Michiyo Aratama | |
---|---|
Born | Kyoko Toda 15 January 1930 Nara, Japan |
Died | 17 March 2001 Tokyo, Japan | (aged 71)
Nationality | Japanese |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1946–2001 |
Michiyo Aratama (新珠三千代, Aratama Michiyo, 15 January 1930 – 17 March 2001) was a Japanese film and stage actress.
After graduating from the Takarazuka Music and Dance School, Aratama joined the Takarazuka Revue in 1945.[1] She gave her film debut in 1951, but it was not before 1955 that she left the Takarazuka Revue, signing first with Nikkatsu film studios, then, after her contract expired, with Toho.[2] She worked for directors such as Mikio Naruse, Yasujirō Ozu and Masaki Kobayashi, appearing in films like The Human Condition, The End of Summer, Kwaidan and 47 Ronin.
In 1974 Aratama was covered in a column by American fashion writer Eugenia Sheppard. The article called her the "Japanese Greta Garbo" and related her thoughts on her stardom as well as the attitudes and status of women in Japan.[3]
From the late 1970s she concentrated solely on stage and television work. Due to health problems, she reduced her appearances after 1994. She died of heart failure in 2001.[2]
Tatsuya Nakadai, who often co-starred with Aratama in movies, described her as being a very cheerful person.[4] Aratama never married or had any children.
Year | Title | Role | Directed by |
---|---|---|---|
1953 | Wife | Yoshimi | Mikio Naruse |
1955 | The Heart | Shizu | Kon Ichikawa |
1956 | The Balloon | Yūzō Kawashima | |
Suzaki Paradise: Red Light | Tsutae | Yūzō Kawashima | |
1958 | A Holiday in Tokyo | Kajirō Yamamoto | |
Conflagration | Kon Ichikawa | ||
Summer Clouds | Yae | Mikio Naruse | |
1959 | The Human Condition | Michiko | Masaki Kobayashi |
1960 | The Twilight Story | Mitsuko Taneda | Shirō Toyoda |
1961 | The End of Summer | Fumiko | Yasujirō Ozu |
1962 | 47 Ronin | Hiroshi Inagaki | |
1963 | The Elegant Life of Mr. Everyman | Natsuko | Kihachi Okamoto |
1964 | Kwaidan | Masaki Kobayashi | |
1965 | Samurai Assassin | Kihachi Okamoto | |
1966 | The Stranger Within a Woman | Masako Tashiro | Mikio Naruse |
Sword of Doom | Ohama | Kihachi Okamoto | |
1967 | Lost Spring | Noboru Nakamura | |
1968 | Hymn to a Tired Man | Masaki Kobayashi | |
1969 | Chōkōsō no Akebono | Sachiko | Hideo Sekigawa |
Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1969 | Ten to Chi to[5] | Kesa Gozen | NHK | Taiga drama |
1972 | Shin Heike Monogatari | Gion no Nyogo | NHK | Taiga drama |
1976 | Kaze to Kumo to Niji to | Masako | NHK | Taiga drama |
Michiyo Aratama received the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Human Condition and Watashi wa kai ni naritai,[6] and the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actress for The Human Condition.[7] She was awarded the Mainichi Film Concour for Best Supporting Actress for The End of Summer and Minami no kaze to nami.[8]