
Acting
Yūko Kusunoki
Born
1933-01-01 (93)
Place of birth
Taito, Tokyo, Japan
Known for
Acting
Credits
54 titles
Yuko Kusunoki (楠侑子 Kusunoki Yūko, born 1933) is a Japanese actress. She appeared in more than twenty films since 1959.
Known for
7.1On a Tokyo dump’s shantytown edge, interwoven vignettes follow residents scraping by: a boy who “drives” an imaginary trolley, a homeless father and son designing a dream house, a young woman brutalized at home, drunks, schemers, and saints of small kindnesses. Kurosawa crafts a ragged mosaic of hardship, fantasy, and flickers of grace that keep people moving forward.
Dodes'ka-den
1970
7.3Two interwoven stories. The first is a biography of anarchist Sakae Osugi which follows his relationship with three women in the 1920s. The second centers around two 1960s students researching Osugi's theories.
Eros + Massacre
1969
5.3A hunchbacked caretaker presides over a forlorn mansion inhabited by the ghosts of his previous masters. An unbelieving trio (a doctor, his assistant and his niece) fail to heed the caretaker's warnings and are slaughtered horribly by the jealous occupants.
House of Terrors
1965
6.8A newspaper reporter's search for his girlfriend's missing father lead him into heart of the criminal underworld of Yokohama's Chinatown.
The Sleeping Beast Within
1960
7.5In the summer of 1947, various men and women gather at a mansion in the countryside at the invitation of Kazuma Utagawa. They are artists, novelists, poets, painters, playwrights, actresses, etc. Then the murders begin, one after another. The incident seemed to have no continuity...
Case of the Disjointed Murder
1977
7.2A 19-year-old newspaper delivery boy begins collecting information on the households in his neighborhood and keeping a journal of why he doesn't like them. Declaring himself a 'right-winger' and calling in bomb threats against the neighbors he doesn't like, the 19-year-old begins a war of psychological terror against the families in his neighborhood.
The Nineteen-Year-Old's Map
1979
Film credits
1970s · 6 titles
7.1On a Tokyo dump’s shantytown edge, interwoven vignettes follow residents scraping by: a boy who “drives” an imaginary trolley, a homeless father and son designing a dream house, a young woman brutalized at home, drunks, schemers, and saints of small kindnesses. Kurosawa crafts a ragged mosaic of hardship, fantasy, and flickers of grace that keep people moving forward.
Dodes'ka-den
1970
7.5In the summer of 1947, various men and women gather at a mansion in the countryside at the invitation of Kazuma Utagawa. They are artists, novelists, poets, painters, playwrights, actresses, etc. Then the murders begin, one after another. The incident seemed to have no continuity...
Case of the Disjointed Murder
1977
7.2A 19-year-old newspaper delivery boy begins collecting information on the households in his neighborhood and keeping a journal of why he doesn't like them. Declaring himself a 'right-winger' and calling in bomb threats against the neighbors he doesn't like, the 19-year-old begins a war of psychological terror against the families in his neighborhood.
The Nineteen-Year-Old's Map
1979
TV drama based off the play of the same name by Yukio Mishima.
The Rokumeikan
1970
NRSet at the end of the feudal period. A woman spends most of her early life in prison, incarcerated by political opponents of her father. When she is released at the age of 44, the power struggles of her clan continue to disturb her life and the man whom she loves.
A Woman Called En
1971
NRA successful lyricist, Sakumaki (Yukio Ninagawa), lives with his partner Kazue (Keiko Fujita) and their daughter, though he has always kept an emotional distance from them. One night, he returns home to find a mysterious woman in black (Yuko Kusunoki) waiting in his apartment. She calmly tells him that he will die the next night at precisely 12:13 a.m. Shaken, Sakumaki flees, only to discover the same woman appearing wherever he goes. As her presence grows more menacing and unexplainable, his fear spirals into paranoia. Directed by Toshiya Fujita, the episode blends domestic drama with supernatural dread, blurring the line between hallucination and reality. With Ninagawa in a rare starring role, supported by Ichiro Zaitsu and Akira Nagoya, the story pushes its protagonist into a psychological nightmare where fate, guilt, and obsession collide.
A Woman Who Warns of Death
1973
1960s · 44 titles
7.3Two interwoven stories. The first is a biography of anarchist Sakae Osugi which follows his relationship with three women in the 1920s. The second centers around two 1960s students researching Osugi's theories.
Eros + Massacre
1969
5.3A hunchbacked caretaker presides over a forlorn mansion inhabited by the ghosts of his previous masters. An unbelieving trio (a doctor, his assistant and his niece) fail to heed the caretaker's warnings and are slaughtered horribly by the jealous occupants.
House of Terrors
1965
6.8A newspaper reporter's search for his girlfriend's missing father lead him into heart of the criminal underworld of Yokohama's Chinatown.
The Sleeping Beast Within
1960
7.0The neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.
