, known professionally as , was a
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
actor and a
matinée idol
Matinée idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatre stars who are adored to the point of adulation by their fans. The term almost exclusively refers to adult male actors.
Matinée idols often tend to play romantic and dramatic lead ...
. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a
leading man
A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...
in the United States and Europe. His "broodingly handsome"
good looks and
typecasting
In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
as a sexually dominant villain made him a heartthrob among American women during a time of racial discrimination, and he became one of the first male
sex symbol
A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive.Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to ...
s of Hollywood.
After withdrawing from the Japanese naval academy and attempting suicide at 18, Hayakawa attended the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, where he studied
political economics
Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour mar ...
in accordance with his wealthy parents' wish that he become a
banker
A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
. Upon graduating, he traveled to Los Angeles in order to board a scheduled ship back to Japan, but decided to try out acting in
Little Tokyo. There, Hayakawa impressed Hollywood figures and was signed on to star in ''
The Typhoon
''The Typhoon'' is a 1914 American drama film directed by Reginald Barker, written by Melchior Lengyel, and starring Sessue Hayakawa, Gladys Brockwell, Frank Borzage, Henry Kotani and Leona Hutton. It was released on October 10, 1914, by Paramo ...
'' (1914). He made his breakthrough in ''
The Cheat'' (1915), and thereafter became famous for his roles as a forbidden lover. Hayakawa was one of the highest paid stars of his time, earning $5,000 per week in 1915, and $2 million per year through his own production company from 1918 to 1921.
[ p. 2.] Because of rising
anti-Japanese sentiment
Anti-Japanese sentiment (also called Japanophobia, Nipponophobia and anti-Japanism) involves the hatred or fear of anything which is Japanese, be it its culture or its people. Its opposite is Japanophilia.
Overview
Anti-Japanese senti ...
and business difficulties,
Hayakawa left Hollywood in 1922 and performed on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and in Japan and Europe for many years before making his Hollywood comeback in ''
Daughter of the Dragon
''Daughter of the Dragon'' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime mystery film directed by Lloyd Corrigan, released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Anna May Wong as Princess Ling Moy, Sessue Hayakawa as Ah Kee, and Warner Oland as Dr. Fu Manchu ...
'' (1931).
Of his
talkies
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
, Hayakawa is probably best known for his role as Kuala, the pirate captain in ''
Swiss Family Robinson
''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwreck ...
'' (1960) and Colonel Saito in ''
The Bridge on the River Kwai
''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, th ...
'' (1957), for which he earned a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...
.
Hayakawa starred in over 80 feature films, and three of his films (''The Cheat'', ''
The Dragon Painter
''The Dragon Painter'' is a 1919 English language silent romance drama film. It is based on the novel of the same name, written by Mary McNeil Fenollosa. It stars Sessue Hayakawa as a young painter who believes that his fiancée (played by Hayak ...
'', and ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'') stand in the United States
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
.
Early life and career
![Sessue Hayakawa, 1918, by Apeda Studio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Sessue_Hayakawa%2C_1918%2C_by_Apeda_Studio.jpg)
Hayakawa was born in the village of Nanaura, now part of a town called
Chikura, in the city of
Minamibōsō
is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 37,143 in 17,175 households and a population density of 160 persons per km². The total area of the city is , making it the fifth largest city in Chiba Pr ...
in
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...
, Japan, on June 10, 1886.
[Kizirian, Shari]
The Dragon Painter
''Silent Film Festival''.[''Perpetually Cool: The Many Lives of Anna May Wong (1905-1961)''. p. 179.] From a young age he yearned to go overseas and took on English studies in preparation. His father was the head of a fishermen's union with some wealth. He had five siblings.
From an early age, Hayakawa's family intended him to become an officer in the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
. However, while a student at the naval academy in
Etajima
, also called , ''Nomijima'', ''Nomi Island'', or is an island in Hiroshima Bay located in southwestern Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The mess with island name originates from the ancient (and possibly legendary) strait at now town .
