Acting

Ranko Sawa

Born July 25, 1903 · Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

Died January 11, 2003 · aged 99

Sawa was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, in 1903. In 1919 she joined the young girl's theater group of Takarazuka under the stage name of Izumi Ranko. After passing through Shochiku Kamata, Sawa joined Nikkatsu Mukojima in 1923. In 1924 she moved to Teikoku Cinema's Ashiya Studios, where she became a leading actress. She met with great success for her performance in Hoshi wa Midaretobu, before …

Known For

Hōmurankyō jidai

Hōmurankyō jidai · 1949

Hōmurankyō jidai

Baseball comedy.

Red Peony of Night

Red Peony of Night · 1950

Red Peony of Night

A romantic melodrama about the shifting relationship between Ryosuke and Miki as their precarious employment and social circumstances shift around them.

Japanese Girls at the Harbor

Japanese Girls at the Harbor · 1933

Japanese Girls at the Harbor

MovieDramaRomance

Set in the port city of Yokohama, two girls, Sunako and Dora who attend a Christian school, pledge to be friends. But when a youth named Henry appears on his motorcycle and offers to take Sunako for a ride, we know that this friendship won't last and that the lives of both girls will change in ways they are barely able to comprehend, and can do little to change.

A Woman's Sorrows

A Woman's Sorrows · 1937

A Woman's Sorrows

Young Hiroko’s conservative principles place her at odds with most modern women, as she has already submitted to her mother’s choice of man for any marriage prospect. Wed into an affluent family that practically treats her as a housemaid, locked away like a 'doll' by her estimation, Hiroko’s own submission to traditional thinking brings contradictions to light.

Young Lady

Young Lady · 1937

The story deas with the experiences of an exceptionally strong-willed, middle class Tokyo "ojōsan" who comes to teach in a middle school in the countryside.

Every-Night Dreams

Every-Night Dreams · 1933

Every-Night Dreams

In Depression-era Tokyo, the life of a single mother and her young son are disrupted by the return of her ex-husband, who fathered the child and walked out on her years earlier.

Shirobara wa sakedo

Shirobara wa sakedo · 1937

Shirobara wa sakedo

Atsuko, a seamstress at a clothing shop in Ginza, spends her days quietly going about her work, oblivious to the gossip about romance swirling around her. However, on a day off, she happens to visit an amusement park where she meets a man and senses the beginnings of romance.

First Steps Ashore

First Steps Ashore · 1932

First Steps Ashore

The story of a sailor who begins a love affair with a woman he saves from suicide.

Filmography

Sort

Hōmurankyō jidai

Hōmurankyō jidai · 1949

Hōmurankyō jidai

Baseball comedy.

Red Peony of Night

Red Peony of Night · 1950

Red Peony of Night

A romantic melodrama about the shifting relationship between Ryosuke and Miki as their precarious employment and social circumstances shift around them.

Japanese Girls at the Harbor

Japanese Girls at the Harbor · 1933

Japanese Girls at the Harbor

MovieDramaRomance

Set in the port city of Yokohama, two girls, Sunako and Dora who attend a Christian school, pledge to be friends. But when a youth named Henry appears on his motorcycle and offers to take Sunako for a ride, we know that this friendship won't last and that the lives of both girls will change in ways they are barely able to comprehend, and can do little to change.

Yôko Sheridan

A Woman's Sorrows

A Woman's Sorrows · 1937

A Woman's Sorrows

Young Hiroko’s conservative principles place her at odds with most modern women, as she has already submitted to her mother’s choice of man for any marriage prospect. Wed into an affluent family that practically treats her as a housemaid, locked away like a 'doll' by her estimation, Hiroko’s own submission to traditional thinking brings contradictions to light.

Young Lady

Young Lady · 1937

The story deas with the experiences of an exceptionally strong-willed, middle class Tokyo "ojōsan" who comes to teach in a middle school in the countryside.

Every-Night Dreams

Every-Night Dreams · 1933

Every-Night Dreams

In Depression-era Tokyo, the life of a single mother and her young son are disrupted by the return of her ex-husband, who fathered the child and walked out on her years earlier.

Shirobara wa sakedo

Shirobara wa sakedo · 1937

Shirobara wa sakedo

Atsuko, a seamstress at a clothing shop in Ginza, spends her days quietly going about her work, oblivious to the gossip about romance swirling around her. However, on a day off, she happens to visit an amusement park where she meets a man and senses the beginnings of romance.

First Steps Ashore

First Steps Ashore · 1932

First Steps Ashore

The story of a sailor who begins a love affair with a woman he saves from suicide.

Mistress politics

Chuji's Travel Diary: The Chuji Patrol Episode

Chuji's Travel Diary: The Chuji Patrol Episode · 1927

Chuji's Travel Diary: The Chuji Patrol Episode

The Japanese equivalent of penny dreadfuls glorifying Jesse James, A Diary of Chuji’s Travels gives a unique gloss to the tale of Chuji Kunisada, the legendary bakuto (or gambler, the precursors to modern-day yakuza). One of the two remaining segments of Ito’s original four-hour trilogy, it depicts Chuji’s attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. With socialist overtones, it’s a passionate artifact of early Japanese film.

The Morning Sun Shines

The Morning Sun Shines · 1929

The Morning Sun Shines

MovieDramaDocumentary

The Morning Sun Shines is a fiction-documentary film by Kenji Mizoguchi and Seiichi Ina. The film is a combination of a drama about a reporter, and documentary footage about newspaper production. Only 25 minutes of footage has survived.

Asako Akizuki

Victory or Defeat

Victory or Defeat · 1932

Victory or Defeat

Japanese film from 1932, adapted from the novel by Kan Kikuchi. The first sound film from director Yasujiro Shimazu.