Takako Irie
Takako Irie (入江 たか子 Irie Takako, 7 February 1911 – 12 January 1995) was a Japanese film actress. Born in Tokyo into the aristocratic Higashibōjō family (her birth name was Hideko Higashibōjō (東坊城 英子 Higashibōjō Hideko)), she graduated from Bunka Gakuin before debuting as an actress at Nikkatsu in 1927. She became a major star, even starting her own production company, Irie Productions, in 1932. One of Kenji Mizoguchi's silent film masterpieces, The Water Magician, was produced at that company with Irie starring. She appeared in many advertisements, as well as on fans and other commercial goods. Irie was also the subject of a folding screen painting by Nihonga artist Nakamura Daizaburō, which appeared in the 1930 Teiten (Imperial Exhibition), and which is today in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art; toy dolls were also produced based on this image. In the postwar period, Irie became known as a "ghost cat actress" (bakeneko joyū) for appearing in a series of kaidan (ghost story) movies. One of her late memorable roles was in Akira Kurosawa's Sanjuro, where she plays Mutsuta's wife, the lady who warns Sanjuro (Toshirō Mifune) that "the best sword stays in its scabbard".
Sanjuro
as Mutsuta's wifeToshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced,...
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The Most Beautiful
as Noriko Mizushima, dorm motherThe stories of several young women who work in a 'precision optical instruments' factory during...
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The Little Girl Who Conquered Time
as Tatsu FukamachiYoshiyama Kazuko is a third-year junior high school student. One day while cleaning the lab, she...
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Love Letter
as uncreditedA sad and troubled man finds a new job five years after the end of WWII, where he writes love...
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The Deserted City
as ShinoAfter noticing in the news there was a fire in an old canal town, Eguchi recalls visiting there...
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Kagebōshi
as 千賀On the night the shogunate's treasury was breached, the guard Utsugi had already been taken...
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Mother Never Dies
as uncreditedThe premature death of a young mother serves as inspiration for her husband and son.
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The Water Magician
as Taki no ShiraitoTaki no Shiraito is a very independent young woman with a famous water juggling act in a...
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Tokyo March
as SayuriA classic melodramatic love tragedy addressing social inequality in feudal Japan, depicted in...
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Sky of Hope
as MakikoWhat is marriage? Young couple in match-making wanted to know before they decide. They visited...
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The House of Hanging
as Chizu IgarashiThis time, Kousuke investigates a murder in a hospital. The murderer leaves misleading evidence...
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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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The Battle of Kawanakajima
as Chiyono - widowThis epic depicts the battle between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen. The focus of the story...
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Lord Mito
as uncreditedThis most celebrated all-star movie version of the popular series features Tsukigata Ryunosuke...
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Learn from Experience, Part Two
as ToyomiPart 2 of a 2-part romance (fist part - Kafuku zempen) based on a story by noted author Kikuchi...
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Legend of the Cat Monster
as Akiko RyuzojiA legendary actress thought to be dead is discovered living in an isolated mansion. A...
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Ghost of Saga Mansion
as Otoyo-no-kataA woman loses her son through an evil conspiracy and commits suicide. Shortly afterwards a ghost...
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Learn from Experience, Part One
as ToyomiPart 1 of a 2-part romance based on a story by noted author Kikuchi Kan. The central character...
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Ghost-Cat of Yonaki Swamp
as uncreditedA remake of Kaidan Saga yashiki (1953).
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Sincerity
as Tobiko HaseyamaTwo young girls, Nobiko and Tomiko, go to the same school. The less fortunate girl Nobiko is one...
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The Ghost Cat of Ouma Crossing
as uncreditedA kabuki actress is murdered. Her pet cat laps its mistress's blood and becomes a demon...
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Jean Valjean: Part Two
as uncreditedThe second part of the melodrama based on the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, the action of...
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Tojuro's Love
as uncreditedA colourful study of theatrical life. Two acting troupes vie for the Kyoto market during the...
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White Heron
as uncreditedOSHINO, the beautiful daughter of restaurant owners, is in love with SHIRASAGI the painter. But...
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Invitation to Happiness
as uncreditedKôfuku eno shôtai - Invitation to happiness
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Green Earth
as uncreditedSet in Qingdao, China, a Japanese company locates an office there and begins work and...
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Terrible Ghost Cat of Okazaki
as uncreditedThe Lord of Okazaki is killed by his brother-in-law. Although the Lord's widow bears a child,...
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The Morning Sun Shines
as girl in the elevatorThe Morning Sun Shines is a fiction-documentary film by Kenji Mizoguchi and Seiichi Ina. The...
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Karuma Tengu: The Fire Festival
as uncreditedThe masked avenger Kurama Tengu is linked to a plot to bring down the Tokugawa shogunate, but is...
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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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Dancers of Awa
as uncreditedJurobei, a kaisen tonya (wholesaler in port) in Awa, was wronged and killed on the day of the...
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Jean Valjean: Part One
as uncreditedThe first part of a fascinating melodrama based on Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, the action of...
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Ghost-Cat of Gojusan-Tsugi
as Court Lady FujinamiA power struggle in the fief of Okazaki causes the death of Namiji, a nobleman's daughter. As...
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Koyoi Tsuma to Narinu
as uncreditedA hospital melodrama where the conflict between love and friendship rules the faith of the...
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Karisome no kuchibeni
as AkikoA Japanese version of the musical comedy "Yes, Mr. Brown"
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人生とんぼ返り
as uncreditedAfter learning that he has accidentally killed a man in a fight, Unokichi must look after the...
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Kuriyama Daizen
as uncreditedPrewar jidaigeki starring Denjiro Okochi
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Ghost-Cat of Arima Palace
as uncreditedOkoyo, the mistress of Lord Arima, fears that she is being replaced by a younger woman named...
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Nage Utasamon niban tegara: Tsuri tenjô no semushi otoko
as uncreditedSecond in the Nage Utasamon series
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A Husband's Chastity: If Spring Comes & Fall Once Again
as uncreditedKayo and Kuniko graduated from girls' school together and are as close as sisters. Kuniko's...
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