was a Japanese

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and film

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, best known for her appearances in the films of

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 ...

and

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 shomin-geki ("common people drama") films with female protagonists, ...

from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.

Biography

Sugimura was born in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima. After the death of her parents, she was adopted at an early age by affluent lumber dealers, only learning much later that they were not her biological parents. (Sugimura reputedly claimed that she was the illegitimate child of a

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female J ...

.) Her adoptive parents took her to performances of both classical Japanese stage arts like

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is though ...

and

bunraku (also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers ...

, and western ballet and opera. They also encouraged her to enroll at the Tokyo Ongaku Gakko (now

Tokyo University of the Arts or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

), where she failed the exams. She then joined the Tsukiji Shōgekijō (Tsukiji Little Theatre),

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, in 1927, and later the Bungakuza theatre company, which she remained affiliated with from 1937 until her retirement in 1996. She gave her film debut in 1932 in Eizo Tanaka's ''Namiko'' (1932). Between 1937 and the end of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, she acted in about 20 films, including works by directors

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

and

Shirō Toyoda was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed over 60 films during his career spanning 50 years. Career Born in Kyoto, Toyoda moved to Tokyo after finishing high school and studied scriptwriting under the pioneering film director ...

. Notable post-war film appearances were in Keisuke Kinoshita's ''Morning for the Osone Family'' (1946) and in Ozu's ''

Late Spring is a 1949 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and written by Ozu and Kogo Noda, based on the short novel ''Father and Daughter'' (''Chichi to musume'') by the 20th-century novelist and critic Kazuo Hirotsu. The film was written and s ...

'' (1949). Her most important film roles included that of Shige, the elderly couple's hairdresser daughter in Ozu's ''

Tokyo Story is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and starring Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Upon release, it did not immediately gain international recogni ...

'' (1953), Naruse's ''

Late Chrysanthemums is a 1954 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It follows four retired geisha and their struggles to make ends meet in post World War II Japan. The film is based on three short stories by female author Fumiko Hayashi. Plot ''Late Chrysa ...

'' (1954), and

Tadashi Imai was a Japanese film director known for social realist filmmaking informed by a left-wing perspective. His most noted films include ''An Inlet of Muddy Water'' (1953) and ''Bushido, Samurai Saga'' (1963). Life Although leaning towards left-wing p ...

's '' An Inlet of Muddy Water'' (1953). For her film performances, she received the Blue Ribbon Award, the

Kinema Junpo Award , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ...

and the

Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

. On stage, she was successful as Blanche Dubois in ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...

'', Gertrude in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' and Asako Kageyama in

Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered fo ...

Rokumeikan The was a large two-story building in Tokyo, completed in 1883, which became a controversial symbol of Westernisation in the Meiji period. Commissioned for the housing of foreign guests by the Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru, it was designed by Brit ...

. Her most popular and often repeated stage role was Kei Nunobiki in

Kaoru Morimoto was a Japanese playwright, screenwriter and translator. He is famous for his critically acclaimed play '' A Woman's Life'' (''Onna no isshō''), which became one of the most often performed plays in post-war Japan. Biography Morimoto was born i ...

's ''

A Woman's Life ''A Woman's Life'' (''Onna no isshō'', 1945), is the most famous play by Kaoru Morimoto and was the most frequently staged play during postwar Japan. Consisting of seven scenes and five acts, ''A Woman's Life'' tells the story of Kei as she gro ...

'', for which she received numerous awards, including the Japan Art Academy Prize and the

Asahi Prize The , established in 1929, is an award presented by the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun'' and Asahi Shimbun Foundation to honor individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of arts and academics and have greatl ...

. In 1992, she was awarded the honorary citizenship of the city of Tokyo. In 1995, she refused the

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipient ...

award. The same year saw the release of her last film,

Kaneto Shindō was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include ''Children of Hiroshima'', ''The Naked Island'', '' Onibaba'', ''Kuroneko'' an ...

