Hideko Takamine

1.1. Early Life and Childhood

Hideko Takamine was born on March 27, 1924, in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, as the eldest daughter of Kinji Hirayama and Iso. Her family's home was a soba noodle restaurant and teahouse called "Maruhira Sunaba," owned by her grandfather, Rikimatsu, who was a prominent local figure also managing the "Maruhira Theater" and "Maruhira Cafe." She had four brothers: Sanji, Seiji, Ryuzo, and Koichiro. At the age of four, following the death of her mother from tuberculosis, Takamine was adopted by her paternal aunt, Shige, who had previously been a female benshi (silent film narrator) under the name Hideko Takamine. Shige had eloped with a benshi named Ichiji Ogino at 17. After their benshi careers ended, Ichiji became a traveling show promoter, often leaving Shige to support the family through needlework. This early period saw Takamine facing significant financial burdens, with the livelihood of nine family members eventually resting on her shoulders after her grandfather's business went bankrupt in the Hakodate fire, prompting his family to move to Tokyo and rely on her.

1.2. Child Stardom

Takamine's acting career began serendipitously in September 1929 when her adoptive father took her to visit the Shochiku Kamata Studio, guided by Shoichi Nodera, an actor living downstairs. On that day, director Hōtei Nomura was holding auditions for child actors for his film Mother (Haha). Despite being a last-minute addition to the audition line, Takamine was chosen for the role of the daughter of the heroine, played by Yoshiko Kawada. She officially joined Shochiku Kamata Studio on October 1, adopting her aunt's former stage name, Hideko Takamine. The film, released on December 1, became a massive hit, enjoying a 45-day run in Asakusa and even an encore screening the following year. Her initial salary was 35 JPY, and the family soon moved closer to the studio in Kitakamata, Ebara District.

Takamine quickly became a sought-after child actress, earning the nickname "Deko-chan" from staff, who sometimes cast her in boy roles. She appeared in popular films such as Heinosuke Gosho's A Corner of Great Tokyo, Yasujirō Ozu's Tokyo Chorus, and Yasujirō Shimazu's Love with Humanity. Gosho was reportedly so impressed that he considered adopting her, but Shige opposed it. In 1931, she enrolled in an elementary school in Kamata but rarely attended due to her demanding filming schedule, which often involved all-night shoots. In April 1932, she was borrowed for a Shinpa play, Matsukaze Murasame, at the Meijiza theater, co-starring with Shōtarō Hanayagi and Yoshiko Okada. In the same production, she played the young Puyi in "Manchukuo," further solidifying her reputation as a child prodigy.

In 1934, lyricist Masato Fujita took a liking to Takamine, and she performed as Kantaro in a live stage show at the Hibiya Public Hall to celebrate Taro Shoji's hit song "Akagi no Komoriuta." Shoji was so fond of her that he insisted on adopting her, persuading her by promising intensive singing and piano lessons. Takamine and Shige moved into Shoji's home. However, Shoji's possessiveness meant Takamine was constantly with him, even on tour, and the promised lessons never materialized. Shige, treated as an unpaid maid, eventually prompted Takamine to leave Shoji's home, and they moved to an apartment in Oomori. This angered Fujita, who subsequently stopped writing songs for Shoji, instead giving his new songs like "Tsuma Koi Dochu" and "Oshidori Dochu" to newcomer Toshi Uehara.

In 1936, at the age of 12, as Shochiku moved its studio from Kamata to Shochiku Ofuna Studio, Takamine was transitioning from child roles to young female characters. She landed a significant role as the younger sister of the heroine, played by Kinuyo Tanaka, in Gosho's melodrama Shindo. Tanaka treated her like a real sister, and Takamine often stayed at Tanaka's luxurious home in Kamakurayama.

1.3. Studio Transitions

Feeling a desire to escape the film industry, Takamine considered joining the Takarazuka Revue. She consulted with Hanayagi Shotaro and Yaeko Mizutani, who helped her secure an offer for admission without an exam from Ichizō Kobayashi, the head of the Takarazuka Music School. However, in early 1937, she received an offer from Masumi Fujimoto of P.C.L. (Photo Chemical Laboratories), which would later become Toho. The terms included a monthly salary of 100 JPY, a house near the studio, and the opportunity to attend a girls' school. Takamine accepted, left Shochiku in January, and joined P.C.L. In April, she enrolled in Bunka Gakuin in Ochanomizu as promised.

