was a French-born Japanese actress and nightclub entertainer.

Early life

Tani was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Her birth name was ''Itani Yōko'' (猪谷洋子). She has occasionally been described as 'Eurasian', 'half French', 'half Japanese' and even, in one source, 'Italian Japanese', all of which are incorrect. French records (1958) show that her father and mother—both Japanese—were attached to the Japanese embassy in Paris, with Tani herself conceived ''en route'' during a shipboard passage from Japan to Europe in 1927 and subsequently born in Paris the following year, hence given the name ''Yōko'' (洋子), one reading of which can mean "ocean-child.". Tani would later play a diplomat's daughter in ''

Piccadilly Third Stop ''Piccadilly Third Stop'' is a 1960 British thriller film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Terence Morgan, Yoko Tani and John Crawford. The screenplay concerns a wealthy playboy who hires a gang of criminals to help him steal £100,000. It w ...

''. According to Japanese sources, the family returned to Japan in 1930, when Yoko would still have been a toddler, and she did not return to France until 1950 when her schooling was completed. Given that there were severe restrictions on Japanese travelling outside Japan directly after

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 ...

, this would have been an unusual event; however, it is known that Itani had attended an elite girls' school in Tokyo (Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School, currently Ochanomizu University Senior High School), and then graduated from Tsuda University. She subsequently secured a Catholic scholarship to study

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

(Sorbonne) under

Étienne Souriau Étienne Souriau (; April 26, 1892 – November 19, 1979) was a French philosopher, best known for his work in aesthetics. Biography Son of Paul Souriau, he studied at the École Normale Supérieure and received his '' agrégation of phil ...

Career

Return to France (1950–1955)

Once back in Paris, Tani found little interest in attending university (although by her own account she persevered for two years despite understanding hardly anything that was being said). Instead, she developed a more compelling attraction to the cabaret, the nightclub, and the variety music-hall, where, setting herself up as an exotic oriental beauty, she quickly established a reputation for her provocative "geisha" dances, which generally ended with her slipping out of her kimono. It was here she was spotted by

Marcel Carné Marcel Albert Carné (; 18 August 1906 – 31 October 1996) was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include ''Port of Shadows'' (1938), ''Le Jour Se Lève'' (1939), '' The Devil's Envoys ...

, who took her into his circle of director and actor-friends, including

Roland Lesaffre Roland Lesaffre (26 June 1927 – 3 February 2009) was a French film actor.Turk p.380 He appeared in many films directed by Marcel Carné. Selected filmography * ''La présidente'' (1938) * ''L'embuscade'' (1941) * ''La Marie du port'' (1950) - ...

, whom she was later to marry. As a result, she began to get bit parts in films—starting as (perhaps predictably) a Japanese dancer, in Gréville's '' Le port du désir'' (1953–1954, released 1955)—and on the stage, with a role as ''Lotus Bleu'' in ''la Petite Maison de Thé'' (French adaptation of The Teahouse of the August Moon) at the ''

Théâtre Montparnasse The Théâtre Montparnasse is a theatre at 31, rue de la Gaîté in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. History After the death of famed Paris theatre builder and artistic director Henri Larochelle (1826-1884), his widow, along with former actor ...

'', 1954–1955 season.

Lesaffre and Japan (1956)

Tani's involvement with cinema was, up to the mid-1950s, limited entirely to that of portraying stereotyped orientals in French films. With the end of the US occupation of Japan in 1952, however, postwar Japanese cinema itself burst upon the French scene, culminating in the years 1955 and 1956 when a total of six Japanese films, including

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 ''Ikimono no Kiroku'' (

I Live in Fear is a 1955 Japanese drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa, produced by Sōjirō Motoki, and co-written by Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni. The film is about an elderly Japanese factory owner so terrified of the prospect of a nuclear ...

