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Hideko Takamine

Acting Born Mar 27, 1924 Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan 24 credits

Biography

Hideko Takamine (高峰 秀子, Takamine Hideko, March 27, 1924 – December 28, 2010) was a Japanese actress who began as a child actress and maintained her fame in a career that spanned 50 years. She is particularly known for her collaborations with directors Mikio Naruse and Keisuke Kinoshita, with Twenty-Four Eyes (1954) and Floating Clouds (1955) being among her most noted films.

Takamine was born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, in 1924. At the age of four, following the death of her mother, she was placed in the care of her aunt in Tokyo. Her first role was in the Shochiku studio's 1929 film Mother (Haha), which brought her tremendous popularity as a child actor. She toured as a singer to entertain Japanese troops and, after the war, sang for American occupation troops in Tokyo.

In 1950, she left Shintoho and became a freelance actress. She was especially favoured as leading actress by Naruse, appearing in 17 of his films between 1941 and 1966, which are considered "some of her finest performances."

She married writer-director Zenzo Matsuyama in 1955, but continued her acting career, stating that she wanted to "create a new style of wife who has a job". After retiring as an actress in 1979, she published her autobiography and several essay collections. She died of lung cancer on 28 December 2010 at the age of 86.

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Known for

The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self
Film

Yearning

as Reiko Morita

Portrait of a Marriage

as Katsuyo

Full filmography

  • The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) as Self
  • The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961) as Hinanmin no Onna
  • When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) as Keiko Yashiro
  • Floating Clouds (1955) as Yukiko Koda
  • Yearning (1964) as Reiko Morita
  • Devil's Temple (1969) as Kaede
  • Twenty-Four Eyes (1954) as Ôishi Sensei
  • Immortal Love (1961) as Sadako
  • Stakeout (1958) as Sadako Yokokawa
  • A Wanderer's Notebook (1962) as Fumiko Hayashi
  • Flowing (1956) as Katsuyo
  • The Rickshaw Man (1958) as Yoshiko Yoshioka
  • Untamed Woman (1957) as Oshima
  • The Other Woman (1961) as Miho Nishigaki
  • Oh, My Son! (1979) as Yukie Kawase
  • Carmen Comes Home (1951) as Kin Aoyama aka Lily Carmen
  • Daughters, Wives and a Mother (1960) as Kazuko Sakanishi, Yuichiro's wife
  • A Woman's Life (1963) as Nobuko Shimizu
  • The River Fuefuki (1960) as Okei
  • The Munekata Sisters (1950) as Mariko Munekata
  • Moment of Terror (1966) as Kuniko, the Mother
  • Sasaki Kojiro (1951)
  • The Wiser Age (1962) as Yoshiko, Ishikawa-ke no yome
  • Times of Joy and Sorrow (1957) as Kiyoko Arisawa