Machiko Kyō
| Machiko Kyō | |
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 Machiko Kyō in the film Rashomon (1950) |
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| Born | March 25, 1924 Osaka, Honshū, Japan |
Machiko Kyō (京 マチ子 Kyō Machiko) (born March 25, 1924) is a Japanese actress whose film work occurred primarily during the 1950s. She rose to extraordinary domestic praise in Japan for her work in two of the greatest Japanese films of the 20th century, Akira Kurosawa's Rashōmon and Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu.
Machiko trained to be a dancer before entering films in 1949. The following year, she would achieve international fame as the female lead in Akira Kurosawa's classic film Rashōmon. She went on to star in many more Japanese productions, most notably Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu (1953) and Kon Ichikawa's Odd Obsession (1959).
Her only role in a non-Japanese film was as Lotus Blossom, a young geisha, in The Teahouse of the August Moon, starring opposite Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford.
Now in her eighties, Kyō continues to perform in traditional Japanese theatrical productions put on by famed producer Fukuko Ishii. Kyō was nominated for a Golden Globe for The Teahouse of the August Moon, a great feat for an Asian actress at the time, and has been awarded many prizes, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Awards of the Japanese Academy.
[edit] Filmography
The filmography of Machiko Kyō includes 97 films:[1]
- Rashōmon (羅生門) (1950) Kurosawa Akira
- Ugetsu (雨月物語 Ugetsu Monogatari) (1953)
- Older Brother, Younger Sister (あにいもうと Older Brother, Younger Sister) (1953)
- Tōjūrō no Koi (藤十郎の恋) (1955)
- Street of Shame (赤線地帯 Akasen chitai) (1956)
- The Hole (穴 Ana) aka Hole in One aka The Pit (1957)
- Yūrakuchō de Aimashō (有楽町で逢いましょう) lit. Lovers in Yurakucho aka Let's Meet in Yurakuchô (1957)
- The Loyal 47 Ronin (忠臣蔵 Chūshingura) (1958)
- Odd Obsession (鍵 Kagi) (1959) Ichikawa Kon
- Jokyo /A Woman's Testament (1960) Ichikawa Kon
[edit] References
- ^ (in Japanese) Person, JMDb, http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p0084410.htm, retrieved 21 May 2009.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Machiko Kyō |
- Machiko Kyō at the Internet Movie Database
- Photo gallery: Machiko Kyo in Japanese Film-fan Magazines of the 1950s
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