Isuzu Yamada - The Flower of the Stage and Silver Screen Throughout the Showa Era (1917-2012)

Isuzu Yamada - The Flower of the Stage and Silver Screen Throughout the Showa Era (1917-2012)

Yamada Isuzu was born to a Shinpa actor father and geisha mother, and joined Nikkatsu at the age of thirteen. She was chosen to play opposite Chiezo Kataoka and Kanjuro Arashi, and her loveliness and handsome face made her an instantly popular actress. In Kenji Mizoguchi's "Naniwa Kaika" and "The Sisters of Gion," she played the role of a woman who is tossed about by love but has strength in her heart, sharply reflecting the contradictions of the times. After the war, she played the role of a geisha in "Tsuruhachi Tsurujiro," in which she showed her unique presence. After the 1960s, she shifted her focus to the stage, adding new interpretations of geisha roles in "Tanuki" and other plays. Her appearance with large eyes and soft facial expression served as the basis for her ability to freely play both young girl roles and bewitching female roles, and captivated audiences. While her contemporary Setsuko Hara is remembered for her innocent beauty and myth of silence, and Hideko
Takamine became a national actress with her common people's intelligence, Yamada established her own unique position with her performances rooted in a sense of life, standing by the common people and geisha. Through such representative works as "Naniwa Kaika," "The Sisters of Gion," "Tsuruhachi Tsurujiro," and "Tanuki," she shone on both the stage and the silver screen from the prewar to the postwar period, becoming a presence that has pervaded Japanese film and theater history.