Acting
Kinuyo Tanaka
FR, JA cinema · 228 credits
Born
28 November 1909
Died
21 March 1977 (aged 67)
Birthplace
Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan
Also known as 다나카 키누요 · کینو تاناکا · 田中 絹代
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. 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.
Known for
Filmography
Kinuyo Tanaka, a Woman We Talk About
as Self (archive footage)
The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka
as Self (archive footage)
Cape of the North
as Old Nun
Let's Go, Grandma!
as Kiku Sasaki
Sandakan No. 8
as Old Osaki
Sanbaba
Actor
Red Beard
as Madame Yasumoto
The Scent of Incense
as Tsuna
Alone Across the Pacific
as Youth's Mother
Bright Sea
as Nobuko Yazaki
A Legend or Was It?
as Shizuko Sonobe
A Wanderer's Notebook
as Kishi, Fumiko's Mother
The Fencing Master
as Oharu
Eternity of Love
as Michi's Mother
Girls of the Night
Director
Her Brother
as Mother
The Three Treasures
as Princess Yamato
Hahakogusa
as Shige Ozawa
Equinox Flower
as Kiyoko Hirayama
Yellow Crow
as Yukiko Matsumoto
On This Earth
as Omitsu, Heiichiro's mother
Stepbrothers
as Rie
Flowing
as Rika Yamanaka / Oharu
Women in Prison
as Prison Warden
Forever a Woman
as Neighbor's Wife, Director
The Moon Has Risen
as Yoneya, Director
House of Many Pleasures
as Oshige
Sansho the Bailiff
as Tamaki
The Woman in the Rumor
as Hatsuko Mabuchi
Sincere Heart
as Kuniko
An Heir's Place
as Hisa Hosho
Where Chimneys Are Seen
as Hiroko Ogata
Love Letter
as Landlady, Director
Ugetsu
as Miyagi
Brother and Sister
Assistant Director
Mother
as Masako Fukuhara
The Life of Oharu
as Oharu
The Ataka Family
as Kuniko Ataka
Miss Oyu
as Oyû Kayukawa
Ginza Cosmetics
as Yukiko Tsuji
The Lady of Musashino
as Michiko Akiyama
The Munekata Sisters
as Setsuko Munekata
Wedding Ring
as Noriko Kuki
Flame of My Love
as Eiko Hirayama
Yotsuya Ghost Story Part 1
as Oiwa / Osode
Yotsuya Ghost Story Part 2
as Oiwa / Osode
Women of the Night
as Fusako Owada
A Hen in the Wind
as Tokiko Amamiya
The Love of the Actress Sumako
as Sumako Matsui
Phoenix
as Sayoko Aihara
Marriage
as Fumie Matsukawa
Victory of Women
as Hiroko Hosokawa
Victory Song
as Woman who sings lullaby
Miyamoto Musashi
as Shinobu Nonomiya
Army
as Waka
Okayo's Preparedness
as Okayo
The Tree of Love
as Katsue Takaishi
Mother and Child
as Chieko
Lady Doctor Kinuyo
as Kinuyo Yamaoka
Burden of Life
as Itsuko Kuriyama
Okoto and Sasuke
as Okoto
An Innocent Maid
as Oshige
Osayo Koi Sugata
as Osayo
The Genealogy of Women
as Otsuta
My Elder Brother
as Sumako
Woman of Tokyo
as Harue
The Dancing Girl of Izu
as Kaoru, a dancer
Dragnet Girl
as Tokiko
The Bride Talks in Her Sleep
as Haruko, bride
蒼氓
1933
Sôbô
as Yoshiko Chō
晴曇
1933
Clear and Cloudy
as Fusako Kawahara
Before the Wedding
as Yukiko Takada
Daphne
as Tamayō (Geisha)
Shine, Japanese Women
as Shigeko
The Neighbour's Wife and Mine
as Wife of the Playwright
Youth, Why Do You Cry?
as Kozue Uesugi
Marching On
as Toshiko Yamamoto
I Flunked, But...
as Cafe's Waitress
Young Lady
as Kinuko
青春譜
1930
Song of Youth
as Kinuko Yamada
Where Do Women Go?
as Omitsu
The Tale of Kinuyo
as Kinuyo
大都会 労働篇
1929
The Big City: Labor
as Okimi (cleaning woman)
I Graduated, But...
as Machiko Nomoto
山の凱歌
1929
Triumphant Song of the Mountain
as Yuki Matsuyama
King of the Land
as Namiko
Chronicles of a Sea Country
as Oaki (Sister)
天晴れ美男子
1928
What a Handsome Man!
as Shikanyu (geisha)
The Glory of the Shōwa Era
as Yayoi Sakurai (Shōwa Chapter)
青春交響楽
1928
Symphony of Youth
as Kinuko Noguchi
悲願千人斬
1927
The Oath of a Thousand Kills
as Kaōgi (Courtesan)
むさゝびの三吉
1927
Sankichi the Flying Squirrel
as Oshizu (Tazaemon's Daughter)
悩ましき頃
1926
Troubled Days
as Osaki (Reiko's Sister)
Young Master
as Tamako (Geisha in training)
Fallen Samurai
as Omaki
恋の捕縄
1925
Love's Snare
as Osato (Thread Shop Owner)
Village Pasture
as Oharu