Yoshiko Yamaguchi ( ''Yamaguchi Yoshiko''; ''Shānkǒu Shūzǐ''; 12 February, 1920 – 7 September, 2014) was a Japanese singer, actress, journalist, and politician. Born in China, she made an international career in film in China, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States.
Early in her career, the
Manchukuo Film Association
or () was a Empire of Japan, Japanese film studio in Manchukuo during the 1930s and 1940s.
After the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the Soviet Red Army facilitated the transfer of Man-ei's assets and equipment to the Chinese communists. This b ...
concealed her Japanese origin and she went by the Chinese name Li Hsiang-lan (), rendered in Japanese as Ri Kōran. This allowed her to represent China in Japanese propaganda movies. After the war, she appeared in Japanese movies under her real name, as well as in several English language movies under the stage name, Shirley Yamaguchi.
After becoming a journalist in the 1950s under the name , she was elected as a member of the
Japanese parliament
, transcription_name = ''Kokkai''
, legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet
, coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg
, house_type = Bicameral
, houses =
, foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
in 1974, and served for 18 years. After retiring from politics, she served as vice president of the
Asian Women's Fund
The , also abbreviated to in Japanese, was a fund set up by the Japanese government in 1994 to distribute monetary compensation to comfort women in South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Indonesia.Asian Women's Fund Online Mus ...
.
Early life

She was born on February 12, 1920, to Japanese parents, and , who were then settlers in
Fushun
Fushun ( zh, s=, t=, p=Fǔshùn, historically Fuxi ()) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about east of Shenyang, with a total area of , of which is the city proper. Situated on the Hun River ("muddy river"), it is one o ...
,
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...
, Republic of China, in a coal mining residential area in
Dengta
Dengta () is a city in east-central Liaoning province in Northeast China. It is located in between Liaoyang, which oversees Dengta and lies to the southwest, and Shenyang, the provincial capital which lies nearly double that distance to the northe ...
,
Liaoyang
Liaoyang ( zh, s=辽阳 , t=遼陽 , p=Liáoyáng) is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is hom ...
.
Fumio Yamaguchi was an employee of the
South Manchuria Railway
The South Manchuria Railway (; ), officially , Mantetsu () or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operation of railways on the Dalian– Fengtian (Mukden)–Changchun (called Xinjing from ...
. From an early age, Yoshiko was exposed to
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...
. Fumio Yamaguchi had some influential Chinese acquaintances, among whom were Li Jichun () and Pan Yugui (). By Chinese custom for those who became sworn brothers, they also became Yoshiko's "godfathers" (also known as "nominal fathers") and gave her two Chinese names, Li Hsiang-lan (Li Xianglan) and Pan Shuhua (). ("Shu" in Shuhua and "Yoshi" in Yoshiko are written with the same
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...
). Yoshiko later used the former name as a stage name and assumed the latter name while she was staying with the Pan family in Beijing.
As a youth, Yoshiko suffered a bout of tuberculosis. In order to strengthen her breathing, the doctor recommended voice lessons. Her father initially insisted on traditional Japanese music, but Yoshiko preferred Western music and thus received her initial classical vocal education from an Italian dramatic soprano (Madame Podresov, married into
White Russian nobility). She later received schooling in Beijing, polishing her Mandarin, accommodated by the Pan family. She was a
coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills.
The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...
.
Career in China
Yoshiko made her debut as an actress and singer in the 1938 film, ''Honeymoon Express'' (), by
Manchuria Film Production
or () was a Japanese film studio in Manchukuo during the 1930s and 1940s.
After the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the Soviet Red Army facilitated the transfer of Man-ei's assets and equipment to the Chinese communists. This became the basis f ...
. She was billed as Li Hsiang-lan, pronounced Ri Kōran in Japanese. The adoption of a Chinese stage name was prompted by the film company's economic and political motives – a Manchurian girl who had command over both the Japanese and Chinese languages was sought after. From this she rose to be a star and the ''Japan-Manchuria Goodwill Ambassadress'' (). The head of the Manchukuo film industry, General
Masahiko Amakasu
was an officer in the Imperial Japanese Army who was imprisoned for his involvement in the Amakasu Incident, the extrajudicial execution of anarchists after the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. He later became head of the Manchukuo Film Associati ...
