Isuzu Yamada
Isuzu Yamada (山田 五十鈴, Yamada Isuzu, 5 February 1917 – 9 July 2012) was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career spanned seven decades. Yamada was born in Osaka as Mitsu Yamada, the daughter of Kusudu Yamada, a shinpa actor specialising in onnagata roles, and Ritsu, a geisha. Yamada debuted as a film actress in 1930 at age twelve, appearing in the Nikkatsu film Tsurugi wo koete. She soon became one of Nikkatsu's top actresses, but it was her portrayals of strong-willed modern girls in Kenji Mizoguchi's Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion in 1936 at the new Daiichi Eiga studio that earned her popularity and critical acclaim. Moving to Shinkō Kinema and then to Toho, she became a star with Mikio Naruse's Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro (1938). During the second half of the 1950s, Yamada's main attention shifted towards the stage, but she still appeared in a number of distinguished films like Naruse's Flowing (1956), Yasujirō Ozu's Tokyo Twilight (1957) and Akira Kurosawa's The Lower Depths (1957) and Throne of Blood (1957). Other directors she worked with during this decade include Keisuke Kinoshita, Kaneto Shindō and Shirō Toyoda. In addition to her theatre engagements, she appeared on television, including the long-running Hissatsu series. Her last TV appearance was in 2002. Yamada died from multiple organ failure in Tokyo on 9 July 2012 at the age of 95. She was married four times, to actor Ichirō Tsukita, to producer Kazuo Takimura, to actor Yoshi Katō, and to actor Tsutomu Shimomoto. Her daughter with Tsukita, Michiko, became known as the actress Michiko Saga (1935–1992). Description above from the Wikipedia article Isuzu Yamada, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Black River
as LandladyA university student moves into an apartment building and becomes involved with a waitress. The...
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Yojimbo
as OrinA nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two...
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Throne of Blood
as Lady Asaji WashizuReturning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who...
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Minamoto Yoshitsune
as uncreditedA historical scroll depicting the story of the tragic fate of the young samurai Minamoto...
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Tokyo Twilight
as Kisako SomaTwo sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot accept the...
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The Lower Depths
as Osugi the LandladyResidents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and...
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Hiroshima
as uncreditedThe film shows the bombing of Hiroshima and the horrific aftermath following the detonation of...
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Suspicion
as Tokie HoriuchiA car going at 25 mph plunges into the sea at Shinko Harbour, Toyama prefecture. Inside is the...
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Shogun's Samurai
as OeyoFollowing the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by...
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Sisters of the Gion
as O-mochaUmekichi, a geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto, feels obliged to help her lover Furusawa when...
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The Orphan Brother
as Yashio (voice)After their father quarrels with local military men, Anju and Zushio are forced to flee, but...
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Osaka Elegy
as Ayako MuraiAyako becomes the mistress of her boss so she can pay her father's debt and prevent him from...
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Flowing
as OtsutaOtsuta is running the geisha house Tsuta in Tokyo. Her business is heavily in debt. Her daughter...
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Pineapple Butai
as Shigeyo (Mother)The story of the role played by Japanese-American soldiers from Hawaii in the Korean War of the...
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The Sword
as Sasae OnodaKiyone Sakurai, an apprentice swordmaker makes a sword for his guardian, Kozaemon Onoda. Onoda...
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The Way of Drama
as uncreditedThe Way of Drama unfolds in the world of kabuki in Osaka, but also addresses the politics of...
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The Stand in Hakone
as uncreditedA period film about a peasant revolt in the region near Mount Fuji, occasioned by high...
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The Downfall of Osen
as OsenIn Tokyo, Osen is the servant girl of an unscrupulous antiques dealer, Kumazawa, who takes in...
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Shozo, a Cat and Two Women
as ShinakoShozo is plagued by the needs of his ex-wife and his current one, but prefers the company of his...
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Home Sweet Home
as Namiko, Kosaku's wifeThe Ueki family may not be wealthy, but smiles are never in short supply. The father is awarded...
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The Song Lantern
as O-SodeA self-absorbed young actor humiliates an elderly Noh performer, who then commits suicide. His...
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荒木又右衛門
as 妻みねWatanabe Kazuma and Kawai Matagorō from the Bizen Okayama Ikeda clan were close friends, but...
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The Body
as uncreditedThe sexual experiences of the passionate Sakiko, from her fling with her boss in her first job...
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The Greatest Man in the World
as OyaeIn the midst of the depression, two ronin rack their brains to come up with a dishonest scheme....
