Akio Isono
Also Known As: Акио Исоно, 礒野秋雄
Biography: Akio Isono (October 20, 1910 – January 21, 1986) was born in Tsurumi, near Yokohama in 1910. His family ran a newspaper sales business. In 1917, at the age of seven, he became a pupil of Hanayanagi Shotaro, who was known as a great actor of the new school, and trod the boards for the first time in child roles at the Hongoza theater. After that he went on to perform in theaters run by Shochiku. In 1921, he performed in his first leading film role in Yamagureru under the direction of Ushihara Kiyohiko, and he then alternated leading roles on the stage with those at Shochiku Pictures. In 1925, he became an exclusive actor for Shochiku Cinema, Kamata Studios and starred in a number of films. Isono, together with Mitsui Hideo and Abe Shozaburo, won great popularity as the Yotamono Trio. The Yotamono Trio appeared in a series of movies, beginning with the 1931 film Reijo to Yotamono. In 1932, his excellent performance in the film Arashi no Naka no Shojo, directed by Shimazu Yasujiro, won great critical acclaim. In 1943, he left Shochiku and joined the theater company Warai no Okoku. After the war, he continued to appear in supporting roles, mainly for Shochiku, but from the late 1960s he began appearing exclusively in TV dramas. His gentle and humorous acting style won him great acclaim. He died of lung cancer at 8:18 a.m. on January 21, 1986, at the Ofuna Kyosai Hospital in Totsuka Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. He was 75 years old.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Adult: No
Birthday: October 20, 1910
Age: 114 years old
Gender: Male
Deathday: January 21, 1986
Popularity:
Known For:
Pfc. Story - The Divine Tempest
Overview: First installment of the "Pfc. Story" series of military-themed comedies from Shochiku, and seventh overall sequel to "Story of Second Class Private".
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1959-10-09
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The Young Avenger
Overview: Akitaro Orizuru, who set out on a journey to avenge his father's death in the darkness, returned to Itako, his hometown, where the Ayame Festival was approaching, for the first time in five years. His late father's brother, Sutezo, who took off his waraji, runs a small prostitute with only one child, Sutematsu. In addition, only Shigezaburo, who left a mark in the middle wind, was ill-mannered by Inomatsu. Akitaro was accompanied by a daughter named Omitsu on the way to here, but she was Ura's younger sister who works at Fujikura's house, and the villagers worked on the fifty cars to meet her critically ill father.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-05-07
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The Masseurs and a Woman
Overview: A pair of blind masseurs, an enigmatic city woman, a lonely man and his ill-behaved nephew—The Masseurs and a Woman is made up of crisscrossing miniature studies of love and family at a remote resort in the mountains. With delicate and surprising humor, Hiroshi Shimizu paints a timeless portrait of loneliness and the human need to connect.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1938-07-07
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Story of Second Class Private, Sequel
Overview: First sequel to "Story of Second Class Private".
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-03-18
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Kono ni uruwashi
Overview: 1962 Japanese movie
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-03-18
Popularity:
Mole Alley
Overview: 33-year-old poor writer Ogata was able to endure his miserable life cheerfully thanks to Yoshie, a 19-year-old innocent young wife. After graduating from a girls' school in Hokuriku, she immediately moved to Tokyo to meet and marry Ogata. After neatly writing Ogata's manuscript, he would buy dorayaki as a gratuity and devour it.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1953-05-07
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Apart from You
Overview: An aging geisha, whose angry teenage son is ashamed of her profession, works alongside a young geisha, resentful of her family for forcing her into a life of ignominy.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1933-04-01
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Arashi no naka no shojo
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1932-07-15
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Carmen Comes Home
Overview: A rural village elder plans an event on the return of a farmer's daughter from the city, unaware that she has become a Westernized burlesque artist.
Genres: Comedy Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1951-03-21
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Street Without End
Overview: Mikio Naruse’s final silent film is a gloriously rich portrait of a waitress, Sugiko, whose life, despite a host of male admirers and even some intrigued movie talent scouts, ends up taking a suffocatingly domestic turn after a wealthy businessman accidentally hits her with his car.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1934-04-26
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I Will Buy You
Overview: A talent scout moves sharply, dead-set on signing a promising athlete to the baseball team the Toyko Flowers.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-11-21
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Mother's Love Letter
Overview: Domestic comedy involving a strong wife and a "henpecked" husband taking place in a family-run judo school.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1935-04-18
Popularity:
Five Siblings
Overview: A businessman runs afoul of the law and commits suicide, leaving behind a wife and five children. The eldest son takes the family to Tokyo and labors to restore its name and fortune
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1939-07-20
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The Tokyo Kid
Overview: A young, talented singer (Misora) is orphaned, not once but twice, and has to turn to a rather unlikely, and unwilling, parental figure, while avoiding her wealthy, absentee father, his hired goons, and the neighborhood fortune teller (Enoken) who's after the reward money.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1950-09-09
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荒木又右衛門
Overview: Watanabe Kazuma and Kawai Matagorō from the Bizen Okayama Ikeda clan were close friends, but they inevitably became enemies after Matagorō killed Kazuma's younger brother, Gentayū, and fled. Seeking assistance, Kazuma asked his brother-in-law, Araki Mataemon, for help, but Mataemon refused, saying that it was against the code for a brother to avenge another brother's death. On the other hand, the lord of the clan, Ikeda Tadao, ordered a search for Matagorō, who was found to be sheltered by the Hatamoto, including Andō Jiemon, in Edo. Tadao was furious but unable to act. Matagorō, in Edo, came to regret his birth as a samurai. He met and fell in love with Okō, a bathhouse maid. As the discord between the Hatamoto and the Ikeda clan deepened, Tadao died of illness. Seizing the opportunity to ease the conflict, the shogunate ordered the Ikeda clan to be succeeded by the young lord Katsugorō and to relocate to the Ikeda clan of Inshū Tottori. Meanwhile, Matagorō was exiled from Edo.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1955-09-21
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Hiroi Ten
Overview: A boy, who is separated from his mother in an air raid, endures suffering and grief alongside his kind uncle.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1959-04-14
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悪魔の顔
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-07-09
Popularity:
Hibari's Circus: The Sad Little Dove
Overview: Mariko studies at a missionary school in Shinshu. She drops out of school and joins her father on a circus tour when she discovers that her father, Ryutaro, whom she always thought was an agricultural and forestry engineer, was a circus clown. Over time, Mariko's singing attracted the attention of the public.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1952-07-15
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Aa mujô - Dai ippen: Hôrô no maki
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1923-04-01
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Okoto and Sasuke
Overview: A period piece about the love of a wealthy blind woman, a teacher of koto and shamisen, and her devoted manservant. Based on a novella by Tanizaki Junichiro.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1935-06-15
Popularity:
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
Overview: After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
Genres: War Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1959-01-15
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The Woman Who Holds the Key
Overview: Shochiku melodrama about the loves of the humble people living in the poor tenament called the Ryuheiso.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1946-08-15
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Love Letter
Overview: A sad and troubled man finds a new job five years after the end of WWII, where he writes love letters for other people.