, decided she was the star he was looking for: a beautiful actress fluent in both Mandarin and Japanese, who could pass as Chinese and who had an excellent singing voice.
The Chinese actors who appeared in the Manchuria Film Production movies were never informed that she was Japanese, but they suspected she was at least half-Japanese as she always ate her meals with the Japanese actors instead of the Chinese actors, was given white rice to eat instead of the sorghum given to the Chinese, and was paid ten times more than the Chinese actors were. Though in her subsequent films she was almost exclusively billed as Li Hsiang-lan, she appeared in a few as "Yamaguchi Yoshiko".
Many of her films bore some degree of promotion of the Japanese national policy (in particular, pertaining to the
Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere
The , also known as the GEACPS, was a Pan-Asianism, pan-Asian union that the Empire of Japan tried to establish. Initially, it covered Japan (including Korea under Japanese rule, annexed Korea), Manchukuo, and Wang Jingwei regime, China, but as ...
ideology) and can be termed "National Policy Films" (). While promoting Manchurian interests in Tokyo, Li would meet
Kenichiro Matsuoka
was a Japanese media executive. He founded and served as the first President of Japan Cable Television, and as a Vice President of Asahi Broadcasting Company (now TV Asahi).
Biography
The eldest son of Japanese foreign minister Yōsuke Matsuoka ...
, future television executive and son of Japanese diplomat
Yōsuke Matsuoka
was a Japanese diplomat and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Empire of Japan during the early stages of World War II. He is best known for his defiant speech at the League of Nations in February 1933, ending Japan's participation in the orga ...
, about whom she would write in her biography, ''Ri Kōran: My Half Life'', to be her first love. Although she had hopes of marriage, he was still a student at
Tokyo Imperial University
The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...
and not interested in settling down at the time. They would meet again after the war, at which time Kenichiro attempted to rekindle the relationship, but by then, Li was already involved with the artist
Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist, furniture designer and Landscape architecture, landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Grah ...
.
The 1940 film, ''China Nights'' (), also known as ''Shanghai Nights'' (), by Manchuria Film Productions, is especially controversial. It is unclear whether it was a "National Policy Film" as it portrays Japanese soldiers in both a positive and negative light. Here, Li played a young woman of extreme anti-Japanese sentiment who falls in love with a Japanese man. A key turning point in the film has the young Chinese woman being slapped by the Japanese man, but instead of hatred, she reacts with gratitude. The film was met with great aversion among the Chinese audience as they believed that the Chinese female character was a sketch of
debasement
A debasement of coinage is the practice of lowering the intrinsic value of coins, especially when used in connection with commodity money, such as gold or silver coins, while continuing to circulate it at face value. A coin is said to be debased ...
and inferiority. 23,000 Chinese people paid to see the film in 1943. After the war, one of her classic songs, "" (), was banned in China due to its association with this film. A few years later, when confronted by angry Chinese reporters in Shanghai, Li apologized and cited as pretext her inexperienced youth at the time of filmmaking, choosing not to reveal her Japanese identity. Though her Japanese nationality was never divulged in the Chinese media until after the Sino-Japanese War, it was brought to light by the Japanese press when she performed in Japan under her assumed Chinese name and as the Japan-Manchuria Goodwill Ambassadress. When she visited Japan during this period, she was criticized for being too Chinese in dress and in language.
When she landed in Japan in 1941 for a publicity tour, dressed in a ''
cheongsam
''Cheongsam'' (, ), also known as the ''qipao'' () and sometimes referred to as the mandarin gown, is a Chinese dress worn by women which takes inspiration from the , the ethnic clothing of the Manchu people. The cheongsam is most often seen ...
'' (or qípáo) and speaking Japanese with a Mandarin accent, the customs officer asked her upon seeing she had a Japanese passport and a Japanese name, "Don't you know that we Japanese are the superior people? Aren't you ashamed to be wearing third-rate Chink clothes and speaking their language as you do?"
In 1943, Li appeared in the film ''
Eternity
Eternity, in common parlance, is an Infinity, infinite amount of time that never ends or the quality, condition or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside tim ...
