Ayako Wakao
Ayako Wakao ( Japanese 若 尾 文 子 , Wakao Ayako ; born November 8, 1933 in Tokyo ) is a Japanese actress who has appeared in 130 films and television productions since 1952.
Life
Ayako Wakao was discovered in 1951 at the age of eighteen by the film producer Masaichi Nagata and signed with his production company Daiei Studios . The young actress then took lessons at a drama school specially set up by Daiei Studios. A year later she made her film debut in Shino machi o nogarete . Ayako Wakao had one of her first major appearances in 1953 as Geisha Eiko in Die Festmusik von Gion , which was also marketed in German-speaking countries under the title Zwei Geishas .
In the course of her film career, Ayako Wakao was seen in several productions by Masumura Yasuzō . Other well-known directors she worked with were Mizoguchi Kenji in The Road to Shame and Ozu Yasujirō in Farewell at Twilight . Ayako Wakao's best-known film appearances include her leading role as the confident geisha Tsuya Suruga in the 1966 drama The Tattoo , which is trademarked with a Joro spider tattoo on her back. Famous in her home country was the personification of a nurse in the 1966 war drama Akai tenshi , who falls in love with a drug-addicted doctor.
Ayako Wakao's entire filmography includes 130 films, including several television productions. In 1988 she was heard as a narrator in the 50-episode television series Takeda Shingen . Ayako Wakao has received several awards for her acting performance, including two Blue Ribbon Awards and three Kinema Jumpō prizes . In 2006 she received the prize for her life's work at the Mainichi Eiga Concours . She is still active as an actress in film and television today.
Ayako Wakao was married to the renowned architect Kishō Kurokawa until his death in 2007 .
Awards
- 1962: Blue Ribbon Award
- 1962: Kinema Jumpō Prize
- 1966: Blue Ribbon Award
- 1966: Kinema Jumpō Prize
- 1969: Kinema Jumpō Prize
- 2006: Tanaka Kinuyo Award of the Mainichi Eiga Concours for her life's work
Filmography (selection)
- 1952: Shino Machi o Nogarete
- 1952: Mōjū Tsukai no Shōjo
- 1953: The Festival Music of Gion / Two Geishas ( Gion Bayashi )
- 1953: Jūdai no Yūwaku
- 1955: Bara Ikutabika
- 1955: Maboroshi no Uma
- 1956: The Road to Shame ( Akasen Chitai )
- 1957: Suzakumon
- 1958: Chūshingura
- 1959: Farewell at dawn ( Ukigusa )
- 1960: Karakkaze Yarō
- 1960: Nise Daigakusei
- 1960: Jokyō
- 1961: Tsuma wa Kokuhaku suru
- 1962: The Great Wall ( Shin no Shikōtei )
- 1964: Manji - The Lovers ( Manji )
- 1966: The Tattoo ( Irezumi )
- 1966: Akai Tenshi
- 1987: Taketori Monogatari
- 1988: Takeda Shingen (TV series)
- 2005: Haru no Yuki
- 2011: Ohisama (TV movie)
Web links
- Ayako Wakao in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Article about Ayako Wakao on wondersinthedark.wordpress.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Joseph L. Anderson, Donald Richie: The Japanese Film: Art and Industry - Expanded Edition . Princeton University Press , Princeton 2018, ISBN 978-0-691-18746-4 , page 410.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wakao, Ayako |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 若 尾 文 子 (Japanese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 8, 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tokyo , Japan |