Chieko Naniwa

Chieko Naniwa (浪花 千栄子) (November 19, 1907 – December 22, 1973) was a Japanese actress who was active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She is best known for playing geisha in several films, such as Kenji Mizoguchi's A Geisha, and the Forest Spirit in Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. Her birth name was Kikuno Nanko.

Early life Naniwa was born to poultry farmers in what is now Tondabayashi, Osaka, Japan on November 19, 1907. When she was 8 years old she began working at a bento shop in Dotonbori. After that she worked as a waitress in Kyoto until she was 18, when she entered a theater troupe.

Career She made her film debut in 's first film "Kaettekita eiyu". She obtained roles easily after that, working with famous film actors like Utaemon Ichikawa and Ichikawa Momonosuke. However, she cut ties with the film industry after troubles with unpaid wages.

In 1930 she joined and 's Shochiku theater. She married Shibuya that year. In 1948, Shibuya started his own theater called the Shochiku Shinkigeki, where Naniwa was the lead actress. Naniwa left the theater in 1951 after Shibuya had a child with another actress in the company.

Naniwa began performing in radio dramas. She also began appearing in films again, such as in Kenji Mizoguchi's A Geisha (1953), which won her a Blue Ribbon Award. She also performed with Hisaya Morishige in Meoto Zenzai (1955), in Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood (1957) and Yasujiro Ozu's Equinox Flower (1958).

She opened an inn in the Tenryu-ji, a temple in Kyoto's Arashiyama district. Shortly after opening the inn, she let Mizoguchi borrow it to film The Crucified Lovers (1954), and taught the star of the film, Kyoko Kagawa, how to act in a kimono.

Naniwa died of gastrointestinal bleeding on December 22, 1973. After her death she was posthumously awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure.

Filmography

Film performances Year Title Role Director(s) 1953 A Geisha Okimi Kenji Mizoguchi 1954 Sansho the Bailiff Ubatake Kenji Mizoguchi Twenty-Four Eyes Restaurant owner Keisuke Kinoshita The Crucified Lovers Oko Kenji Mizoguchi 1955 Meoto zenzai Okin Shirō Toyoda So Young, So Bright Onobu Toshio Sugie 1956 A Cat, Shozo, and Two Women OrinShirō Toyoda 1957 On Wings of Love Umeko Yoshioka Toshio Sugie Throne of Blood Forest Spirit Akira Kurosawa An Osaka Story Ofude Kōzaburō Yoshimura Snow Country Otatsu Shirō Toyoda 1958 Sazae-san 4 Chie Nishino Nobuo Aoyagi Equinox Flower Hatsu Sasaki Yasujirō Ozu 1959 Sazae-san 5 Chie Nishino Nobuo Aoyagi Sazae-san 6 Chie Nishino Nobuo Aoyagi 1960 Sazae-san 7 Chie Nishino Nobuo Aoyagi 1961 The End of Summer Tsune Sasaki Yasujirō Ozu Akumyō Ito Asō Tokuzō Tanaka Zoku Akumyō Ito Asō Tokuzō Tanaka Girls of the Night Kameju Kinuyo Tanaka 1963 Twin Sisters of Kyoto Teahouse owner Noboru Nakamura 1967 The Doctor's Wife Tami Yasuzo Masumura

TV performances Year Title Role Notes 1965 Taikōki Ōmandokoro Taiga drama 1966 Zenigata Heiji Omine 1970 Osaka-jō no Onna Ōmandokoro 1973 Zenigata Heiji Omasa

Selected bibliography