Isuzu Yamada

Birthday: 1917-02-05
Deathday: 2012-07-09
Birthplace: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned

Isuzu Yamada (山田 五十鈴, Yamada Isuzu, 5 February 1917 – 9 July 2012) was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career spanned seven decades.

Yamada was born in Osaka as Mitsu Yamada, the daughter of Kusudu Yamada, a shinpa actor specialising in onnagata roles, and Ritsu, a geisha. Yamada debuted as a film actress in 1930 at age twelve, appearing in the Nikkatsu film Tsurugi wo koete. She soon became one of Nikkatsu's top actresses, but it was her portrayals of strong-willed modern girls in Kenji Mizoguchi's Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion in 1936 at the new Daiichi Eiga studio that earned her popularity and critical acclaim. Moving to Shinkō Kinema and then to Toho, she became a star with Mikio Naruse's Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro (1938).

During the second half of the 1950s, Yamada's main attention shifted towards the stage, but she still appeared in a number of distinguished films like Naruse's Flowing (1956), Yasujirō Ozu's Tokyo Twilight (1957) and Akira Kurosawa's The Lower Depths (1957) and Throne of Blood (1957). Other directors she worked with during this decade include Keisuke Kinoshita, Kaneto Shindō and Shirō Toyoda. In addition to her theatre engagements, she appeared on television, including the long-running Hissatsu series. Her last TV appearance was in 2002.

Yamada died from multiple organ failure in Tokyo on 9 July 2012 at the age of 95. She was married four times, to actor Ichirō Tsukita, to producer Kazuo Takimura, to actor Yoshi Katō, and to actor Tsutomu Shimomoto. Her daughter with Tsukita, Michiko, became known as the actress Michiko Saga (1935–1992).

Description above from the Wikipedia article Isuzu Yamada, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia​

