KYOKO KAGAWA RETROSPECTIVE JAPAN 2011


Shansho The Bailiff: Mizoguchi classic is one of many Kagawa highlights


The Crucified Lovers: Kagawa stars with Kazuo Hasegawa


Tokyo Story: Kagawa (right) with co-star Setsuko Hara


directors Japan — and the world — has ever produced. And one actress has appeared in films by all of them, as well as those of other masters: Kyoko Kagawa, who will be the subject of a classics retrospective at the Tokyo Inter- national Film Festival in October. Born Kyoko Makino in 1931,


The muse of the masters K


enji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Akira Kuro- sawa are four of the greatest


‘new face’ competition in a newspaper. Entering Shintoho Studios on contract soon after, Kagawa made her debut in Koji Shima’s Mado Kara Tobidase. She soon became known for her down-to- earth performances of sincere young women. But it was 1953’s Himeyuri Lily Tower


Kagawa’s dreams of being a ballerina never came to fruition, but in 1949 the pretty 18-year-old Tokyo native won a


(Himeyuri No To) — actually Kagawa’s 29th film — that was a turning point for the young actress, prompting her to take her craft more seriously. Directed by Tadashi Imai, the film depicted the brutal struggle between US and Japa-


‘It was natural to pay homage to this great actress, who is also a witness to Japanese


cinema history’ Yoshi Yatabe, Tokyo International Film Festival


Actress Kyoko Kagawa will be the subject of a major retrospective at the Tokyo International Film Festival this year. Jason Gray explores the films of the legendary Japanese star, who has worked with an astonishing range of directors in a career spanning more than six decades


nese forces in Okinawa during the dying days of the Second World War, in which Kagawa plays a student who dies defending Japan. Having become a free agent before


Japan’s five major film companies signed an agreement not to lure away or lend actors and directors to competi- tors, Kagawa had the good fortune to be able to work with masters at any studio. Highlights in her astounding film-


ography of some 120 films include Naruse’s Mother (1952), Ozu’s Tokyo


May 2011 Screen International 7 n »


© 1954 Kadokawa Pictures


© Shochiku Co. Ltd


© 1954 Kadokawa Pictures


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