Biography
Kumeko Urabe (Japanese: 浦辺粂子), born Kimura Kume ((木村 くめ)), (October 5, 1902 – October 26, 1989) was a Japanese movie actress, one of the first in the country. She worked on stage and in film and television. Urabe was born in a rural part of the Shizuoka Prefecture. She lived in several homes while growing up, as she relocated with her father, a Buddhist priest, among the temples to which he was assigned. Urabe completed her education in Numazu, and left school in 1919 to join a theatre company, touring under various stage names as an actor and dancer. In 1923, Urabe auditioned at the film studio Nikkatsu, and adopted the name Kumeko Urabe, by which she was known for the rest of her life. She appeared in her first film the following year, and continued to act until 1987. She worked with such directors as Kenji Mizoguchi and Mikio Naruse, and performed in over 320 films, including Ikiru, Older Brother, Younger Sister, Portrait of Madame Yuki, She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum, and Street of Shame. She also starred in television dramas, including thirteen episodes of Toshiba Sunday Theatre between 1958 and 1980. In the following decade, she carved a niche as a Grandma idol, until her death in 1989.
Acted in 219
1980s
- 1987
- 1985
Lonely Heart
Fuki Inoue
- 1984
The Cold-Hearted Sea
Movie
- 1980
Before Spring
Toyo
1970s
- 1976
- 1974
White Runway
TV
- 1973
- 1972
- 1971
Kininaru Yomesan
TV
The Secret Ceremony
Movie
Adults Games
Movie
- 1970
Wicked Priest 4: The Killer Priest Comes Back
Movie
The Final Gamble
Movie
1960s
- 1969
The Bad Guy Blues
Movie
Season of Tears
Movie
River Of Love
Movie
- 1968
I Sell My Husband
Movie
- 1967
Happiness For You — Sentimental Boy
Movie
Eyes, the Sea and a Ball
Movie
Yanagase Blues
Kane Sasagawa
Flower Cards Chivalry
Movie
- 1966
Game of Chance
Sugi
The Pretty Jade
Movie
Nocturnal Lights
Movie
Moment of Terror
Hisako Kanematsu
Women Doing Time
Movie
Four and A Half Mats
Riku
- 1965
An Innocent Witch
Movie
- 1964
Night Scandal
Shino
Yearning
Bar Madam
- 1963
We Are Salarymen
Shizuko Komuro (Eiichiro’s Mother)
Ghost Story of Devil's Fire Swamp
Movie
Uogashi no senpū musume
Movie
- 1962
Parakin to Kyū-chan mōshiwakenai yarō-tachi
Movie
Irresponsible Rascal of Japan
Movie
Being Two Isn't Easy
Ino
The Body
Movie
Gakusei geisha koi to kenka
Movie
Kyū-chan ondo
Movie
The Salaryman's Carefree Life: What a Relaxed Job This Is!
Movie
The Broken Commandment
Owner of the hotel
Kono ni uruwashi
Movie
Koshū
Movie
Teppo Yasu no Shogai
Movie
Haru no sanmyaku
Movie
Nippon no obaachan
Waka
- 1961
Love's Family Tree
Movie
Love and the Shop Curtain
Movie
Tobidashita onna daimyō
Movie
- 1960
The Legendary Hell
Osumi
Tsukinode no ketto
Otani
The Woman Who Touched Legs
Movie
Scarred Yosaburo
Movie
Irohanihoheto
Movie
The Song Lantern
Movie
Storm on the Silvery Peaks
Old woman
Victory and Defeat
Sato
White Cliffs
Movie
A Woman's Testament
Movie
When a Woman Loves
Otome
1950s
- 1959
Tokyo Omnibus
Movie
Hear My Mother's Cry
Movie
Blind Love
Movie
Diary of a Substitute Doctor
Movie
