Ayako Wakao

Acting

Ayako Wakao

Born 1933-11-08 · Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Ayako Wakao (若尾 文子, Wakao Ayako, November 8, 1933 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese actress who was one of the country's biggest stars of the 20th century. Wakao began her career contracted to Daiei Studios in 1951 as part of the fifth "New Face" group. She has gone on to appear in over 100 feature films, plus numerous television movies and series. She was a favorite actress of director Yasuzo Masumura, starring in 20 of his films. In addition to her many collaborations with Masumura, she was a favorite of Kon Ichikawa, having starred or co-starred in seven of the director's works. She appeared in Kenji Mizoguchi's A Geisha and Street of Shame. She also appeared in Yasujirō Ozu's Floating Weeds. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ayako Wakao, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

One Day at Summer's End poster
6.5

A Yasuzō Masumura film about a love affair starring Ayako Wakao. The literal title is The Two Who Got Wet.

One Day at Summer's End

1968

The Loyal 47 Ronin poster
6.3

Japan, 1701. A group of samurai become rônin after their lord is forced to commit seppuku for assaulting a court official, who will become the target of a merciless revenge.

The Loyal 47 Ronin

1958

Floating Weeds poster
7.5

A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

Floating Weeds

1959

An Actor's Revenge poster
6.6

In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.

An Actor's Revenge

1963

Irezumi poster
6.9

Otsuya, the daughter of a rich merchant, elopes with her lover Shinsuke, an employee of her father's. During their flight, Otsuya's beauty attracts the gaze of Seikichi, a mysterious master tattooist who sees her pristine white skin as the perfect canvas for his art. The image of the large demonic spider that he emblazons across Otsuya's back marks her as the property of another man, radically altering her relationships with all around her as her personality seems to transform under its influence.

Irezumi

1966

The Saga of Tanegashima poster
5.5

Well before “Shogun” as warring clans were fighting for power throughout Japan, a Portuguese vessel ran aground off Tanegashima. Lord Tokitaka helped Captain Pinto repair his ship. The grateful captain offered the lord a gift--a matchlock musket—the first firearm ever seen in Japan. But like a great stone hurled into placid waters, this simple gift will start a revolution. Tokitaka tasks Kinbei, his greatest swordsmith, to copy this musket and build guns for Japan. While Kinbei struggles to forge Japan’s first musket, a great love blooms between Captain Pinto and Kinbei’s daughter Wakasa. But for Kinbei, to let Wakasa marry Pinto and go to Portugal is unthinkable. And as Kinbei creates Japan’s first matchlock factory, Lord Oda Nobunaga will seize upon firearms as the key to sweep all other clans before him, tearing a blood-soaked path of destruction through Japan.

The Saga of Tanegashima

1968

Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director poster
7.2

In 39 interviews with actors and actresses, writers, producers and staff members, interspersed with film excerpts and stills, Shindō recounts the life and career of his friend and mentor Mizoguchi.

Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director

1975

Street of Shame poster
7.7

Follows five sex workers employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation debates the passage of an anti-prostitution law.

Street of Shame

1956

Spring Snow poster
6.5

Based on the first novel, Spring Snow, of Mishima Yukio's Sea of Fertility tetralogy, it follows the troubled and illicit affair between two youngsters amongst the aristocracy and rich of early twentieth century Japan.

Spring Snow

2005

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo poster
6.8

Zatoichi treks to a village that has always been a favorite spot of his, only to discover that it’s become a living hell, plagued by feuding father and son yakuza as well as the younger crime boss’s bodyguard, scruffy, smart-mouthed, cash-hungry Yojimbo of legend.

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo

1970

Red Angel poster
7.6

In 1939, Sakura Nishi is a young army nurse who is sent to the field hospitals in China during the Sino-Japanese war. She has to assist the surgeon Dr. Okabe with an incredible number of amputations. In the crowded wards, she gives sympathy to some of the soldiers, including sexually servicing one who has lost both arms and has no hope of returning home. She falls in love with Dr. Okabe, and follows him to the front, even though he is impotent from his morphine addiction.

Red Angel

1966

Shinobi no Mono 4: Siege poster
6.3

[Period covered: 1614-1615] Tokugawa Ieyasu is now the ruler of all Japan. But one last loose thread must be tied up before his domination is complete -- the destruction of the Toyotomi clan, now beseiged in Osaka castle. Ieyasu's ninja are the only ones who can penetrate the fortress, but unfortunately for Ieyasu, Kirigakure Saizo and the other Toyotomi ninja can just as easily get out. As armies of samurai maneuver for battle, the fate of the nation will be decided by a desperate struggle in the dark!

Shinobi no Mono 4: Siege

1964

Okore Sanpei poster
NR

Sanpei, an innocent sailor with incredible strength, arrives in the big city teeming with social ills carrying a mysterious bag.

Okore Sanpei

1953

Outlaw poster
NR

A young engineer and a pure-hearted mountain girl take on the challenges of the Akan primeval forest, where lawlessness and violence run rampant.

Outlaw

1953

Maboroshi no Satsui poster
NR

Adaptation of the Shôji Yuki novel.

Maboroshi no Satsui

1971

Elegant Beast poster
7.3

A greedy, materialistic family attempts to cover-up the embezzlement committed by the son while keeping their other schemes active. They discover there are other, equally conniving players involved.

Elegant Beast

1962

Hanayome hanamuko chanbara bushi poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Hanayome hanamuko chanbara bushi

1952

Their Legacy poster
10.0

Heitaro, who had served his firm loyally for 30 years, reaches the retirement age. He has four unmarried daughters and decides to split his retirement allowance he has received from his firm into 500,000 yen for each daughter as a wedding dowry. He considers them all old enough to handle the money, and gives them a free hand to use it as they wish.

Their Legacy

1962

Seisaku's Wife poster
7.3

On the eve of the Russo-Japanese war at the beginning of the 20th century, small-town girl Okane has married an old wealthy man to escape a life of poverty.

Seisaku's Wife

1965

A Woman's Testament poster
6.4

The first story concerns an attractive young woman who works in a Tokyo nightclub. Her plan for a solid financial future has a double whammy. In the second story, a beautiful young woman is employed by an unscrupulous real estate agent to convince male clients to invest in worthless property. The last story is about a widowed geisha who has no real financial worries and who falls in love with a forger.

A Woman's Testament

1960

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

Zoku zoku Jûdai no seiten poster
NR

Film directed by Eichi Koishi and starring Wakao Ayako

Zoku zoku Jûdai no seiten

1953

Machi no kotengu poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Machi no kotengu

1952

Shunsetsu no mon poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Shunsetsu no mon

1953