Twice (1961) and A Wife Confesses (1961).

She began acting after high school as part of a theatre troupe. Her stage name was Yuuki Chiho. Years later she would relay that she only started acting for the money. Her father had wanted her to become a pharmacologist, but she missed her examination due to a fractured foot. She changed her alias to Kirin Kiki after being asked to auction something on a television show claiming she possessed nothing else she could offer. Her marriage to fellow trouper Kishida Shin came to an end after four years in 1968. She married pop musician Uchida Yuya in 1973. The couple quickly raised eyebrows by opting to live under separate roofs. They had a daughter. They are separated today. Her daughter, Uchida Yayako, portrayed the younger character of Kiki's in Tokyo Tower: Mom And Me, And Sometimes Dad. Uchida Yayako is married to the actor Motoki Masahiro of Departures fame. Kirin's granddaughter acted alongside her in Red Bean. Uchida Yayako lives in Great Britain. Kirin appeared in many television serials, feature films and inevitably commercials like the Tora-San series, the offbeat Pistol Opera, Tokyo Tower: Mom And Me, And Sometimes Dad and the dismal Red Beans by which time she was very well-known. She has focused on the big screen, instead of television, in recent years. Heartache struck successively in 2003 and 2004 when she had to contend with a detached retina in her left eye, which made her believe she would go blind, and breast cancer which later - as of 2017 - would be announced incurable and terminal. She wanted people to know she undergone a mastec-tomy following her breast cancer diagnosis. Kirin won the Best Supporting Actress award at the Yokohama Film Festival for her work in the comedy Kamikaze Girls and Half A Confession in 2004 and the Japan Academy Prize for Mom And Me, And Sometimes Dad for Best Actress in 2008. She reports that she is a preferred recluse who does not like children and preferably does not interact with her own child or grandchild. She has managed herself through a fax machine since the death of her manager circa 2008.

Michiyo Kogure was born on 31 January 1918 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan. She was an actress, known for Aoi sanmyaku (1949), Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955) and Tsukigata Hanpeita: Hana no maki; Arashi no maki (1956). She died on 13 June 1990.

Reiko Sato was born on 19 December 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress and director, known for Flower Drum Song (1961), Now It Can Be Told (1970) and The Ugly American (1963). She died on 28 May 1981 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Fujiko Yamamoto was born on 11 December 1931 in Osaka, Japan. She is an actress, known for The Twilight Story (1960), Shirasagi (1958) and A Woman's Testament (1960).

Miyoshi Umeki was born as the youngest of 9 children. The daughter of a prominent Japanese iron factory owner, she developed an early passion for music, learning to play the mandolin, harmonica & piano. She also enjoyed singing American-styled tunes, much to the chagrin of her parents. This propensity for Americanized pop songs later paid off.

Although she projected the typical Japanese female stereotype of humbleness, delicacy & subservience in most of her prime film & stage roles, she was nevertheless an assertive scene-stealer. This docile & deceptive-looking talent w/ cropped hair as well as a heart-shaped face radiated charm in addition to innocence so effortlessly, she managed to make history at Academy Awards time as the 1st Asian actor to receive an acting Oscar for her superb work in the tragic post-WWII film drama Sayonara (1957).

Following World War II, she traveled w/ a U.S. Army G.I. jazz band in Japan as Nancy Umeki & was the 1st to record American songs for RCA Victor Japan. She became an extremely popular radio & nightclub artist, which sparked a move to the U.S. in 1955. Again, she demonstrated a demure prowess for gaining attention w/ her 1-season regular role (1955-1956) on the musical variety show Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (1949). W/ that popularity, she was able to sign w/ Mercury Records, eventually releasing 2 albums.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect. From this recognition, she was immediately cast in Sayonara (1957), which was based on James A. Michener's best-selling romantic tale. Inspired casting opposite comedian Red Buttons in a tragic, counterpoint romance as a World War II airman & his naive Japanese war bride who fall victim to post-war prejudice led to supporting Academy Awards for both actors. Despite her win, she would not make another film for 4 years.

Following her Oscar win, she starred on Broadway w/ the 1958 musical Flower Drum Song, in which she proved a highlight as a starry-eyed Chinese immigrant/mail-order bride w/ her captivating rendition of A Hundred Million Miracles, earning a Tony nomination in the process. She scored additional points after recreating her role for the film version of Flower Drum Song (1961).

In total, she made only 5 American films in all. Her other appearances were supporting roles in the naval comedy Cry for Happy (1961), The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962) & A Girl Named Tamiko (1962). She also tread fairly lightly on TV w/ random 60s appearances on The Donna Reed Show (1958), Dr. Kildare (1961), Rawhide (1959) & Mister Ed (1961), among others.