Credits

Year Title Character
1985-06-29 Sure Death! Brown, You Bounder! Oriku
1984-06-16 Sure Death
1982-09-11 Suspicion Tokie Horiuchi
1982-08-25 Arashi Tatsunari Tatsu
1978-01-21 Shogun's Samurai Oeyo
1975-05-24 Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director
1970-01-15 Woman Boss
1962-11-08 The Body
1962-11-01 The Great Wall Dowager Empress
1962-09-09 365 Nights
1962-07-29 Glory on the Summit Taka Hirooka
1962-07-01 Four Sisters Tatsuko Katagiri
1961-10-31 Buddha Kalideva
1961-09-23 Case of a Young Lord 9: Black Camellia
1961-07-19 The Orphan Brother Yashio (voice)
1961-04-25 Yojimbo Orin
1961-03-01 The Shrikes
1961-02-02 誰よりも金を愛す
1961-01-03 Daredevil in the Castle Yodogami
1960-09-28 風来物語 あばれ飛車
1960-09-13 Deep River Melody
1960-07-12 The Lovelorn Geisha
1960-05-29 Hanjiro of Kusama: Bird of Passage Otoku
1960-04-14 Bonchi Sei
1960-04-05 Secret
1960-04-01 Goodbye to Glory Otake
1960-02-17 Mission Accomplished
1960-01-14 Princess Sen in Edo Kisaragi
1959-12-27 Pineapple Butai Shigeyo (Mother)
1959-10-28 風来物語任侠篇
1959-10-23 Love in the Mountains
1959-04-05 The Hidden Treasure
1958-11-30 The Days of Evil Women
1958-10-21 The Undefeated Woman
1958-10-21 The Spell of the Hidden Gold
1958-10-21 The Spell of the Hidden Gold Chizuin
1958-08-10 Taikoki - The Saga of Hideyoshi
1958-06-15 The Shop Curtain
1958-06-10 The Seasons of Love Urako
1958-02-18 A Boy and Three Mothers Natsu, the Foster Mother
1957-10-29 Down Town Riyo Yazawa
1957-10-23 Black River Landlady
1957-10-01 The Lower Depths Osugi the Landlady
1957-08-10 A Matter of Valour
1957-04-30 Tokyo Twilight Kisako Soma
1957-02-19 The Horse Boy
1957-01-15 Throne of Blood Lady Asaji Washizu
1956-11-20 Flowing Otsuta
1956-10-09 Shozo, a Cat and Two Women Shinako
1956-09-07 How Sorrowful
1956-04-17 Farewell to Dream Seiji's mother, Kiyo
1956-02-19 涙の花道 江戸紫女将そよ
1956-01-22 大当り男一代 お吉
1955-12-13 Ishigassen
1955-11-01 Such is Life Oharu
1955-10-11 Christ in Bronze Kimika
1955-09-21 荒木又右衛門 妻みね
1955-07-30 Minamoto Yoshitsune
1955-07-26 振袖釼法 母つじ
1955-07-05 Ai Sureba Koso Yaeko (segment 3)
1955-04-01 Growing Up
1955-03-30 The Big Ambition
1955-03-29 Chutaro of Banba
1955-03-18 Burden of Love Some Kaita
1954-12-29 Three Loves Mother
1954-11-22 A Billionaire Hanakuma
1954-10-19 Hirate Miki the Swordman
1954-10-17 Chushingura Oishi Riku
1953-10-07 Hiroshima
1953-08-12 Wild Lion
1953-06-09 At the End of the Clouds
1953-04-01 Miniature Tamiko
1953-02-20 A Lonely Woman in a Lonely Land Sayo Yamada
1953-01-22 江戸いろは祭 女房おなか
1952-09-03 Modern People
1952-05-29 Tsukigata Hanpeita Somehachi
1952-05-01 Devil’s Statue
1952-04-24 Castle of Revenge
1952-03-14 The Stand in Hakone
1952-01-17 Become a Mother, Become a Woman Harue Yasukawa
1951-12-22 Satsuma-bikyaku
1951-11-22 Five Men of Edo Okane, Chobei's wife
1951-10-25 Fireworks Over the Sea Kaoru Uozumi
1951-07-12 Kurama Tengu: Acrobat in a lion mask
1951-03-21 Home Sweet Home Namiko, Kosaku's wife
1951-02-17 The Killing of Otsuya Otsuya
1951-01-13 The Inner Palace Conspiracy Misawa
1950-10-07 A Man from Akagi
1950-09-02 風雲金毘羅山
1950-08-26 Fencing Master Oharu
1950-06-27 A Mother's Love
1950-03-05 The Motherland Far Far Away Masako
1950-01-08 Zoku kagebōshi ryūkoaiutsutsu
1950-01-03 Kagebōshi お夏
1947-12-29 Actress Sumako Matsui
1946-07-11 Lord for a Night
1945-02-08 The Sword Sasae Onoda
1945-01-25 Until Victory Day
1944-09-28 Four Marriages
1944-05-11 The Way of Drama
1943-03-18 音楽大進軍 Isuzu Yamada
1943-02-11 The Song Lantern O-Sode
1943-01-03 Kantaro of Ina
1942-06-11 Onna keizu Otsuta
1942-04-23 The Man Who Waited
1942-01-07 Musashibo Benkei
1941-11-30 The Battle of Kawanakajima Oshino
1941-08-27 Schoolgirl Records
1941-08-14 Yukiko and Natsuyo Natsuyo
1941-07-01 Shanghai Moon
1941-01-09 The Man Who Disappeared Yesterday
1940-04-03 The Snake Princess Oshima
1940-02-14 Keshô yuki
1939-12-20 Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki Oshiho
1939-10-20 The Day Before Osaki
1939-06-22 The Fighting Firemen Koina
1939-05-31 Ichiyo Higuchi Ichiyo Higuchi
1938-09-29 Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro Tsuruhachi
1937-04-01 The Siege of Osaka Senhime
1936-10-15 Sisters of the Gion O-mocha
1936-05-28 Osaka Elegy Ayako Murai
1935-10-05 Oyuki the Virgin Oyuki
1935-08-29 Miss Okichi Okichi
1935-05-09 The Comb of Oroku Okinu
1935-01-20 The Downfall of Osen Osen
1934-05-03 Happy Daughter Michiko Yamada
1934-03-01 The Elegant Swordsman
1934-02-08 Martial Arts Encyclopedia
1933-06-15 Bangaku no issho
1933-01-02 Tange Sazen - Dai-ippen
1932-10-13 Banquet Under the Midnight Sun Oichi
1932-06-03 Professional Killer
1932-03-17 Yataro's Hat - Comings and Goings
1932-01-14 The Greatest Man in the World Oyae
1931-12-18 The Revenge Champion
1931-10-01 The 26 Martyrs of Japan
1931-03-13 In Search of Mother Otose
1930-07-15 Suronin Chuya