Yoko Tsukasa

Yōko Tsukasa (司葉子, Tsukasa Yōko, born 20 August 1934) is a Japanese actress. During her 60 years spanning career, she worked with directors such as Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Akira Kurosawa.^[1] For her role in The Kii River (1966) she was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award,^[2] Mainichi Film Award^[3][4] and Kinema Junpo Award^[5] for Best Actress.

Yōko Tsukasa
司葉子
Tsukasa in 1955
Born	Yōko Shōji (1934-08-20) 20 August 1934 (age 90) Watari-cho, Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, Japan
Other names	Yōko Aizawa
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1954–present
Spouse	Hideyuki Aizawa ​ ​ (m. 1969; died 2019)​
Children	1

Life

Yōko Tsukasa was born Yōko Shōji (庄司 葉子) in Watari-cho, Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture.^[1] She is the niece of businessman and politician Shōji Ren.^[6]

Tsukasa attended Tottori Prefectural Sakai High School and graduated from Kyoritsu Women's Junior College in 1954.^[1][7] In the same year, she was scouted after appearing on the cover of Katei Yomiuri and signed with the Toho Studios.^[1] She had her film debut in Kimi shinitamo koto nakare, replacing Ineko Arima due to illness.^[1] She was given her stage name by her co-star Ryō Ikebe, and eventually decided to become an actress against her family's initial opposition.^[1] Her most important films include Yasujirō Ozu's Late Autumn (1960) and The End of Summer (1961), Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961), Noboru Nakamura's The Kii River (1966) and Mikio Naruse's Scattered Clouds (1967).^[1][8]

She married politician and attorney Hideyuki Aizawa (1919–2019) in 1969 and reduced her acting activities after 1971 to care for her family.^[1][7] Their son Hiromitsu married singer and actress Shōko Aida.^[9]

Tsukasa was head of the "Nihon Taishō Mura" (Japan Taisho Village) open air museum in Ena, Gifu Prefecture, from 1999 to 2015. In 2021, she was honoured with a memorial hall in Nihon Taishō Mura.^[10]

Selected filmography

Films

• Marital Relations (1955)
• A Holiday in Tokyo (1958)
• Life of an Expert Swordsman (1959)
• The Birth of Japan (1959)
• Late Autumn (1960)
• Yojimbo (1961)
• The End of Summer (1961)
• Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki (1962)
• The Kii River (1966)
• Samurai Rebellion (1967)
• Scattered Clouds (1967)
• Admiral Yamamoto (1968)^[11]
• Goyokin (1969)
• Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
• Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974)
• Queen Bee (1978)
• Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015)

Television

• Daichūshingura (1971)
• Haru no Sakamichi (1971), Lady Kasuga
• Ōoku (1983)
• Ohisama (2011)

Honours

• Medal with Purple Ribbon (2003)
• Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2010)
• Japan Academy Chairman's Achievement Award (2020)^[12]

References

1. "司葉子". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 January 2024.
2. "ブルーリボン賞 (1966 Blue Ribbon Awards)" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
3. "毎日映画コンクール 第21回（1966年）". Mainichi.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 January 2024.
4. "紀ノ川 (Kinokawa)". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 January 2024.
5. "キネマ旬報 ベスト・テン 1966年・第40回". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 January 2024.
6. 米原章三伝. 米原章三伝刋行会. 1978. p. 289.
7. "日本の女優 100人". Bessatsu Takarajima 別冊宝島. 2551: 47.
8. "司葉子". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 January 2024.
9. "［歌手・女優 相田翔子さん］（下）早産のため１８６６グラムで生まれた娘も、今は歌とダンスが大好きな小学４年生". Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 March 2022.
10. "第２代村長・司葉子さん顕彰 恵那・大正村に記念館：中日新聞Web". Chunichi Shimbun (in Japanese). 29 March 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
11. "連合艦隊司令長官 山本五十六". eiga.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
12. "司葉子". Toho Entertainment (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 January 2024.

External links

• Yoko Tsukasa at IMDb
• Yoko Tsukasa at NHK (in Japanese)