Kyoko Enami: The Red Flower that Bloomed between Man and Woman: The 1960s and 1970s

Kyoko Enami: The Red Flower that Bloomed between Man and Woman: The 1960s and 1970s

Kyoko Enami made a strong impression on the silver screen in the Showa era with her role as the female gambler Ginko in the film "Onna no betsoba" (1966-). Dressed in a kimono, smoking a cigarette, and her black hair swinging with the sound of a roll of dice, Enami made a vivid impression on the silver screen in the Showa era. Her quiet yet overwhelming presence cut a swath through the male-dominated world of ninkyo films. The "Onna no bets" series, which totaled 17 films, became Daiei's signature series and reached the height of its prosperity.

During the 1960s and 1970s, when this series of films was developed, Japan was in the midst of its rapid economic growth, while the shadows and disparities of the postwar period remained strong. The gambling halls on the screen were places for those on the outskirts of society, and Ginko's presence there symbolized a woman living resolutely on the fringes of society. In this role, Enami brought together strength and weakness, righteousness and affection, and dignified femininity. The melancholy conveyed by the wavering of her endings, the way she looked at the audience, and even her sighs were closer to a "way of life" than to acting.

Junko Fuji (now Junko Tomiji) and Meiko Kaji were among the actresses active at the same time. Fuji established the image of the heroine of ninkyo films with "Hibotan Hakkaku," playing a woman of duty and humanity who draws her sword in the midst of a male-dominated society. Meiko Kaji, on the other hand, was a heretical presence in such films as "Shura Yukihime," a cooler, more ruthless revenge drama. Compared to these two actresses, Enami is an actress who strongly produces "emotional swings," and she lived in a world dominated by sex appeal and tension rather than excessive violence.

When Daiei went bankrupt in 1971, the film industry went into a slowdown. On October 27, 2018, she passed away due to respiratory failure caused by emphysema. She was 76 years old. Her death was quietly reported, but for the generation who knew the memories of the Showa era, it was the end of an era.

Amidst the violent swell of the Showa era, Kyoko Enami was a red flower that bloomed on the stage of the gambling hall. Her fingertips soaked in crimson and her gaze that seemed to resist. It was all the contradiction, determination, and beauty of the existence of a "woman.