
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 |