Kazuko Shirakawa Explained

Kazuko Shirakawa
Birth Date:30 September 1947
Birth Place:Nagasaki, Japan
Years Active:1967–present

(born September 30, 1947) is a Japanese actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films during the 1970s. She appeared in Nikkatsu's first film in the Roman Porno series, Apartment Wife (1971), and is considered the first of the three "Nikkatsu Queens" of the 1970s.[1] After 1976 she embarked on a successful career in mainstream film.

Life and career

Early career

Shirakawa was born in Nagasaki, on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyūshū. She debuted in pink films in 1967, at first working in supporting roles. Though her early performances in films such as Nihon Cinema's Technique of Fainting have been called "green," she still overshadowed the nominal star of the movie.[2] It was in her films for independent studios in the late 1960s that Shirakawa established her on-screen character as that of a "naive whore." The naivete was not entirely an act, since, in an interview for Book Cinematheque, Shirakawa admitted that she was a virgin until after her debut for Nikkatsu in 1971.[3]

By 1968, Shirakawa was starring in these low-budget softcore films. Top Secret Account of Japanese Customs and Manners: Breasts had Shirakawa playing the role of an innocent geisha, though the story took second place in this film which was "primarily concerned with exposing Kazuko Shirakawa's impressive chest as often as possible."[4] About these early performances, Shirakawa later said, "I was scared to death. I didn't know how to express the ecstasy expected from these parts."

Also in 1968, she starred in Sex Before Marriage for Tokyo Koei studio. Like Shirakawa, Yamamoto would gain lasting fame later making Roman Porno films for Nikkatsu.[5] In 1969, Shirakawa co-starred in Hunting Breasts, another breast-fixated opus. Starring the buxom Minoru Sawada, and directed by Sawada's husband, the film was a financial failure at the time, but has gained a cult audience in recent years.[6]

Nikkatsu

Until the late 1960s, the "pink film" market was almost entirely the domain of low-budget independent companies. At the beginning of the 1970s, now losing their audiences to television and imported American films, Japan's major film studios were struggling for survival. In order to attract a new audience, Toei entered the sexploitation market in 1971 with its "Pinky Violence" series.[7] Takashi Itamochi, president of Nikkatsu, Japan's oldest major film studio, then made the decision to put his own company's high production values and professional talent into the lucrative pink film genre.

As one of the leading actresses of the pink film, Nikkatsu hired Shirakawa to star in its first effort in this genre. Most actresses who moved to Nikkatsu after starring in independent pink films had to change their stage names. However Nikkatsu did not demand that Shirakawa do this.[8] Nikkatsu launched its Roman Porno series in November 1971 with , which featured Shirakawa in the starring role.[9] The film became a huge hit and made Shirakawa "the first mega-star of Nikkatsu's lucrative pinku eiga period in the '70s." The film was such a success it inspired 20 sequels within seven years, and launched the high-profile Roman porno version of pink film which Nikkatsu would make almost exclusively, at an average rate of three per month, for the next 17 years.[10]

Later career

Kazuko Shirakawa has gone on to a successful mainstream film career. She had roles in three films by Shohei Imamura, and appeared in director Hirokazu Koreeda's After Life (1998).

Selected filmography

1967

1968

1969

1971

1972

1973

1976

1979

1980s

1990s

After 2000

Honours

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Book: Weisser, Thomas. Yuko Mihara Weisser . Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films. 1998. Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications. Miami. 1-889288-52-7. 329–330.
  2. Weisser, p.429
  3. Weisser, p.329
  4. Weisser, p.438
  5. Weisser, p.376.
  6. Weisser, p.202.
  7. Web site: Vital flesh: the mysterious world of Pink Eiga. 2007-06-27. Domenig. Roland. 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20041118094603/http://194.21.179.166/cecudine/fe_2002/eng/PinkEiga2002.htm. 2004-11-18.
  8. Weisser, p.51.
  9. Book: Sato, Tadao. Tadao Sato

    . Tadao Sato. Gregory . Barrett . Currents in Japanese Cinema. 1982. paperback. 1987. Kodansha. Tokyo. 244. 0-87011-815-3.

  10. Book: Bornoff, Nicholas. Pink Samurai: An Erotic Exploration of Japanese Society; The Pursuit and Politics of Sex in Japan. 1991. Paperback. 1994. HarperCollins. London. 0-586-20576-4. 603. Bye-Bye Pink Cinema, Hello Adult Video.
  11. Filmography based on Web site: Kazuko Shirakawa. 2007-04-28. The Complete Index to World Film.,, Web site: 白川和子 (Shirakawa Kazuko). 2007-04-28. Japanese. Japanese Movie Database., and Book: Weisser, Thomas. Yuko Mihara Weisser . Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films. 1998. Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications. Miami. 1-889288-52-7. 329–330.
  12. Web site: 死に花. July 29, 2023. eiga.com.
  13. Web site: 凶悪. August 27, 2021. eiga.com.
  14. Web site: 二階堂家物語. June 7, 2021. eiga.com.
  15. Web site: 私はいったい、何と闘っているのか. July 24, 2021. eiga.com.
  16. Web site: 山女. October 21, 2022. eiga.com.
  17. Web site: 恋のいばら. December 16, 2022. eiga.com.
  18. Web site: 春画先生. June 24, 2023. eiga.com.
  19. Web site: 唄う六人の女. August 16, 2023. eiga.com.
  20. Web site: 怨泊 ONPAKU. June 17, 2024. eiga.com.
  21. Web site: 田中絹代賞について. April 27, 2021. Tanaka Kinuyo Bunka-kan.

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