Isuzu Yamada
Biography
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
Known For

Akō Rōshi

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

Yojimbo

Hissatsu Shigotonin

Throne of Blood

The Lower Depths

Buddha

Tokyo Twilight
All Movies (160)
- Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Throne of Blood'2002 · as Self
- Kurosawa2000 · as Self
- Sure Death! Brown, You Bounder!1985 · as Oriku
- Sure Death1984
- Suspicion1982 · as Tokie Horiuchi
- Arashi Tatsunari1982 · as Tatsu
- Japanese Ghost Story Masterpiece Theater: The Ghost of Yotsuya1979
- Ameyuki-san1979 · as Waka Yamada
- Shogun's Samurai1978 · as Oeyo
- Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director1975 · as Self
- Woman Boss1970
- Sakiko-san chotto1963 · as 中川しの
- The Body1962
- The Great Wall1962 · as Dowager Empress
- 365 Nights1962
- 假名手本忠臣蔵1962
- Glory on the Summit1962 · as Taka Hirooka
- Four Sisters1962 · as Tatsuko Katagiri
- Buddha1961 · as Kalideva
- Case of a Young Lord 9: Black Camellia1961
- The Orphan Brother1961 · as Yashio (voice)
- Yojimbo1961 · as Orin
- The Shrikes1961
- 誰よりも金を愛す1961
- Daredevil in the Castle1961 · as Yodogami
- 風来物語 あばれ飛車1960
- Deep River Melody1960
- Onatsu Detective Case: Mad Slasher1960
- The Lovelorn Geisha1960
- Hanjiro of Kusama: Bird of Passage1960 · as Otoku
- Bonchi1960 · as Sei
- Secret1960
- Goodbye to Glory1960 · as Otake
- Mission Accomplished1960
- Princess Sen in Edo1960 · as Kisaragi
- Pineapple Butai1959 · as Shigeyo (Mother)
- Disappearance in the Night1959
- 風来物語任侠篇1959
- Love in the Mountains1959
- Man of Edo1959
- Hear My Mother's Cry1959
- The Canary Cage, Spellbound Love1959
- The Hidden Treasure1959
- The Days of Evil Women1958
- The Undefeated Woman1958
- The Spell of the Hidden Gold1958
- The Spell of the Hidden Gold1958 · as Chizuin
- Taikoki - The Saga of Hideyoshi1958
- The Shop Curtain1958
- The Seasons of Love1958 · as Urako
- A Boy and Three Mothers1958 · as Natsu, the Foster Mother
- Samurai Nippon1957
- Down Town1957 · as Riyo Yazawa
- Black River1957 · as Landlady
- The Lower Depths1957 · as Osugi the Landlady
- A Matter of Valour1957
- The Shadow Daughter1957
- Tokyo Twilight1957 · as Kisako Soma
- The Horse Boy1957
- Throne of Blood1957 · as Lady Asaji Washizu
- The Mandarin Room1956
- Flowing1956 · as Otsuta
- Shozo, a Cat and Two Women1956 · as Shinako
- Five Patriots of Kyoto1956
- How Sorrowful1956
- Mother and Child1956
- Farewell to Dream1956 · as Seiji's mother, Kiyo
- Namida no hanamichi1956 · as 江戸紫女将そよ
- 大当り男一代1956 · as お吉
- Ishigassen1955
- Such is Life1955 · as Oharu
- Christ in Bronze1955 · as Kimika
- 荒木又右衛門1955 · as 妻みね
- Minamoto Yoshitsune1955
- 振袖釼法1955 · as 母つじ
- If Indeed One Loves1955 · as Yaeko (segment 3)
- Growing Up1955
- The Big Ambition1955
- Chutaro of Banba1955
- Burden of Love1955 · as Some Kaita
- Three Loves1954 · as Mother
- A Billionaire1954 · as Hanakuma
- Karatachi no hana1954
- Hirate Miki the Swordman1954
- Chushingura1954 · as Oishi Riku
- Hiroshima1953 · as Mineh Obah
- Wild Lion1953
- At the End of the Clouds1953
- Miniature1953 · as Tamiko
- A Lonely Woman in a Lonely Land1953 · as Sayo Yamada
- 江戸いろは祭1953 · as 女房おなか
- Modern People1952
- Tsukigata Hanpeita1952 · as Somehachi
- Devil’s Statue1952
- Castle of Revenge1952
- The Stand in Hakone1952
- Become a Mother, Become a Woman1952 · as Harue Yasukawa
- Satsuma-bikyaku1951
- Five Men of Edo1951 · as Okane, Chobei's wife
- Fireworks Over the Sea1951 · as Kaoru Uozumi
- 木曽路の決闘 夏祭り三度笠1951
- Kurama Tengu: Acrobat in a lion mask1951
- Home Sweet Home1951 · as Namiko, Kosaku's wife
- The Killing of Otsuya1951 · as Otsuya
- The Inner Palace Conspiracy1951 · as Misawa
- A Man from Akagi1950
- 風雲金毘羅山1950
- Fencing Master1950 · as Oharu
- A Mother's Love1950
- The Motherland Far Far Away1950 · as Masako
- Zoku kagebōshi ryūkoaiutsutsu1950
- Kagebōshi1950 · as お夏
- Koi rōka1949
- Actress1947 · as Sumako Matsui
- Lord for a Night1946
- Hinoki Butai1946
- The Famous Sword Bijomaru1945 · as Sasae Onoda
- Until Victory Day1945
- Four Marriages1944
- The Way of Drama1944
- The Sculpture of Master Choji1943 · as Outa
- 音楽大進軍1943 · as Isuzu Yamada
- The Song Lantern1943 · as O-Sode
- Kantaro of Ina1943
- Onna keizu1942 · as Otsuta
- The Man Who Waited1942
- Musashibo Benkei1942
- The Battle of Kawanakajima1941 · as Oshino
- Schoolgirl Records1941
- Yukiko and Natsuyo1941 · as Natsuyo
- Shanghai Moon1941
- The Man Who Disappeared Yesterday1941
- The Snake Princess1940 · as Oshima
- Keshô yuki1940
- Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki1939 · as Oshiho
- The Day Before1939 · as Osaki
- The Fighting Firemen1939 · as Koina
- Ichiyo Higuchi1939 · as Ichiyo Higuchi
- The New Tange Sazen: The Chapter of the Two-Armed Swordsman1939
- Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro1938 · as Tsuruhachi
- The Siege of Osaka1937 · as Senhime
- Sisters of the Gion1936 · as O-mocha
- Osaka Elegy1936 · as Ayako Murai
- Miss Okichi1935 · as Okichi
- Oyuki the Virgin1935 · as Oyuki
- The Comb of Oroku1935 · as Okinu
- The Downfall of Osen1935 · as Osen
- Happy Daughter1934 · as Michiko Yamada
- The Elegant Swordsman1934
- Martial Arts Encyclopedia1934
- Bangaku no issho1933
- Tange Sazen - Dai-ippen1933
- Banquet Under the Midnight Sun1932 · as Oichi
- Professional Killer1932
- Yataro's Hat - Comings and Goings1932
- The Greatest Man in the World1932 · as Oyae
- The Revenge Champion1931
- The 26 Martyrs of Japan1931
- In Search of Mother1931 · as Otose
- Suronin Chuya1930
All TV Shows (4)
- Shin Hissatsu Shigotonin1981
- Hissatsu Shigotonin1979 · as Otowa
- Minamoto no Yoshitsune1966 · as Joban
- Akō Rōshi1964 · as Riku