Nobuko Otowa

was a Japanese actress who appeared in more than 100 films between 1950 and 1994.

Life and career A graduate of Takarazuka Girl's Opera School, Otowa was first signed to Daiei studios, before becoming a freelance actress by the early 1950s. After starring in Kaneto Shindo's Story of a Beloved Wife, she became the director's mistress and appeared in nearly all of his following films. She finally married him in 1977, after his previous wife divorced him. Although closely associated with Shindo's films, with Children of Hiroshima, The Naked Island and Onibaba being among the most well-known, Otowa also worked for noted directors such as Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Heinosuke Gosho, Keisuke Kinoshita and Nagisa Ōshima. Devoted to her profession, she frequently wrote and lectured on the art of film acting.

In 1995, she was posthumously awarded as best actress in a supporting role at the 19th Japan Academy Prize for A Last Note, having been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer during its production. Half of her ashes are scattered on the island of Sukune in Mihara, Hiroshima, where The Naked Island was filmed.

Filmography Film

Shojoho (1950) Miyagi Hiroba (1951) Arabiya monogatari (1951) Tsuki no wataridori (1951) – Oichi Dare ga watashi o sabaku no ka (1951) Miss Oyu (1951) – Shizu Meigetsu somato (1951) Story of a Beloved Wife (1951) – Takako Ishikawa The Tale of Genji (1951) – Murasaki no ue Izayoi kaido (1951) Asakusa kurenaidan (1952) – Maki Ayukawa Avalanche (1952) – Atsuko Fujikawa Atakake no hitobito (1952) Children of Hiroshima (1952) – Takako Ishikawa Kantarou tsukiyo-uta (1952) – Okyo Senba zuru (1953) – Ayako Ohta Onna to iu shiro – Mari no maki (1953) Onna to iu shiro – Yuko no maki (1953) Hatamoto Taikutsu Otoko 808 Chome (1953) Mura hatibu (1953) Epitome (1953) – Ginko Yokubo (1953) – Shizue Kitami Yoake mae (1953) – Hanzo's Daughter Life of a Woman (1953) – Fujiko Shirakawa Koina no Ginpei (1954) – Oichi Utsukushī hito (1954) An Inn at Osaka (1954) – Uwabami Dobu (1954) – Tsuru Dorodarake no seishun (1954) – Nanako Ai to shi no tanima (1954) Wakai hitotachi (1954) Aisureba koso (1955) – Michie (segment 1) Ginza no onna (1955) Wolf (1955) – Akiko Yano Kabuki juhachiban: Narukami – Bijo to kairyu (1955) Shirogane Shinjū (1956) – Sakie / Umeko Ryūri no Kishi (1956) – Hagiyo, Chiho's mother Shin ono ga tsumi (1956) Yoake Asaake (1956) An Actress (1956) – Kakuko Mori Aru yo futatabi (1956) Kottaisan yori: Nyotai wa kanashiku (1957) – Tamasode Hadairo no tsuki (1957) – Kumiko Uno Ukifune (1957) – Naka-no-kimi Yagyū bugeichō: Sōryū hiken (1958) – the Princess Makeraremasen katsumadewa (1958) – Odama Kanashimi wa onna dakeni (1958) – Taka A Holiday in Tokyo (1958) – Nobuko Yajikita Dochuuki (1958) Noren (1958) Tsuzurikata kyodai (1958) – Aunt Mimizuku (1958) Nora neko (1958) Yajikita dōchū sugoroku (1958) – Ofutsu / maid Hana noren (1959) Lucky Dragon No. 5 (1959) – Shizu Kuboyama Aisaiki (1959) Okaasan no yume (僕らの母さん) (1959) Kashima ari (1959) Ai no kane (1959) The Three Treasures (1959) – Goddess of Anenouzume Hanayome-san wa sekai-ichi (1959) Waga ai (1960) – Hideya Tenka no Odorobo Shiranami Gonin Man (1960) Chinpindō shujin (1960) Onna no saka (1960) Shin jōdaigaku (1960) The Twilight Story (1960) – Kyōko Yamai The Approach of Autumn (1960) – Shigeko Fukatani – Hideo's Mother The Naked Island (1960) – Toyo, the mother Hunting Rifle (1961) – Choko's mother Mozu (1961) Tōkyō yawa (1961) – Yukari Kojin koujitsu (1961) Netsuai sha (1961) – Tamiko Immortal Love (1961) – Tomoko, Takashi's wife Gen to fudō myō-ō (1961) The Last War (1961) – Oyoshi Tamura Awamori-kun Kanpai (1961) Aijo no keifu (1961) Neko to katsuobushi (1961) Ashita aru kagiri (1962) Nagashi hina (1962) Long Way to Okinawa (1962) Ika naru hoshi no moto ni (1962) – Mitoji Sei Kurabe (1962) Aobeka monogatari (1962) – Kimino Ningen (1962) – Gorosuke Kawa no hotori de (1962) – Tamako Sekiguchi Kigeki ekimae hanten (1962) Yushu Heiya (1963) Kanojo ni mukatte tosshinsayo (1963) Uso (1963) – (segment "San jyotai") Shiro to kuro (1963) – Ochiai's Wife Daidokoro taiheiki (1963) Wanpaku tenshi (1963) Hyakumannin no musumetachi (1963) Miren (1963) – Hatsu Kakinuma Mother (1963) – Tamiko Wakai nakamatachi: uchira Gion no maikohan (1963) Kigeki ekimae okami (1964) – Kyōko Yamamoto Kigeki yōki-na mibōjin (1964) – Kume Tanabe The Scent of Incense (Kōge – Nibu: Mitsumata no shō/Ichibu: Waremokō no shō) (1964) – Ikuyo Okaasan no baka (1964) Kigeki ekimae kaidan (1964) Onibaba (1964) – Kichi's Mother Daikon to ninjin (1965) – Nobuyo Yamaki Nami kage (1965) – Masa, Kichitaro's wife Kigeki ekimae kin'yū (1965) Daiku taiheki (1965) Akuto (1965) – Jiju Abare Gōemon (1966) – Osasa Kigeki ekimae benten (1966) Lost Sex (1966) – The Housemaid Akogare (1966) Kigeki ekimae keiba (1966) Danshun (1966) Kigeki ekimae mangan (1967) Izu no odoriko (1967) Kigeki ekimae gakuen (1967) Zoku Na mo naku mazushiku utsukushiku: Chichi to ko (1967) – Taeko Sakai Sei no kigen (1967) – Wife Kigeki ekimae hyakku-nen (1967) Kuroneko (1968) – Yone (Mother) Tsuyomushi onna to yowamushi otoko (1968) – Fumiko Āh himeyuri no tō (1968) – Hatsu Yonamine Machi ni izumi ga atta (1968) – Toki Yano Red Lion (1969) – Oharu Heat Wave Island (1969) – Otoyo Shokkaku (1970) – Tamiko / Prostitute Yuki Live Today, Die Tomorrow! (1970) – Take Yamada The Ceremony (1971) – Sakurada Shizu Kanawa (1972) – Middle aged woman Sanka (1972) – Teru Kamozawa The Heart (1973) – Mrs. M Kōkotsu no hito (1973) – Kyōko Shiawase (1974) Waga michi (1974) – Mino Kawamura Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (documentary) (1975) – Herself Kyukei no Koya (1975) The Life of Chikuzan (1977) The Incident (1978) The Strangling (1979) – Ryoko, Mother Haitatsu sarenai santsu no tegami (1979) – Sumie, Mitsumasa's wife Kangofu no oyaji ganbaru (1980) Omoeba tōkue kitamonda (1980) Asshii-tachi no machi (1981) – Haru Hayasaka Ore to aitsu no monogatari (1981) Edo Porn (1981) – Omomo, Sashichi's Wife Ekisutora (1982) – Kinuyo Adachi Mikan no taikyoku (1982) The Go Masters (1983) The Horizon (1984) – Hideyo, after age 40 Location (1984) – Katsue Tengoku ni ichiban chikai shima (1984) – Tei Ishikawa Shiroi machi hiroshima (1985) Yasha (1985) – Ume Lost in the Wilderness (1986) – Yasuko Muto Burakkubōdo (1986) – Namie Yasui Tree Without Leaves (1986) – Mother Nijushi no hitomi (1987) – Okami Sakura-tai Chiru (1988) – Narration Yumemi-dōri no hitobito (1989) Donmai (1990) – Toyo Murakami Pachinko monogatari (1990) Bokuto kidan (1992) – Masa Tsuribaka nisshi 5 (1992) – Densuke's mother A Last Note (1995) – Toyoko Yanagawa By Player (2000) – herself

Television (selection)

Tadaima (1964–1967) Taikōki (1965) – Oetsu Saigo no jigazō (1977) Yokomizo Seishi Shirīzu (1977–1978) Nagisa no onna (1980) Kazunomiya sama otome (1981) Oshin (1983–1984) – Oshin Shinju yoi goshin (1984) The Asami Mitsuhiko Mystery (1987–1990) Ōinaru gen'ei (1989) Haha: Inochi yomigaeru hi (1992) Asahina Shūhei misuterī 3: Tangoji satsujin jiken (1992) Ude ni oboe ari (1992–1993)

Awards and honors Japan Academy Prize 1996: Best Supporting Actress, A Last Note

Blue Ribbon Awards 1966: Best Supporting Actress, Lost Sex 1953: Best Actress, Epitome, Life of a Woman and Yokubo

Kinema Junpo Awards 1996: Best Supporting Actress, A Last Note

Mainichi Film Awards 1996: Lifetime Achievement Award 1993: Best Supporting Actress, The Strange Story of Oyuki 1968: Best Actress, Operation Negligee and Kuroneko

36th Venice International Film Festival 1979: Pasinetti Award (Best Actress), The Strangling