Kinuyo Tanaka
225 movies · 1 TV show
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Nov 28, 1909
- Died
- Mar 21, 1977 (age 67)
- Place of birth
- Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan
- Also known as
- 다나카 키누요 · کینو تاناکا · 田中 絹代
Biography
Kinuyo Tanaka (田中 絹代 Tanaka Kinuyo, 29 November 1909 – 21 March 1977) was a Japanese actress and director.
Tanaka was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She became a leading actress at seventeen years old, appearing in Heinosuke Gosho's An Embarrassing Dream in 1927. She proceeded to take leading parts in, among others, Yasujirō Ozu's I Graduated, But... in 1929, Gosho's Aiyoku no ki in 1930, and in 1931, Japan's first talkie, The Neighbor's Wife and Mine, directed by Gosho.
Read the full biography
She had a close working relationship with director Kenji Mizoguchi, having parts in 15 of his films, including leading roles in The Life of Oharu (1952), Ugetsu (1953) and Sansho the Bailiff (1954). Their working relationship ended when Mizoguchi countered a recommendation from the Directors Guild of Japan for the Nikkatsu studio to hire her as a director. Despite this, the production of her second film as director went ahead, but Tanaka never forgave Mizoguchi, and the reasons for his behaviour are unclear. She also played Noboru Yasumoto's mother in Akira Kurosawa's Red Beard (1965). For her portrayal in Kei Kumai's Sandakan N° 8 she won the Best Actress Award at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival in 1975. Her last screen appearance was in 1976 in Kei Kumai's Kita No Misaki.
Tanaka was the second Japanese woman who worked as a film director, after Sakane Tazuko (1904‐1975). Her first directing job was on the film Love Letter in 1953, and she made five further films in that role.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Kinuyo Tanaka: movies and TV shows
Acting (222)
- 1976
- 1976 Cape of the North
as Old Nun
- 1975 Let's Go, Grandma!
as Kiku Sasaki
- 1974 Sandakan No. 8
as Old Osaki
- 1974
- 1972 Tora-san's Dream-Come-True
as 旧家的夫人
- 1970
- 1965 Red Beard
as Madame Yasumoto
- 1964
- 1964 The Scent of Incense
as Tsuna
- 1963 Bright Sea
as Nobuko Yazaki
- 1963 Alone Across the Pacific
as Youth's Mother
- 1963 A Legend or Was It?
as Shizuko Sonobe
- 1963
- 1962
- 1962 The Fencing Master
as Oharu
- 1962 A Wanderer's Notebook
as Kishi, Fumiko's Mother
- 1961 Eternity of Love
as Michi's Mother
- 1960 Her Brother
as Mother
- 1959 The Three Treasures
as Princess Yamato
- 1959 Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka
as Myokan
- 1959 Hahakogusa
as Shige Ozawa
- 1958 The Eternal Rainbow
as Fumi
- 1958 Equinox Flower
as Kiyoko Hirayama
- 1958 The Ballad of Narayama
as Orin
- 1958
- 1957 On This Earth
as Omitsu, Heiichiro's mother
- 1957 Geisha in the Old City
as Oei
- 1957 Stepbrothers
as Rie
- 1957 Yellow Crow
as Yukiko Matsumoto
- 1956 Flowing
as Rika Yamanaka / Oharu
- 1956
- 1956 Women in Prison
as Prison Warden
- 1956
- 1956
- 1956
- 1955 Forever a Woman
as Neighbor's Wife
- 1955
- 1955
- 1955 House of Many Pleasures
as Oshige
- 1955 The Moon Has Risen
as Yoneya
- 1954 The Woman in the Rumor
as Hatsuko Mabuchi
- 1954
- 1954 Sansho the Bailiff
as Tamaki
- 1953 Love Letter
as Landlady
- 1953 An Heir's Place
as Hisa Hosho
- 1953 Ugetsu
as Miyagi
- 1953 Where Chimneys Are Seen
as Hiroko Ogata
- 1953 Sincere Heart
as Kuniko
- 1952
- 1952 Mother
as Masako Fukuhara
- 1952 The Ataka Family
as Kuniko Ataka
- 1952 The Life of Oharu
as Oharu
- 1952
- 1951
- 1951
- 1951 The Lady of Musashino
as Michiko Akiyama
- 1951 Miss Oyu
as Oyû Kayukawa
- 1951 Ginza Cosmetics
as Yukiko Tsuji
- 1951 The Inner Palace Conspiracy
as Onaka
- 1950