生きものの記録), were entered at Cannes. It was at Cannes that Tani first made contact with Kurosawa, and the director Hisamatsu Seiji, contacts which led to a trip to Japan in 1956 by Tani and Lesaffre and their joint appearance in the

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 ...

production '' Hadashi no seishun'' (裸足の青春 fr. ''La jeunesse aux pieds nus''), a film about the difficult lives of Catholics in the remote islands off Kyushu, in southern Japan. Tani played the part of a 'fallen woman' who has returned to the islands from Tokyo (where she had run off to become a stripper), and Lesaffre that of the local bishop. It was originally intended that the film be directed by Kurosawa himself, but in the end it fell to his

stable-mate Taniguchi Senkichi. Tani and Lesaffre's ambition was to bring the film back to France and release it in the French market, an aim which was, however, never achieved. During the same trip, and also for

, Tani took a minor role in Hisamatsu's ''Jōshû to tomo ni'' (女囚と共に), a variant on the dubious but ever-popular "women in prison" theme, in which she played a westernised Japanese Catholic named Marie. This film was notable only in that it starred two veritable legends of the Japanese cinema: Hara Setsuko and

Tanaka Kinuyo was a Japanese actress and film director. She had a career lasting over 50 years with more than 250 acting credits, but was best known for her 15 films with director Kenji Mizoguchi, such as ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952) and ''Ugetsu'' (1953). ...

International period (1957–1962)

Early in 1957, Tani appeared in a small role in her first English-language film: the MGM production of Graham Greene's '' The Quiet American'', a political drama set in French Indochina. Despite being an American production, the film was shot entirely in Rome (with location scenes of Saigon added), with Tani cast as a francophone Vietnamese nightclub hostess. But Tani's real "break" in English-language cinema came with the 1958 production ''

The Wind Cannot Read ''The Wind Cannot Read'' is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, Yoko Tani, Ronald Lewis and John Fraser. It was based on the 1946 novel by Richard Mason, who also wrote the screenplay. Songwriter ...

''. This film, a war-time love story, had originally been a project of the British producer

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...

, who in 1955 travelled to Japan with author Richard Mason and cast Japanese actress Kishi Keiko as the female lead. Locations were scouted in India, and Ms Kishi (then 22 years old) was brought to England to learn sufficient English for the part. At a very advanced stage, the project fell apart, and a few months later Korda died. The pieces were eventually picked up by the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...

, and it was decided to produce the film using the script and locations already set out by Lean, with one of Rank's big stars,

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as '' Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Org ...

, in the male lead, Ralph Thomas to direct, and Tani, who was found in Paris, to play the leading female role. The film was a commercial success and one of the top British films of that year, and led to further roles in other British co-productions --- as the Inuit ''Asiak'' in the Anglo-French-Italian ''

The Savage Innocents ''The Savage Innocents'' is a 1960 adventure film directed and co-written by Nicholas Ray. Anthony Quinn and Yoko Tani star, with Lee Montague, Marco Guglielmi, Carlo Giustini, Anthony Chinn, and Michael Chow in supporting roles, alongside ...

(Les Dents du diable)'' (1959 - nominated for the ''Palme d'Or'' at Cannes in 1960), and as the ingénue ''Seraphina'' in ''

'' (1960). Aside from '' The Quiet American'', her only other "Hollywood" roles were in '' My Geisha'' (1962, shot on location in Japan) and the Dean Martin comedy '' Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?'' (1963, Paramount Studios Los Angeles). Despite being type-cast as an exotic, Tani got to play some unusual roles as a result, as evidenced by her portrayal of Japanese doctor/scientist Sumiko Ogimura in the self-consciously internationalist 1959 East-German/Polish film production of

Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...

's novel The Astronauts, ''

Der schweigende Stern ''Milcząca Gwiazda'' (german: Der schweigende Stern), literal English translation ''The Silent Star'', is a 1960 East German/Polish color science fiction film based on the 1951 science fiction novel ''The Astronauts'' by Polish science fiction wri ...

'' (''

First Spaceship on Venus ''Milcząca Gwiazda'' (german: Der schweigende Stern), literal English translation ''The Silent Star'', is a 1960 East German/Polish color science fiction film based on the 1951 science fiction novel ''The Astronauts'' by Polish science fiction wri ...

''), and as Miyake Hanako, Japanese common-law wife of the German double-agent Richard Sorge in

Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the highpoint of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film '' Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversia ...

's '. Perhaps even more unusual (for the time) was her trip to Vancouver, Canada in 1962 to play the role of Mary Ota in

James Clavell James Clavell (born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell; 10 October 1921 – 7 September 1994) was an Australian-born British (later naturalized American) writer, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best ...