Ittōsai wa sebangō 6
Movie
The Song of the Cart
Movie
The Makioka Sisters
Movie
- 1958
A Grain of Wheat
Movie
Flower's Yearning
Muraki Sawa
Confronting Fear
Movie
The Cat Knew
Movie
The Precipice
Movie
A Bridge for Two Alone
Movie
Mother
Movie
Hibi no haishin
Movie
Tokyo Eyes
Movie
- 1957
Chūzaisho nikki
Movie
Inazuma Kaidō
Movie
Monkey Business
Yone
Fighting Letter for 29 People
Movie
Snow Country
Movie
Itohan Monogatari
Okô
- 1956
Sound in the Mist
Movie
Here It is Quiet
Movie
Training Ship of Yearning
Movie
Bridge of Japan
Movie
俺は死なない
Movie
Children Seeking a Mother
Older Woman
Sound of Youth
Movie
Yaneura no Onna-tachi
Movie
Twice on a Certain Night
Movie
Headquarters of Crime Detection
Movie
Street of Shame
Otane
The Spoiled Brat President
Movie
The Buried Treasure
Movie
- 1955
I Was Tokichiro
Movie
Shichinin no ani imōto
Movie
Youth
Movie
Tomorrow I'll Be a Fire-Tree
Tomi
Troupers of Asakusa
Movie
House of Many Pleasures
Masa
Tokyo Gang
Movie
The Refugee
Movie
Fantasy of Youth
Movie
Tenka o nerau bishōnen
Movie
The Magistrate
Movie
Ginji of the Seven Faces
Movie
Rōkyoku tengu dōjō
Movie
A Man Among Men
Okimi
- 1954
The Moon Over the Ruined Castle
Movie
Submarine Ro Hasn't Surfaced
Movie
The Story of Shunkin
Movie
東京シンデレラ娘
Movie
The Golden Demon
Tose
A Certain Woman
Tome
Koina no Ginpei
Movie
Shinzōyaburi no oka
Movie
- 1953
Haha no mizūmi
Movie
To the Ends of the Earth
Movie
Asakusa monogatari
Movie
The Wild Geese
Otsune
Bot-chan
Kiyo
Hiren tsubaki
Movie
Where Chimneys Are Seen
Kayo Nojima
- 1952
Kanpai! Tokyo Musume
Movie
Machi no kotengu
Movie
Oka wa hanazakari
Movie
Forever My Love
Movie
Lightning
Osei
Hahakozuru
Onao
Escape from the City of Death
Movie
A Ripple in a Morning
Movie
Haha yamahiko
Movie
Yobiko hoshi
Movie
Mabuta no haha
Movie
- 1951
Wedding March
Auntie
The Life of a Horse Trader
Onobu
Repast
Taniguchi Shige
Tokyo Elegy
Movie
Hibari no komoriuta
Movie
Dorei no machi
Movie
Koi no Oranda-zaka
Movie
- 1950
Shinju fujin: Hitozuma no maki
Movie
Shinju fujin: Shojo no maki
Movie
Snow-Flake
Movie
Duel in the Sun
Boarding house landlady
1940s
- 1949
Koga Manshion
Movie
Akireta musumetachi
Movie
The Rainbow Man
Kane Nonomura
Hills of a Foreign Country
Iku
Three Mothers
Movie
Arashi no naka no shimai
Movie
Kenji to onnakanshu
Movie
- 1948
Nocturnal Gate
Movie
Women of the Night
Brothel Keeper
- 1947
The Little Green Box
Movie
The 99th Bride
Movie
Koyoi Tsuma to Narinu
Movie
- 1946
The Monk Who Became a Raccoon Dog
Movie
Convent Bride
Movie
A Face Glowing at Night
Movie
Aru yo no seppun
Takako
- 1945
Who Is the Criminal?
Movie
Saigo no kikyō
Movie
- 1943
The Man From Chungking
妻とよ
The Tiger of Malaya
Tomi
Genghis Khan
Movie
- 1942
New Snow
Movie
1930s
- 1937
- 1934
Tsuki yori no shisha
Movie
- 1933
The Feast of Gion
Movie
The Water Magician
Ogin
- 1931
Kokoro no jitsugetsu: Retsujitsu hen - Gekko hen
Movie
The 26 Martyrs of Japan
Ohisa, Mother of Antonio
And Yet They Go On
Movie
1920s
- 1927
Yaji and Kita: Yasuda's Rescue
Otoku
Appearances1
1970s
- 1975
Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director
Self