Intentions of Murder
1964
7.1Kiba Okaminosuke finds himself entangled with a group of prisoners being transported to their executions, one of whom oddly looks exactly like his dead father. There are crooked gold miners, a beautiful girl who is unfortunately a complete lunatic and a dojo master who is obsessed with killing Kiba just to prove that his school's sword style is the best.
Samurai Wolf II
1967
6.2Like a girl runaway, Tsuyu moves to Osaka to work as a bar hostess. She meets the owner of a model school, Yoko, and seriously thinks about becoming a fashion model. Yoko tells her that she can move in to Yoko’s house to take lessons, while making a living at the same time.
Carmen from Kawachi
1966
7.4Journalist Kuroki is investigating clandestine arms sales to Southeast Asia. He discovers that the point man in an arms trade was also involved in the cover-up of a murder on an American base during the Allied Occupation. The film rolls along as a suspenseful thriller while offering a critique of political corruption, hypocrisy, and journalistic cowardice in postwar Japan.
The Challenge
1962
6.5Tajima is a private detective in charge of his own company, Detective Bureau 2-3. When warring criminal gangs go overboard by robbing U.S. military munitions, Tajima steps in to stop what the cops can't.
Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell, Bastards!
1963
5.8The survivors of a plane crash in a remote area are attacked by blob-like alien creatures that turn their victims into blood-thirsty vampires.
Goké, Body Snatcher from Hell
1968
NRSet in the decadent mid-Edo period, this unconventional work depicts the story of a man who, after being pursued as one half of a double suicide, enters the Buddhist priesthood, breaks his vows, and emerges as a notorious villainous monk.
Convicted Woman
1966
7.0A young girl knows that she is going to die and in this she is supported by the devotion of the boy who loves her. They originally met at the hospital. There it transpired that the only way to save her life was to sacrifice an eye and part of her face. The operation seems a success. Later, however, her other eye becomes affected. She feels she must let the boy go, and yet she depends so much upon his devotion.
Gazing at Love and Death
1964
7.0A young wealthy widow becomes sexually involved with her father-in-law, while harboring a destructive obsession with the family gardener.
Thirst for Love
1967
5.0The 3rd film of the famous "Wataridori" (The Rambler) series from Nikkatsu. The young rambler, Shinji Taki (Akira Kobayashi), with his guitar arrives in Sadogashima Island, Niigata, Japan. Of course, Shinji meets yet another beautiful girl named Noriko, who closely resembles the famous actress Ruriko Asaoka again. Of course, Noriko is in trouble. Of course, Shinji's yet another skilled rival named "Tetsu, the Gunman" comes to Sado shortly. Of course, the villain tries to kill Shinji and Tetsu. Of course, Shinji solves the problem and leaves Sado suddenly.
Return of the Vagabond
1960
9.0Helping her mother manage a nightclub, young Emiko quickly realizes how difficult life is.
The Black Cat
1965
NRA flower is a woman or a man is a butterfly... Love and melancholy bloom wildly in the nighttime garden! This is a moody entertainment work depicting the love, laughter, melancholy, and human drama of an iron-fisted daughter of a family of expositors who, after her father's death, disbanded her gang and moved to Tokyo by herself, where she becomes a hostess and demonstrates her natural chivalrous temperament, risking her life in the neon-lit Ginza district.
Women of the Night - Butterfly Flower
1969
6.3[Period covered: 1616] Kirigakure Saizo returns for the final time as he sets out to assassinate Tokugawa Ieyasu in order to avenge the death of Lord Sanada Yukimura. But first he must contend with Ieyasu’s own ninja group led by the powerful Fuma Daijuro, who has a score to settle with the men of Iga that dates back 280 years to the war between the Genji and the Heike at the Battle of Dan-no-Ura. Tremendous fighting and great plot twists highlight this exceptional look into the lives of the mysterious ninja of Japan.
Shinobi no mono 7: Mist Saizo Strikes Back
1966
NR1962 Japanese movie
Burūtaun aoi machi no ōkami
1962
NRDuring the reign of Shogun Tsunayoshi, seven ninja of the Koga clan secretly plot against the illegitimate son of the former shogun.
Edo Ninja Scroll: Seven Shadows
1963
NRNo synopsis available yet.
間諜
1964
NRA dangerous mobster threatens the life of a businessman's mother in this thriller. As Ryuji oversees the building of a bridge in Japan, a powerful gangster plans to stop the project. By any means necessary.
The Flower and the Sword
1964
NRA 1961 crime film.
Whistling in the Darkness
1961
NRAn adaptation of Sono Ayako's “Campus 110.” A youth comedy satirizing student life and contemporary society.
Students and Daughters
1960
8.0A yakuza is released from prison after serving a long sentence. He immediately sets about creating a new gang and attempts to pull off a huge ransom score.
League of Gangsters
1963
NRA Western-inspired film where a pair of traveling beekeepers odyssey by covered wagon from Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese archipelago's major islands, to Hokkaido, it's northernmost.