's '' The Sweet and the Bitter'', which treats the aftermath of the wartime internment of Canadian Japanese and the loss of their properties and businesses. Ota, a young Japanese woman, returns to British Columbia after a twenty-year absence to avenge her father's internment-camp death, her hatred directed towards the man who stole her father's fishing boats. The film was completed in 1963, but there was no North American release due to legal and financial difficulties. British Lion finally underwrote a showing of the film in London in 1967.

Spies, swords and sandals (1963 onwards)

1962/63 marked a shift in Tani's career: a return (once again) to France and the definitive end of her marriage to Lesaffre. From this point on she was to be more strictly European-based and to take on work mainly in the low-budget Italian '' peplum'' cinema and in ''

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype o ...

'' roles in UK television dramas such as ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' and ''

Man in a Suitcase ''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. ABC broadcast episodes of ''Man in ...

''. Despite her involvement with film, Tani never abandoned her attachment to the nightclub and cabaret. The British producer Betty Box, when looking for the female lead for ''

'' (''vide supra''), wrote: And, from a 1960s account of the well-known ''

Le Crazy Horse de Paris Le Crazy Horse Saloon or Le Crazy Horse de Paris is a Parisian cabaret known for its stage shows performed by nude female dancers and for the diverse range of magic and variety 'turns' between each nude show and the next. Its owners have helped ...

'' nightclub: Even as late as 1977, we find her in São Paulo, where she had a small role in Chinese-Brazilian director Juan Bajon's sexploitation film ''

O Estripador de Mulheres O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

'': Ho Ai Li, Assistant Life Editor of 'The Straits Times', (18/10/'15), quotes Tani as saying, when she was in Singapore, to film 'Goldsnake':

Personal life

Tani's 1956 marriage to

was childless, and ended in divorce in 1962. Lesaffre claimed in his autobiography ''Mataf'' (éditions Pygmalion, 1991), that theirs was the first Franco-Japanese marriage after World War II --- conceivably true, but almost impossible to verify. (True or not, it may have begun something of a trend, since Kishi Keiko and

Yves Ciampi Yves Ciampi (; 9 February 1921 – 5 November 1982) was a French film director. He was married to Japanese actress Kishi Keiko from 1957 to 1975. His 1965 film '' Heaven on One's Head'' was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Fest ...

were married the following year.) In later life Tani remarried, wedding Roger Laforet, a native of Binic, Côtes-d'Armor (Brittany). A wealthy industrialist, Laforet was an associate of Baron Marcel Bich, co-founder of the BIC consumer products empire. Tani's declining years were spent between Paris and their house in Paimpol overlooking the sea. She died in Paris, from cancer, but is buried in Binic together with Laforet. Their tomb carries the Breton inscription «''Ganeoc'h Bepred''» (roughly, "Always With You"). Tani was survived by her younger sister, Aiko.

In popular culture

Her first name inspired the Belgian comics character

Yoko Tsuno ''Yoko Tsuno'' is a comics album series created by the Belgian writer Roger Leloup published by Dupuis in '' Spirou'' magazine since its debut in 1970. Through thirty volumes, the series tell the adventures of Yoko Tsuno, a female electrical e ...

Roger Leloup Roger Leloup (; born 17 November 1933) is a Belgian comic strip artist, novelist, and a former collaborator of Hergé, who would rely upon him to create detailed, realistic drawings and elaborate decoration for ''The Adventures of Tintin''.

Film

* 1954 (France) : '' Le port du désir'' dir. Edmond T. Gréville - ''unnamed dancer'' * 1954 (France) : '' Les Clandestines'' dir. Raoul André - ''unnamed Chinese girl'' * 1954 (France) : '' Ali Baba et les Quarante voleurs'' dir.

Jacques Becker Jacques Becker (; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French film director and screenwriter. His films, made during the 1940s and 1950s, encompassed a wide variety of genres, and they were admired by some of the filmmakers who led th ...

* 1954 (France) : '' Marchandes d'illusions'' dir. Raoul André - ''unnamed Eurasian'' * 1954 (France) : ''

The Babes Make the Law ''The Babes Make the Law'' (French: ''Les pépées font la loi'') is a 1955 French comedy film directed by Raoul André and starring Claudine Dupuis, Dominique Wilms, Louise Carletti and Michèle Philippe.Vincendeau p.154 It was shot at the Bi ...