Her first film with P.C.L. was The Chastity of a Husband, directed by Kajirō Yamamoto and based on a novel by Nobuko Yoshiya. She played Mutsumi, the younger sister of Kuniko, portrayed by Sachiko Chiba. She also co-starred with Ken'ichi Enomoto in Edokko Ken-chan. In September of the same year, P.C.L. became Toho Film Co., Ltd., and Takamine continued to appear in numerous films, becoming a beloved figure at the studio, affectionately known as "Deko." In 1938, she starred in Yamamoto's Tsuzurikata kyōshitsu (Composition Class), an adaptation of Masako Toyoda's best-selling collection of essays. Her portrayal of a strong and cheerful girl living in poverty became one of her earliest representative works. Due to her busy schedule, she attended Bunka Gakuin only two or three days a month and was eventually forced to withdraw after a year and a half.

At Toho, Takamine's popularity soared, and she appeared in nine films in 1939. Films were even named after her, such as Hideko's Cheering Squad Leader, for which she sang the theme song "Seishun Ground." However, the B-side song, "Kirameku Seiza," sung by Katsuhiko Haida, became a massive hit, selling 400,000 units. Her film Hideko the Bus Conductor (1941) marked her first collaboration with director Mikio Naruse, with whom she would later form a significant partnership. In 1940, she was deeply moved by Haruko Sugimura's performance as a leprosy patient in Shirō Toyoda's Spring on Leper's Island, which inspired her to take her acting career more seriously. She also studied vocalization under singers Ryōzō Okuda and Miho Nagato and performed for Japanese troops in war zones and for American occupation forces after the war.

In 1941, she starred in Yamamoto's Horse, a semi-documentary depicting the bond between a farm girl and her foal in rural Tohoku, which took three years to film. During its production, she fell in love with Akira Kurosawa, who was the production manager and director of the B-unit. Although their romance did not last due to her aunt's opposition, this episode was documented in her autobiography, Watashi no Tosei Nikki. In July 1945, while filming Yamamoto's America Yosoro in Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, she experienced the end of World War II after a慰問 (comfort) performance at the Suzaki Air Corps. The production of America Yosoro, which dealt with kamikaze pilots, was subsequently canceled.

In 1946, Takamine's first postwar film was Kiyoshi Saeki's A Cheerful Woman. In August, she performed hula dance with Haida in "Hawaii no Yoru" at the Nippon Theater, which became a huge hit. However, in October, the second Toho labor dispute erupted. Takamine sided with Denjirō Ōkōchi, who opposed the strike, and along with Kazuo Hasegawa, Takako Irie, Isuzu Yamada, Susumu Fujita, Yatarō Kurokawa, Setsuko Hara, Toshiko Yamane, and Ranko Hanai, she formed the "Ten Flag Group" (Jūnin no Hata no Kai) and withdrew from the Toho Employees Union, which was under the umbrella of the Japan Film and Theater Workers Union. In March 1947, the Shintoho Film Production Company was established by these defectors, and Takamine became an exclusive actress for the new company. Her first film with Shintoho was Ryō Hagiwara's Oni of Oedo, followed by Yutaka Abe's Love with the Stars, in which she portrayed a woman's life from 16 to 35, and Taiji Chiba's Invitation to Happiness, where she played an unfortunate woman, solidifying her image as an adult actress.

During this period, the "Hideko Takamine Fan Club" was established, with an office in the Ginza Kanebo Building and a fan magazine called DECO. Within a year of Shintoho's founding, many of the "Ten Flag Group" members, including Setsuko Hara, Isuzu Yamada, and Takako Irie, left the company. This made Takamine the central figure among Shintoho's actresses. In 1949, she starred in Ginza Kankan Musume, for which she also sang the theme song. The record, released before the film, sold 500,000 units by 1957, becoming a major hit. In 1950, she played the youngest daughter in Abe's The Makioka Sisters, following Ranko Hanai, Yukiko Todoroki, and Toshiko Yamane. She maintained a close relationship with the original author, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, and his family until his death. In the same year, she appeared as the younger sister of Kinuyo Tanaka in Ozu's The Munekata Sisters. In November 1950, she left Shintoho after discovering that a company executive she was dating had embezzled fan club funds and was involved with another woman.

1.4. Freelance Career and Key Collaborations

In 1950, Takamine made the pivotal decision to become a freelance actress, a rare move for a major film star at the time. This decision allowed her to work with various studios and directors, unrestricted by the "Big Five Agreement" (Goshakyōtei) signed by film companies in 1953.