Geography
Th ...
, he swam to the bottom of a lagoon (he grew up in a
shellfish diving community) on a dare and
ruptured his eardrum. The injury caused him to fail the navy physical. His father felt shame and embarrassment by his son's failure and this drove a wedge between them. The strained relationship drove the 18-year-old Hayakawa to attempt (ritual suicide).
[ One evening, Hayakawa entered a shed on his parents' property and prepared the venue. He put his dog outside and attempted to uphold his family's ]samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
tradition by stabbing himself more than 30 times in the abdomen. The barking dog brought Hayakawa's parents to the scene and his father used an axe to break down the door, saving his life.
After he recovered from the suicide attempt, Hayakawa moved to the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and began to study political economics
Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour mar ...
at the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
to fulfill his family's new wish that he become a banker
A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
. While a student, he reportedly played quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for the football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team and was once penalized for using jujitsu to bring down an opponent. Hayakawa graduated from the University of Chicago in 1912, and subsequently made plans to return to Japan.[/projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/sessue-hayakawa/ Sessue Hayakawa - Hollywood Star Walk]. ''Los Angeles Times''.] Hayakawa traveled to Los Angeles and awaited a transpacific steamship. During his stay, he discovered the Japanese Theatre in Little Tokyo and became fascinated with acting and performing plays.
The above account, however, is disputed, in part or in whole. According to professor of Japanese language and literature at UC San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
Daisuke Miyao Daisuke Miyao is a professor of Japanese films at the University of Oregon and the University of California San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in Sa ...
, Hayakawa's turn to acting was in reality less eventful; there is no record of Hayakawa having attended University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
or having played sports there. Hayakawa's acting career instead likely followed a series of odd jobs in California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
: as a dishwasher, waiter, ice cream vendor, and factory worker; his theatrical appearances also were just another temporary pursuit.
Another revisionist account by author Orie Nakagawa holds that Hayakawa had always intended to go to California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to find work under his older brother in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
; his father, however, convinced him to study at Chicago instead, and Hayakawa did so for a year before leaving to return to his original pursuits.
It was around this time that Hayakawa first assumed the stage name , meaning "snowy continent" ( means "snow" and means "continent"). One of the productions in which Hayakawa performed was called ''The Typhoon''. Tsuru Aoki
was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career was most prolific in the United States during the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1920s. Aoki may have been the first Asian actress to garner top billing in American motion pictures. ...
, a member of the acting troupe, was so impressed with Hayakawa's abilities and enthusiasm that she enticed film producer Thomas H. Ince
Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor.
Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mo ...
to see the play.[ Ince saw the production and offered to turn it into a ]silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
with the original cast. Eager to return to Japan, Hayakawa tried to dissuade Ince by requesting the then-astronomic fee of $500 a week, but Ince agreed to his request.
''The Typhoon
''The Typhoon'' is a 1914 American drama film directed by Reginald Barker, written by Melchior Lengyel, and starring Sessue Hayakawa, Gladys Brockwell, Frank Borzage, Henry Kotani and Leona Hutton. It was released on October 10, 1914, by Paramo ...
'' (1914) became an instant hit and was followed by two additional pictures produced by Ince, '' The Wrath of the Gods'' (1914) co-starring Hayakawa's new wife, Aoki, and ''The Sacrifice'' (1914). With Hayakawa's rising stardom, Jesse L. Lasky soon offered Hayakawa a contract, which he accepted, making him part of Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...
(now Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
).
Stardom
Hayakawa's second film for Famous Players-Lasky was '' The Cheat'' (1915), directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
. ''The Cheat'' co-starred Fannie Ward
Fannie Ward (born Fannie Buchanan; February 22, 1872 – January 27, 1952), also credited as Fanny Ward, was an American actress of stage and screen. Known for performing in both comedic and dramatic roles, she was cast in '' The Cheat'', a sexu ...
as Hayakawa's love interest and was a huge success, making Hayakawa a romantic idol and sex symbol
A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive.Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to ...
to the female movie-going public.[ "It caused a sensation," says Stephen Gong, the executive director of San Francisco's ]Center for Asian American Media
The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) was founded in 1980. The San Francisco-based organization, formerly known as the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA), has grown into the largest organization dedicated to the adv ...