's ''

A Last Note is a 1995 Japanese comedy-drama film directed by Kaneto Shindo. It was the last film of actresses Haruko Sugimura and Nobuko Otowa. Plot Yoko Morimoto, an aged but still active widowed actress, takes a rest from rehearsals and the hot temperatur ...

''.

Filmography

Film

* ''Namiko'' (1932) * ''Asakusa no hi'' (1937) * ''Uguisu'' (1938) * '' Wedding Day'' (1940) * ''Okumura Ioko'' (1940) * '' Spring on Leper's Island'' (1940) – Yokogawa's wife * ''Ōhinata-mura'' (1940) * ''Waga ai no ki'' (1941) * ''Shirasagi'' (1941) * ''Jirō monogatari'' (1941) * ''Nankai no hanataba'' (1942) – Nobuko Hotta * ''Haha no chizu'' (1942) – Isano Kishi * ''Gekiryu'' (1944) * ''

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

'' (1944) – Setsu * ''Kanjōkai no bara'' (1945) * ''Umi no yobu koe'' (1945) * ''Ōsone-ke no ashita'' (1946) – Fusako Ōsone * ''Urashima Tarō no kōei'' (1946) * ''

No Regrets for Our Youth is a 1946 Japanese film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is based on the 1933 Takigawa incident. The film stars Setsuko Hara, Susumu Fujita, Takashi Shimura and Denjirō Ōkōchi. Fujita's character was inspired by the real-life Hotsu ...

'' (1946) – Madame Noge, Ryukichi's mother * ''Yottsu no koi no monogatari'' (1947) – Yukiko's mother (episode 1) * ''Joen'' (1947) * ''Haru no mezame'' (1947) * ''Sanbon yubi no otoko'' (1947) – Itoko * ''Yuwaku'' (1948) – Tokie * ''Te o tsunagu kora'' (1948) * ''Idainaru X'' (1948) – Taka * ''Toki no teizo: zengohen'' (1948) * ''Kurogumo kaido'' (1948) * ''Koku'un kaido'' (1948) * ''Beni imada kiezu'' (1949) * ''Yotsuya kaidan'' (1949) – Omaki * ''Shinshaku Yotsuya kaidan: kōhen'' (1949) – Omaki * ''

'' (1949) – Masa Taguchi * ''Onna no shiki'' (1950) * '' Until We Meet Again'' (1950) – Ono Suga * '' Listen to the Voices of the Sea'' (1950) – Kohagi Nakamura * ''Eriko to tomoni'' Part I + II (1951) – Harue Matsumura * ''Jiyū gakkō'' (1951) * ''

Early Summer is a 1951 Japanese drama by Yasujirō Ozu. Like most of Ozu's post-war films, ''Early Summer'' deals with issues ranging from communication problems between generations to the rising role of women in post-war Japan. The plot concerns Noriko, who ...

'' (1951) – Tami Yabe * '' Fireworks Over the Sea'' (1951) – Kono Kujirai * '' Repast'' (1951) – Matsu Murata, Michiyo's mother * ''Inochi uruwashi'' (1951) – Mine Imura * ''Seishun kaigi'' (1952) – Tamiyo * ''Genroku suikoden'' (1952) – Onui * ''Kaze futatabi'' (1952) * ''Kin no tamago: Golden girl'' (1952) – Tsuruko Fujimura * ''Wakai hito'' (1952) * ''Senba zuru'' (1953) – Chikako Kurimoto * ''Montenrupa: Bokyo no uta'' (1953) * ''Kimi ni sasageshi inochi nariseba'' (1953) * ''

'' (1953) – Shige Kaneko * ''

Life of a Woman is a 1953 Japanese drama film written and directed by Kaneto Shindo was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include '' Child ...

'' (1953) – Tamae, Shintaro's mother * '' An Inlet of Muddy Water'' (1953) – O-Hatsu (story 3) * ''Geisha Konatsu'' (1954) – Raku Kamioka * ''

'' (1954) – Kin * ''Shunkin monogatari'' (1954) – Oei * ''Kunsho'' (1954) * ''Meiji ichidai onna'' (1955) – Ohide * ''

Keisatsu Nikki is a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Seiji Hisamatsu and produced by Nikkatsu. Cast * Masao Mishima as Ishiwarai, the head of Police * Hisaya Morishige as policeman Yoshii * Yukiyo Toake * Rentarō Mikuni as policeman Hakanawa * ...

