Chieko Naniwa

Acting

Chieko Naniwa

Born — Died

1907-11-19 — 1973-12-22

Place of birth

Tondabayashi, Osaka, Japan

Known for

Acting

Credits

61 titles

Naniwa Chieko (real name: Nanko Kikuno, November 19, 1907 – December 22 , 1973) was a Japanese actress. Due to poverty, she was unable to receive an elementary school education and struggled with being illiterate. Later, through her own efforts, she learned to read and write, and overcame illiteracy. She appeared in works such as A Geisha, Throne of Blood, Equinox Flower, and Twenty-Four Eyes. She appeared in films by many of the great directors of her time. She died of gastrointestinal bleeding on December 22, 1973, at the age of 66. After her death, she was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure , Fourth Class .

Known for

Taikouki poster
NR

Based on the life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi (February 2, 1537 – September 18, 1598) a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan.

Taikouki

1965

Throne of Blood poster
7.9

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Throne of Blood

1957

Sansho the Bailiff poster
8.1

In 11th-century feudal Japan, following the exile of an idealistic governor, his wife and children are separated by slave traders; the children, Zushio and Anju, are sold into brutal servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho.

Sansho the Bailiff

1954

The End of Summer poster
7.5

The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.

The End of Summer

1961

Twenty-Four Eyes poster
7.7

From 1928 to 1946, the lives of 12 young people and their school teacher in a poor Japanese village are profoundly affected by historical events and personal circumstances.

Twenty-Four Eyes

1954

Equinox Flower poster
7.4

Wataru's outwardly liberal views on marriage are severely tested when his daughter declares her love for a coworker and is adamant to live her own way, instead of agreeing to an arranged marriage. Outwitted by his female relatives, Hirayama stubbornly refuses to admit defeat.

Equinox Flower

1958

Film credits

1960s · 21 titles

The End of Summer poster
7.5

The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.

The End of Summer

1961

Miyamoto Musashi poster
7.1

In this first episode, we are introduced to Takezo, what Musashi used to be before he became the man of legend. His beginning are not exactly auspicious. He sides with the Toyotomi at Sekigahara, and as a result finds himself on the losing side of the historic battle. He and his friend Matahachi manage to escape the slaughter although the latter is wounded in his leg. They stumble across the young Akemi who makes her living with her mother Oko by robbing corpses of their armor and anything else they can sell. Oko takes it into her head to seduce Matahachi, which she does first by skillfully sucking the gangrene from his blood, and then just by sucking.

Miyamoto Musashi

1961

Girls of the Night poster
6.5

In the wake of the 1956 Prostitution Prevention Law, a young woman recently released from one of Japan's new rehabilitation centers struggles to build a new life.

Girls of the Night

1961

Miyamoto Musashi IV: The Duel at Ichijo-ji Temple poster
7.1

In the fourth installment, Musashi's potentially greatest opponent Kojiro jumps in and out of the story at the oddest and most coincidental moments. As his great love Otsu has succumbed to madness. Musashi then sets off to beat the functionaries of a treacherous clan in an arranged duel. 73 against one. Boastful Kojiro watches, secure in the knowledge that only he is a worthy opponent.

Miyamoto Musashi IV: The Duel at Ichijo-ji Temple

1964

The Wife of Seishu Hanaoka poster
6.6

The disturbing story of a physician who conducted the first operation with general anaesthetic, and the women in his life who are both so determined to win his love that they volunteer as subjects for his experiments

The Wife of Seishu Hanaoka

1967

Twin Sisters of Kyoto poster
6.5

In this Japanese drama, a dry goods merchant's daughter is surprised to discover that she has a twin sister. In rural Japan it was thought that twins bring bad luck, so the sister was abandoned at birth. Later her parents tell her that her sister was kidnapped. The woman doesn't believe this and when she eventually meets her twin, both women are involved in love affairs. The merchant's daughter is seeing an educated fellow. Trouble ensues when she begins suspecting that he may be more interested in her sister.

