Yoshiko Kawada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yoshiko Kawada | |
|---|---|
 Yoshiko Kawada in the 1920s | |
| Born | 17 October 1895 Furumachi, Niigata City |
| Died | 23 March 1970 (aged 74) Sōka, Saitama Prefecture |
| Other names | Yoko Kawakami (stage name) |
| Occupation | Actress |
Yoshiko Kawada (17 October 1895 – 23 March 1970) (川田芳子 in Japanese, or かわだ よしこ in kana) was a Japanese actress on stage, and in silent and sound films.
Kawada was born in Furumachi, Niigata City. She trained as a geisha in Tokyo, then joined the theatre troupe of Sada Yacco.[1]
Career
_Henry_Kotani.jpg)
Kawada made her stage debut at Tokyo's Imperial Theatre, under the stage name Yoko Kawakami ("Kawakami" was the family name of Sada Yacco's late husband, Kawakami Otojirō).[1] She was popular in Japanese silent films in the 1920s[2][3] and in early sound films in the 1930s,[4] with over a hundred screen credits. She was one of the highest-paid actresses in Japan, according to a 1925 report.[5]
Kawada's first film role was in Shima no onna (Island Woman, 1920), directed by Henry Kotani for the Shochiku studio;[6][7] her last was in Kane no naru oka - Dai sanhen: Kuro no maki (1949). She often played mothers, including in Akeyuku Sora (The Dawning Sky, 1929), directed by Torajirō Saitō, in which she played a poor widowed mother separated from her only child; they reunite years later, after the mother finds a new life in churchwork.[8] She initially retired from screen acting in 1935, after her starring role in Haha no ai (Mother's Love); but she had roles in two films after World War II.
