Takako Irie
Biography
Takako Irie (入江 たか子 Irie Takako, 7 February 1911 – 12 January 1995) was a Japanese film actress. Born in Tokyo into the aristocratic Higashibōjō family (her birth name was Hideko Higashibōjō (東坊城 英子 Higashibōjō Hideko)), she graduated from Bunka Gakuin before debuting as an actress at Nikkatsu in 1927. She became a major star, even starting her own production company, Irie Productions, in 1932. One of Kenji Mizoguchi's silent film masterpieces, The Water Magician, was produced at that company with Irie starring. She appeared in many advertisements, as well as on fans and other commercial goods. Irie was also the subject of a folding screen painting by Nihonga artist Nakamura Daizaburō, which appeared in the 1930 Teiten (Imperial Exhibition), and which is today in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art; toy dolls were also produced based on this image.
In the postwar period, Irie became known as a "ghost cat actress" (bakeneko joyū) for appearing in a series of kaidan (ghost story) movies. One of her late memorable roles was in Akira Kurosawa's Sanjuro, where she plays Mutsuta's wife, the lady who warns Sanjuro (Toshirō Mifune) that "the best sword stays in its scabbard".
Acting (63 movies)
Sanjuro
1962
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
1983
The Morning Sun Shines
1929
The Most Beautiful
1944
Judge of the Ashuras
1951
The Deserted City
1984
The Water Magician
1933
Tojuro's Love
1938
Nage Utasamon niban tegara: Tsuri tenjô no semushi otoko
1954
A Husband's Chastity: If Spring Comes & Fall Once Again
1937
White Heron
1941
Green Earth
1942
Learn from Experience, Part One
1937
Learn from Experience, Part Two
1937
Life Is like a Somersault
1946
Kagebōshi
1950
Zoku kagebōshi ryūkoaiutsutsu
1950
Koyoi Tsuma to Narinu
1947
Enoken’s Shrewd Period
1939
Ghost of Saga Mansion
1953
Ghost-Cat of Arima Palace
1953
Terrible Ghost Cat of Okazaki
1954
The Monster Cat of the Fifty-Three Stations
1956
Ghost-Cat of Yonaki Swamp
1957
The Ghost Cat of Ouma Crossing
1954
Karisome no kuchibeni
1934
Jean Valjean: Part One
1931
Odoroki ikka
1949
Blue Sky Angel
1950
The House of Hanging
1979
Jean Valjean: Part Two
1931
Sincerity
1939
Kokoro no jitsugetsu: Retsujitsu hen - Gekko hen
1931
Kurama Tengu: The Fire Festival
1951
壮士劇場
1947
Love Letter
1953
Karayuki-san
1937
A Woman's Sorrows
1937
Mother Never Dies
1942
Behold This Mother
1930
Lord Mito
1957
Wings of Victory
1942
Omokage no machi
1942
The Battle of Kawanakajima
1941
Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director
1975
Great Bodhisattva Pass
1935
A Living Puppet
1929
Tokyo March
1929
Four Marriages
1944
Metropolitan Symphony
1929
Dancers of Awa
1941
Legend of the Cat Monster
1983
Tsuki yori no shisha
1934
Mother's Melody
1937
The Roar of The Lion
1955
Matashirō Fighting Journey
1956
Invitation to Happiness
1947
Fighting Letter for 29 People
1957
Sky of Hope
1942
Kuriyama Daizen
1936
A Husband's Chastity: Fall Again
1937
A Husband's Chastity: If Spring Comes
1937
Maiko monogatari
1954
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| The Dawn of Manchuria and Mongolia | 1932 | Producer |
| The Water Magician | 1933 | Producer |
| Karisome no kuchibeni | 1934 | Producer |