. "The idea of the rape fantasy, forbidden fruit, all those taboos of race and sex—it made him a movie star. And his most rabid fan base was white women." With his popularity and "broodingly handsome"[''Heartthrobs: A History of Women and Desire''. p. 111–112.] good looks, Hayakawa commanded a salary that reached over $3,500 a week at the height of his fame in 1919. In 1917, he built his residence, a castle-styled mansion, at the corner of Franklin Avenue
Franklin may refer to:
People
* Franklin (given name)
* Franklin (surname)
* Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class
Places Australia
* Franklin, Tasmania, a township
* Division of Franklin, federal electoral div ...
and Argyle Street in Hollywood, which was a local landmark until it was demolished in 1956.
Following ''The Cheat'', Hayakawa became a leading man
A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...
for romantic dramas in the 1910s and early 1920s. He also began acting in Westerns
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
and action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
s. He sought for roles, but dissatisfied with being constantly typecast
In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
, Hayakawa decided to form his own production company. There is some lack of clarity on how Haworth Pictures Corporation
Haworth Pictures Corporation was a film studio established by Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa in March 1918.
Haworth Pictures Corporation was Hollywood’s first Asian-owned production company.
Filmography
* ''His Birthright'' (1918)
* '' The Te ...
got its original funding. Hayakawa himself gave two different versions. The first was in his autobiography; he tells of William Joseph Connery, a fellow University of Chicago alumnus, introducing him to A.B.C. Dohrmann, the president of a china and glassware company in San Francisco who was willing to pay one million dollars to establish the company. In the second version, Connery's parents were multimillionaire coal mine owners who provided the million dollars.
Over the next three years, Hayakawa produced 23 films and had earned $2 million by 1920, of which he was able to pay back the $1 million he had borrowed from Connery. Hayakawa produced, starred in, and contributed to the design, writing, editing, and directing of the films. Critics hailed Hayakawa's understated, Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
-influenced acting style. Hayakawa sought to bring , or the "absence of doing", to his performances, in direct contrast to the then-popular studied poses and broad gestures. In 1918, Hayakawa personally chose the American serials actress Marin Sais
Marin Sais (born Mae Smith; August 2, 1890 – December 31, 1971) was an American actress whose career was most prolific during the silent film era of the 1910s and 1920s. Sais' acting career spanned over four decades and she is possibly best ...
to appear opposite him in a series of films, the first being the racial drama ''The City of Dim Faces
''The City of Dim Faces'' is a lost 1918 silent film directed by George Melford and starring Sessue Hayakawa. It was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Cast
*Sessue Hayakawa – Jang Lung
*Doris Pawn – Ma ...
'' (1918), followed by ''His Birthright
''His Birthright'' is a 1918 American drama film directed by William Worthington (actor), William Worthington for Haworth Pictures Corporation. Sessue Hayakawa produced the film and played the lead role. The rest of the cast includes Marin Sais, H ...
'' (1918), which also starred Aoki. His collaboration with Sais ended with ''Bonds of Honor
''Bonds of Honor'' is a 1919 American silent film directed by William Worthington. Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation produced the film and he himself played the leading roles along with his wife Tsuru Aoki. Marin Sais, Dagmar Godowsk ...
'' (1919). Hayakawa also appeared opposite Jane Novak
Jane Novak (born Johana Barbara Novak; January 12, 1896 – February 3, 1990) was an American actress of the silent film era.
Background
Jane Novak was born Johana Barbara Novak in St. Louis, Missouri to Bohemian immigrant Joseph Jerome Novak a ...
in ''The Temple of Dusk
''The Temple of Dusk'' is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by James Young. It was produced by Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation.
