Chieko Misaki (, ''Misaki Chieko''; 20 February 1921 – 13 February 2012) was a Japanese actress and singer known for her role as aunt Tsune Kuruma in the long-running '' It's Tough Being a Man'' film series.

Life

Misaki was born in an area of Tokyo and her family had a vegetable business. She was educated at Toyo Girls' High School and then went to work in the Shirokiya department store. She broke into performing when she was employed as a singer by the entertainment company

Shochiku is a Japanese entertainment company. Founded in 1895, it initially managed '' kabuki'' theaters in Kyoto; in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and establis ...

in 1939. In 1950 she began giving Kimono shows with the first ever post-war example in the

Mitsukoshi is an international Department stores in Japan, department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Its holding company, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, is a member of the Mitsui, Mitsui Group. History It was founded in 1673 with the (sho ...

store. She went to work for the Mingei theatre company in 1951. The films she appeared in include "Family" and "Like the Flow of the River". She appeared in the 1969 film comedy '' It's Tough Being a Man'' as the protagonist's aunt. This was the first of over forty movies with the same lead character of Toya who in each film finds and fails to get a girl. Misaki has the repeating role as his aunt. Her character Obachan was married to Oichan who was played by Masami Shimojo ran the shop that sold

dango is a Japanese dumpling made with regular rice flour and glutinous rice flour. They are usually made in round shapes, and three to five pieces are served on a skewer, which is called . The pieces are eaten with sugar, syrup, red bean paste, a ...

s (dumplings made with rice flour). Toya and his family were meant to never get old - he was meant to make been born in 1945 but his sister had a new born baby and as each film was released these characters moved from newly weds to mature parents with a grown up son. Meanwhile, the couple at the dumpling shop moved from middle age to having white hair. The 48th film,

Tora-san to the Rescue is a 1995 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Ruriko Asaoka as his love interest or "Madonna". ''Tora-san to the Rescue'' is the forty-eighth entry in the popular, long-running ...

, was released in 1995 with her still as the lead person's aunt.

Private life

She married another actor Masayoshi Miyasaka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Misaki, Chieko Actresses from Tokyo People from Toshima 1912 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Japanese actresses