Masumi Harukawa
Acting
Biography
Born Machie Takigawa, she was active as a dancer at the Asakusa Rock Theater under the stage name Mary Rose in the early 1950s. Due to her appearance, she was affectionately nicknamed Daruma-chan and Jumbo-chan. Soon after moving to the Nichigeki Music Hall, she was scouted by the film industry and made her acting debut in "Gurama-to no yuwaku/The Temptation of Grama Island." Memorable in Japan for her regular role in eight of the ten Toei film series " Trucker Rascals," playing the wife of the series co-star Aikawa Kinya, among appearances in other popular cinematic serials such as Zatoichi and Tora-san. International audiences would be more familiar with her work with avant-garde directors Shōhei Imamura & Shūji Terayama.
Born: November 16, 1935
Place of Birth: Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan
Known For
The Truck Rascals Go to The North
Eighth movie in the Torakku Yarō series
The Gate of Youth
Mainly the story of Shinsuke and his stepmother, ranging from Shinsuke's infanthood to his mid-teens. Coal workers and the mines dominate nearly every aspect of the life of the characters. Shinsuke's father dies while bravely using dynamite to rescue a group of trapped Korean miners. Several older men attempt to help he and his mother cope, including a kind Korean and a Harley-riding yakuza.
Oyaji Daiko
The Tsuru family is a family of nine, headed by Kamejiro. Kamejiro is the president of a construction company that has made a fortune in its first generation, but he is a one-man family. His wife, Aiko, is a typical good wife and wise mother type. Kamejiro gets angry and thunders down every week, and the children are afraid of him, calling him "Oyaji Daiko", but he also takes advantage of this.
Hachiko
The tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even after Ueno's death.
Where Spring Comes Late
The story is set in 1970 during the time of the first EXPO in Japan. The film’s main figure is a miner who suddenly becomes unemployed because the mine he worked in was shut down. He decides to resettle with his whole family to Hokkaido in northern Japan and start a new life as a farmer.
The Wild Trucker
The comical adventures of two long-distance truck drivers, Momojiro and Kinzo, continue. Momojiro and Eizo help bring home the father of two young children in time to celebrate New Year’s together.
Tora-san's Lullaby
After Hiroshi is injured in a workplace accident, Torajiro gives Sakura the money he has saved and leaves to work as a traveling salesman once again. During his travels, Torajiro meets a father who shares a drink with him. In the morning, Torajiro is shocked to learn that the man has left his baby behind and a note asking Tora to take care of the child.
Pastoral: To Die in the Country
A director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescence growing up in a mountain village in rural Japan.
Samurai Banners
Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son. He pledges them his life. He then spends years using treachery, poetic sensibility, military and political strategy to expand Takeda's realm, advance the claim of Yu's son as the heir, and prepare for an ultimate battle with the forces of Echigo. Has Kansuke overreached? Are his dreams, blinded by love, too big?
Zatoichi's Cane Sword
Zatoichi comes upon the town of Tonda, overrun by gangsters. Using one of his favorite techniques, Zatoichi proceeds to win 8 ryo in a rigged gambling game. Of course, the local gangsters attempt to kill him, and the adventure begins. It turns out a blacksmith named Senzo examines Zatoichi's cane sword, and discovers it to be forged by his old mentor. Senzo discovers the sword is at the end of its usefulness and will break when it is used next.
Filmography
as Katsue Nakazato
as Mother
as Okichi
as Matsuyo
as Haruyo Kobayashi
as Lady Yodo
as Nanako's mather
as Saeko
as Harumi
as Kimie Matsushita (Mother)
as Kimie, Jonathan's Wife
as Air woman
as Naka Sumie
as Tomiko
as Ohama
as Passengers on Nemuro Main Line
as Choko
as Komako
as Koyama's Wife
as Mamechiyo
as Buhei's wife
as Hanakawado Wakako
as Okuma
as Yukari
as Kuriko
as Sumie Yato
as Oryu
as Okiku
as Otoki
as Hiroko
as Akemi Yokota
as Kara
as Sugie Asami
as Sadako Takahashi
as Akemi
as Midori
as Rinko Arishima
as Harada
as Namiko
as Betty
as Masa Uchida