was a Japanese screenwriter. Born in Tokyo, she later graduated from

Bunka Gakuin is a Japanese vocational school. It opened in 1921 as the first co-educational school in Japan. Alumni * Hisae Imai * Takako Irie * Liu Chi-hsiang * Yoko Mizuki * Akiko Santo * Akira Terao *Mitsu Yashima * Guan Zilan, Chinese painter Referen ...

and began writing screenplays to support her family after her father died. Mizuki was active in the 1950s era of the Japanese studio system and is notable for her work with directors

Tadashi Imai was a Japanese film director known for social realist filmmaking informed by a left-wing perspective. His most noted films include '' An Inlet of Muddy Water'' (1953) and '' Bushido, Samurai Saga'' (1963). Life Although leaning towards left-win ...

and

Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967. Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily Shoshimin-eiga, shōshimin-eiga ("common people drama") films with f ...

. Her work had received several Best Screenplay Awards from ''

Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...

'' and has been described in the book ''Women Screenwriters: An International Guide'' as "One of the most important and accomplished Japanese female screenwriters of all time".

Biography

Yoko Mizuki was born under the name Tomiko Takagi on 26 August 1910 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Mizuki later graduated from

and began acting at the Tokyo Left-Wing Theater (Tokyo Sayoku Gekijo). Nelmes father died, which led to her supporting her family by writing stage plays at the age of 23. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Mizuki wrote

radio dramas Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

. Inspired by her Russian teacher Toshio Yasumi, she began screenwriting. Her first script was ''The Life of a Woman'' (1949) with was co-written with Yasumi. The film involves a pregnant woman who works in printing plant under poor conditions. Her second screenplay for '' Until We Meet Again'' (1950) brought her acclaim and began her collaborations with director

. Despite the praise for the film from ''

'', Mizuki claims that she was still struggling to write screenplays and had to re-write much of ''Until We Meet Again'' while it was filming. Mizuki wrote the screenplay for ''

Jun'ai Monogatari is a 1957 Japanese film directed by Tadashi Imai. It was entered into the 8th Berlin International Film Festival where Imai won the Silver Bear for Best Director. Cast * Shinjirō Ehara as Kantaro Hayakawa * Hitomi Nakahara * Eiji Okada * Is ...

'' which won the

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. She also wrote unconventional topics for screenplays such as '' Kiku and Isamu'' (1959), a story about two mixed-race children in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. She was later awarded the ''

'' awards for Best Screenplay for her work for '' These Are Harbour Lights'' (1961), '' The Age of Marriage'' (1961), '' Sweet Sweat'' and ''

Kwaidan is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 (''kai'') meaning "strange, mysterious, rare, or bewitching apparition" and 談 (''dan'') meaning "talk" or "recited narrative". Overall meaning and usage In its broadest sense, ''kaidan'' refer ...

''. In her later career, Mizuki worked extensively for television, with her credits including '' Ryoma Forever'' (1968) for the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). Mizuki died on 8 April 2003 in

Ichikawa, Chiba file:Ichikawashiyakusyo.jpg, 240px, Ichikawa City Hall is a city in western Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 492,749 in 256,229 households and a population density of 8577 persons per km2. The total area of the ci ...

. Her former home was turned into the Mizuki Memorial Museum.

Personal life

Before World War II, Mizuki was briefly married to director and screenwriter

Senkichi Taniguchi (February 19, 1912 – October 29, 2007) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Tokyo, Japan, he attended Waseda University but left before graduating due to his involvement in a left-wing theater troupe. He ...

who often collaborated with

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 ...

. Among her own 34 screen credits, Mizuki's favourite of films of her own works were '' Until We Meet Again'', '' The Story of Pure Love'', '' Kiku and Isamu'' and '' The Age of Marriage''

Partial filmography

* ''The Life of a Woman'' (1949) * '' Until We Meet Again'' (1950) * ''

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

'' (1953) * '' Floating Clouds'' (1955) * ''

Night School A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates. Italy The scuol ...

'' (1956) * '' Kiku and Isamu'' (1959) * '' The Age of Marriage'' (1961) * '' Sweet Sweat'' (1964) * ''

'' (1965)

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mizuki, Yoko 1910 births Japanese women screenwriters Writers from Tokyo 2003 deaths 20th-century Japanese screenwriters