Twin Sisters of Kyoto

1963

Salaryman Idea Book: Concern for Success poster
NR

A beer salesman with a passion for fishmongering stumbles through mishaps, rivalries, and gangster trouble while chasing a big contract, winning the deal through quick thinking—then turns down a promotion to keep working his own way.

Salaryman Idea Book: Concern for Success

1960

Shinran poster
10.0

A biographical movie about Shinran

Shinran

1960

Snow Country poster
6.7

This movie is based on an immortal literary work "The Snow Country," a story about a life of geisha Komako who lives in a region with heavy snowfalls.

Snow Country

1965

Three Yakuza poster
7.8

A tale of three Yakuza gamblers who traveled Japan during the samurai era living by their wits and sword skills. Told in 3 separate vignettes, each part tells the story of a different drifter’s life. Part 1: A man is on the run after killing two Hasshu Officials to avenge his Boss. He must make a life or death decision as he is asked to protect a gang from attack. Part 2: A pair of gamblers chased out of a crooked game must fight not only their pursuers, but the ghosts of their pasts as well. Part 3: A wanderer who wants to live according to the Yakuza Code, but is not sure that he can do so when asked to save a town from an evil official.

Three Yakuza

1965

The River Yokobori poster
NR

Taka, the daughter of Naniwa-ya, a longtime Osaka store owner, married Kichisaburo Kawashima-ya, the son of a kimono wholesaler. Her husband just tried to play with her like a sweet candy, but Taka fell in love with him. One day, the father-in-law suddenly dies, and the Kawashima-ya family fortune is rapidly changing. However, the depravity of Kichisaburo does not subside...

The River Yokobori

1966

Good Rascals poster
6.0

A group of men living a low life in Edo help each other to make the best out of their lives.

Good Rascals

1962

The Woman Gambler's Supplication poster
10.0

Eleventh film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

The Woman Gambler's Supplication

1968

Jun'ai monogatari kusa no mi poster
NR

1962 Japanese movie

Jun'ai monogatari kusa no mi

1962

18 Roughs poster
6.7

Experienced shipyard worker Shimazaki gets an offer of free lodging from his employer in the company seaside rest house if he agrees to see to its running. After moving in, Shimazaki finds out that this will also mean taking care of a flock of youngsters, and he soon becomes their none-too-successful warden. At work the boys are disciplined, as soon as they return to their dormitory however they turn into an unmanageable mob.

18 Roughs

1963

Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro poster
7.2

The fifth and final installment with the build up of the epic battle between Sasaki Kojiro and Miyamoto Musashi. With all the familiar characters making appearances: Otsu (Musashi's great love), Akemi, Matahachi (his former fellow soldier), old lady Osugi (still doggedly trying to defeat Musashi), and even the return of Priest Takuan (the man responsible for his journey towards enlightenment). But most of all, the boastful, long-haired and long-sworded Sasaki Kojiro.

Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro

1965

京化粧 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

京化粧

1961

This Year's Love poster
6.8

Hikaru and Ichiro are close friends in high school. Hikaru's elder brother Tadashi fell in love with Ichiro's elder sister, Mikako at first sight. Although she gave the cold shoulder to Tadashi, she gradually became fond of Tadashi.

This Year's Love

1962

Uogashi no senpū musume poster
NR

1963 Japanese movie

Uogashi no senpū musume

1963

An Impudent Man 2 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

An Impudent Man 2

1964

The Fencing Master poster
5.9

The Fencing Master tells the story of a man trying to survive as the only world he knows is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Danpei Ichikawa lives for swordfighting – he was once a renowned kabuki swordfight choreographer, and as the Chairman of the New National Theatre Company, he wants nothing more than to choreograph the swordfights for the modern plays put on by the company.

The Fencing Master

1962

1950s · 39 titles

Throne of Blood poster
7.9

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Throne of Blood

1957

Sansho the Bailiff poster
8.1

In 11th-century feudal Japan, following the exile of an idealistic governor, his wife and children are separated by slave traders; the children, Zushio and Anju, are sold into brutal servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho.

