is a Japanese former film and stage actress. She appeared in more than 115 films, including silent and sound pictures, active in the

Japanese cinema The , also known domestically as , has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2022, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced, producing 634 fi ...

from her debut in 1932 until 1955 (and briefly one film in 1965).

Early life

Aizome was born as in

Inawashiro is a town located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 13,810 in 5309 households, and a population density of 35 persons per km2. The total area of the town was . It is noted as the birthplace of the famous d ...

, Fukushima. Aizome's father died when she was 6 months old, and her mother died when she was 10 years old. After losing both parents, Aizome gave her possessions to her uncle and went to Tokyo with her older brother, where she went to elementary school.

Career

Aizome was born on Christmas Day 1915, in July 1930, she dropped out of high school to join the

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 ...

Kagekidan

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

revue. Her first role was that of a pirate in a play titled ''merry-go-round''. She appeared on stage until she made her screen debut Her film debut was in

Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967. Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily Shoshimin-eiga, shōshimin-eiga ("common people drama") films with f ...

's 1932 film ''Moth-eaten Spring'', now considered lost. In early 1933, Aizome appeared in

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese filmmaker. 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 the 1930s. The most pr ...

's ''

Dragnet Girl is a 1933 Japanese silent gangster film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. Written by Tadao Ikeda, the film tells the story of a gangster and his girlfriend finding redemption through the actions of an innocent girl and her not-so-innocent brother. P ...

''. She then played Masumi, a prostitute and friend of the main character in Hiroshi Shimizu's '' Japanese Girls at the Harbor''. In 1934 she appeared in her second and final Ozu film, ''

A Mother Should Be Loved is a 1934 Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu, the first and last reels of which have been lost. Ozu had wanted to name the film ''Tokyo Twilight'', but studio executives preferred a title that referenced motherhood, a popular theme in Japan ...

''. That same year she starred alongside Yoshiko Okada in the leading role of

Yasujirō Shimazu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, and a pioneer of the ''Shoshimin-eiga, shōshimin-eiga'' (common people drama) genre at the Shōchiku studios in pre-World War II Japan. Biography Shimazu was born in Tokyo, the second son of merch ...

's film ''Our Neighbor, Miss Yae'', playing the main character Yaeko. She appeared in many more movies throughout the 1930s and 1940s, including movies by Mikio Naruse, Hiroshi Shimizu and

Heinosuke Gosho was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed Japan's first successful sound film, '' The Neighbor's Wife and Mine'', in 1931. His films are mostly associated with the shōshimin-eiga (lit. "common people drama") genre. Among his ...

. In 1947, she played the sister of

Setsuko Hara was a Japanese actress. Though best known for her performances in Yasujirō Ozu's films '' Late Spring'' (1949) and ''Tokyo Story'' (1953), she had already appeared in 67 films before working with Ozu. :ja:原節子 She is widely considere ...

's character in ''

A Ball at the Anjo House is a 1947 Japanese drama film directed by Kōzaburō Yoshimura. The film won the 1947 Kinema Junpo Award for Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film of the Year, Best Film. Plot After Japan's defeat in the Pacific War, the wealthy Anjō family have to ...

''. In 1953, she had a minor role in ''

Epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

''. She retired from acting in 1955, but in 1965 made one more film appearance in

Yoji Yamada is a Japanese film director best known for his ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series of films and his Samurai Trilogy ('' The Twilight Samurai'', '' The Hidden Blade'' and '' Love and Honor''). Biography Yamada was born in Osaka, but due to his father' ...

's ''

Kiri no Hata is a 1965 Japanese crime film directed by Yoji Yamada. It is based on Seichō Matsumoto's novel of the same title. Plot A robbery murder of an old moneylender woman occurs in the countryside of Kyushu, and Kiriko Yanagida's older brother, Masao, ...

''. In 1985, Aizome was interviewed along with her ''Our Neighbor, Miss Yae'' co-star

Sanae Takasugi was a Japanese film and television actress. She starred in over 80 films, directed by notable filmmakers like Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse, and Keisuke Kinoshita. Career Born in Asakusa, Tokyo, Takasugi graduated at Rissho High S ...

. She was last heard from in 2002, when she provided source material for a book on Japanese modernist film.『日本映画スチール集新興キネマモダニズム篇』（立花忠男/編著、ワイズ出版、2002年1月） (in Japanese)

Personal life

In 1942, Aizome married

Masanori Yusa was a Japanese freestyle swimmer. He won gold medals in the 4 × 200 m relay in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics, setting world records on both occasions. In 1936 he finished almost simultaneously with Shigeo Arai and Masaharu Taguchi in the 100 m ra ...

, a two-time

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

ist

freestyle swimmer Freestyle is a category of swimming competition, defined by the rules of World Aquatics, in which competitors are subject to only a few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races are the most common of all swimming competit ...

. Her married name is . Together the couple had a daughter, Makoto Yusa (born February 28, 1942), who became an actress under the name . Yumeko Aizome 1930s 12

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1933) - Misako * '' Japanese Girls at the Harbor'' (1933) – Masumi * ''

'' (1934) – Mitsuko * ''

Our Neighbor, Miss Yae is a 1934 Japanese Comedy film, comedy-Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Yasujirō Shimazu. It is regarded as one of Shimazu's major films, and a representative work of the Shoshimin-eiga, shōshimin-eiga ("lower ...

'' (1934) – Yaeko * ''

'' (1947) – Akiko Anjō * ''

'' (1965) – Yoshiko Ōtsuka

References

External links

* *
Yumeko Aizome at rottentomatoes.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aizome, Yumeko 1915 births Actors from Fukushima Prefecture 20th-century Japanese actresses Possibly living people Japanese film actresses Japanese silent film actresses