In 1951, she starred in Carmen Comes Home, Japan's first full-length color film, marking her first collaboration with director Keisuke Kinoshita. In June of that year, she traveled to Paris as a student, staying for six months. This period was a much-needed escape from her strained relationship with her aunt and the anxieties of her newfound freelance status, allowing her to enjoy freedom away from the film world. She returned to Japan in January 1952.

Her freelance status enabled her to appear in numerous films by master directors. She became particularly favored by Mikio Naruse, starring in 17 of his films between 1941 and 1966. These roles are widely considered "some of her finest performances," with her "sensitive yet resourceful persona" proving ideal for "Naruse's suffering, persevering heroines." Among her collaborations with Naruse were Lightning, where she excelled as the youngest of four siblings with different fathers but the same mother, and her acclaimed role in Floating Clouds (1955), where she portrayed a woman entangled with an unfaithful man. Other notable Naruse films include When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960), where she played a bar hostess in Ginza, and A Wanderer's Notebook (1962), portraying a young Fumiko Hayashi.

Film historian Donald Richie noted that the characters she played "wanted more out of life, but couldn't get it. The war may have been over, women found, but they weren't better off. They were still fairly unhappy. So the kind of roles Takamine played fit the zeitgeist, may have even made that zeitgeist." Takamine herself explained her approach to acting, stating, "Though different in style, they [Naruse and Kinoshita] shared a common aversion to things that were not natural. What I tried to do was to be as natural as women we see in the news, but adding a touch of drama so that I would be even more real."

Takamine also appeared in 12 films directed by Kinoshita. Her role as a new teacher on Shodoshima in Twenty-Four Eyes (1954) became one of her most iconic performances, earning her numerous acting awards. In Times of Joy and Sorrow (1957), she played a lighthouse keeper's wife alongside Keiji Sada, a film that became a major hit with its theme song. She also took on challenging roles such as a flawed wife in A Light in the Darkness (1957) and a peasant woman enduring harsh conditions during wartime in The River Fuefuki (1960), where she played characters ranging from 18 to 85 years old. In Immortal Love (1961), she portrayed a character from 20 to 49 years old, and in Years of Trial (1962), she played a road worker's wife, continuing her prominent roles as Kinoshita's heroine.

Beyond Naruse and Kinoshita, Takamine collaborated with other acclaimed directors, including Heinosuke Gosho on Where Chimneys Are Seen (1953), Shirō Toyoda on The Wild Geese (1953), Yōtarō Nomura on The Chase (1958), Hiroshi Inagaki on Rickshaw Man (1958), and Masaki Kobayashi on The Human Condition: A Soldier's Prayer (1961).

1.5. Marriage and Personal Life

On February 25, 1955, Hideko Takamine announced her engagement to Zenzo Matsuyama, who was then an assistant director under Kinoshita and whom she had met during the filming of Twenty-Four Eyes. The matchmakers were Matsutarō Kawaguchi and Aiko Mimatsu, along with Keisuke Kinoshita. Kinoshita, wanting to avoid gossip, personally called news agencies, stating, "This is Kinoshita from Shochiku. My Matsuyama and Hideko Takamine are getting married, so please come for an interview." This event is considered a pioneering example of a celebrity wedding press conference in Japan. Their wedding ceremony took place on March 26, 1955.

Despite her marriage, Takamine continued her acting career, stating her desire to "create a new style of wife who has a job." In 1961, she starred in Matsuyama's directorial debut, Happiness of Us Alone (Na mo Naku Mazushiku Utsukushiku), portraying a deaf-mute wife alongside Keiju Kobayashi. She delivered a remarkable performance, communicating entirely through sign language. She continued to star in Matsuyama's subsequent films, including I Am but a Grain of Wheat and Rokujo Yukiyama Tsumugi.

After 1965, her film appearances decreased, but she continued to deliver impactful performances, such as the mother of Seishū Hanaoka in Yasuzo Masumura's The Doctor's Wife (1967), starring Raizo Ichikawa VIII, and a devoted daughter-in-law caring for her senile father-in-law, played by Hisaya Morishige, in Toyoda's The Twilight Years (1973). She also began appearing in television dramas in 1968, including The Setting Sun Burns (1976), written by her husband Matsuyama, and episodes of Toshiba Sunday Theater. She also hosted the "Hideko Takamine Dialogue" segment on Fuji TV's "Ogawa Hiroshi Show." In October 1972, she appeared in the anti-war play The Catonsville Nine at Kinokuniya Hall.

