
Acting
Yoshiko Yamaguchi
Born 1920-02-12 · Fushun, Manchuria
Yoshiko Yamaguchi (山口 淑子, Yamaguchi Yoshiko, February 12, 1920 – September 7, 2014), also known by her stage names Shirley Yamaguchi and Li Xianglan, is a China-born Japanese actress and singer who made a career in China, Japan, Hong Kong, and the United States. She was elected as a member of the Japanese Parliament in the 1970s and served for 18 years. Early in her career, the Manchukuo Film Association concealed her Japanese origin and she went by the Chinese name Li Hsiang-lan (李香蘭), rendered in Japanese as Ri Kōran. This allowed her to represent China in Japanese propaganda movies. After the war, she appeared in Japanese movies under her real name, as well as in several English language movies under the stage name, Shirley Yamaguchi. After becoming a journalist in the 1950s under the name Yoshiko Ōtaka (大鷹 淑子, Ōtaka Yoshiko), she was elected as a member of the Japanese parliament in 1974, and served for 18 years. After retiring from politics, she served as vice president of the Asian Women's Fund. She died at the age of 94 in Tokyo on September 7, 2014.
Acting credits
NRNo synopsis available yet.
The Unforgettable Night
1958
6.9A celebrity photograph sparks a court case as a tabloid magazine spins a scandalous yarn over a painter and a famous singer.
Scandal
1950
9.0Spies, Military Documents and Traitors.
The Lady of Mystery
1957
6.2Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
House of Bamboo
1955
10.0A Japanese woman, the mistress of an American, falls in love with her servant.
Foghorn
1952
6.0Mikami, a Japanese soldier, is captured by Chinese forces. Although able to escape, he is treated with contempt by his peers. After falling in love with a prostitute named Harumi, she convinces him to desert the army and live with her.
Escape at Dawn
1950
6.1Lavish Japanese-Chinese coproduction based on an ancient Chinese legend about a man who falls in love with a snake goddess in human form.
The Legend of the White Serpent
1956
5.7A history of anti-Asian racism and yellowface in Hollywood after the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack.
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
2019
10.0Yukiko Nogami is rescued during a mountain blizzard by handsome forester Shinkichi, and the two subsequently fall in love. But when Shinkichi dies in an avalanche, Yukiko leaves the mountains in despair and takes a job in a bar where she becomes deeply involved in the personal lives of several of the patrons. One day she thinks she sees Shinkichi alive, but it turns out to be a gangster named Hayakawa, a man on the run who bears an astonishing resemblance to Yukiko's lost love. Against her better judgment, she is drawn to help Hayakawa, though clearly danger follows him.
The Last Embrace
1953
NRThis film was Japanese-Chinese Yamaguchi Yoshiko's screen debut and was filmed with the participation of an entirely Chinese cast.
Honeymoon Express
1938
9.0May Kawaguchi is a famous Japanese fashion designer. Returning to Tokyo from her home in New York, she travels incognito with a tour group, in hopes of having a quiet vacation without being noticed. But she is spotted and the press has a field-day with the returning celebrity. Her hopes of rest shattered, she agrees to put on a large-scale fashion show.
Holiday in Tokyo
1958
10.0A Japanese artist (Ikebe), who had won the favor of the Cambodian royal family when he rescued their daughter during World War II, returns and falls for the now-grown princess, though neither realizes the other's identity.
Angkor Wat Story - Beautiful Sadness
1958
6.0A Korean war vet and his bride face subtle and sometimes extreme racism when they return to his home in rural California.
Japanese War Bride
1952
6.7Soldiers Hayate and Yaheiji secretly escape from their besieged castle. Hayate has left behind his lover, Kano. On his way, Hayate is wounded and cared for by O’Ryo, who falls in love with him. But when Hayate accidentally kills her caretaker, he flees, with O’Ryo in pursuit. Subsequently, Hayate's comrade Yaheiji falls in love with Oryo. Kano, the lover left behind by Hayate, believes him dead, and becomes involved with another soldier, Jurota. When Jurota defects to the opposing army, he takes Kano with him. A double set of love triangles has developed, wherein each man and each woman loves one and is loved by another. Finally only combat and self-sacrifice can untangle the weave.
Sword for Hire
1952
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Retribution of the Vengeful Spirit
1939
8.0Two Korean conscripts undergo Imperial Japanese Army training, much to the pleasure of their families.
Dear Soldier
1944
9.0Life and love in corrupt postwar Tokyo, as a young couple struggles against both the law and the mob.
The Most Beautiful Day of My Life
1948
7.0No synopsis available yet.
You and I
1941
9.0No synopsis available yet.
Return
1949
NRShot on location in the war zone of Liuyuankou in the suburbs of Kaifeng, Henan Province.
The Yellow River
1942
9.01952 Japanese movie
One Thousand Ryo Ship in the Wind and Clouds
1952
10.0The story follows a dysfunctional family whose daily life is thrown into chaos when an English tutor from abroad moves into their home. Her presence awakens hidden desires, jealousy, and emotional conflicts among the father, mother, and children, gradually transforming the entire household. At its heart, the film explores love, rivalry, and the longing for a new beginning.
Husband Comes Home Every Suturday
1954
6.5Sumida is separated from his wife and daughter when conflict erupts in Harbin. Years later, he finds that his wife passed away and her daughter was adopted by his friends at the Russian opera company.
My Nightingale
1944
7.0A legendary pre-war comedy operetta starring Enomoto Kenichi, Hideko Takamine and Li Xianglan. The Sanzo Ikkou continues its westward journey, on a mission to prevent a demonic resurrection. As Genjo Sanzo, Cho Hakkai, Sha Gojyo, and Son Goku (Kenichi Enomoto) fight their way to their goal, their path is fraught with internal strife.
The Monkey King
1940