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Miniature
as TamikoGinko, a poor cobbler's daughter, becomes a geisha to support her family. She passes from one...
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Daredevil in the Castle
as YodogamiDuring the raging war between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, the swordsman Mohei (whose family...
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The Great Wall
as Dowager EmpressIn 221 BC, Qin Shihuangdi conquered the rest of China. Qin's great accomplishments and also his...
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Chutaro of Banba
as uncreditedBased on the play ”Mabuta no haha” by famed author Shin Hasegawa, this is the first major...
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大当り男一代
as お吉Shinzō, the heir of the prominent Edo lumber dealer Yamashiroya, left home when his stubborn...
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Hanjiro of Kusama: Bird of Passage
as OtokuA kindhearted wandering gambler named Hajiro gets involved in a crisis of a village as he passes...
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The Lovelorn Geisha
as uncreditedA woman and her daughter are in love with the same man, a chef at the restaurant that the mother...
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Sure Death
as uncreditedA group of seemingly ordinary merchants is really a band of assassins for hire. When they...
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Five Men of Edo
as Okane, Chobei's wifeDuring the 17th Century roving bands of hatamoto were causing trouble in the new capital city of...
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Modern People
as uncreditedA section chief at the Bureau of Construction is in a shady relationship with a construction...
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Oyuki the Virgin
as OyukiWhen a civil war threatens to break out, two geishas flee from their village with aristocrats....
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Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director
as uncreditedIn 39 interviews with actors and actresses, writers, producers and staff members, interspersed...
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365 Nights
as uncreditedA touching drama about a love triangle between a young architect, Koroku, and two women, Ranko...
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Deep River Melody
as uncreditedA poignant story about a young couple, Setsu and Chozo, who are torn apart to save Setsu's...
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A Billionaire
as HanakumaAn ethical, young tax collector new to his area encounters increasingly absurd individuals and...
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A Lonely Woman in a Lonely Land
as Sayo YamadaOnna Hitori Daichi wo Yuku (A Lonely Woman in a Lonely Land, Kinuta Production, 1953) was the...
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Four Sisters
as Tatsuko KatagiriA story about the lives of four sisters and their manipulative mother who must come to terms...
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Farewell to Dream
as Seiji's mother, KiyoA coming-of-age story portrayed as the loss of all youthful illusions. Sixteen-year-old Yoichi...
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The Horse Boy
as uncreditedA humble page fathers a child by the daughter of a clan official and is banished. Years later,...
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Burden of Love
as Some KaitaThe female members of the family of the Minister of Health and Welfare, who has just proposed a...
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Fireworks Over the Sea
as Kaoru UozumiA fishing union depends on two brothers to make up the losses caused by the dishonest captains...
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振袖釼法
as 母つじIn Marugame Domain of Shikoku, a low-ranking foot soldier named Tagami Genbachi was envied for...
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The Man Who Waited
as uncreditedA bizarre murder at a hot springs resort threatens to disrupt an Edo detective's (Hasegawa)...
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Sure Death! Brown, You Bounder!
as OrikuWhen the Shogunates greatest secret is stolen, the fate of the nation hangs in the balance. The...
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Miss Okichi
as OkichiKenji Mizoguchi is credited as “supervisor” on this rare Japanese genre film, which stars the...
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Kagebōshi
as お夏On the night the shogunate's treasury was breached, the guard Utsugi had already been taken...
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Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki
as OshihoAnother adaptation of Tange Sazen.
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The Seasons of Love
as UrakoA family is slowly falling apart: the father is absent from the start, the mother a kept woman...
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The Battle of Kawanakajima
as OshinoThis epic depicts the battle between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen. The focus of the story...
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A Matter of Valour
as uncreditedChushingura has been made into a movie several times before, but this time it will be presented...
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Tsukigata Hanpeita
as SomehachiDuring the ultra-violent era of the downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate one man rose above the...
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Musashibo Benkei
as uncreditedA 1942 Jidaigeki by the veteran jidaigeki filmmaker Kunio Watanabe about the legendary warrior...
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The Inner Palace Conspiracy
as MisawaA period mystery in which an unconventional priest exposes the truth behind the bizarre death of...
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Fencing Master
as OharuSwordfighting instructor Danpei works at a local theater in Tokyo, instructing the actors how to...
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At the End of the Clouds
as uncreditedA movie that depicts the tragic fate of many Yokaren flight-academy pilots.
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Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro
as TsuruhachiDrama about a couple and how they found themselves related with music, their egos and each other.