Duing the 50s & 60s, she was an occasional guest on variety shows for TV titans such as Perry Como, Dinah Shore, Merv Griffin, Andy Williams & Ed Sullivan. Arguably her biggest claim to fame was Mrs. Livingston in the heart-tugging TV comedy The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969). Following this renewed attention, she went into a complete self-imposed retirement.

She lived a sedate family life for more than 3 decades. Her 1958 marriage to TV producer/director Win Opie ended in divorce after 9 years. She subsequently married TV director Randall Hood in 1968. They ran a business renting editing equipment to film studios & university film programs until his sudden death in Los Angeles in 1976. A longtime resident of North Hollywood, she eventually moved to Missouri w/ advancing age to be nearer to her son & his family. She died of cancer at age 78 on August 28, 2007 in Licking, Missouri.

Toshia Mori was born on 1 January 1912 in Kyoto, Japan. She was an actress, known for Roar of the Dragon (1932), The Secrets of Wu Sin (1932) and The Man Without a Face (1928). She was married to Allen Jung. She died on 26 November 1995 in The Bronx, New York, USA.

Shima Iwashita was born on 3 January 1941 in Tokyo, Japan. She is an actress, known for Harakiri (1962), Ballad of Orin (1977) and Double Suicide (1969). She was previously married to Masahiro Shinoda.

Natsuko Kahara was born on 3 January 1921. She was an actress, known for The Bad Sleep Well (1960), Anyakôro (1959) and When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960). She died on 20 February 1991.

Setsuko Hara became one of Japan's best-loved stars over her 30-year film career. Her signature character type, variations on a daughter devoted to her parents and home, inspired the nickname that stayed with her until retirement: the Eternal Virgin. To some extent, reality mirrored her roles in these films. In a society that considers marriage and parenting almost obligatory, she remained single and childless, something of a controversy in Japan in the 1950s. Fortunately she was popular enough to avoid criticism, but the 1950s were still a hard decade. She was plagued by ill health, missing out on several top roles as a result, and she witnessed the death of her camera-man brother in a freak train accident on set.

In 1963, shortly after the death of her mentor, director Yasujirô Ozu, she suddenly walked away from the film industry. At age 43, and at the height of her popularity, she bluntly refused to perform again, angering her fans, the industry, and the press. She implied acting had never been a pleasure and that she had only pursued a career in order to provide for her large family; this explanation is seen as the cause of her popularity backlash. She moved to a small house in picturesque Kamakura where she remained, living alone (though apparently sociable with friends), and refusing all roles offered.

She is undoubtedly known mostly for her work with Yasujiro Ozu, making six films with the great director, including the so-called Noriko trilogy, of which Tokyo Story (1953) is probably the best-known. She also worked with Akira Kurosawa, Mikio Naruse, Hiroshi Inagaki, and many others.

Yoshiko Kuga was born on 21 January 1931 in Tokyo, Japan. She was an actress, known for Taiyô to bara (1956), Farewell to Dream (1956) and Somewhere Under the Broad Sky (1954). She was married to Akihiko Hirata. She died on 9 June 2024 in Japan.

Isuzu Yamada was born on 5 February 1917 in Osaka, Japan. She was an actress, known for Throne of Blood (1957), Yojimbo (1961) and A Cat and Two Women (1956). She was married to Tsutomu Shimomoto, Yoshi Katô, Kazuo Takimura, Ichirô Tsukida and Teinosuke Kinugasa. She died on 9 July 2012 in Inagi, Tokyo, Japan.

Born Tsuru Kawakami, Tsuru emigrated to the U.S. in 1903 with her aunt and uncle, who were in the theater business. She found work on stage before moving to film. She worked in L.A., then moved to San Francisco and New York before returning to California. At a time when even in her home country female leads were non-existent, she garnered top billing in a series of films by Thomas H. Ince, who had seen her on stage in L.A., including 1913's "The Oath of Tsuru San". She met her future husband Sessue Hayakawa on the set of O Mimi San (1914). They married in 1914 and went on to star together several times. She retired from acting 10 years later to raise her adopted children and only returned once, which was just prior to her death. This last performance was her sole speaking role.

Machiko Kyô was born on 25 March 1924 in Osaka, Japan. She was an actress, known for Rashomon (1950), Ugetsu (1953) and The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956). She died on 12 May 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.