Sansho the Bailiff

1954

Twenty-Four Eyes poster
7.7

From 1928 to 1946, the lives of 12 young people and their school teacher in a poor Japanese village are profoundly affected by historical events and personal circumstances.

Twenty-Four Eyes

1954

Equinox Flower poster
7.4

Wataru's outwardly liberal views on marriage are severely tested when his daughter declares her love for a coworker and is adamant to live her own way, instead of agreeing to an arranged marriage. Outwitted by his female relatives, Hirayama stubbornly refuses to admit defeat.

Equinox Flower

1958

Chikamatsu Monogatari poster
7.8

When the wife of a 17th-century Kyoto scrollmaker is falsely accused of having an affair with his best employee, the pair flee the city and find themselves truly falling for one another.

Chikamatsu Monogatari

1954

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Ōtotsu gankutsuō

1957

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Otōsan wa ohitoyoshi: Kakushigo sōdō

1956

Otōsan wa ohitoyoshi: Yūtō rakudaisei poster
NR

A rival diner opens next door, the model student third son fails his college entrance exams, and the good-natured dad finds himself in a whirlwind of trouble as internal and external crises come one after another.

Otōsan wa ohitoyoshi: Yūtō rakudaisei

1956

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Otōsan wa ohitoyoshi: Sanji museigen

1956

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Otōsan wa ohitoyoshi: Mayoigo hiroi ko

1956

Kaette kita yūrei poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Kaette kita yūrei

1955

Shozo, a Cat and Two Women poster
6.7

Shozo is plagued by the needs of his ex-wife and his current one, but prefers the company of his cat.

Shozo, a Cat and Two Women

1956

Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka poster
5.2

Chubei, the adopted son of an Osaka courier, falls desperately in love with the courtesan Umegawa. To prevent a wealthy client from purchasing her, he steals money from his employer to buy her freedom himself. Now hunted criminals, the lovers flee toward Yamato, pursued by the law.

Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka

1959

A Geisha poster
7.6

Fleeing a distressing family situation, Eiko, a very young girl, becomes an apprentice to Miyoharu, a veteran geisha. Both, determined to preserve their professional integrity, must face the selfishness and ambition of several petty people.

A Geisha

1953

Haha shirayuki poster
NR

A child who was taken in and raised by a woman from a once-impoverished traveling theater troupe grows up to be a beautiful young woman and performs in a dance recital. Her biological mother, who suddenly appears, is the wife of a wealthy man.

Haha shirayuki

1956

Yome to yobarete mada mitsuki poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Yome to yobarete mada mitsuki

1954

Marital Relations poster
5.6

​Ryukichi, the pampered heir to a cosmetics wholesaler, abandons his wife and child to pursue a scandalous affair with a famous geisha named Choko. This betrayal leads his father to disown him, leaving the unskilled Ryukichi with no way to earn a living. To keep them afloat, Choko is forced to continue working as a geisha while secretly scraping together a nest egg to start their own business. However, Ryukichi remains trapped in his hedonistic lifestyle, eventually squandering Choko’s hard-earned savings on his own self-indulgence.

Marital Relations

1955

The Woman in the Rumor poster
7.3

After living a traumatic experience in Tokyo, Yukiko returns to Kyoto, where Hatsuko, her mother, runs a brothel, which upsets Yukiko very much.

The Woman in the Rumor

1954

Maiko sanjūshi poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Maiko sanjūshi

1955

Snow Country poster
6.7

It's a man's world. Shimamura, an artist, comes to this snowbound town to rejuvenate himself. He connects with Komako, a geisha he met on a previous trip, and it seems like love. She's the foster daughter of a local family, almost engaged to the family's son Yukio, now dying of consumption. He's tended by his sister Yuko who's angry at Komako for abandoning her brother. Shimamura returns to Tokyo but promises he will be back soon. In anticipation of his return, Komako breaks with her patron and her family loses their home. Complications arise when Shimamura doesn't come back as promised. Then Komako discovers that he and Yuko knew each other in Tokyo. Can Komako escape destiny?

