is a Japanese actress and narrator. The daughter of a painter, she was born in Komagome, Hongō (present-day Bunkyo), in the city of

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 ...

, Japan. She graduated from

Joshibi University of Art and Design (abbreviated "") is a private women's art school in Suginami and Sagamihara in Japan. The mission and aims of Joshibi, developing creative minds, encourages students to contribute to local, national and international societies, female independenc ...

. Naraoka debuted as a cinema actress in the 1949 film ''Chijin no Ai'', based on the novel ''

Naomi Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (bo ...

''. In 1981 she appeared in ''Rengō Kantai'' (lit. "

Combined Fleet The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...

", United States title: '' The Imperial Navy''). She also appeared in ''

Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial is a 1988 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Yoshiko Mita as his love interest or "Madonna". ''Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial'' is the fortieth entry in the popular, long-runni ...

'' (a 1988 movie in the long-running ''

Otoko wa Tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans. Spanning 48 installments released between 1969 and 1995, all of the ' ...

'' series) as well as eight films in the ''

Tsuribaka Nisshi is a Japanese fishing-themed manga series written by Jūzō Yamasaki and illustrated by Kenichi Kitami. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Big Comic Original'' since 1979. It won the 28th Shogakukan Manga Awa ...

'' series. Naraoka has appeared in several

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

Taiga dramas. Her first was the 1969 ''

Ten to Chi to is a 1990 Japanese film, directed by Haruki Kadokawa and starring Takaaki Enoki, Tsugawa Masahiko, Asano Atsuko, Zaizen Naomi and Nomura Hironobu. The film was released in Japan in June 1990, and an English version was released in North Ame ...

,'' in the role of the wife of

Uesugi Sadazane was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' of the Muromachi period. He was ''shugo'' or military governor of Echigo Province.Goldsmith, Brian. (2008)''Amassing Economies: The Medieval Origins of Early Modern Japan'', p. 183 See also * Uesugi clan ...

. She portrayed

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(the wife of

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) in ''

Haru no Sakamichi Haru is a Japanese word that means "spring (season)". Haru is also a Korean word that means " day" in Korean. Haru may also refer to: *Haru (woreda), a woreda (district) in Ethiopia *Haru (given name), a unisex Japanese given name *Haru (actress ...

'' (1971). Her next Taiga drama appearance was in 1976 in ''

Kaze to Kumo to Niji to is a 1976 Japanese historical television series. It is the 14th NHK taiga drama. Kaze to kumo to Niji to deals with the Heian period in Japan. Based on Chōgorō Kaionji's novels ''Taira no Masakado'' and ''Umi to Kaze to Niji to''. The drama was ...

''. She narrated the 1986 ''

Inochi is a 2002 Japanese movie directed by Shinohara Tetsuo starring Esumi Makiko and Etsushi Toyokawa. It is based on a memoir of the same title by the Korean-Japanese author Yu Miri. Plot summary Yu Miri (Esumi) is a writer who's just become pr ...

'' and 1989 ''

Kasuga no Tsubone was a Japanese noble lady and politician from a prominent Japanese samurai family of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. Born Saitō Fuku (斉藤福), she was a daughter of Saitō Toshimitsu (who was a retainer of Akechi Mitsuhide). She was t ...

.'' She is the narrator of the 2008 drama '' Atsuhime''. Other noteworthy narration roles include the 1983 serialized morning television drama ''

Oshin is a Japanese serialized morning television drama (''asadora''), which originally aired on NHK from 4 April 1983 to 31 March 1984; it is the 31st ''asadora'' overall to be produced. The 297 15-minute episodes follow the life of during the Mei ...

''. She also narrated '' Onna wa Dokyō'' (1992) and '' Haru Yo Koi'' (1994–1995). A nonfiction voice role was in the series '' Kiwameru: Nihon no Bi to Kokoro''.

Filmography

Film

(Partial list) * ''Chijin no Ai'' (1949) * ''

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

'' (1955) * ''

Night Drum is a 1958 Japanese historical drama film directed by Tadashi Imai. It was written by Kaneto Shindo and Shinobu Hashimoto, based on the 1706 play ''Horikawa nami no tsuzumi'' by Monzaemon Chikamatsu. Film historians regard ''Night Drum'' as one of ...

