Motoko Yano, better known as , was a Japanese actress who was active primarily in the 1950s. Considered one of Japan's first sex symbols and one of its greatest screen actresses, Kyō is best known for her critically acclaimed work with directors

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Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary '' Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), which won t ...

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and

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, appearing in films such as ''

Rashomon is a 1950 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shinobu Hashimoto. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura, it follows various people who describe how a ...

'', '' Ugetsu'', '' Gate of Hell'', '' Street of Shame'', '' Floating Weeds'', '' Odd Obsession'' and '' The Face of Another''.

Early life and education

Kyō, an only child, was born in Osaka in 1924. Her father left when she was age 5, and she was raised by her mother and grandmother. She adopted Machiko Kyō as her stage name when she entered the Osaka Shochiku Kagekidan in 1936 at age 12. She trained as a

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

dancer and then entered the film industry through

Daiei Film Daiei Film Co. Ltd. ( Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ''Daiei Eiga Kabushiki Kaisha'') was a Japanese film studio. Founded in 1942 as Dai Nippon Film Co., Ltd., it was one of the major studios during the postwar Golden Age of Japanese cinema, produci ...

in 1949. Two years later, she achieved international fame as the female lead in

's film ''

'', which won first prize at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

and stunned audiences with its

nonlinear narrative Nonlinear narrative, disjointed narrative, or disrupted narrative is a narrative technique where events are portrayed, for example, out of chronological order or in other ways where the narrative does not follow the direct causality pattern of the ...

Career

Kyō starred in many more Japanese productions, including

's '' Ugetsu'' (1953),

's '' Gate of Hell'' (1953),

's '' Odd Obsession'' (1959), and Yasujirō Ozu's '' Floating Weeds'' (1959). Her sole role in a non-Japanese film was as Lotus Blossom, the young

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...

in '' The Teahouse of the August Moon'' (1956), for which she received a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

nomination. Kyō continued to act through her 80s. Her final role was as Matsuura Shino in the

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

television drama series ''Haregi Koko Ichiban'' in 2000. In 2017, she was presented with an award of merit at the 40th

Japanese Academy Awards The , often called the Japan Academy Prize, the Japan Academy Awards, and the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association (日本アカデミー賞協会, ''Nippon Akademii- ...

. After retiring from film, she moved back to Osaka, where she resided until her death.

Personal life and death

Kyō never married, but her romantic relationship with

's president

Masaichi Nagata was a Japanese businessman and served as president of Daiei Film. The self-proclaimed creator of Gamera, he produced the kaiju's second film ''Gamera vs. Barugon'', with the remainder of the Gamera#Films, Showa ''Gamera'' films produced instead ...

was well-publicized in Japan. Kyō died from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

at her home in Tokyo on May 12, 2019 at the age of 95. She was the last main surviving cast member of ''Rashomon''. Fujiko Yamamoto described Kyo as a very friendly person and loved the older actress like a big sister.

Selected filmography

Films

* ''Hana kurabe tanuki-goten'' (1949) - Aiai, witch * ''Chijin no ai'' (1949) - Naomi * ''Harukanari haha no kuni'' (1950) - Mari, daughter * ''Fukkatsu'' (1950) - Yukiko Ohara * ''

