Acting

Ranko Sawa

Born 1903-07-25 · Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

Sawa was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, in 1903. In 1919 she joined the young girl's theater group of Takarazuka under the stage name of Izumi Ranko. After passing through Shochiku Kamata, Sawa joined Nikkatsu Mukojima in 1923. In 1924 she moved to Teikoku Cinema's Ashiya Studios, where she became a leading actress. She met with great success for her performance in Hoshi wa Midaretobu, before going on to feature in Renbo Jigoku (Love's Hell). In Kago no Tori (The Caged Bird), directed by Matsumoto Eiichi, Sawa was selected to play the heroine alongside Satomi Akira. Teikoku Cinema's version of the film became a surprise hit, giving Sawa an instant popularity second only to that of Utakawa Yaeko. Following this she appeared in films such as Koryu Yokotawaru and Ogon Yorimo Tsuyoshi as the partner of Matsumoto Taisuke. In 1927 Sawa joined Nikkatsu, where she appeared in Ukiyo Guruma and Chuji Tabi Nikki - Goyohen, with the latter film coming to be regarded as one of her definitive works. Following this, Sawa appeared in films such as Shizumi Yu Ningyo and Aojiroki Bara. Sawa left Nikkatsu in 1931 after the incident in which she disappeared with Minobe Susumu. She subsequently went to Shochiku Kamata, where she appeared in Ai no Tatakai. In Kanki no Hitoya she gave a fine performance as the city girl who seduced Oka Joji. After becoming a freelance actress, Sawa gave an impassioned performance as Okichi in Nikkatsu's Onna Goroshi Abura Jigoku (The Ladykiller). Sawa continued performing for the likes of Teikoku Cinema, Nikkatsu and Shochiku until around 1950, specializing in the portrayal of the modern, tomboyish girl. Her love affair with the conductor Konoe Hidemaro was well known, and they had one daughter together before separating.

Acting credits

8.0

The story deas with the experiences of an exceptionally strong-willed, middle class Tokyo "ojōsan" who comes to teach in a middle school in the countryside.

Young Lady

1937

6.7

Young Hiroko’s conservative principles place her at odds with most modern women, as she has already submitted to her mother’s choice of man for any marriage prospect. Wed into an affluent family that practically treats her as a housemaid, locked away like a 'doll' by her estimation, Hiroko’s own submission to traditional thinking brings contradictions to light.

A Woman's Sorrows

1937

6.3

Set in the port city of Yokohama, two girls, Sunako and Dora who attend a Christian school, pledge to be friends. But when a youth named Henry appears on his motorcycle and offers to take Sunako for a ride, we know that this friendship won't last and that the lives of both girls will change in ways they are barely able to comprehend, and can do little to change.

Japanese Girls at the Harbor

1933

A romantic melodrama about the shifting relationship between Ryosuke and Miki as their precarious employment and social circumstances shift around them.

Red Peony of Night

1950

Baseball comedy.

Hōmurankyō jidai

1949

No artwork available

No synopsis available yet.

Kakute ninjutsu eiga wa owarinu

—

7.2

In Depression-era Tokyo, the life of a single mother and her young son are disrupted by the return of her ex-husband, who fathered the child and walked out on her years earlier.

Every-Night Dreams

1933

7.5

The story of a sailor who begins a love affair with a woman he saves from suicide.

First Steps Ashore

1932

5.8

The Morning Sun Shines is a fiction-documentary film by Kenji Mizoguchi and Seiichi Ina. The film is a combination of a drama about a reporter, and documentary footage about newspaper production. Only 25 minutes of footage has survived.

The Morning Sun Shines

1929

No artwork available

7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Onna wa itsu no yo nimo

1931

Atsuko, a seamstress at a clothing shop in Ginza, spends her days quietly going about her work, oblivious to the gossip about romance swirling around her. However, on a day off, she happens to visit an amusement park where she meets a man and senses the beginnings of romance.

Shirobara wa sakedo

1937

Chuji's Travel Diary: The Chuji Patrol Episode poster

7.6

The Japanese equivalent of penny dreadfuls glorifying Jesse James, A Diary of Chuji’s Travels gives a unique gloss to the tale of Chuji Kunisada, the legendary bakuto (or gambler, the precursors to modern-day yakuza). One of the two remaining segments of Ito’s original four-hour trilogy, it depicts Chuji’s attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. With socialist overtones, it’s a passionate artifact of early Japanese film.