'' (1955) – Moyo Sugita, a go-between * ''

Princess Yang Kwei-Fei is a 1955 Japanese historical film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It was a co-production between Daiei Film and Shaw & Sons, Hong Kong (later Shaw Brothers). It is one of Mizoguchi's two colour films, the other being '' Tales of the Taira Clan'', ...

'' (1955) – Princess Yen-chun * ''Geisha Konatsu: Hitori neru yo no Konatsu'' (1955) – Raku Kamioka * ''

She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum , also known as ''You Were Like a Wild Chrysanthemum'' or ''My First Love Affair'', is a 1955 Japanese drama film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. It is based on a novel by Saicho Ito. Plot 73-year-old Masao is taking a river boat to pay his remote ...

'' (1955) – Masao's mother * ''Aogashima no kodomotachi – Onna kyōshi no kiroku'' (1956) – Chie Yamada * '' Early Spring'' (1956) – Tamako Tamura * ''Yonjū-hassai no teikō'' (1956) – Satoko, Kotaro's wife * ''

Nagareru is a 1956 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on the novel ''Nagareru'' by Aya Kōda. Plot Widow Rika starts working as a maid in the okiya (geisha lodging house) of geisha Otsuta, who lives with her daughter Katsuyo, her ...

'' (1956) – Someka * ''Onna no ashi ato'' (1956) * ''The Crowded Streetcar'' (1957) – Otome, the mother * ''

Tokyo Twilight is a 1957 Japanese drama film by Yasujirō Ozu. It is the story of two sisters (played by Ineko Arima and Ozu regular Setsuko Hara) who are reunited with a mother who left them as children. The film is considered amongst Ozu's darkest postwar ...

'' (1957) – Shigeko Takeuchi * ''Kanashimi wa onna dakeni'' (1958) – Chiyoko * ''Hana no bojō'' (1958) – Rie Ikegami * '' Summer Clouds'' (1958) – Toyo * ''Nemuri Kyōshirō burai hikae: Maken jigoku'' (1958) – Sonoe * ''

Good Morning "Good morning" is a common greeting in the English language. It may also refer to: Television * ''Good Morning!!!'' (Australian show), a children's show * ''Good Morning'' (New Zealand show), a daytime talk show * ''Good Morning'' (Russian ...

'' (1959) – Kikue Haraguchi * ''Bibō ni tsumi ari'' (1959) – Fusa Yoshino * ''Anyakōro'' (1959) – Osai * ''Kashimanada no onna'' (1959) * ''

The Three Treasures is a 1959 Japanese film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. The film is based on the legends ''Kojiki'' and '' Nihon Shoki'' and the origins of ''Shinto''. The film was the highest-grossing film of 1959 for Toho and the second highest grossing domestic ...

'' (1959) – Narrator * ''

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. ...

'' (1959) – Oyoshi * ''Tenpō rokkasen – Jigoku no hanamichi'' (1960) – Okuma * ''Musume tsuma haha'' (1960) – Kayo Tani * ''

Daughters, Wives and a Mother is a 1960 Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse. Plot Sanae, a recent widow and the eldest daughter of a family, returns to her mother, eldest brother and his brother's wife. The family argues over what to do with the money Sanae's husband lef ...

'' (1960) – Kayo Tani * ''Ashi ni sawatta onna'' (1960) – Pickpocket Haruko * ''Furyu fukagawata'' (1960) * ''Banana'' (1960) * ''Kutsukake Tokijirō'' (1961) – Oroku * ''

The End of Summer is a 1961 Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu for Toho Films. It was entered into the 12th Berlin International Film Festival. The film was his penultimate; only '' An Autumn Afternoon'' (1962) followed it, which he made for Shochiku Films. P ...

