was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career spanned seven decades.

Biography

Yamada was born in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

as Mitsu Yamada, the daughter of Kusudu Yamada, a

shinpa (also rendered ''shimpa'') is a form of theater in Japan, usually featuring melodramatic stories, contrasted with the more traditional ''kabuki'' style. It later spread to cinema. Art form The roots of ''Shinpa'' can be traced to a form of agi ...

actor specialising in

onnagata (also ) are male actors who play female roles in kabuki theatre. History The modern all-male kabuki was originally known as ("male kabuki") to distinguish it from earlier forms. In the early 17th century, shortly after the emergence of the g ...

roles, and Ritsu, a

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female J ...

. Under her mother's influence, she began learning

nagauta is a kind of traditional Japanese music played on the and used in kabuki theater, primarily to accompany dance and to provide reflective interludes. History It is uncertain when the was first integrated into kabuki, but it was sometime du ...

and

Japanese traditional dance Japanese traditional dance describes a number of Japanese dance styles with a long history and prescribed method of performance. Some of the oldest forms of traditional Japanese dance may be among those transmitted through the tradition, or fol ...

from the age of six. Yamada debuted as a film actress in 1930 at age twelve, appearing in the

Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...

film ''Tsurugi wo koete'' opposite

Denjirō Ōkōchi was a Japanese people, Japanese film actor best known for starring roles in jidaigeki directed by leading Japanese filmmakers. Early life and family Ōkōchi was born Masuo Ōbe on February 5, 1898, in Ōkōchi, Iwaya (present-day Ōkōchi, Buz ...

. She soon became one of Nikkatsu's top actresses, but it was her portrayals of strong-willed modern girls in

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), '' The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Ugets ...

's ''

Osaka Elegy is a 1936 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It forms a diptych with Mizoguchi's '' Sisters of the Gion'' which shares much of the same cast and production team, and is considered an early masterpiece in the director's career. Plot ...

'' and ''

Sisters of the Gion or ''Sisters of Gion'' is a 1936 black and white Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi about two geisha sisters living in Kyoto's Gion district. It forms a diptych with Mizoguchi's '' Osaka Elegy'' which shares much of the same cast an ...

'' in 1936 at the new Daiichi Eiga studio that earned her popularity and critical acclaim. Moving to Shinkō Kinema and then to

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...

, she became a star with Mikio Naruse's ''

Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro is a 1938 Japanese drama film by Mikio Naruse. The film about a duo of traditional music performers is based on a short story (and later shinpa play) by Matsutarō Kawaguchi. Plot Tsuruhachi and Tsurujirō, who've known each other since their ...

'' (1938), appearing at the side of

Kazuo Hasegawa was a Japanese film and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 films between 1927 and 1963. Career Born to a sake brewing family in Kyoto, he first appeared on stage at age five in a theater run by his family as a side business. In 1918, he beca ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, she established the theatre group Shin Engi-za together with Hasegawa, and appeared in films such as Naruse's ''

The Song Lantern ''A Song by Lantern Light'' is a 1943 Japanese historical drama film by Mikio Naruse. It is based on a novel by Kyōka Izumi. Plot Japan in the Meiji era: Kitahachi, son of famous noh actor Genzaburo Onchi, is disowned by his father after Kit ...

'' (1943) and ''The Way of Drama'' (''Shibaido'', 1944). In 1946, in opposition to the union strike at Toho, Yamada sided with the anti-unionist group "Jū hito no hata no kai" ("Society of the Flag of Ten"), which consisted of Hasegawa, Setsuko Hara, Hideko Takamine and others. She moved from Toho to the

Shintoho was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios (which also included Daiei, Nikkatsu, Shochiku, Toei Company, and Toho) during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company fol ...

studios, but later left Shintoho as well to become a freelancer. She married

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

actor

Yoshi Katō was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 175 films between 1949 and 1988. He won the award for Best Actor at the 13th Moscow International Film Festival for his role in '' Hometown''. He married the actress Isuzu Yamada in 1950, but ...

, her third husband, and in the wake returned to the union, joined the

Mingei Theatre Company The is a Japanese theatre company that stages Shingeki plays. Along with the Haiyuza Theatre Company and Bungakuza it is considered one of the "Big Three" among Shingeki theatre troupes. History Gekidan Mingei, meaning "The People's Art Theatr ...

and co-founded the Gendai Haiyu Kyokai theatre group. 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 was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...

's ''

Tokyo Twilight is a 1957 Japanese drama film by Yasujirō Ozu. It is the story of two sisters (played by Ineko Arima and Ozu regular Setsuko Hara) who are reunited with a mother who left them as children. The film is considered amongst Ozu's darkest postwar ...

'' (1957) and

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

's ''

The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (russian: На дне, translit=Na dne, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902 under the direction of Konstantin St ...

'' (1957) and ''

Throne of Blood is a 1957 Japanese '' jidaigeki'' film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' from Medieval Scotland to feudal ...

'' (1957). Other directors she worked with during this decade include

Keisuke Kinoshita was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Ronald Berganbr>"A satirical eye on Japan: Keisuke Kinoshita" ''The Guardian'', 5 January 1999. While lesser-known internationally than contemporaries such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi an ...

, Kaneto Shindō and

Shirō Toyoda was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed over 60 films during his career spanning 50 years. Career Born in Kyoto, Toyoda moved to Tokyo after finishing high school and studied scriptwriting under the pioneering film director ...

. 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 Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

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).

Awards (selected)

Yamada earned the Blue Ribbon Award and the

Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

For Best Actress simultaneously two times: in 1952 for ''

Gendai-jin is a 1952 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Minoru Shibuya. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Ryō Ikebe * Isuzu Yamada * So Yamamura * Toshiko Kobayashi * Yūko Mochizuki * Shinsuke Ashida was a Japanese ...

'' and ''Hakone fūunroku'', and in 1956 for ''Boshizō'', ''

A Cat, Shozo, and Two Women , also titled ''Shozo, a Cat, and Two Women'', is a 1956 Japanese comedy film directed by Shirō Toyoda. It is based on Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's 1936 novella ''A Cat, a Man, and Two Women''. Plot Kitchenware salesman Shōzō shows more affection ...

'', and ''Flowing''. She also received the Blue Ribbon Award For Best Supporting Actress in 1955 for ''

Takekurabe , English titles including ''Growing Up'' and ''Child's Play'', is a novella by Japanese writer Ichiyō Higuchi, first published in 1895–96. It depicts a group of youths growing up in Shitaya Ryūsenji-chō, Yoshiwara, Meiji era Tokyo's red lig ...

'' and ''Ishigassen''. In 1995, she received a Special Award from the Chairman of the

Japan Academy The Japan Academy ( Japanese: 日本学士院, ''Nihon Gakushiin'') is an honorary organisation and science academy founded in 1879 to bring together leading Japanese scholars with distinguished records of scientific achievements. The Academy is ...

in honour of her lifetime achievements in cinema. For her work on stage, she has been awarded at the

Agency for Cultural Affairs The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion. Overview The ag ...

' Arts Festival three times for the plays ''Tanuki'' (1974), ''Aizome Takao'' (1977), and ''Daiyu-san'' (1983). She was named a

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

by the Japanese government in 1993 and became the first actress to receive the

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipient ...

in 2000.

Filmography (selected)

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamada, Isuzu Japanese film actresses Actresses from Osaka 1917 births Persons of Cultural Merit Recipients of the Order of Culture 2012 deaths 20th-century Japanese actresses