Snow Country

1957

Hana no sando gasa poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Hana no sando gasa

1954

Hana no nagadosu poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Hana no nagadosu

1954

Temptation on Glamour Island poster
7.0

Comedy about three soldiers, two female reporters, six prostitutes, and the wife of an officer, all stranded on a South Seas island at the end of World War II.

Temptation on Glamour Island

1959

The Swamp poster
7.0

A man’s wife dies in a swamp. Her ghost returns to haunt him.

The Swamp

1956

So Young, So Bright poster
7.8

Two high school girls, Ruri and Yumi, go to Kyoto on a school trip, here they get acquainted with Hinagiku, there are many adventures ahead of the three of them. A musical starring 3 Japanese pop music and TV stars.

So Young, So Bright

1955

Ghost of Saga Mansion poster
7.7

A woman loses her son through an evil conspiracy and commits suicide. Shortly afterwards a ghost cat begins haunting the conspirators. This is Takako Irie's first bakeneko (ghost cat) movie; it started a Daiei cycle which was very popular at the time in Japan.

Ghost of Saga Mansion

1953

The Garden of Women poster
6.6

A student at a woman's university takes a controversial action against the school's old-fashioned doctrines.

The Garden of Women

1954

Ichiya no hyakuman chōja poster
NR

After finding a winning lottery ticket, the daughter and wife convince their father who’s been acting like a millionaire that it’s all just a one-night dream, hoping to cure his gambling habit.

Ichiya no hyakuman chōja

1957

Sazae-san, the Wayward Wife poster
NR

Masuo and Sazae are enjoying their newlywed life in their new house, even though they are in company housing. Masuo's colleague is invited to thank him for the newlyweds, but Masuo has been told by Managing Director Hanamura to go on a business trip to Kansai. Before long, Masuo contacted Sazae to come to Osaka.

Sazae-san, the Wayward Wife

1959

All Sold Out poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

All Sold Out

1956

Father is a Soft-Hearted Person: The Night Before His Daughter's Wedding Day poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Father is a Soft-Hearted Person: The Night Before His Daughter's Wedding Day

1958

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Seki no yatappe

1953

The Ladder of Success poster
6.5

A biting portrait of the world of classical Japanese dance: an ambitious young woman (Wakao Ayako) shoves aside her mentor (Kyo Machiko) on her way to the top.

The Ladder of Success

1958

Asama no karasu poster
NR

After killing a man who owed him neither a debt of gratitude nor a grudge, Tokijiro decides to leave the yakuza life behind in accordance with the code of honor—but becomes an assistant to yakuza for the sake of the man’s orphaned child his mother.

Asama no karasu

1953

Father is a Soft-Hearted Person: There are Five Men and Seven Women in the Family poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Father is a Soft-Hearted Person: There are Five Men and Seven Women in the Family

1958

Nitōhei monogatari: Shindara kami-sama no maki poster
NR

Fourth sequel to "Story of Second Class Private".

Nitōhei monogatari: Shindara kami-sama no maki

1958

Sound in the Mist poster
7.5

In the heart of the Japanese Alps, in Kamikochi, Nagano Prefecture, botany professor Kazuhiko Onuma spends time with Tsuruko, his lover. One night, Kazuhiko's wife Kazuyo comes to see them and confronts the professor about his extramarital affair, and Tsuruko, an inevitable witness to the confrontation, leaves the professor the following morning. Over the next decade, whenever he visits the mountain cabin every autumn equinox, the memory of Tsuruko will forever haunt Kazuhiko...

Sound in the Mist

1956

The Maiden Courtesan poster
NR

Period romantic drama.

The Maiden Courtesan

1956

The Capital of Love poster
NR

Aiko, a bar hostess, falls for the son of a company president who also keeps a mistress, and whose family disapproves of his relationship with the bar hostess.

The Capital of Love

1958

Series credits