Otowa Nobuko

Otowa Nobuko

Otowa Nobuko ( Japanese 乙 羽 信 子 , actually Shindō Nobuko (新 藤 信 子), named after her old family name Kaji (加 治) with the honorable prefix Okaji (オ カ ジ); born October 1, 1924 in Yonago ( Tottori Prefecture ); died December 22, 1994 in Tōkyō ) was a Japanese actress .

Live and act

Otowa Nobuko joined the Takarazuka Revue in 1939 . There she was one of the best female actresses, but left Takarazuka in 1950 and switched to the Daiei film company (大 映 映 画 株式会社, Daiei eiga kabushki kaisha). There she became known as the "Pretty Million Dollar Girl" (百万 ド ル の え く ぼ, Hyakuman doru no ekubo). In 1951 she appeared with success in the first film by director Shindō Kaneto "Story of a Beloved Woman" (愛妻 物語, Aisai monogatari). But after the film “Child of the Atomic Bomb” (原 爆 の 子, Gembaku no ko) in the following year, she left the company and joined the “Association of Contemporary Films” (近代 映 画 協会, Kindai eiga kyōkai).

Otowa, however, remained connected to the director Shindō, “microcosm” (縮 図, Shukuzu), “naked island” (裸 の 島, Hadaka no shima), “instinct” (本能, Honnō), “black cat in the bushes” (藪 の 中の 黒 猫, Yabi no naka no kuroneko), “From the life of Chikuzan” (竹山 ひ と り 旅, Chikuzan hitori tabi) are examples of films made by him. In 1978 she married Shindo. In 1979 the film "Strangling" (絞殺, Kōsatsu) won first prize in the Best Actress category at the Venice International Film Festival . In films like this one, as well as Onibaba - Die Töterinnen (鬼 婆) and other films, she appeared as a femme fatale .

Otowa also performed on stage and on television.

Awards (selection)

Otowa was awarded the Japanese "Blue Ribbon" (ブ ル ー リ ボ ン 賞) for the following films:

• 1953 as a leading actress in the films "Mikrokosmos" (縮 図, Shukuzu), "Desire" (慾望, Yokubō) and "The life of a woman" (女 の 一生, Onna no isshō),
• 1966 as best supporting actress in the film "Instinct" (本能, Honnō) and

at the Moscow International Film Festival 1961:

• Grand Prize as an actress in "Naked Island" (裸 の 島, Hadaka no shima)

Japanese Academy Award / Best Supporting Actress 1996 for

• "Testament in the afternoon" (午後 の 遺言 状, Gogo no yuigon-jō)

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Otowa Nobuko . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993. ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 1173.

Web links

• Biographies Otowa Nobuko in the Kotobank, Japanese

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Otowa is the family name, Nobuko the first name.