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Takako Irie

Actor

Takako Irie

Born February 7, 1911 in Tokyo, JapanDied January 12, 199596 films

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.

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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".

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The best way into Takako Irie's work
Sanjuro posterFirst watchSanjuro19627.9as Mutsuta's wifeIn this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their…View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
The Most Beautiful poster5.6The Most Beautiful1944

Filmography

96 films as actor
  1. TBAKakute ninjutsu eiga wa owarinu
  2. 1984The Deserted CityShino
  3. 1983Legend of the Cat MonsterAkiko Ryuzoji
  4. 1983The Girl Who Leapt Through TimeTatsu Fukamachi
  5. 1979The House of HangingChizu Igarashi
  6. 1962SanjuroMutsuta's wife
  7. 1957Shiranui zukin
  8. 1957Lord Mito
  9. 1957Ghost-Cat of Yonaki Swamp
  10. 1957Fighting Letter for 29 People
  11. 1956Haha shirayuki
  12. 1956Case Files of Zenigata Heiji: The Human-Skin Spider
  13. 1956The Monster Cat of the Fifty-Three StationsCourt Lady Fujinami
  14. 1956Koshimoto gyōjōki
  15. 1956Matashirō Fighting Journey
  16. 1955The Roar of The Lion
  17. 1955Nagasaki no yoru
  18. 1955The Rust Cleaner Sings
  19. 1955Hana no nijū hachinin shū
  20. 1955Zenigata heiji torimono hikae: Dokuro kago
  21. 1954The Ghost Cat of Ouma Crossing
  22. 1954Date sōdō: Haha goten
  23. 1954Akōgishi
  24. 1954The Great White Tiger Platoon
  25. 1954Tekka bugyō
  26. 1954Nage Utasamon niban tegara: Tsuri tenjô no semushi otoko
  27. 1954Terrible Ghost Cat of Okazaki
  28. 1954Maiko monogatari
  29. 1954Hana no nagadosu
  30. 1954Yoidore nitōryū
  31. 1954Tsumakoi kuroda bushi
  32. 1953Ghost-Cat of Arima Palace
  33. 1953Love Letter
  34. 1953Ghost of Saga MansionOtoyo-no-kata
  35. 1953Dekoboko taikōki
  36. 1953Shachō hisho
  37. 1953Haha no hitomi
  38. 1953Zenigata heiji torimono hikae: Karakuri yashiki
  39. 1951Kurama Tengu: The Fire Festival
  40. 1951Tales of a Drifter
  41. 1951Judge of the Ashuras
  42. 1950Blue Sky Angel
  43. 1950Zoku kagebōshi ryūkoaiutsutsu
  44. 1950Kagebōshi千賀
  45. 1949Odoroki ikka
  46. 1949Doburoku no Tatsu
  47. 1949Doku bara
  48. 1949Three Mothers
  49. 1947Hakata Dontaku
  50. 1947Invitation to Happiness
  51. 1947Female Prisoner #36
  52. 1947Political Theater
  53. 1947Koyoi Tsuma to Narinu
  54. 1946Life Is like a Somersault
  55. 1944Four Marriages
  56. 1944The Most BeautifulNoriko Mizushima, dorm mother
  57. 1942Omokage no machi
  58. 1942Wings of Victory
  59. 1942Mother Never Dies
  60. 1942Green Earth
  61. 1942Sky of HopeMakiko
  62. 1941The Battle of KawanakajimaChiyono - widow
  63. 1941White Heron
  64. 1941Yukiko and NatsuyoYukiko
  65. 1941Dancers of Awa
  66. 1940The Snake Princess
  67. 1939Madam with a Ribbon
  68. 1939SincerityTobiko Haseyama
  69. 1939Enoken’s Shrewd Period
  70. 1938Family Diary Part II
  71. 1938Tojuro's Love
  72. 1937Learn from Experience, Part TwoToyomi
  73. 1937Learn from Experience, Part OneToyomi
  74. 1937Shirobara wa sakedo
  75. 1937A Husband's Chastity: Fall Again
  76. 1937A Husband's Chastity: If Spring Comes & Fall Once Again
  77. 1937A Husband's Chastity: If Spring Comes
  78. 1937Karayuki-san
  79. 1937Mother's Melody
  80. 1937A Woman's Sorrows
  81. 1936Kuriyama Daizen
  82. 1936Great Bodhisattva Pass 2Ohama
  83. 1935Great Bodhisattva Pass
  84. 1934Karisome no kuchibeniAkiko
  85. 1934Tsuki yori no shishaMichiko Nonoguchi, nurse
  86. 1933The Water MagicianTaki no Shiraito
  87. 1932The Dawn of Manchuria and MongoliaShiho Hime
  88. 1931Kokoro no jitsugetsu: Retsujitsu hen - Gekko hen
  89. 1931Jean Valjean: Part Two
  90. 1931Jean Valjean: Part One
  91. 1930Behold This Mother
  92. 1930Yoshie Fujiwara's HometownWorkwoman
  93. 1929Matenro sôtohen
  94. 1929Tokyo March早百合
  95. 1929A Living PuppetHiroko Kumikawa
  96. 1929Metropolitan SymphonyReiko Yamada