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
Acted in 147
1980s
- 1985
Sure Death! Brown, You Bounder!
Oriku
- 1984
- 1982
Arashi Tatsunari
Tatsu
- 1981
Shin Hissatsu Shigotonin
TV
1970s
- 1979
Japanese Ghost Story Masterpiece Theater: The Ghost of Yotsuya
Movie
Ameyuki-san
Waka Yamada
- 1978
- 1970
Woman Boss
Movie
1960s
- 1966
- 1964
- 1963
Sakiko-san chotto
中川しの
- 1962
The Body
Movie
The Great Wall
Dowager Empress
365 Nights
Movie
假名手本忠臣蔵
Movie
- 1961
Buddha
Kalideva
Case of a Young Lord 9: Black Camellia
Movie
The Orphan Brother
Yashio (voice)
The Shrikes
Movie
Daredevil in the Castle
Yodogami
- 1960
Wanderer's Story: Checkmate
Movie
Deep River Melody
Movie
Onatsu Detective Case: Mad Slasher
Movie
The Lovelorn Geisha
Movie
Hanjiro of Kusama: Bird of Passage
Otoku
Secret
Movie
Goodbye to Glory
Otake
Mission Accomplished
Movie
Princess Sen in Edo
Kisaragi
1950s
- 1959
Pineapple Butai
Shigeyo (Mother)
Disappearance in the Night
Movie
A Gambler as I Am
Movie
Love in the Mountains
Movie
Man of Edo
Movie
Hear My Mother's Cry
Movie
The Canary Cage, Spellbound Love
Movie
The Hidden Treasure
Movie
- 1958
The Days of Evil Women
Movie
The Undefeated Woman
Movie
Taikoki - The Saga of Hideyoshi
Movie
The Shop Curtain
Movie
A Boy and Three Mothers
Natsu, the Foster Mother
- 1957
Samurai Nippon
Movie
Downtown
Riyo Yazawa
The Lower Depths
Osugi the Landlady
A Matter of Valour
Movie
The Shadow Daughter
Okinu
The Horse Boy
Movie
- 1956
The Mandarin Room
Inako
Flowing
Otsuta
Shozo, a Cat and Two Women
Shinako
Five Patriots of Kyoto
Movie
Mother and Child
Movie
Farewell to Dream
Seiji's mother, Kiyo
Namida no hanamichi
江戸紫女将そよ
大当り男一代
お吉
- 1955
Christ in Bronze
Kimika
Minamoto Yoshitsune
Movie
振袖釼法
母つじ
If Indeed One Loves
Yaeko (segment 3)
Growing Up
Movie
The Big Ambition
Movie
Chutaro of Banba
Movie
Burden of Love
Some Kaita
- 1954
Three Loves
Mother
A Billionaire
Hanakuma
Karatachi no hana
Movie
Chushingura
Oishi Riku
- 1953
Wild Lion
Movie
At the End of the Clouds
Movie
Miniature
Tamiko
A Lonely Woman in a Lonely Land
Sayo Yamada
江戸いろは祭
女房おなか
- 1952
Modern People
Movie
Tsukigata Hanpeita
Somehachi
Castle of Revenge
Movie
- 1951
Satsuma-bikyaku
Movie
Five Men of Edo
Okane, Chobei's wife
Fireworks Over the Sea
Kaoru Uozumi
Orizuru kasa
Movie
Kurama Tengu: Acrobat in a lion mask
Movie
Home Sweet Home
Namiko, Kosaku's wife
The Killing of Otsuya
Otsuya
The Inner Palace Conspiracy
Misawa
- 1950
A Man from Akagi
Movie
風雲金毘羅山
Movie
Fencing Master
Oharu
The Motherland Far Far Away
Masako
Zoku kagebōshi ryūkoaiutsutsu
Movie
Kagebōshi
お夏
1940s
- 1949
Hebi hime dōchū
Movie
Koga Manshion
Movie
Koi rōka
Movie
- 1947
Actress
Sumako Matsui
- 1946
Hinoki Butai
Movie
- 1945
The Famous Sword Bijomaru
Sasae Onoda
Until Victory Day
Movie
- 1944
Four Marriages
Movie
The Way of Drama
Movie
- 1943
The Sculpture of Master Choji
Outa
音楽大進軍
Isuzu Yamada
The Song Lantern
O-Sode
Kantaro of Ina
Movie
- 1942
The Man Who Waited
Movie
Musashibo Benkei
Movie
- 1941
Schoolgirl Records
Movie
Shanghai Moon
Movie
The Man Who Disappeared Yesterday
Movie
- 1940
Keshô yuki
Movie
1930s
- 1939
Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki
Oshiho
The Day Before
Osaki
The Fighting Firemen
Koina
- 1938
Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro
Tsuruhachi
- 1937
- 1936
Osaka Elegy
Ayako Murai
- 1935
Miss Okichi
Okichi
Oyuki the Virgin
Oyuki
The Downfall of Osen
Osen
- 1933
Bangaku no issho
Movie
Tange Sazen - Dai-ippen
Movie
- 1932
The Greatest Man in the World
Oyae
- 1931
The Revenge Champion
Movie
The 26 Martyrs of Japan
Movie
In Search of Mother
Otose
- 1930
Suronin Chuya
Movie
No release date
Zoku hebi hime dōchū
Movie
Appearances3
2000s
- 2002
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Throne of Blood'
Self
- 2000
Kurosawa
Self
1970s
- 1975
Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director
Self