Acting · Osaka, Osaka, Japan · Born February 5, 1917
Isuzu Yamada (山田 五十鈴, Yamada Isuzu, 5 February 1917 – 9 July 2012) was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career spanned seven decades. Yamada was born in Osaka as Mitsu Yamada, the daughter of Kusudu Yamada, a shinpa actor specialising in onnagata roles, and Ritsu, a geisha. Yamada debuted as a film actress in 1930 at age twelve, appearing in the Nikkatsu film Tsurugi wo koete. She soon became one of Nikkatsu's top actresses, but it was her portrayals of strong-willed modern girls in Kenji Mizoguchi's Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion in 1936 at the new Daiichi Eiga studio that earned her popularity and critical acclaim. Moving to Shinkō Kinema and then to Toho, she became a star with Mikio Naruse's Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro (1938). During the second half of the 1950s, Yamada's main attention shifted towards the stage, but she still appeared in a number of distinguished films like Naruse's Flowing (1956), Yasujirō Ozu's Tokyo Twilight (1957) and Akira Kurosawa's The Lower Depths (1957) and Throne of Blood (1957). Other directors she worked with during this decade include Keisuke Kinoshita, Kaneto Shindō and Shirō Toyoda. In addition to her theatre engagements, she appeared on television, including the long-running Hissatsu series. Her last TV appearance was in 2002. Yamada died from multiple organ failure in Tokyo on 9 July 2012 at the age of 95. She was married four times, to actor Ichirō Tsukita, to producer Kazuo Takimura, to actor Yoshi Katō, and to actor Tsutomu Shimomoto. Her daughter with Tsukita, Michiko, became known as the actress Michiko Saga (1935–1992). Description above from the Wikipedia article Isuzu Yamada, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
MovieAkira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Throne of Blood'
2002
as Self
MovieKurosawa
2000
as Self
MovieSure Death! Brown, You Bounder!
1985
as Oriku
MovieSure Death
1984
MovieSuspicion
1982
as Tokie Horiuchi
MovieArashi Tatsunari
1982
as Tatsu
TVShin Hissatsu Shigotonin
1981
MovieJapanese Ghost Story Masterpiece Theater: The Ghost of Yotsuya
1979
TVHissatsu Shigotonin
1979
as Otowa
MovieAmeyuki-san
1979
as Waka Yamada
MovieShogun's Samurai
1978
as Oeyo
MovieKenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director
1975
as Self
MovieWoman Boss
1970
TVMinamoto no Yoshitsune
1966
as Joban
TVAkō Rōshi
1964
as Riku
MovieSakiko-san chotto
1963
as 中川しの
MovieThe Body
1962
MovieThe Great Wall
1962
as Dowager Empress
Movie365 Nights
1962
Movie假名手本忠臣蔵
1962
MovieGlory on the Summit
1962
as Taka Hirooka
MovieFour Sisters
1962
as Tatsuko Katagiri
MovieBuddha
1961
as Kalideva
MovieCase of a Young Lord 9: Black Camellia
1961
MovieThe Orphan Brother
1961
as Yashio (voice)
MovieYojimbo
1961
as Orin
MovieThe Shrikes
1961
誰よりも金を愛す
1961
MovieDaredevil in the Castle
1961
as Yodogami
Movie風来物語 あばれ飛車
1960
MovieDeep River Melody
1960
MovieOnatsu Detective Case: Mad Slasher
1960
MovieThe Lovelorn Geisha
1960
MovieHanjiro of Kusama: Bird of Passage
1960
as Otoku
MovieBonchi
1960
as Sei
MovieSecret
1960
MovieGoodbye to Glory
1960
as Otake
MovieMission Accomplished
1960
MoviePrincess Sen in Edo
1960
as Kisaragi
MoviePineapple Butai
1959
as Shigeyo (Mother)
MovieDisappearance in the Night
1959
Movie風来物語任侠篇
1959
MovieLove in the Mountains
1959
MovieMan of Edo
1959
MovieHear My Mother's Cry
1959
MovieThe Canary Cage, Spellbound Love
1959
MovieThe Hidden Treasure
1959
MovieThe Days of Evil Women
1958
MovieThe Undefeated Woman
1958
The Spell of the Hidden Gold
1958
MovieTaikoki - The Saga of Hideyoshi
1958
MovieThe Shop Curtain
1958
MovieThe Seasons of Love
1958
as Urako
MovieA Boy and Three Mothers
1958
as Natsu, the Foster Mother