Plot
As described in a film magazine, Akira (Hayakawa), a Japanese poet who lives in Tok ...
'' (1918) and Aoki in ''The Dragon Painter
''The Dragon Painter'' is a 1919 English language silent romance drama film. It is based on the novel of the same name, written by Mary McNeil Fenollosa. It stars Sessue Hayakawa as a young painter who believes that his fiancée (played by Hayak ...
'' (1919). According to Goldsea ''Goldsea'' is a large, fully featured magazine site. The magazine was started in 1998. It is aimed at Asian Americans and publishes interviews and profiles of successful Asian Americans. The "Goldsea 100" celebrates high-achieving Asian American b ...
Hayakawa's fame rivaled that of Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...
, Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
and John Barrymore
John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...
. Hayakawa drove a gold plated Pierce-Arrow
The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...
and entertained lavishly in his "Castle", which was known as the scene of some of Hollywood's wildest parties. Shortly before Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
took effect in 1920, he bought a large supply of liquor, leading him to joke that he owed his social success to his liquor supply. He took Aoki on a trip to Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
where he gambled at the Monte Carlo Casino
The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.
The Casino de Monte-Carlo i ...
.
Hayakawa left Hollywood in 1922; different authors give various explanations such as prevailing anti-Japanese sentiment
Anti-Japanese sentiment (also called Japanophobia, Nipponophobia and anti-Japanism) involves the hatred or fear of anything which is Japanese, be it its culture or its people. Its opposite is Japanophilia.
Overview
Anti-Japanese senti ...
and business difficulties. Nakagawa focuses on three events in particular: first on the set of '' The Swamp'' (1921) his appendix ruptured and while he was at the hospital there was an attempt to usurp his insurance money, second there was a baseless tabloid report that Aoki had attempted suicide, and third Hayakawa believed there was an attempt on his life by the Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation
Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an Anglo-Americ ...
, (accused of supporting anti-Japanese legislation,) for insurance money by the collapse of an unsafe earthquake sequence on the set of ''The Vermilion Pencil
''The Vermilion Pencil'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Norman Dawn, and produced and distributed by Robertson–Cole. It is based on the eponymous 1908 novel by Homer Lea. The film stars Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa in mul ...
'', leading to his suing the studio. He visited Japan with Aoki for the first time since he had come to the US. He returned soon afterwards, however and played the lead role in ''Tiger Lily'' on Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in 1923. The next decade and a half saw him also perform in Japan and Europe.[''Hollywood Goes Oriental: CaucAsian Performance in American Film''. p. 22.] In London, Hayakawa starred in ''The Great Prince Shan
''The Great Prince Shan'' is a 1924 British silent drama film directed by A.E. Coleby and featuring Sessue Hayakawa, Ivy Duke, Tsuru Aoki, Valia, David Hawthorne, Fred Raynham and Henry Vibart in important roles. The film is adapted from the ...
'' (1924) and ''The Story of Su'' (1924). In 1925, he wrote a novel, ''The Bandit Prince'', and adapted it into a short play. In 1930, Hayakawa performed in ''Samurai'', a one-act play written specifically for him, in front of Great Britain's King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
and Queen Mary. Hayakawa became widely known in France, where audiences "enthusiastically embraced" him and made his French debut, ''La Bataille
La Bataille () is a former commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Chef-Boutonne.The Three Musketeers
''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...
''. In the initial decades of his career, Hayakawa established himself as the first leading man of Asian descent in American and European cinema.[''Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965, Volume 1''. p. 318.] He was also the first non-Caucasian actor to achieve international stardom.
Later career
Returning to the United States again in 1926 to appear on Broadway—and later in vaudeville—Hayakawa opened a Zen temple and study hall on New York's Upper West Side. Hayakawa later transitioned into doing talkies
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
; his return to Hollywood and sound film debut came in ''Daughter of the Dragon
''Daughter of the Dragon'' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime mystery film directed by Lloyd Corrigan, released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Anna May Wong as Princess Ling Moy, Sessue Hayakawa as Ah Kee, and Warner Oland as Dr. Fu Manchu ...