''. The film was shot in Shanghai, commemorating the centennial of the
Opium War
The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...
. The film, anti-British in nature and a collaboration between Chinese and Japanese film companies, was a hit, and Li became a national sensation. Her film songs with
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Pop music, a musical genre
Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop! (British group), a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Album ...
-like arrangements, such as her "Candy-Peddling Song" () and "Quitting (Opium) Song" (), elevated her status to among the top singers in all Chinese-speaking regions in Asia overnight. Many songs recorded by Li during her Shanghai period became classics in Chinese popular music history. Other noteworthy hits include "Evening Primrose / Fragrance of the Night" (), "Ocean Bird" (), "If Only" (), and "Second Dream" (). By the 1940s, she had become one of the
Seven Great Singing Stars.
United States, Canada, Hong Kong, and Japan

At the end of World War II, Li was arrested in Shanghai by the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
and
sentenced to death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
by
firing squad
Firing may refer to:
* Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination
* Firemaking, the act of starting a fire
* Burning; see combustion
* Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms
* Execution by firing squad, a method of ...
for treason and collaboration with the Japanese. As
tensions subsequently arose between the Kuomintang and the
Communists
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
, she was scheduled to be executed at a Shanghai horse track on December 8, 1945. However, before she could be executed, her parents (at the time both under arrest in
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
) managed to produce a copy of her birth certificate, proving she was not a Chinese national after all, and have her childhood Russian friend,
Lyuba Monosova Gurinets, smuggle it into Shanghai inside the head of a
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= ...
doll. Li was cleared of all charges (and possibly from the death penalty).
In spite of the acquittal, the Chinese judges still warned Li to leave China immediately or she would risk being lynched; and so in 1946, she resettled in Japan and launched a new acting career there under the name Yoshiko Yamaguchi, working with directors such as
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
. Several of her post-war films cast her in parts that dealt either directly or indirectly with her wartime persona as a bilingual and bicultural performer. For example, in 1949, Shin-Toho studios produced ''Repatriation'' (), an omnibus film which told four stories about the struggles of Japanese trying to return to Japan from the Soviet Union after having been taken prisoner following the defeat. The following year, Yamaguchi starred with actor
Ryō Ikebe
was a Japanese actor. He graduated from Rikkyō University and originally wanted to be a director, but ended up debuting as an actor at Tōhō in 1941. He did not achieve popularity until starring in a series of youth films in the late 1940s. H ...
in ''
Escape at Dawn'' (), produced by Toho and based on the novel ''Shunpuden'' (). In the book, her character was a prostitute in a military brothel, but for this film her character was rewritten as a frontline entertainer who falls into a tragic affair with a deserter (Ikebe). In 1952, Yamaguchi appeared in ''Woman of Shanghai'' (), in which she reprised her pre-war persona as a Japanese woman passing for Chinese who becomes caught between the two cultures.
In the 1950s, she established her acting career as Shirley Yamaguchi in Hollywood and on Broadway (in the short-lived musical "
Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains, Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by the British author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently ...
") in the U.S. She married Japanese American sculptor,
Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist, furniture designer and Landscape architecture, landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Grah ...
, in 1951. Yamaguchi was Japanese, but as someone who had grown up in China, she felt torn between two identities and later wrote that she felt attracted to Noguchi as someone else who was torn between two identities. Li spent between 1953 and 1954 in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, Canada. They divorced in 1956. She revived the Li Hsiang-lan name and appeared in several Chinese-language films made in Hong Kong. Some of her 1950s Chinese films were destroyed in a studio fire and have not been seen since their initial releases. Her Mandarin hit songs from this period include "Three Years" (), "Plum Blossom" (), "Childhood Times" (), "Only You" (), and "Heart Song" ( – a cover of "Eternally").
TV presenter and politician
She returned to Japan and after retiring from the world of film in 1958, she appeared as a hostess and anchorwoman on TV talk shows. As a result of her marriage to the Japanese diplomat
Hiroshi Ōtaka, she lived for a while in Burma (modern Myanmar). They remained married until his death in 2001.
In 1969, she became the host of ''The Three O'Clock You'' (''Sanji no anata'') TV show on
Fuji Television
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...