MovieSamurai Nippon
1957
MovieDown Town
1957
as Riyo Yazawa
MovieBlack River
1957
as Landlady
MovieThe Lower Depths
1957
as Osugi the Landlady
MovieA Matter of Valour
1957
MovieThe Shadow Daughter
1957
MovieTokyo Twilight
1957
as Kisako Soma
MovieThe Horse Boy
1957
MovieThrone of Blood
1957
as Lady Asaji Washizu
MovieThe Mandarin Room
1956
MovieFlowing
1956
as Otsuta
MovieShozo, a Cat and Two Women
1956
as Shinako
MovieFive Patriots of Kyoto
1956
How Sorrowful
1956
MovieMother and Child
1956
MovieFarewell to Dream
1956
as Seiji's mother, Kiyo
MovieNamida no hanamichi
1956
as 江戸紫女将そよ
Movie大当り男一代
1956
as お吉
MovieIshigassen
1955
Such is Life
1955
as Oharu
MovieChrist in Bronze
1955
as Kimika
Movie荒木又右衛門
1955
as 妻みね
MovieMinamoto Yoshitsune
1955
Movie振袖釼法
1955
as 母つじ
MovieIf Indeed One Loves
1955
as Yaeko (segment 3)
MovieGrowing Up
1955
MovieThe Big Ambition
1955
MovieChutaro of Banba
1955
MovieBurden of Love
1955
as Some Kaita
MovieThree Loves
1954
as Mother
MovieA Billionaire
1954
as Hanakuma
MovieKaratachi no hana
1954
MovieHirate Miki the Swordman
1954
MovieChushingura
1954
as Oishi Riku
MovieHiroshima
1953
as Mineh Obah
MovieWild Lion
1953
MovieAt the End of the Clouds
1953
MovieMiniature
1953
as Tamiko
MovieA Lonely Woman in a Lonely Land
1953
as Sayo Yamada
Movie江戸いろは祭
1953
as 女房おなか
MovieModern People
1952
MovieTsukigata Hanpeita
1952
as Somehachi
MovieDevil’s Statue
1952
MovieCastle of Revenge
1952
MovieThe Stand in Hakone
1952
MovieBecome a Mother, Become a Woman
1952
as Harue Yasukawa
MovieSatsuma-bikyaku
1951
MovieFive Men of Edo
1951
as Okane, Chobei's wife
MovieFireworks Over the Sea
1951
as Kaoru Uozumi
木曽路の決闘 夏祭り三度笠
1951
MovieKurama Tengu: Acrobat in a lion mask
1951
MovieHome Sweet Home
1951
as Namiko, Kosaku's wife
MovieThe Killing of Otsuya
1951
as Otsuya
MovieThe Inner Palace Conspiracy
1951
as Misawa
MovieA Man from Akagi
1950
Movie風雲金毘羅山
1950
MovieFencing Master
1950
as Oharu
A Mother's Love
1950
MovieThe Motherland Far Far Away
1950
as Masako
MovieZoku kagebōshi ryūkoaiutsutsu
1950
MovieKagebōshi
1950
as お夏
MovieKoga Manshion
1949
Hana no jitsugetsu
1949
MovieKoi rōka
1949
MovieActress
1947
as Sumako Matsui
MovieLord for a Night
1946
MovieHinoki Butai
1946
MovieThe Famous Sword Bijomaru
1945
as Sasae Onoda
MovieUntil Victory Day
1945
MovieFour Marriages
1944
MovieThe Way of Drama
1944
MovieThe Sculpture of Master Choji
1943
as Outa
Movie音楽大進軍
1943
as Isuzu Yamada
MovieThe Song Lantern
1943
as O-Sode
MovieKantaro of Ina
1943
Onna keizu
1942
as Otsuta
MovieThe Man Who Waited
1942
MovieMusashibo Benkei
1942
MovieThe Battle of Kawanakajima
1941
as Oshino
MovieSchoolgirl Records
1941
Yukiko and Natsuyo
1941
as Natsuyo
MovieShanghai Moon
1941
MovieThe Man Who Disappeared Yesterday
1941
The Snake Princess
1940
as Oshima
MovieKeshô yuki
1940
MovieShinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki
1939
as Oshiho
MovieThe Day Before
1939
as Osaki
MovieThe Fighting Firemen
1939
as Koina
Ichiyo Higuchi
1939
as Ichiyo Higuchi
The New Tange Sazen: The Chapter of the Two-Armed Swordsman
1939
MovieTsuruhachi and Tsurujiro
1938
as Tsuruhachi
MovieThe Siege of Osaka
1937
as Senhime
MovieSisters of the Gion
1936
as O-mocha
MovieOsaka Elegy
1936
as Ayako Murai
MovieMiss Okichi
1935
as Okichi
MovieOyuki the Virgin
1935
as Oyuki
The Comb of Oroku
1935
as Okinu
MovieThe Downfall of Osen
1935
as Osen
Happy Daughter
1934
as Michiko Yamada
The Elegant Swordsman
1934
Martial Arts Encyclopedia
1934
MovieBangaku no issho
1933
MovieTange Sazen - Dai-ippen
1933
Banquet Under the Midnight Sun
1932
as Oichi
Professional Killer
1932
Yataro's Hat - Comings and Goings
1932
MovieThe Greatest Man in the World
1932
as Oyae
MovieThe Revenge Champion
1931
MovieThe 26 Martyrs of Japan
1931
MovieIn Search of Mother
1931
as Otose
MovieSuronin Chuya
1930