'' (1931), starring opposite Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
American performer Anna May Wong
Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese-American actress to gain intern ...
. His accent did not go over well when sound was added to movies. Hayakawa played a samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
in the German-Japanese co-production ''The Daughter of the Samurai
''The Daughter of the Samurai'' (german: Die Tochter des Samurai, Japanese: ) is a 1937 German-Japanese drama film directed by Arnold Fanck and Mansaku Itami, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Starring Setsuko Hara, Ruth Eweler and Sessue H ...
'' (1937). The same year, Hayakawa went to France to perform in ''Yoshiwara
was a famous (red-light district) in Edo, present-day Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1617, Yoshiwara was one of three licensed and well-known red-light districts created during the early 17th century by the Tokugawa shogunate, alongside Shima ...
'' (1937), but was trapped in the country and separated from his family upon the German occupation of France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
in 1940. Hayakawa made few films in the following years, but supported himself financially by selling his watercolor painting
Watercolor (American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the U ...
s. He became friends with writer Jirōhachi Satsuma who was also trapped in France. Goldsea ''Goldsea'' is a large, fully featured magazine site. The magazine was started in 1998. It is aimed at Asian Americans and publishes interviews and profiles of successful Asian Americans. The "Goldsea 100" celebrates high-achieving Asian American b ...
states that he joined the French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
and helped Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
flyers during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, although Hayakawa states that he mainly helped the local Japanese community during the war and after. His nomadic lifestyle continued until 1950.
In 1949, Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...
's production company located Hayakawa and offered him a role in '' Tokyo Joe.'' Before issuing a work permit, the American Consulate investigated Hayakawa's activities during the war and found that he had in no way contributed to the German war effort. Hayakawa followed ''Tokyo Joe'' with ''Three Came Home
''Three Came Home'' is a 1950 American post-war film directed by Jean Negulesco, based on the memoirs of the same name by writer Agnes Newton Keith. It depicts Keith's life in North Borneo in the period immediately before the Japanese invasi ...
'' (1950), in which he played real-life POW camp commander Lieutenant-Colonel Suga, before returning to France.
After the war, Hayakawa's on-screen roles can best be described as "the honorable villain", a figure exemplified by his portrayal of Colonel Saito in ''The Bridge on the River Kwai
''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, th ...
'' (1957). The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...
and Hayakawa earned a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor; he was also nominated for a Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
. He called the role the highlight of his career. After the film, Hayakawa largely retired from acting. Throughout the following years he performed guest appearances on a handful of television shows and films, making his final performance in the animated film '' The Daydreamer'' (1966).[
After retiring, Hayakawa dedicated himself to ]Zen Buddhism
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
, became an ordained Zen master, worked as a private acting coach, and wrote his autobiography ''Zen Showed Me the Way''.[
]
Racial barriers
Throughout Hayakawa's career, many segments of American society were filled with feelings of anti-Japanese sentiment
Anti-Japanese sentiment (also called Japanophobia, Nipponophobia and anti-Japanism) involves the hatred or fear of anything which is Japanese, be it its culture or its people. Its opposite is Japanophilia.
Overview
Anti-Japanese senti ...
, partly from nationalism rising from World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Hayakawa was constantly typecast
In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
as a villain or forbidden lover and was unable to play parts that would be given to white actors such as Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...
. Hayakawa stated, "Such roles n The Wrath of the Gods, The Typhoon, and The Cheat
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
are not true to our Japanese nature... They are false and give people a wrong idea of us. I wish to make a characterization which shall reveal us as we really are." In 1949, he lamented, "My one ambition is to play a hero". Hayakawa's dilemma was analogous to that of Rudolph Valentino
Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...
