Ritsuko Mori
Japanese actress
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Ritsuko Mori (30 October 1890 – 22 July 1961) (森律子 in Japanese, or もり りつこ in kana) was a Japanese actress. As a woman from a respected family, her entry into the acting profession was considered disreputable, but her success improved the opportunities and social standing of professional actresses in Japan.
Ritsuko Mori | |
|---|---|
森律子 | |
 Ritsuko Mori as sketched by Elizabeth Keith, from a 1918 publication | |
| Born | 30 October 1890 Tokyo |
| Died | 22 July 1961 (aged 70) |
| Occupation | Actress |
Early life
Mori was born in Tokyo, the daughter of Hajime Mori, a lawyer and politician.[1] She graduated from Atomi Girls' School.[2] She was one of the first students trained as an actress with Sada Yacco, at the Imperial Training School for Actresses.[3][4] She toured in Europe to study Western theatre in 1913.[5][6]
Career
Mori's choice of an acting career was considered a shocking embarrassment to her family and social circles.[7][8][9] "All my relatives and friends were against it and even persecuted me," she explained in 1919.[1] Her success improved the social standing of Japanese women working in the theatre.[10] She was inspired by many performers who went before her, including male Peking opera star Mei Lanfang.[11]
Mori appeared in stage comedies,[12] dramas,[13] kabuki,[14] and operettas.[15] In 1916, she played a blind heroine character in a one-act tragedy, Mitsu-no-Kokoro, at the Imperial Theatre.[13] A Western reviewer described her "interesting" performance in a breeches role in 1918, saying Mori "gets full play for her vivacity and skill."[15] Also in 1918, she played Portia in an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice by Yuzo Tsubouchi.[16] In 1919 she gave a eulogy speech at the funeral of her colleague, actress Sumako Matsui; "Why must you leave us, the actresses of Japan, struggling hard for the perfection of woman's part upon the stage, new to the Japanese public and most difficult for us?"[17]
Mori was "the leading lady of the Imperial Theatre" and helped with managing the theatre's productions in the 1920s,[2] according to American journalist Marguerite Harrison.[18] She officially welcomed Irish tenor John McCormack on his arrival in Tokyo in 1926.[19] In the 1930s she worked with actor Shotaro Hanayagi.[20]
Personal life
She adopted her niece, actress Kakuko Mori. She died in 1961, at the age of 70.[citation needed]