'' dir. Raoul André - ''The Lotus Flower'' * 1954 (West Germany) : ' dir.

- ''Hanako (Sorge's Japanese common-law wife)'' * 1955 (France) : ''

The Price of Love "The Price of Love" is a song by the Everly Brothers, released in 1965. It charted at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 on the Irish Singles Chart. It spent one week at Number 1 on the UK's NME chart, but in the US, the song failed to chart ...

'' dir.

Maurice de Canonge Maurice de Canonge (March 18, 1894 – January 10, 1979) was a French actor and film director.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.222 He is also sometimes known by the name Maurice Cannon. Selected filmography Director * ''Inspector Grey'' (1936) * ''Captain B ...

- ''unnamed dancer'' * 1955 (France) : '' Gueule d'ange'' dir.

Marcel Blistène Marcel Blistène, born Marcel Blitstein (3 June 1911 in Paris – 2 August 1991), was a French film director. Marcel Blistène joined Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment ...

- ''Bamboo Flower'' * 1955 (France) : '' Paris canaille'' dir.

Pierre Gaspard-Huit Pierre Gaspard-Huit (29 November 1917 – 1 May 2017) was a French film director and screenwriter. He directed the 1963 film '' Shéhérazade'', which starred Anna Karina. He was once married to actress Claudine Auger when she was 18, and he wa ...

, released 1956 - ''unnamed student'' * 1955 (France) : '' À la manière de Sherlock Holmes'' dir. Henri Lepage * 1956 (Japan) : 裸足の青春 - ''Hadashi no seishun / Barefoot Youth'' dir. 谷口千吉 / Senkichi Taniguchi - ''Okano Mariko (岡野マリ子)'' * 1956 (Japan) : 女囚と共に - ''Jōshû to tomo ni / Women in Prison'' dir. 久松静児 /

Seiji Hisamatsu (20 February 1912 – 28 December 1990) was a Japanese film director. He directed 101 films between 1934 and 1965. Selected filmography * '' Jūdai no yūwaku'' (1953) * ''Keisatsu nikki'' (1955) * ''Onna no koyomi is a 1954 Japanese ...

- ''Marie (マリー), a prisoner'' * 1956 (France) : ''

Mannequins of Paris ''Mannequins of Paris'' (French: ''Mannequins de Paris'') is a 1956 French drama film directed by André Hunebelle and starring Madeleine Robinson, Ivan Desny and Mischa Auer.Bessy, p. 91 It is set in the world of high fashion. The film's sets wer ...

'' dir.

André Hunebelle André Hunebelle (1 September 1896 – 27 November 1985) was a French maître verrier (master glassmaker) and film director. Master Glass Artist After attending polytechnic school for mathematics, he became a decorator, a designer, and then a mas ...

- ''Lotus'' * 1957 (France) : '' The Ostrich Has Two Eggs'' dir. Denys de La Patellière - ''la comtesse Yoko'' * 1957 (France) : '' La Fille de feu'' dir. Alfred Rode - ''Zélie'' * 1958 (Italy) : '' The Quiet American'' dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz - ''head nightclub hostess'' * 1958 (UK) : ''

'' dir. Ralph Thomas - ''Aiko Suzuki (Sabby)'' * 1959 (East Germany/Poland) : '' Der schweigende Stern/Milcząca Gwiazda'' - ''The Silent Star/First Spaceship on Venus'' dir.

Kurt Maetzig Kurt Maetzig (25 January 1911 – 8 August 2012) was a German film director who had a significant effect on the film industry in East Germany. He was one of the most respected filmmakers of the GDR. After his retirement he lived in Wildkuhl ...

& Hieronim Przybył - ''Sumiko Ogimura MD'' * 1959 (France/Italy/UK) : ''

'' dir. Nicholas Ray - ''Asiak'' * 1960 (UK) : ''

'' dir. Wolf Rilla - ''Seraphina Yokami'' * 1961 (Italy/France) : ''

Ursus and the Tartar Princess ''Ursus and the Tartar Princess'' ( it, Ursus e la ragazza tartara, french: La fille des Tartares, also known as ''Tartar Invasion'') is a 1961 Italian-French peplum film written and directed by Remigio Del Grosso and starring Yoko Tani and Ett ...

