Contents
Kinuyo Tanaka
Starring in Japanese cinema classics and pioneering a career behind the camera.
The Life of Oharu · Ugetsu
- Born
- 29 November 1909
- Birthplace
- Japan
- Died
- 21 March 1977
More people
Kinuyo Tanaka
Kinuyo Tanaka was an actor and director whose work spanned silent cinema and the postwar golden age. Her own films examined women’s lives with an unusual degree of independence.
Early life
Family
Born into a kimono-merchant family in Shimonoseki; her father died when she was young.
Performance
Learned the biwa and joined a girls’ musical troupe in Osaka.
Career
- 1924
Screen debut
Began acting for Shochiku.
- 1931
Sound cinema
Starred in The Neighbour’s Wife and Mine.
- 1953
Director
Made her directorial debut with Love Letter.
- 1975
Berlin award
Won best actress for Sandakan No. 8.
Selected work
The Life of Oharu
Played a woman pushed through successive social hardships.
Ugetsu
Appeared in Kenji Mizoguchi’s ghostly period drama.
Forever a Woman
Directed a poet’s story of illness, motherhood and desire.
Beyond work
Diplomatic visit
Made a goodwill tour of the United States in 1949.
Private life
Lived with director Hiroshi Shimizu for a period but never married or had children.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Biography and career evidence ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
