(31 January 1918 – 13 June 1990) was a Japanese film actress. She appeared in nearly 200 films in a career which spanned 45 years, starring in works by

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

, and others. Film historian

Donald Richie Donald Richie (17 April 1924 – 19 February 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also dir ...

once called her " e of Japan's most versatile actresses, and perhaps the most intellectual of all in her approach to acting."

Biography

Michiyo Kogure was born in

Shimonoseki is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. With a population of 265,684, it is the largest city in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the fifth-largest city in the Chūgoku region. It is located at the southwestern tip of Honshu facing the Tsushim ...

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...

, Japan, and graduated from

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

in 1940. While still a student, she joined the

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

film studios and gave her screen debut in 1939. She worked for directors such as Hiroshi Shimizu,

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

and

Kōzaburō Yoshimura was a Japanese film director. Biography Born in Shiga Prefecture, he joined the Shōchiku studio in 1929. He debuted as director in 1934, but continued working as an assistant director for such filmmakers as Yasujirō Ozu and Yasujirō Shim ...

, before following her husband to

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

in 1944. Upon her return two years later, she starred again in films by Shochiku, but also

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, Kobe, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Maruben ...

and other studios, and repeatedly appeared in films by Mizoguchi and Shimizu. She received the 1949

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, ...

for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ''

Aoi sanmyaku is a 1949 black-and-white Japanese film directed by 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 ''Bushid ...

''. In addition to her appearances in films and commercials, Kogure volunteered in charity work. In 1976, she was awarded the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon.

Selected filmography

Films

* ''Akatsuki no gassho'' (1941) * ''

Drunken Angel is a 1948 Japanese ''yakuza'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is notable for being the first of sixteen film collaborations between director Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune. Plot Sanada (Takashi Shimura) is an alcoholic doctor (the tit ...

'' (1948) * ''

Lady from Hell is a 1949 Japanese Action film, action drama film directed by Motoyoshi Oda and co-written by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film has been called a "protest movie" which "portrayed a cornucopia of corruption and indi ...

'' (1949) * ''

Portrait of Madame Yuki , also titled ''A Picture of Madame Yuki'', is a 1950 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Plot Yuki Shinano, a descendant of the once powerful Shinano family, is living in an unhappy marriage with her husband Naoyuki. Although he tr ...

'' (1950) * '' Fireworks over the Sea'' (1951) * '' The Tale of Genji'' (1951) * ''

Rikon is a 1952 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Masahiro Makino. Cast * Ureo Egawa as Shōgo Yamamura * Yuriko Hanabusa as Natsuno Sōma * Chōko Iida as Kikuyo * Michiyo Kogure as Michiko Sōma * Noriko Munakata as Tsuruko Miyawakita ...

'' (1952) * ''Okuni to Gohei'' (1952) * ''

The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice is a 1952 Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. The screenplay concerns a wealthy middle-aged couple (played by Shin Saburi and Michiyo Kogure) who have marital difficulties, and their niece who uses the couple's troubles as her excuse for no ...

'' (1952) * ''Senbazuru'' (1953) * ''

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. ...

'' (1953) * '' Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple'' (1955) * '' Shin Heike monogatari'' (1955) * ''Jirō monogatari'' (1955) * ''

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 ...

'' (1956) * ''

Night School A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates. Italy The Scuola ...

'' (1956) * '' Sisters of the Gion'' (1956) * ''Kiri no oto'' (1956) * ''

Freelance Samurai is a 1957 color Japanese film directed by Kenji Misumi. Cast * Ichikawa Raizō VIII as Momotarō is a popular hero of Japanese folklore. His name is often translated as ''Peach Boy'', but is directly translated as ''Peach + Tarō'', a co ...

'' (1957) * ''

The Loyal 47 Ronin ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1958) * '' Akō Rōshi'' (1961) * '' Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director'' (1975) * '' Tora-san, the Matchmaker'' (1979)

Television

* ''

The Yagyu Conspiracy is a Japanese television jidaigeki (period drama) that was broadcast from 1978 to 1979. It is adapted from the 1978 film ''Shogun's Samurai'' starring Sonny Chiba, who reprises his role in the series. Plot After the death of Tokugawa Hidetada, h ...

'' (1978) * ''

Kusa Moeru is a 1979 Japanese television series. It is the 17th NHK taiga drama. Story Kusa Moeru deals with the Kamakura period. Based on Michiko Nagai's novels "Hojo Masako" and "Enkan". The story chronicles the life of Hōjō Masako. Cast Minamoto ...

'' (1979)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kogure, Michiyo 1918 births 1990 deaths Japanese film actresses People from Shimonoseki 20th-century Japanese actresses Actors from Yamaguchi Prefecture