'' dir. Remigio Del Grosso - ''Princess Ila'' * 1961 (Italy) : '' Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan'' - ''Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World'' dir.

Riccardo Freda Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films. Freda began directing '' I Vampiri'' in 1956. The film became ...

- ''Princess Lei Ling'' * 1961 (Italy/France) : ''

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in '' The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

'' dirs.

Hugo Fregonese Hugo Geronimo Fregonese (April 8, 1908 in Mendoza – January 11, 1987 in Tigre) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter who worked both in Hollywood and his home country.''Cine Nacional''Hugo Fregonese filmography Cinenacional.com ...

Piero Pierotti Piero Pierotti (1 January 1912 – 4 May 1970) was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. Life and career Born in Pisa, Pierotti started his career as a journalist, working for ''La Nazione'' and ''Il Nuovo Corriere'', and later fou ...

- ''Princess Amurroy'' * 1962 (USA/Japan) : '' My Geisha'' dir.

Jack Cardiff Jack Cardiff, (18 September 1914 – 22 April 2009) was a British cinematographer, film and television director, and photographer. His career spanned the development of cinema, from silent film, through early experiments in Technicolor, to f ...

- ''Kazumi Ito'' * 1962 (Canada) : '' The Sweet and the Bitter'', dir.

, released 1967 - ''Mary Ota'' * 1963 (USA) : '' Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?'' dir. Daniel Mann - ''Isami Hiroti'' * 1964 (Italy) : '' F.B.I. - Operazione Baalbek'' dir.

& Giuliano Carnimeo - ''Asia'' * 1964 (West Germany) : ''

The Secret of Dr. Mabuse ''The Secret of Dr. Mabuse'' or ''The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse'' (German:''Die Todesstrahlen des Dr. Mabuse'') is a 1964 Franco-German-Italian international co-production science fiction Eurospy crime film directed by Hugo Fregonese and Victor De ...

'' dir.

- ''Mercedès'' * 1964 (Italy) : '' Bianco, Rosso, Giallo, Rosa'' - ''The Love Factory'', dir.

Massimo Mida Massimo Mida (1917–1992) was an Italian screenwriter and film director.Haaland p.122 Selected filmography * ''A Pilot Returns'' (1942) * ''Behind Closed Shutters'' (1951) * '' At the Edge of the City'' (1953) * ''Good Folk's Sunday'' (1953) * ' ...

- ''Yoko'' * 1965 (Italy/France) : '' OSS 77 – Operazione fior di loto'' dir.

Bruno Paolinelli Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

* 1965 (Italy) : '' Agent Z-55, Desperate Mission'' dir. Roberto Bianchi Montero - ''Su Ling'' * 1965 (UK) : ''

Invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing ...

'' dir.

Alan Bridges Alan Bridges (28 September 1927 – 7 December 2013) was an English film and television director. In 1967 Bridges directed a television adaptation of Charles Dickens' ''Great Expectations'' starring Gary Bond as Pip. He won the ''Grand Pri ...

- ''Chief of the "Lystrians"'' * 1966 (Italy) : ''

The Spy Who Loved Flowers ''The Spy Who Loved Flowers'' ( it, Le spie amano i fiori, also known as ''Hell Cats'') is a 1966 Italian/Spanish co-production science fiction-Eurospy film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi (here credited as "Hubert Humphry"). Set in Paris, ...

'' dir.

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unr ...

- ''Mei Lang'' * 1967 (Italy) : '' Le 7 cinesi d'oro'' dir. Vincenzo Cascino - ''La giapponese'' * 1969 (Spain/Italy) : '' Goldsnake 'Anonima Killers''' dir. Ferdinando Baldi - ''Annie Wong'' * 1977 (Brazil) : ''

'' dir. Juan Bajon * 1978 (France) : ' dir.

- ''Youyou''

Television

* 1960 (UK) : ''Chasing the Dragon'' - BBC television (scriptwriter Colin Morris) * 1961 (UK) : ''

Rashomon is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/ crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as v ...

'' - BBC television adaptation dir.

Rudolph Cartier Rudolph Cartier (born Rudolph Kacser, renamed himself in Germany to Rudolph Katscher; 17 April 1904 – 7 June 1994) was an Austrian television director, filmmaker, screenwriter and producer who worked predominantly in British television, excl ...