'' (1961) – Katou Shige * ''Buddha'' (1961) – Vaidehi * ''

Hangyakuji Hangyakuji ( ja, 反逆児, ''The Conspirator'') is a 1961 Japanese historical-fiction film directed by Daisuke Ito. It features Kinnosuke Yorozuya, Kaneko Iwasaki, and Tsukie Matsuura. Plot Saburo Nobuyasu, a young king, has trouble finding ...

'' (1961) * ''Katei no jijō'' (1962) – Mrs. Yoshii * ''Onna no za'' (1962) – Aki, Ishikawa-ke no gosai * ''Ashita aru kagiri'' (1962) * ''Musume to watashi'' (1962) – Kiyo Kitagawa * ''The Outcast'' (1962) – School master's wife * ''

An Autumn Afternoon is a 1962 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu for Shochiku Films. It stars Ozu regular Chishū Ryū as the patriarch of the Hirayama family who eventually realises that he has a duty to arrange a marriage for his daughter Michiko (Shim ...

'' (1962) – Tomoko * ''Kaigun'' (1963) * ''

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

'' (1963) – Yoshie * ''

The Scent of Incense is a 1964 Japanese drama film based on a novel by Sawako Ariyoshi and directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. Screened in two parts, it was one of Kinoshita's last cinema productions before working mainly for television. Plot Spanning in time from the Ru ...

'' (1964) – Taromaru * ''Akujo'' (1964) – Hatsu Mimura * ''

Kwaidan is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 (''kai'') meaning "strange, mysterious, rare, or bewitching apparition" and 談 (''dan'') meaning "talk" or "recited narrative". Overall meaning and usage In its broadest sense, ''kaidan'' refe ...

'' (1964) – Madame (story 4) * ''

Samurai Assassin is a 1965 Japanese film directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring Toshiro Mifune, Koshiro Matsumoto, Yūnosuke Itō, and Michiyo Aratama. It is set in 1860, immediately before the Meiji Restoration changed Japanese society forever by doing awa ...

'' (1965) – Tsuru * ''

With Beauty and Sorrow is a 1965 Japanese drama film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It is based on the novel ''Beauty and Sadness (novel), Beauty and Sadness'' by Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize winning writer Yasunari Kawabata. Plot Ageing writer Ōki travels t ...

'' (1965) – Otoko's mother * ''

Red Beard is a 1965 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, in his last collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune. Based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1959 short story collection, '' Akahige Shinryōtan'', the film takes p ...

'' (1965) – Kin, the madam * ''Daikon to ninjin'' (1965) * ''Dark the Mountain Snow'' (1966) – Ine's mother * ''Jinchoge'' (1966) – Aki Ueno, Daphne * ''Hanaoka Seishū no tsuma'' (1967) – Narrator * ''Hitorikko'' (1969) * ''Kaseki no mori'' (1973) * ''Akumyo: shima arashi'' (1974) – Ito * '' Kaseki'' (1974) – Mother-in-law * ''Bokuto kidan'' (1992) – Kafu's mother * ''

'' (1995) – Yoko Morimoto

Television (selected)

* ''Sekigahara'' (1981) - Kita no mandokoro

Awards (selected)

* 1948: Japan Art Academy Prize for ''

'' * 1951:

Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan. The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers. In 1961, the six major Japanes ...

for Best Supporting Actress for '' Repast'' and ''

'' * 1954:

Mainichi Film Concours The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

Best Supporting Actress for '' An Inlet of Muddy Water'' and ''

'' * 1968:

for ''

'' * 1974: Person of Cultural Merit * 1996: Mainichi Film Concours Best Actress for ''

'' * 1996:

Kinema Junpo Awards , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...

for Best Actress for ''

'' * 1998: Mainichi Film Concours Special Award * 1998: Japanese Academy Prize Special Award

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sugimura, Haruko 1909 births 1997 deaths Actors from Hiroshima 20th-century Japanese actresses Persons of Cultural Merit