, nine years his junior; both were foreign born, and were typecast as exotic or forbidden lovers. Although Hayakawa's contract with Famous Players expired in May 1918, the studio still asked him to star in '' The Sheik''. Hayakawa refused in order to start his own company. With influence from June Mathis
June Mathis (born June Beulah Hughes, January 30, 1887 – July 26, 1927) was an American screenwriter. Mathis was the first female executive for Metro/MGM and at only 35, she was the highest paid executive in Hollywood. In 1926 she was voted ...
, the role went to the barely known Valentino, turning him into a screen icon overnight.
Writing to the "What the Picture Did for Me" section of the '' Exhibitors Herald'' in March 1922, a theater owner in Denison, Iowa
Denison is a city in Crawford County, Iowa, United States, along the Boyer River, and located in both Denison Township and East Boyer Township. The population was 8,373 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crawford County. ...
, with a population of about 3,500, revealed the mixed feelings about Hayakawa in middle America (and the language used to describe him): "The Jap is sure a good actor, but some people don't seem to like him." In 1930, the Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...
came into effect (enforced after 1934) which forbade portrayals of miscegenation
Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...
in film. This meant that unless Hayakawa's co-star was an Asian actress, he would not be able to portray a romance with her. Hayakawa was placed in this awkward position due to his ethnicity. Naturalization laws at that time prevented him from becoming a U.S. citizen and because of anti-miscegenation laws
Anti-miscegenation laws or miscegenation laws are laws that enforce racial segregation at the level of marriage and intimate relationships by criminalization, criminalizing interracial marriage and sometimes also sex between members of different R ...
, he could not marry someone of another race.
Hayakawa's early films were not popular in Japan because many felt that his roles portrayed Japanese men as sadistic and cruel. Many Japanese viewers found this portrayal insulting. Nationalistic groups in particular were censorious. Some Japanese believed that Hayakawa was contributing to increased anti-Japanese sentiment in the U.S., and regarded him as a traitor to the Japanese people. After Hayakawa established himself as an American superstar, the negative tone in the press that regarded him as a national and racial shame lessened by a noticeable degree, and Japanese media started publicizing Hayakawa's cinematic achievements instead. His later films were also not popular, because he was seen as "too Americanized
Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tec ...
" during a time of nationalism.
Personal life
On May 1, 1914, Hayakawa married fellow performer Tsuru Aoki
was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career was most prolific in the United States during the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1920s. Aoki may have been the first Asian actress to garner top billing in American motion pictures. ...
, who co-starred in several of his films. Hayakawa had previously married a white actress, Ruth Noble, a fellow vaudeville performer who had co-starred with him in ''The Bandit Prince.'' Noble gave birth to a son, Alexander Hayes, but they divorced in 1929 and Hayakawa got custody of the child. Sessue and Aoki adopted him, changing his name to Yukio, and they raised and educated him in Japan. Later, they adopted two more daughters: Yoshiko, an actress, and Fujiko, a dancer. Aoki died in 1961.
Physically, Hayakawa possessed "an athlete's physique and agility". A 1917 profile on Hayakawa stated that he "is proficient in jiu-jitsu, an expert fencer, and can swim like a fish. He is a good horseman and plays a fast tennis racket. He is tall for a Japanese, being five feet seven and a half inches (171.45 cm) in height, and weighs 157 pounds (71.21 kg)."
Hayakawa was known for his discipline and martial arts skills. While filming ''The Jaguar's Claws'', in the Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...
, Hayakawa played a Mexican bandit, with 500 cowboys as extras. On the first night of filming, the extras drank all night and well into the next day. No work was being done, so Hayakawa challenged the group to a fight. Two men stepped forward. Hayakawa said, "The first one struck out at me. I seized his arm and sent him flying on his face along the rough ground. The second attempted to grapple and I was forced to flip him over my head and let him fall on his neck. The fall knocked him unconscious." Hayakawa then disarmed yet another cowboy. The extras returned to work, amused by the way the small man manhandled the big bruising cowboys.