- ''The Wife'' * 1961 (USA) : '' Here's Hollywood'' - NBC Television; season 1, episode 28 (broadcast 26 April 1961) - ''herself'' * 1962 (USA) : ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaff ...

'' - season 1, episode 27, "A Pleasant Thing for the Eyes" - ''Aiko Tanaka'' * 1963 (UK) : ''

Edgar Wallace Mysteries The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''The E ...

'' - episode 31, "The Partner" (based on ''A Million Dollar Story'' (1926)) dir.

Gerard Glaister John Leslie Glaister DFC (21 December 1915 – 5 February 2005), known as Gerard or Gerrard Glaister, was a British television producer and director best known for his work with the BBC. Amongst his most notable successes as a producer were '' ...

- ''Lin Siyan'' * 1964 (UK) : ''Drama '64'' - ITV; episode "Miss Hanago" (broadcast 22 November 1964) - ''Miss Hanago'' * 1966 (UK) : '' Armchair Theatre'' - Associated British Corp. - episode "The Tilted Screen" - ''Michiko'' * 1967 (UK) : ''

'' - ITV; season 4, episode 1, "Koroshi" - ''Ako Nakamura'' * 1967 (UK) : ''

'' - ITV; season 4, episode 2, "Shinda Shima" - ''Miho'' * 1967 (UK) : ''

'' - ITV; episode 5, "Variation on a Million Bucks pt. 1" - ''Taiko'' * 1967 (UK) : ''

'' - ITV; episode 6, "Variation on a Million Bucks pt. 2" - ''Taiko'' * 1968 (France/Canada) : '' Les Dossiers de l'agence O'' - episode 10, "L'arrestation du musicien" - ''Kiku - la stripteaseuse'' * 1971 (UK) : ''

Shirley's World ''Shirley's World'' is a television series aired first by ABC during the 1971–72 television season. The sitcom was co-produced by the British ITC Entertainment and American producer Sheldon Leonard, with English producer-director Ray Aus ...

'' - ITV; episode 12, "A Girl Like You" (UK transmission date 23 June 1972) - ''Okiyo'' * 1972 (France/Québéc) : '' Le Fils du ciel'' - ORTF/Télévision de Radio-Canada - ''Gisèle Lelarge'' * 1986 (France) : ''

Série rose ''Softly from Paris'' (originally ''Série rose'') is a 1986−1991 erotic French television series produced by Pierre Grimblat and initially broadcast on France 3. 26 episodes of 28 minutes each were produced. Plot ''Softly from Paris'' is a ...

(erotic anthology)'' - FR3; episode "Le lotus d'or" dir. Walerian Borowczyk - ''Madame Lune''

Theatre

* 1954 (France) : ''Namouna'' by Jacques Deval - ''

Théâtre de Paris The Théâtre de Paris is a theatre located at 15, rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It includes a second smaller venue, the Petit Théâtre de Paris. History The first theatre on the site was built by the Duke of Richelieu in 1730 ...

'' - ''Sao-Ming'' * 1955 (France) : ''La petite maison de thé'' adapted by Albert Husson - ''

'' - ''Lotus Bleu'' * 1958 (France) : ''Chérie Noire'' by

François Campaux François Campaux, (14 April 1906 in Auxerre- 8 August 1983 in Paris), was a French film director, screenwriter and playwright. Filmography Director * 1946 : ''Henri Matisse (short film)'' * 1949 : ''Night Round'' * 1951 : '' Beautiful Lov ...

, '' Théâtre Michel'' - ''Chérie'' * 1965 (UK) : ''The Professor'' by

Hal Porter Harold Edward "Hal" Porter (16 February 1911 – 29 September 1984) was an Australian novelist, playwright, poet and short story writer. Biography Porter was born in Albert Park, Victoria, grew up in Bairnsdale, and worked as a journalist, te ...

, ''

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

'' - ''Fusehime Ishimoto (housemaid)'' * 1967 (France) : ''Une femme à louer'' by François Campaux, mise en scène

Christian Alers Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

, '' Théâtre de la Potinière''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tani, Yoko 1928 births 1999 deaths Japanese film actresses French film actresses French stage actresses French television actresses French people of Japanese descent Actresses from Paris 20th-century French actresses