is a Japanese actress who was one of the country's biggest stars of the 20th century.

Biography

Wakao began her career contracted to

Daiei Studios Daiei Film Co. Ltd. (Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ''Daiei Eiga Kabushiki Kaisha'') was a Japanese film studio. Founded in 1942 as Dai Nippon Film Co., Ltd., it was one of the major studios during the postwar Golden Age of Japanese cinema, producing ...

in 1951 as part of the fifth "New Face" group. She has gone on to appear in over 100 feature films, plus numerous television movies and series. She was a favorite actress of director

Yasuzo Masumura was a Japanese film director. Biography Masumura was born in Kōfu, Yamanashi. After dropping out of a law course at the University of Tokyo he worked as an assistant director at the Daiei Film studio, later returning to university to study ph ...

, starring in 20 of his films. In addition to her many collaborations with Masumura, she was a favorite of

Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary ''Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), which won t ...

, having starred or co-starred in seven of the director's works. She appeared in

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Uget ...

's ''

A Geisha is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, centred on the geisha milieu in post-war Gion, Kyoto. It is based on a novel by Matsutarō Kawaguchi. Plot Eiko is in the search of the okiya (geisha house) run by the geisha Miyoharu. ...

'' and ''

Street of Shame is a 1956 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It is the personal tales of several Japanese women of different backgrounds who work together in a brothel. It was Mizoguchi's last film. The film is based on the novel '' Su ...

''. She also appeared in

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. 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 t ...

's ''

Floating Weeds is a 1959 Japanese drama directed by Yasujirō Ozu, starring Nakamura Ganjirō II and Machiko Kyō. It is a remake of Ozu's own black-and-white silent film '' A Story of Floating Weeds'' (1934) and considered one of the greatest films ever made. ...

''.

Yuzo Kawashima was a Japanese film director, most famous for making tragi-comic films and satires. Career Kawashima was born in Mutsu, Aomori in the Shimokita Peninsula. From his youth, he suffered from a paralysis that affected his right leg and arm. He was ...

made three films '' Women Are Born Twice'', '' The Temple of Wild Geese'' and ''

The Graceful Brute is a 1962 Japanese satirical comedy film directed by Yūzō Kawashima and written by Kaneto Shindō. Plot The family of ex-naval officer Tokizo Maeda lives in a small urban concrete block apartment, always quick at hiding their belongings when ...

'' with her. Wakao married architect

Kisho Kurokawa (April 8, 1934 – October 12, 2007) was a leading Japanese architect and one of the founders of the Metabolist Movement. Biography Born in Kanie, Aichi, Kurokawa studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor's ...

in 1983. They did not have children. In 2007, both ran unsuccessful campaigns for seats in the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the

Japanese Parliament The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

, before Kurokawa died in October of that year.

Selected filmography

Films

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * Japanese film actresses 1933 births Living people 20th-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese actresses Actresses from Tokyo {{Japan-film-actor-stub