Kyôko Kishida was born on 29 April 1930 in Suginami, Tokyo, Japan. She was an actress and writer, known for Woman in the Dunes (1964), An Autumn Afternoon (1962) and Ninja, a Band of Assassins (1962). She was married to Noboru Nakaya. She died on 17 December 2006 in Tokyo, Japan.

Along with Hara Setsuko and Tanaka Kinuyo, Takamine Hideko remains one of Japan's most admired and prolific film actresses. Born as Hirayama Hideko in Hakodate, Hokkaido in northern Japan in 1924, she became a child actress for Shochiku Studio at age five appearing in the film Haha. She would go on to work with directors like Kinoshita, Ozu, and arguably most notably Naruse Mikio. Mid-career she had switched to P.C.L. Film Studio (later Toho Studios) and then become independent yet she would work for notable directors nonetheless. By the time she married director Matsuyama Zenzo in 1955 she had acquired a reputation as depicting feminist roles where women seek their independence or are oppressed. She died in 2010 of lung cancer, but had recorded songs and written biographies before her death.

Michiyo Aratama was born on 15 January 1930 in Nara, Japan. She was an actress, known for The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959), The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959) and The Sword of Doom (1966). She died on 17 March 2001 in Tokyo, Japan.

Yaeko Mizutani was born on 16 April 1939 in Tokyo, Japan. She is an actress, known for Afraid to Die (1960), Tadanao kyo gyojoki (1960) and Zenigata Heiji torimono hikae: Bijin-gumo (1960). She was previously married to Hideo Shiraki.

Toyo Takahashi was born on 15 July 1903 in Tokyo, Japan. She was an actress, known for Tokyo Story (1953), Shiosai (1964) and Furimuita hanayome (1961). She died on 14 March 1981.

Tanaka Kinuyo was a highly regarded and prolific actress best known for her films with director Mizoguchi Kenji. She was immersed in the world of film having received her start in the world of entertainment at age fourteen, being a filmmaker herself, being the cousin of director Kobayashi Masaki and, very much like Hara Setsuko and Ozu Yasujiro, being anecdotally romantically linked with the aforementioned Mizoguchi. The director would later recommend against her being hired as a director, which caused a rift between the two. She received her first known credit in Shochiku's Genroku Onna in 1924. She stayed to become the studio's biggest actress, and a paradigm of beauty, until approximately 1949 when she travelled to the United States Of America as an ambassador of Japanese culture. Upon her return from the US the Japanese detected a change of attitude in her, as well as noting a new short hairdo, which momentarily lead to some criticism. She had married director Shimizu Hiroshi, with whom she had worked, in 1929. Sources claim this was a mere cohabitation however. The marriage lasted a matter of months, but the two worked together beyond their romantic union. She married another one of her directors Gosho Heinosuke, but not before also starring in several Ozu films. It looked like films like Aizen Katsu and Naniwa Onna would be the height of her fame with all their popularity, but post-war films like Life Of Oharu, Sansho The Bailiff and Ugetsu were even bigger classics and immortalized the actress. Another of her many other noteworthy performances was in The Ballad Of Narayama based on a tradition and folklore of Japan. As if to complete her tour de force of Japanese cinema she directed several films and even worked with Kurosawa Akira in Red Beard. She died of a brain tumor in 1977.

Miyake kuniko was born in the Iwatsuki ward of Saitama City, Saitama just north of Tokyo on 17.09.1916 as Miura Yasu and died on 04.11.1992 in Tokyo. In between she was in dozens of films most notably multiple collaborations with director Ozu Yasujiro in classics of cinema like Tokyo Story and Early Summer. She joined Shochiku studio and appeared in Yume No Sasayaki ('Sasayaki's Dream) in 1934. She retired from the business upon marriage in 1942, but returned in 1948 after World War II and played her most notable roles. Beginning the 1960s she was mostly active in television serials. She died of heart failure at age 76.

Mitsuko Mito was born on 23 March 1919 in Fukushima, Japan. She was an actress, known for Ugetsu (1953), Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) and Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955). She died on 5 April 1981.

Mieko Takamine was born on 2 December 1918 in Tokyo, Japan. She was an actress, known for The Inugami Family (1976), The Shogun Assassins (1979) and Hi no tori (1978). She died on 27 May 1990 in Japan.

Chieko Higashiyama was born on 30 September 1890 in Chiba, Japan. She was an actress, known for Tokyo Story (1953), Sen-hime (1954) and The Idiot (1951). She died on 8 May 1980.

Haruko Sugimura was born on 6 January 1909 in Hiroshima, Japan. She was an actress, known for Tokyo Story (1953), A Last Note (1995) and Repast (1951). She died on 4 April 1997 in Tokyo, Japan.