, reporting on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israelis (; ) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Jews and Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percent and 20 percent of the national figure, followed by other ethnic and ...
as well as the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. In the 1970s, Yamaguchi became very active in pro-Palestinian causes in Japan and personally favored the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
. In 1974, she was elected to the
House of Councilors
The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or ...
(the upper House of the
Japanese parliament
, transcription_name = ''Kokkai''
, legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet
, coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg
, house_type = Bicameral
, houses =
, foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
) as a member of the
Liberal Democratic Party
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...
, where she served for 18 years (three terms). She co-authored the book, ''Ri Kōran, Watashi no Hansei'' (Half My Life as Ri Kōran). She served as a vice-president of the Asian Women's Fund. As part of the 1993 fall honors list, she was decorated with the Gold and Silver Star of the
Order of the Sacred Treasure
The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...
, Second Class.
Yamaguchi was considered by many Chinese in the post-World War II period to be a Japanese spy and thus a traitor to the Chinese people. This misconception was caused in part by Yamaguchi passing herself off as Chinese throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Her Japanese identity not being officially revealed until her post-war prosecution nearly led to her execution as a
Chinese traitor. She had always expressed her guilt for taking part in Japanese propaganda films in the early days of her acting career. In 1949, the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
was established by the
Communist Party, and three years later, Yamaguchi's former repertoire from the
Shanghai era in the 1930s and 1940s (along with all other popular music) was also denounced as
Yellow music (), a form of pornography. Because of this, she did not visit China for more than 50 years after the war, since she felt that the Chinese had not forgiven her. Despite her controversial past, she influenced future singers such as
Teresa Teng
Teng Li-Chun ( zh, t=鄧麗君, s=, p=Dèng Lìjūn; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, television personality, musician, and philanthropist. Referred to by some as the "Honorific nicknames i ...
,
Fei Yu-Ching, and Winnie Wei (), who covered her evergreen hits.
Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. One of the most influential artists in the Greater China region, Cheung is widely regarded as a Heavenly King of Cantopop music and an icon of Hong Kong popular culture. He ...
recorded a cover of
Kōji Tamaki
is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor. He has been well known as frontman of the rock band Anzen Chitai that debuted in 1982 and enjoyed a successful career, particularly during the 1980s. In the 1990s, he also began his career as a solo a ...
's "" ("Ikanaide") and renamed it "Lei Hoeng Laan." (Both the original version and subsequent remake do not have any actual references to Li Hsiang-lan. The Chinese title instead refers to the unknowable quality and identity of the singer's lover.) In January 1991, a musical about her life was released in Tokyo, which generated controversy because its negative portrayal of Manchukuo upset many Japanese conservatives.
Yamaguchi was one of the first prominent Japanese citizens to acknowledge the Japanese brutality during wartime occupation. She later campaigned for greater public awareness of that part of history and advocated paying reparations to so-called
comfort women
Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term ''comfort women'' is a translation of the Japanese , a euphemism ...
, women of various nationalities who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese military during the war.
A recording of a 1950 concert performance in
Sacramento, California
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...
, was discovered by a professor from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 2012. The concert included six songs and was performed before an audience of
Japanese Americans
are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...
, many of whom had likely been
interned
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
during World War II. Speaking in 2012 about the concert, Yamaguchi said, "I sang with hope that I could offer consolation to the Japanese Americans, as I heard that they had gone through hardships during the war." She died at the age of 94 in Tokyo on September 7, 2014, exactly ten years after one of her fellow Seven Great Singing Stars,
Gong Qiuxia
Gong Qiuxia, also romanized as Kung Chiu-hsia (4 December 1918 – 7 September 2004) was a Chinese actress and singer. By the 1940s, she became one of the seven great singing stars.Baidu.Baidu" ''Gong Qiuxia.'' Retrieved on 28 April 2007.
Bio ...
.
Names
She was credited as Shirley Yamaguchi in the Hollywood movies, ''
Japanese War Bride'' (1952), ''
House of Bamboo'' (1955), and ''
Navy Wife'' (1956). She was once nicknamed ''The
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...
of Japan''.