'' (1950) - Masako Kanazawa * ''Hi no tori'' (1950) * ''Itsuwareru seiso'' (1950) - Kimicho * ''Koi no Oranda-zaka'' (1951) - Chigusa * ''Jiyû gakkô'' (1951) - Yuri * ''Joen no hatoba'' (1951) * ''Mesu inu'' (1951) - Emmy * ''Genji monogatari'' (1951) - Awaji no ue * ''Bakurô ichidai'' (1951) - Yuki * ''Asakusa kurenaidan'' (1952) - Ryûko Beni * ''Daibutsu kaigen'' (1952) - Mayame * ''Nagasaki No Uta Wa Wasureji'' (1952) - Okumura, Ayako * ''Taki no Shiraito'' (1952) - Taki no Shiraito * ''Bijo to touzoku'' (1952) - Sakin * ''Kanojo no tokudane'' (1952) * '' Ugetsu'' (1953) - Lady Wakasa * '' Older Brother, Younger Sister'' (1953) - Mon * '' Gate of Hell'' (1953) - Kesa * ''Aru onna'' (1954) - Yoko Hayazuki * ''Shunkin monogatari'' (1954) - Shunkin * ''Asakusa no yoru'' (1954) - Setsuko Takashima * '' The Princess Sen'' (1954) - the princess Sen * ''Bazoku geisha'' (1954) - Nobukichi * '' A Girl Isn't Allowed to Love'' (1955) - Sachiko Nonomiya * '' Princess Yang Kwei-Fei'' (1955) - Princess Yang Kwei-fei * '' Tōjūrō no Koi'' (1955) - Okaji * ''Shin, Heike monogatari: Yoshinaka o meguru sannin no onna'' (1956) - Tomoe * ''Niji ikutabi'' (1956) - Momoko Mizuhara * '' Street of Shame'' (1956) - Mickey * ''Tsukigata Hanpeita: Hana no maki; Arashi no maki'' (1956) - Hagino * '' The Teahouse of the August Moon'' (1956) - Lotus Blossom * ''Itohan monogatari'' (1957) - Okatsu * ''Odoriko'' (1957) - Chiyomi Hanamura * ''Jigoku bana'' (1957) - Sute * ''Yoru no chô'' (1957) - Mari * '' The Hole'' (1957) - Nagako Kita * '' Yūrakuchō de Aimashō'' (1958) - Aya Koyanagi * '' Sorrow Is Only for Women'' (1958) - Michiko * '' The Loyal 47 Ronin'' (1958) - Orui (spy) * ''Haha'' (1958) - Takako Ômachi * ''Ôsaka no onna'' (1958) - Osen * ''Akasen no hi wa kiezu'' (1958) - Nobuko Araki * ''Yoru no sugao'' (1958) - Akemi * ''Satsujin to kenjû'' (1958) * ''Musume no boken'' (1958) * ''Anata to watashi no aikotoba: Sayônara, konnichiwa'' (1959) - Umeko Ichige * ''Sasameyuki'' (1959) - Sachiko * ''Onna to Kaizoku'' (1959) - Ayaginu / Oito * ''Yoru no togyo'' (1959) - Ryoko Kashiwabara * ''Jirôchô Fuji'' (1959) - Okatsu * '' Odd Obsession'' (1959) - Ikuko / Wife * '' Floating Weeds'' (1959) - Sumiko * '' Jokyo'' (1960) - Omitsu * ''Ruten no ôhi'' (1960) - Ryûko Korinkakura (Hiroko Aishinkakura) * ''Bonchi'' (1960) - Ofuku * ''San'nin no kaoyaku'' (1960) - Chizuru * ''Ashi ni sawatta onna'' (1960) - Saya Shiozawa * ''Oden jigoku'' (1960) - Oden Takahashi * ''Konki'' (1961) - Shizu, Takuo's wife * ''Nuregami botan'' (1961) - Kiyomigata no Omon * ''Onna no kunshô'' (1961) - Shikiko Ohba * ''Kodachi o tsukau onna'' (1961) - Ritsu Ikeda * ''Buda'' (1961) - Nandabala * ''Black Lizard'' (1962) - Mrs. Midorikawa * ''Shin no shikôtei'' (1962) * ''Onna no issho'' (1962) - Kei * ''Budda'' (1962) * ''Nyokei kazoku'' (1963) - Fujiyo Yajima * '' Sweet Sweat'' (1964) - Umeko * ''Gendai inchiki monogatari: Dotanuki'' (1964) * '' The Face of Another'' (1966) - Mrs. Okuyama * ''Jinchoge'' (1966) - Kikuko, Ueno, 1st Daughter * ''Chiisai tôbôsha'' (1966) - Yayoi Yamamura * ''Senba zuru'' (1969) - Chikako Kurimoto * ''Genkai yûkyôden: Yabure kabure'' (1970) - Sue Yoshida * ''

Karei-naru Ichizoku is a 1973 novel by Toyoko Yamasaki. It has been adapted into a film in 1974 and then three times as a television series in 1974, 2007, and 2021. Plot Set in the post-World War II climate of the 1960s in Kobe, the show explores the struggle for p ...

'' (1974) - Aiko Takasu * ''Kinkanshoku'' (1955) - Prime Minister's wife * '' Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director'' (1975, documentary) - Herself * ''Yoba'' (1976) - Oshima * '' Tora's Pure Love'' (1976) - Aya Yagyû * ''Kesho'' (1984) - Tsune Tsutano

Television

* '' Hissatsu Shimainin'' (1981) * ''Shin Hissatsu Shimainin'' (1982) * ''

Hissatsu Shikirinin is a Japanese television ''jidaigeki'' or period drama that was broadcast in 1984. It is the 22nd in the Hissatsu series, ''Hissatsu'' series. Cast * Machiko Kyō as Okuni * Akira Onodera as Shinkichi * Midori Nishizaki * Gannosuke Ashiya as Ka ...

'' (1984) * ''

Hana no Ran was the 33rd Taiga drama to be broadcast on the NHK network in Japan. It premiered on 3 April 1994 and its finale aired on 25 December of the same year. Plot The story takes place during the Muromachi period of Japan, in the midst of the Ōnin ...

'' (1994) - Hino Shigeko * ''Genroku Ryōran'' (1999) - Keishō'in

Honors

* Medal with Purple Ribbon (1987) * Order of the Precious Crown, 4th Class, Wisteria (1994)

Gallery

File:Machiko Kyō in Yang Guifei 1955.jpg, Kyō as Yang Kwei-Fei in '' Princess Yang Kwei-Fei'' (1955)

References

External links

* *
Photo gallery: Machiko Kyo in Japanese Film-fan Magazines of the 1950s
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyo, Machiko 1924 births 2019 deaths Actresses from Osaka Japanese film actresses Japanese stage actresses 20th-century Japanese actresses Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon