Ritsuko Mori (30 October 1890 – 22 July 1961) (森律子 in Japanese, or もりりつこ in kana) was a Japanese actress. As a woman from a respected family, her entry into the acting profession was considered disreputable, but her success improved the opportunities and social standing of professional actresses in Japan.

Early life

Mori was born in Tokyo, the daughter of Hajime Mori, a lawyer and politician. She graduated from Atomi Girls' School. She was one of the first students trained as an actress with

Sada Yacco Sada Yacco or was a Japanese geisha, actress and dancer. Early life Sadayakko Kawakami was born July 18, 1871, the youngest of twelve children. "My grandfather on my mother's side was an assistant magistrate and rather famous, I hear. Our house ...

, at the Imperial Training School for Actresses. She toured in Europe to study Western theatre in 1913.

Career

Mori's choice of an acting career was considered a shocking embarrassment to her family and social circles. "All my relatives and friends were against it and even persecuted me," she explained in 1919. Her success improved the social standing of Japanese women working in the theatre. She was inspired by many performers who went before her, including male

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

star

Mei Lanfang Mei Lan (22 October 1894 – 8 August 1961), better known by his stage name Mei Lanfang, was a notable Peking opera artist in modern Chinese theater. Mei was known as "Queen of Peking Opera". Mei was exclusively known for his female lead ...

. Mori appeared in stage comedies, dramas,

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 thought to ...

, and

operettas Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

. In 1916, she played a blind heroine character in a one-act tragedy, ''Mitsu-no-Kokoro,'' at the

Imperial Theatre The Imperial Theatre is a Broadway theater at 249 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1923, the Imperial Theatre was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed fo ...

. A Western reviewer described her "interesting" performance in a

breeches role A breeches role (also pants role or trouser role, or Hosenrolle) is one in which an actress appears in male clothing. Breeches, tight-fitting knee-length pants, were the standard male garment at the time these roles were introduced. The theatric ...

in 1918, saying Mori "gets full play for her vivacity and skill." Also in 1918, she played

Portia Portia may refer to: Biology * ''Portia'' (spider), a genus of jumping spiders *'' Anaea troglodyta'' or Portia, a brush-footed butterfly *Portia tree, a plant native to Polynesia Medication A form of birth control made of ethinylestradiol/lev ...

in an adaptation of Shakespeare's ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' by Yuzo Tsubouchi. In 1919 she gave a eulogy speech at the funeral of her colleague, actress

Sumako Matsui was a Japanese actress and singer. Born as Masako Kobayashi in Matsushiro, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture as the fifth daughter and last of nine children of Tohta Kobayashi, she was adopted by the Hasegawa family in Ueda at the age of six and in 1900 g ...

; "Why must you leave us, the actresses of Japan, struggling hard for the perfection of woman's part upon the stage, new to the Japanese public and most difficult for us?" Mori was "the leading lady of the Imperial Theatre" and helped with managing the theatre's productions in the 1920s, according to American journalist

Marguerite Harrison Marguerite Elton Harrison (1879–1967) was an American reporter, spy, filmmaker and translator. She was also one of the four founding members of the Society of Woman Geographers. Biography Harrison was born Marguerite Elton Baker, one of two da ...

. She officially welcomed Irish tenor John McCormack on his arrival in Tokyo in 1926. In the 1930s she worked with actor Shotaro Hanayagi.

Personal life

She adopted her niece, actress Kakuko Mori. She died in 1961, at the age of 70.

References

External links

A woodblock portrait of Ritsuko Mori
by Yamamura Toyonari (1915), in the Lavenberg Collection of Japanese Prints at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

another print
of this image is in the collection of the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. The museum has one of the largest single col ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mori, Ritsuko 1890 births 1961 deaths Japanese actresses