In her personal life, Takamine and Matsuyama lived in a modest yet elegant house near Azabu-Juban, which was later downsized in their later years. She donated many of her film-related materials and trophies to memorial museums. She also owned a villa in Karuizawa, which she sold along with her antique collection in her later years. In her final years, she adopted Akemi Saito, a writer and editor for Bungei Shunju. Takamine was a heavy smoker, having started at age 22 for a role in the film Love with the Stars. She described herself as a "considerable chain smoker" in her book Oishii Ningen. Her death at 86 was due to lung cancer.

Takamine maintained close friendships throughout her life. She affectionately called Setsuko Hara "Onee-chan" (older sister) after they met at Toho. She was known for her playful teasing, once telling Meiko Nakamura's mother that "ugly children become cute when they grow up," only to later apologize when Nakamura blossomed, a memory Takamine herself had forgotten. She also taught Haruko Sugimura how to wash makeup puffs, a technique Sugimura passed on to her juniors, though Takamine had forgotten both the lesson and the technique. She was invited to Denjirō Ōkōchi's mountain villa, Ōkōchi Sansō, which was under construction and traditionally forbidden to women, due to their co-starring roles. Her long-standing friendship with director Kon Ichikawa began when he lodged at her home as an assistant director. She considered him a "comrade-in-arms" and actively defended him during the controversy surrounding the film Tokyo Olympiad. Takamine was also an avid antique collector, a hobby she picked up after seeking refuge in an antique shop from chasing fans. She had a long-standing friendship with antique dealer Seichosuke Nakajima, who called her "Ane-san" (big sister), and they even ran an antique shop together. The comedian Casey Takamine adopted his stage name from her, as he had a crush on her during the filming of Horse in Mogami, Yamagata Prefecture. She also developed a friendship with Empress Michiko after serving as a guest commentator for the live broadcast of the Imperial Wedding Parade in 1959, later selecting Empress Michiko as the "most beautiful woman in Japan" in a magazine discussion, emphasizing inner qualities over mere physical appearance.

1.6. Retirement and Literary Pursuits

In 1979, Hideko Takamine retired from acting after her final film, Kinoshita's Oh, My Son! (Shōdō Satsujin: Musuko yo). She had been asked to replace Yachie Kaoru, who withdrew from the project. At the press conference for the film, when asked if this would be her retirement, she replied, "I thought I had already retired." Her official announcement came during the film's production.

Following her retirement, Takamine primarily focused on her career as an essayist. Her acclaimed autobiography, Watashi no Tosei Nikki (My Life's Journey), was serialized in Shūkan Asahi starting in 1975. This book candidly recounted her life as a national actress and a woman, featuring real names of people she encountered. Its authenticity led to numerous inquiries, to which the editorial department responded, "If a ghostwriter were used, the writing wouldn't be so unique." The autobiography was published in two volumes by Asahi Shimbun in 1976 and became a bestseller, earning her the 24th Japan Essayists' Club Award.

Despite her limited formal schooling as a child actress, Takamine diligently cultivated her knowledge through reading scripts and extensive self-study. After marrying Matsuyama, she further honed her writing skills by transcribing his dictated screenplays at home. Her first book, Paris Hitori Aruki (Walking Alone in Paris), an essay collection detailing her six-month stay in Paris, was published in 1953. Other notable essay collections include Maimai Tsuburo, Watashi no Interview, Bin no Naka, and Ippiki no Mushi. She also co-authored travelogues with Matsuyama, such as Tabi wa Michizure Gandhara and Tabi wa Michizure Tutankhamen, and a cookbook, Daisho no Orchestra. In 2013, her adoptive daughter, Akemi Saito, discovered previously unpublished essays, which were released as Tabi Nikki Europe Futarisankyaku (Travel Diary: Europe Two-Legged Journey), a travelogue from her 1958 trip to Europe with her husband.

Beyond writing, Takamine remained involved in film in other capacities; she participated as an assistant director in Matsuyama's film Noriko, Now (1983) and wrote the script for the 1994 television drama Shinobazu no Onna. In 2003, she provided narration for the film Freddie the Leaf. Hideko Takamine passed away from lung cancer on December 28, 2010, at the age of 86, in a hospital in Shibuya, Tokyo.