Michiyo Aratama

Michiyo Aratama (新珠三千代, Aratama Michiyo, 15 January 1930 – 17 March 2001) was a Japanese film and stage actress.

Michiyo Aratama
Michiyo Aratama in 1955
Born
Kyoko Toda

(1930-01-15)15 January 1930
Nara, Japan
Died17 March 2001(2001-03-17) (aged 71)
Tokyo, Japan
NationalityJapanese
OccupationActress
Years active1946–2001

Biography

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]

Selected filmography

Films
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

Television
Year Title Role Network Notes
1969 Ten to Chi to[4] 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

Awards

Michiyo Aratama received the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Human Condition and Watashi wa kai ni naritai,[5] and the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actress for The Human Condition.[6] She was awarded the Mainichi Film Concour for Best Supporting Actress for The End of Summer and Minami no kaze to nami.[7]

References
  1. "新珠三千代 (Michiyo Aratama)". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  2. "新珠三千代 (Michiyo Aratama)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  3. Sheppard, Eugenia (20 January 1974). "Widow's peak mark of a star". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  4. "天と地と". Haiyaku Jiten (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  5. "1959 Blue Ribbon Awards (consigned in February 1960)" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  6. "Awards for The Human Condition". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  7. "毎日映画コンクール 第16回 (16th Mainichi Film Awards)" (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 February 2021.
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