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The Shop Curtain
as uncreditedBased on the novel by Toyoko Yamazaki.
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The Revenge Champion
as uncreditedLost film, directed by Tomu Uchida. This film is a very funny comedy that makes fun of the moral...
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Growing Up
as uncreditedA boy falls in love with a girl. Neither of them know that she's to be sold to a brothel.
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涙の花道
as 江戸紫女将そよNakamura Yukinojō, Edo's most popular actor, discovered that his parent's enemy, Ohara Genba,...
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Taikoki - The Saga of Hideyoshi
as uncreditedFrom birth Hideyoshi was a restless, defiant spirit--a child of the poorest of the poor. Cast...
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In Search of Mother
as OtoseHis mother abandoned him as a child, so he had no choice but to live outside society. Even so,...
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The Day Before
as OsakiA forceful indictment of the devastating effects of war and nationalistic fanaticism on the...
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Glory on the Summit
as Taka HirookaA treasury official passed over for promotion and obsessed with careerism interferes in the...
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Bonchi
as SeiKikuji is the scion of an Osaka merchant family whose traditional power is matrilineal....
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Devil’s Statue
as uncreditedA gallant swordsman takes on the forces of evil with the help of his trusty friends.
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Lord for a Night
as uncreditedLord for a Night is a 1946 Japanese film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa.
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Buddha
as KalidevaAn Indian prince leaves his world of comfort and riches behind to wander and meditate for six...
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Princess Sen in Edo
as KisaragiA gorgeous tragic love picture scroll depicting a beautiful woman who weeps over her strange...
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Kurama Tengu: Acrobat in a lion mask
as uncreditedTwo child performers lose their money, but are saved by the masked avenger Kurama Tengu. When...
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Love in the Mountains
as uncreditedA mother and her daughter who run a quiet mountain hotel, and guests who visit the hotel. A girl...
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Case of a Young Lord 9: Black Camellia
as uncreditedEscaping the hustle and bustle of Edo, the Young Lord came to Oshima Island in Izu to take a...
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Castle of Revenge
as uncreditedThe film vividly shows the misadventures of Oishi Kuranosuke and the human dramas inside the...
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Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Throne of Blood'
as SelfDocumentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one...
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Arashi Tatsunari
as TatsuCan a woman love two men at the same time? Set against the backdrop of Kyoto's rich history,...
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Down Town
as Riyo YazawaA woman struggles to raise her young son on her own in postwar Japan, finding companionship with...
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The Fighting Firemen
as KoinaKichigoro, a firefighter from the Maeda family of the Kaga Principality, rescues Oshimo, the...
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Actress
as Sumako MatsuiSumako, a country girl, becomes a great actress with the help of Hogetsu,a scholar who brought...
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The 26 Martyrs of Japan
as uncreditedJesuit priests in Japan during the 17th century are persecuted by the shogunate to for trying to...
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The Hidden Treasure
as uncreditedShochiku's commemorative 3000th film production; a suspenseful period drama.
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Three Loves
as MotherIn a mountain village, Heita, a translator's son, is a gifted boy but is shunned by the...
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Hirate Miki the Swordman
as uncreditedThe man is chased by losing the beauty and preciousness of love and the foundation of life...
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Bangaku no issho
as uncreditedYamanaka Sadao's fourth feature film. The Life of Bangaku
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Schoolgirl Records
as uncreditedA "slice-of life" film about a group of high school girls in 1940s Japan.
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Wild Lion
as uncreditedA gripping historical drama that follows the explosive growth of Katsu Kaishu, the hero of the...
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江戸いろは祭
as 女房おなかHatamoto Akabane Tanaka once ruined his life with alcohol in his youth, leaving behind his wife...
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Four Marriages
as uncreditedBased on a short story by Dazai Osamu, produced under the national film law. The film's hero...
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The Days of Evil Women
as uncreditedThe common-law wife and daughter of a wealthy old man plot to murder him and steal his fortune,...
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Goodbye to Glory
as OtakeA story of an ardent young man who laid down his life for his country.
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Ishigassen
as uncreditedAcross the Inagawa River that runs through the center of the village, the children of the two...
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Hissatsu Shigotonin
as OtowaNakamura Mondo was relegated to a post in Hachioji from the Minamimachi Bugyōsho and he has...
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Akō Rōshi
as Riku"Ako Roshi" is a group of 47 former retainers of Lord Asano. Lord Asano was forced to commit...
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Minamoto no Yoshitsune
as JobanThe chronicles of the life of Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159 - May 17th, 1189). He was a late...
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