'' (1958) * ''

Ballad of the Cart is a 1959 Japanese drama film directed by Satsuo Yamamoto. It was written by Yoshikata Yoda, based on a novel by activist Tomoe Yamashiro. Plot In Hiroshima Prefecture during the Meiji era, simple housemaid Seki accepts the proposal of Moich ...

'' (1959) * ''

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 Rus ...

'' (1964) * ''

Ballad of Orin is a 1977 Japanese film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. Its alternate English-language titles are ''Banished Orin'' and ''Symphony in Gray''. It details the life of a ''goze'', a blind female minstrel (played by Shima Iwashita, the director's wife) ...

'' (1977) * '' The Imperial Navy'' (1981) * ''

'' (1988) * ''

Ruten no umi is a 1990 Japanese film directed by Buichi Saitō. The lead star is Hisaya Morishige. It is based on Teru Miyamoto`s novel of the same title. Plot Cast *Hisaya Morishige as Kumago Matsuzaka *Yumiko Nogawa as Fusae Matsuzaka * Kōichi Satō ...

'' (1990) * ''

My Sons is a 1991 Japanese film directed by Yōji Yamada. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony. Synopsis The children of old-fashioned patriarch of a family in Iwate Province gather to observe the first anniversary of their mo ...

'' (1991) * ''

Poppoya is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Yasuo Furuhata. It was Japan's submission to the 72nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy P ...

'' (1999) – Mune Katō * ''

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is a 2008 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi, and distributed by ...

'' (2008) – Yoshie (voice) * ''

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

'' (2010) – Kinyo * ''Takatsu-gawa'' (2022) – Kinue Saitō * ''The Zen Diary'' (2022) – Chie

Television

* ''

'' (1969) * ''

'' (1971) –

Kōdai-in (died October 17, 1624), formerly known as , , , was an aristocrat and Buddhist nun, founder of the temple Kōdai-ji in Kyoto, Japan. She was formerly the principal samurai wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi under the name of . Nussbaum, Louis-Fréd� ...

* ''

'' (1983–84) – Narrator * ''Inochi'' (1986) – Narrator * ''

Taiyō ni Hoero! , literally ''Roar at the Sun!'', was a long-running prime-time television detective series in Japan, which ran from 1972 to 1986 for a total of 718 episodes. The lead star was Yujiro Ishihara. It also helped further the career of actors such a ...

Part 2'' (1986) – Asako Takamura * ''Kasuga no Tsubone'' (1989) – Narrator * ''Onna wa Dokyō'' (1992) – Narrator * ''Haru yo, koi'' (1994–95) – Narrator * '' Atsuhime'' (2008) – Narrator * '' Gō'' (2011) –

Ōmandokoro Ōmandokoro (大政所, 1516 – 29 August 1592) or Ōmandokoro Naka was the mother of the Japanese ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. She was also the mother of Asahi no kata, Tomo and Toyotomi Hidenaga. Biography It is said that Ōmandokoro was born ...

* ''

Nankyoku Tairiku is a 2011 Japanese television drama series that premiered on TBS on October 16, 2011. List of episodes 1. "A Touching Story of Love and Life for the Revival of Post-War Japan/ A Miracle Between Dogs and Mankind that occurred 56 Years Ago, the St ...

'' (2011) – Narrator

Theater

* ''

Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his ...

'' (2005) – Daisy Werthan

Honours

Medal with Purple Ribbon are medals awarded by the Government of Japan. They are awarded to individuals who have done meritorious deeds and also to those who have achieved excellence in their field of work. The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and we ...

(1992) * Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2000)

References

*　This article incorporates material from 奈良岡朋子 in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved September 22, 2007.

External links

*
Tomoko Naraoka
at JMDB 1929 births Actresses from Tokyo Japanese film actresses Japanese stage actresses Japanese television actresses Living people Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class 20th-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese actresses {{Japan-actor-stub