Yōko Umemura
Acting
Biography
No biography available for Yōko Umemura.
Born: October 21, 1903
Known For
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum
In late 19th century Tokyo, Kikunosuke Onoue, the adopted son of a legendary actor, himself an actor specializing in female roles, discovers that he is only praised for his acting due to his status as his father's heir. Devastated by this, he turns to Otoku, a servant of his family, for comfort, and they fall in love. Kikunosuke becomes determined to leave home and develop as an actor on his own merits, and Otoku faithfully follows him.
The Ghost Cat and the Mysterious Shamisen
Mitsue is a popular stage actress and the lover of a shamisen player named Seijuro. She jealously murders two other objects of his affection: Okiyo, a young woman from a samurai family, and Kuro, a cat. The spirits of Okiyo and Kuro then merge into a vengeful ghost.
Ōoka Cases Devil's Image - Part One
A Japanese silent film
Sisters of the Gion
Umekichi, a geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto, feels obliged to help her lover Furusawa when he asks to stay with her after becoming bankrupt and leaving his wife. However her younger sister Omocha tells her she is wasting her time and money on a loser. She thinks that they should both find wealthy patrons to support them. Omocha therefore tries various schemes to get rid of Furusawa, and set themselves up with better patrons.
The 47 Ronin
In 1701, Lord Takuminokami Asano has a feud with Lord Kira and he tries to kill Kira in the corridors of the Shogun's palace. The Shogun sentences Lord Asano to commit suppuku and deprives the palace and lands from his clan, but does not punish Lord Kira. Lord Asano's vassals leave the land and his samurais become ronin and want to seek revenge against the dishonor of their Lord. But their leader Kuranosuke Oishi asks the Shogun to restore the Asano clan with his brother Daigaku Asano. One year later, the Shogun refuses his request and Oishi and forty-six ronin revenge their Lord.
Osaka Elegy
Ayako becomes the mistress of her boss so she can pay her father's debt and prevent him from going to prison for embezzlement.
The Letter
A samurai is ordered by his lord to go to Edo and investigate the truth behind the rumor of a rebellion against him.
Poppy
Based on Soseki Natsume’s 1908 novel of the same title, Poppy is an ornately complicated story of desire and ambition. Fujio is beautiful, talented, well-heeled, and engaged to Munechika, a rising young diplomat. She has promised him a gold watch, a family heirloom, as an emblem of their engagement. But she falls in love with Ono, a student employed to tutor her in English, who is attracted by her beauty and wealth. Ono is himself bound by an engagement to Sayoko, the daughter of his mentor, Professor Inoue. The self-centered Fujio is ready to forsake everything for Ono, but he is prevailed upon to go ahead with his marriage to Sayoko. Fujio then offers the watch to Munechika who, perceiving Fujio’s true feelings, hurls the watch into the sea.
Miss Okichi
Kenji Mizoguchi is credited as “supervisor” on this rare Japanese genre film, which stars the stunning Isuzu Yamada (Osaka Elegy, Throne of Blood) as a professional criminal, part con woman and part martial artist, who falls in love with a young man from the straight world.
Oyuki the Virgin
When a civil war threatens to break out, two geishas flee from their village with aristocrats. During the long journey, the socially inferior women prove to be morally superior to their betters.
Filmography
as 三次郎の母お直
as Umekichi
as Masaoka
as Sumiko Asai
as Fujio's mother
as Michiko Yokoi
as Hamako Kasugai
as Kawase Machiko