- 1950 The Munekata Sisters
as Setsuko Munekata
- 1950 Wedding Ring
as Noriko Kuki
- 1949 Yotsuya Ghost Story Part 2
as Oiwa / Osode
- 1949 Yotsuya Ghost Story Part 1
as Oiwa / Osode
- 1949 Flame of My Love
as Eiko Hirayama
- 1948 A Hen in the Wind
as Tokiko Amamiya
- 1948 Women of the Night
as Fusako Owada
- 1947 Phoenix
as Sayoko Aihara
- 1947 The Love of the Actress Sumako
as Sumako Matsui
- 1947 Marriage
as Fumie Matsukawa
- 1946 Utamaro and His Five Women
as Okita
- 1946 Victory of Women
as Hiroko Hosokawa
- 1946
- 1945
- 1945 Victory Song
as Woman who sings lullaby
- 1944 Miyamoto Musashi
as Shinobu Nonomiya
- 1944 Army
as Waka
- 1944
- 1943 Air Raid of the Enemy Plane
as Kiyo
- 1943
- 1942
- 1941
- 1941 Ornamental Hairpin
as Emi
- 1941
- 1941
- 1940
- 1940
- 1940 Seisen aiba fu: Akatsuki ni inoru
as Chiyo
- 1940
- 1939
- 1939
- 1939
- 1939 Okayo's Preparedness
as Okayo
- 1938 The Tree of Love
as Katsue Takaishi
- 1938 Mother and Child
as Chieko
- 1937
- 1937
- 1937
- 1937 Lady Doctor Kinuyo
as Kinuyo Yamaoka
- 1937 Song of the Flower Basket
as Yoko
- 1936
- 1936
- 1936
- 1935 Burden of Life
as Itsuko Kuriyama
- 1935 Okoto and Sasuke
as Okoto
- 1935 An Innocent Maid
as Oshige
- 1934 My Elder Brother
as Sumako
- 1934
- 1934 Osayo Koi Sugata
as Osayo
- 1934
- 1934
- 1934
- 1934
- 1934
- 1934 The Genealogy of Women
as Otsuta
- 1934 Mother of the East
as Taeko
- 1933 Sôbô
as Yoshiko Chō
- 1933 Daphne
as Tamayō (Geisha)
- 1933 Before the Wedding
as Yukiko Takada
- 1933
- 1933 Clear and Cloudy
as Fusako Kawahara
- 1933 Dragnet Girl
as Tokiko
- 1933 The Cheerleading Captain's Love
as Omitsu
- 1933 Woman of Tokyo
as Harue
- 1933 The Dancing Girl of Izu
as Kaoru, a dancer
- 1933 The Bride Talks in Her Sleep
as Haruko, bride
- 1932 The Loyal 47 Ronin
as Yae
- 1932
- 1932 Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth?
as Oshige
- 1932
- 1932 Shine, Japanese Women
as Shigeko
- 1932
- 1932 The Sun Rises from the East
as Miyoko
- 1932
- 1932
- 1932
- 1932 The Golden Demon
as Omiya
- 1931
- 1931
- 1931
- 1931
- 1931 The Neighbour's Wife and Mine
as Wife of the Playwright
- 1931
- 1931
- 1931
- 1931 Love, Be with Humanity: Part 1
as Mayumi
- 1931 Love, Be with Humanity: Part 2
as Mayumi
- 1930 Young Lady
as Kinuko
- 1930 Youth, Why Do You Cry?
as Kozue Uesugi
- 1930
- 1930 The Tale of Kinuyo
as Kinuyo
- 1930
- 1930
- 1930
- 1930 Where Do Women Go?
as Omitsu
- 1930
- 1930 I Flunked, But...
as Cafe's Waitress
- 1930 Song of Youth
as Kinuko Yamada
- 1930 Marching On
as Toshiko Yamamoto
- 1930
- 1929 Triumphant Song of the Mountain
as Yuki Matsuyama
- 1929
- 1929 I Graduated, But...
as Machiko Nomoto
- 1929 Cheerful Song
as Mamoko
- 1929
- 1929 The Big City: Labor
as Okimi (cleaning woman)
- 1929
- 1929
- 1929
- 1929 The Blacksmith of the Forest
as Omitsu
- 1928 Symphony of Youth
as Kinuko Noguchi
- 1928 The Glory of the Shōwa Era
as Yayoi Sakurai (Shōwa Chapter)
- 1928 King of the Land
as Namiko
- 1928
- 1928
- 1928
- 1928 What a Handsome Man!
as Shikanyu (geisha)
- 1928 Iron Virgin
as Namiko
- 1928
- 1928
- 1928
- 1928
- 1928
- 1928 Chronicles of a Sea Country
as Oaki (Sister)
- 1928
- 1927
- 1927
- 1927 Sankichi the Flying Squirrel
as Oshizu (Tazaemon's Daughter)
- 1927 The Oath of a Thousand Kills
as Kaōgi (Courtesan)
- 1927
- 1927 Song of the Border Patrol
as Tsutae
- 1927
- 1927
- 1927
- 1927
- 1927
- 1927
- 1927
- 1926
+ 22 more credits
Behind the camera (7)
- 1962 Love Under the Crucifix
Director
- 1961 Girls of the Night
Director
- 1960 The Wandering Princess
Director
- 1955 Forever a Woman
Director
- 1955 The Moon Has Risen
Director
- 1953 Love Letter
Director
- 1953 Brother and Sister
Assistant Director
Talk shows and appearances (3)
- 2022
- 2009
- 1975