Other names used as movie actress:
*Li Hsiang-lan
*Li Hsiang Lan
*Ri Kōran
*Li Xiang Lan
*Hsiang-lan Li
*Xianglan Li
*Li Xianglan
*Yoshiko Yamaguchi
Selected filmography
In the media
Movies about her
*
Fuji Television
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...
made a TV movie, ''Sayonara Ri Kōran'', starring
Yasuko Sawaguchi
is a Japanese actress.
Early life
Sawaguchi was born in Sakai, Osaka on June 11, 1965. In early 1984, the Japanese movie studio Toho Company Ltd. held their first " Toho Cinderella Audition", and Yasuko, almost 19 at the time, was chosen as th ...
in 1989 as a special project to mark the company's 30th anniversary.
*A two-part TV movie, ''
Ri Kōran'', starring
Aya Ueto
is a Japanese actress, singer and television personality. In 1997, Ueto participated in the seventh Japan Bishōjo Contest, where she won the special jury prize. Soon thereafter, Ueto joined the talent agency Oscar Promotion and began taking s ...
was made in 2006. It was broadcast in Japan by
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.[Hirokazu Kore-eda
is a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He began his career in television and has since directed more than a dozen feature films, including '' Nobody Knows'' (2004), '' Still Walking'' (2008), and '' After the Storm'' ( ...]
, is planning
feature film!--http://www.webcitation.org/6UAAqOaHm--> based on her life story.
Other media
*The novel, ''The China Lover'' (2008), by
Ian Buruma
Ian Buruma (born 28 December 1951) is a Dutch writer and editor who lives and works in the United States. In 2017, he became editor of ''The New York Review of Books'', but left the position in September 2018.
Much of his writing has focused on t ...
is a fictionalized account of her life.
*A Japanese musical based on her life was produced by the
Shiki Theater Company.
*The character, Li Kohran, from the SEGA multimedia ''
Sakura Wars
is a Japanese steampunk media franchise created by Oji Hiroi and owned by Sega. It is focused around a series of cross-genre video games. The first game in the series was released in 1996, with five sequels and numerous spin-off titles bein ...
'' game franchise is named for her stage name.
*Li Xianglan (Yamaguchi Yoshiko) appears as a character in the Taiwanese play ''The Phoenix Trees Are in Blossom'', by Hsu Rey-Fang (John B. Weinstein, ''
Voices of Taiwanese Women: Three Contemporary Plays'', Cornell University Press, 2015).
See also
*
Three Girls Revitalizing Asia, girl group including Yamaguchi and
Bai Guang
Shi Yongfen (; 27 June 1921 – 27 August 1999), known professionally as Bai Guang (; also credited as Pai Kwong, Bai Kwong and Bai Kwang), was a Chinese actress and singer. By the 1940s, she became one of the Seven Great Singing Stars.
Early l ...
References
Bibliography
*
* - Wikipedia article: ''
Fragrant Orchid: The Story of My Early Life''
*
*
External links
*
*
* –
Kōji Tamaki
is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor. He has been well known as frontman of the rock band Anzen Chitai that debuted in 1982 and enjoyed a successful career, particularly during the 1980s. In the 1990s, he also began his career as a solo a ...
's "" ("Ikanaide"), the theme song of Japanese 1989's TV drama "" ("Goodbye Ri Kōran")
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamaguchi, Yoshiko
1920 births
2014 deaths
20th-century Japanese actresses
Japanese expatriates in China
Japanese expatriates in the United States
Women members of the House of Councillors (Japan)
Members of the House of Councillors (Japan)
Japanese actor-politicians
Japanese women pop singers
Japanese film actresses
Japanese people from Manchukuo
Japanese prisoners sentenced to death
Japanese sopranos
Japanese television journalists
Japanese women television personalities
Japanese war correspondents
Japanese women journalists
Mandarin-language singers of Japan
Politicians from Fushun
Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd class
War correspondents of the Vietnam War
Women television journalists
Women war correspondents
20th-century Japanese women politicians
20th-century Japanese politicians
20th-century Japanese women singers
20th-century Japanese singers
Pathé Records (China) artists
Pathé Records (Hong Kong) artists
Prisoners sentenced to death by China