Death and legacy
Hayakawa retired from film in 1966. He died in Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
on November 23, 1973, from a cerebral thrombosis, complicated by pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
. He was buried in the Chokeiji Temple Cemetery in Toyama
Toyama may refer to:
Places and organizations
* Toyama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island
* Toyama, Toyama, the capital city of Toyama Prefecture
* Toyama Station, the main station of Toyama, ...
, Japan.
Many of Hayakawa's films are lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
. However, most of his later works, including ''The Bridge on the River Kwai
''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, th ...
'', the Jerry Lewis comedy ''The Geisha Boy
''The Geisha Boy'' is a 1958 American comedy film starring Jerry Lewis, distributed by Paramount Pictures. Filmed from June 16 to August 7, 1958, it had its first screening in New York City on December 19, 1958. This motion picture featured th ...
'' in which Hayakawa lampoons his role in ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'', ''Swiss Family Robinson
''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwreck ...
'', '' Tokyo Joe'', and ''Three Came Home
''Three Came Home'' is a 1950 American post-war film directed by Jean Negulesco, based on the memoirs of the same name by writer Agnes Newton Keith. It depicts Keith's life in North Borneo in the period immediately before the Japanese invasi ...
'' are available on DVD. In 1960, Hayakawa was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
at 1645 Vine Street, in Hollywood, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California for his contributions to the motion picture industry.[
A musical based on Hayakawa's life, ''Sessue'', was performed in Tokyo in 1989. In September 2007, the ]Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
held a retrospective on Hayakawa's work entitled: ''Sessue Hayakawa: East and West, When the Twain Met''. Japanese film director Nagisa Oshima
NaGISA (Natural Geography in Shore Areas or Natural Geography of In-Shore Areas) is an international collaborative effort aimed at inventorying, cataloguing, and monitoring biodiversity of the in-shore area. So named for the Japanese word "nagisa ...
planned to create a biopic
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
entitled ''Hollywood Zen'' based on Hayakawa's life. The script was allegedly completed and set to film in Los Angeles, but due to constant delays and the death of Oshima in 2013, the project has yet to be filmed.
In 2020, Hayakawa's life story was told as part of PBS's documentary ''Asian Americans.''
His legacy is lasting, especially in the Asian-American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
community.[''Embodying Asian/American Sexualities''. p. 67.] Media professor Karla Rae Fuller wrote in 2010: "What is even more remarkable about Hayakawa's precedent-setting career in Hollywood as an Asian American is the fact that he is virtually ignored in film history as well as star studies. ..Furthermore, the fact that he reached such a rare level of success whereby he could form and run his own production company makes his omission from the narrative of Hollywood history even more egregious."[
]
Filmography
See also
* Portrayal of East Asians in Hollywood
Portrayals of East Asians in American film and theatre has been a subject of controversy. These portrayals have frequently reflected an ethnocentric perception of East Asians rather than realistic and authentic depictions of East Asian cultures, c ...
* Stereotypes of East Asians in American media
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
*
Japan Times Article on Hayakawa
Sessue Hayakawa: East and West, When the Twain Met
Literature on Sessue Hayakawa
*
The Slanted Screen: Asian Men in Film and Television
'. Directed by Jeff Adachi
Jeffrey Gordon Adachi (August 29, 1959 – February 22, 2019) was an American attorney, pension reform advocate, and politician who served as the Public Defender of San Francisco from 2003 to 2019.
Early life and education
Adachi was the ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayakawa, Sessue
1886 births
1973 deaths
People from Minamibōsō
Japanese expatriates in the United States
Japanese male film actors
Japanese male silent film actors
20th-century Japanese male actors
Japanese male stage actors
Japanese Zen Buddhists
University of Chicago alumni
Chicago Maroons football players
Actors from Chiba Prefecture
French Resistance members
Deaths from pneumonia in Japan
Deaths from cerebral thrombosis
Neurological disease deaths in Japan
Japanese acting coaches
Expatriate male actors in the United States