Genres: Romance Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1953-12-13
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The Bronze Monster
Overview: In this four part mystery-adventure, detective Kogoro Akechi and the members of the Boy Detectives Club must capture the Bronze Monster, a giant metal monster that steals valuable clocks.
Genres: Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1954-12-29
Popularity:
The Rose on His Arm
Overview: Ignoring the protests of his working-class mother, a young man becomes wrapped up in the world of delinquents and yakuza.
Genres: Drama Crime Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-11-14
Popularity:
The Genealogy of Women
Overview: A melodrama by noted auteur and father of director Yoshitaro Nomura, Hotei Nomura. This is apparently the first adaptation of Izumi Kyoka's The Romance of Yushima.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1934-02-22
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Men vs. Women
Overview: A musical film made for the inauguration of Shochiku's Ofuna Studio, with an all-star cast of the era.
Genres: Comedy Music Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1936-08-29
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Lumberjack and Lady
Overview: A Japanese comedy from the end of the silent era (it has music) from a popular series. A feud, a practical joke and romance are the set up for some great comedy and drama from a team of distinctive appearance who are exploiting their silent cinema styles to the full.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1935-01-07
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Lady Doctor Kinuyo
Overview: Kinuyo is a daughter of doctor of Chinese medicine, and Yasuo is a son of surgeon. Their families always fight like cat and dog. This relationship is ancestral. Although Kinuyo and Yasuo love each other, they have different thoughts toward treatments.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1937-04-29
Popularity:
Zero Focus
Overview: One week into newlywed Teiko Uhara's marriage, her husband, Kenichi, leaves on a short business trip and never returns. Teiko travels across Japan to search for him, and along the way discovers some surprising facts about her husband's past. With only a pair of old photographs among his belongings to go off of, Teiko tries to figure out what has happened to him.
Genres: Drama Crime Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-03-19
Popularity:
Our Neighbor, Miss Yae
Overview: Keitaro is a law student and Yaeko is a high school girl. They are neighbors, and their friendship is starting to develop into something more romantic. Then, Yaeko's sister Kyouko has a breakup with her husband and returns home. Kyouko is clearly interested in Keitaro and Yae becomes anxious.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1934-06-28
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Always in My Heart Part 2
Overview: Machiko and Haruki’s drama continues. Two meet again in Hokkaido only to be separated again.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1953-12-01
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Always in My Heart Part 3
Overview: Machiko and Haruki’s drama continues. Machiko is not allowed to see Haruki. They finally meet again, but Haruki departs to Europe.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1954-04-27
Popularity:
Hearts A-Flutter
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-12-15
Popularity:
The Lights of Asakusa
Overview: Pre-war Asakusa was a riotous district of cabarets, dance-halls and brothels - a striking backdrop for Shimazu's story of innocence and experience. Pretty, young Reiko is the new dancer in an infamous theatre troupe, and her fellow performers try to protect her virtue in a land of vice. Meanwhile, an ageing actor wants to be a hero off stage as well as on, and the troupe matriarch Marie has to keep them all together.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1937-12-02
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Carmen's Innocent Love
Overview: Strip dancer Carmen falls in love with Hajime, who is engaged to the daughter of a right-wing politician.
Genres: Comedy Drama Romance Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1952-11-13
Popularity:
The Layabout and Seabathing
Overview: The seventh film in the popular series starring the Yotamono trio (Mitsui, Abe and Isono). Summer came and the three of them decided to open a store on the beach to get rich...
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1933-08-17
Popularity:
Odoru ryûgûjô
Overview:
Genres: Music Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1949-08-01
Popularity:
The Story of Tank Commander Nishizumi
Overview: Following a young man through his childhood ambition to follow his father into the military to losing his life in combat in China.
Genres: War
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1940-12-01
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Okinu and Banto
Overview: A story of a store that makes Tabi socks.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1940-12-31
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Dawn Chorus
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1941-06-12
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Flying in the Air
Overview: The movie depicts the youth of kamikaze pilots who scattered young lives in the sky.
Genres: War
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-01-09
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