Covered Wagon
1960
NRShochiku's popular series of gang films, this one has the hero returning from prison bent on revenge. He runs into Chinese hoodlums, blackmailers and gold-smugglers. But he also aids and abets young lovers yet, despite his help, their love ends in tragedy and he tracks down his prey in Kobe.
The Betrayers Out!
1966
A young woman (Dan) who worked as a prostitute in the days following World War II finds herself sexually dissatisfied with her husband and contemplates returning to an old lover who comes back into her life.
The Call of Flesh
1964
9.0Joji Dan tries to find the heir of a prosperous Japanese millionaire who died in Mexico. However, the bandits want to take over the inheritance and Joji has to use his skills as a fast and accurate shooter!
I'll End in Hell
1961
NRSet in Uwajima, Shikoku, an action film starring Akira Kobayashi who uncovers evils related to pearl farming.
The Rambler on a Pearl Farm
1960
10.0During the war a university professor meets a girl and marries her. Very soon however, it is apparent that their needs are not matched. He would much rather be translating Shakespeare than attending to her, and she has a secret in her past - one that results in her sleeping with a great number of men.
Whirlpool of Flesh
1964
NRTakuya witnesses the homicide of the detective leading an investigation into the murder of the chairman of the People’s Economic Association, and he disguises himself.
He's the Witness
1960
NR1962 Japanese movie
Bōkyō no umi
1962
NR1962 Japanese movie
Jūdan no arashi
1962
NRKoji Wada, who is good at shooting, karate, judo and boxing, has a tough fight with the sea gangsters!
Quick Draw Sanshiro
1962
NR1962 Japanese movie
Seinen no isu
1962
NR1965 Japanese movie
Boku dōshite namida ga deru no
1965
NRJapanese "kayo" film centered around the song "Mujo no yume" by Mitsuo Sagawa.
無情の夢
1961
NRSeventh in the nine-film series, "The Wandering Guitarist".
Rambling in the Sea
1961
NR1961 Japanese movie
Keiji monogatari jazu wa kurutchai nē
1961
NR1961 Japanese movie
Yoru no chōsen-sha
1961
NR1961 Japanese movie
Keiji monogatari buchō keiji o oe!
1961
NROn his way back to Yokohama, a young boy named Kenji Hase encounters a girl named Yoshiko who is being harassed by the Kaminaryu gang. He rescues her and they head towards Yokohama in Yoshiko's car. In Yokohama, there is an uproar because Kenji's father, Shozo Hase, a customs officer, has been accused of stealing confiscated drugs. The story unfolds with thrilling action as Kenji bravely confronts the gang of villains who framed his father and kidnapped him, all while seeking justice and vindicating his father's innocence.
Wakai toppū
1960
NRDaisuke Hamamura (Hiroshi Inuzuka), a driving instructor, is rather unremarkable and doesn't attract the attention of the women around him; the only one who shows interest is the landlord, Rie (Chieko Murata). One day, Daisuke finds a puppy and names it "Chibi." When he sleeps with Chibi in his arms, he inexplicably begins to dream of beautiful women, and soon he has pleasant dreams of beautiful women every night. Then, one day, Chibi runs away, and Daisuke takes time off work to search for him, but he can't find him anywhere.
Good Evening
1965
NRShigeru is a young man who works as a window cleaner. His older brother Kenzo has just returned from prison and is determined to start life anew. But a battle for leadership within his old gang causes him to be framed for murder. Shigeru sets out to uncover the truth to clear his name.
I Have the Sun in My Back
1963
NRThe young rambler, Shinji Taki, with his guitar arrives a hot spa town at the foot of Mount Aizu Bandai. Of course he solves the problems in the town while encountering the sinister rival, Masa "the pistol guy".
The Rambler in the Sunset
1960
1950s · 3 titles
6.8A group of Okinawan high school girls are drafted as nurses during the American invasion of the island. As the enemy army advances further, the situation for the girls becomes increasingly desperate as food and shelter run out and the number of injured climbs, leading to the film's tragic finale.
Tower of Lilies
1953
3.8A family is slowly falling apart: the father is absent from the start, the mother a kept woman thanks to her children, the son is being cheated on by his wife, one daughter is forced to marry an older man against her will, while the other has retreated into smug moral superiority.
The Seasons of Love
1958
NRThe president of the Hong Kong Almond Cola company, Liu's grandfather, signed a purchase and sale agreement with Showa Nakajima from Japan, and shortly before leaving for Japan, someone attacked him. Before he died, before he lost consciousness, he transferred all the rights to the company to his close confidant Murota and told him to transfer them to his daughter, whom he left in Japan 20 years ago. Murota, who inherited Liu's will, went to Japan. However, the gang of James Howe, the head of the Hong Kong trading world, was waiting for him, seeking to obtain the rights to Almond Cola…
Brutal Battle
1959
