Japanese Literary Awards

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Hideko Takamine

たかみね ひでこ

Takamine Hideko

Aliases: デコちゃん
Pen Names: Matsuyama Hideko（Legal name (married surname)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1924-03-27 （Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan）
Died
2010-12-28 （Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan） age 86
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Hakodate, Hokkaido (birthplace) → Tokyo (Sendagaya, Kamata, Azabu-Juban, etc.) → Karuizawa (vacation home) → Paris (residence in 1951)

Career

Occupations
Actress, Singer, Essayist
Active Years
1929-1979
Influenced By
Keisuke Kinoshita, Mikio Naruse, Yasujiro Ozu
Influenced

Education

Bunka Gakuin (Bunka College)
Period: 1937–(在学中退)
Country: Japan
Attended but left school early due to filming commitments

Awards

Japan Academy Prize
1979
Work: Impulsive Murder: My Son
Category: 優秀主演女優賞
Organization: Japan Academy Prize Association
Result: 受賞
Japan Academy Prize
1996
Category: 会長功労賞
Organization: Japan Academy Prize Association
Result: 受賞
Japan Academy Prize
2011
Category: 会長特別賞
Organization: Japan Academy Prize Association
Result: 死後受賞
Blue Ribbon Awards
1954
Work: Twenty-Four Eyes / The Garden of Women / Somewhere Under the Broad Sky
Category: 主演女優賞
Organization: Tokyo Film Critics Association
Result: 受賞
Kinema Junpo Best Ten
1955
Work: Floating Clouds
Category: 女優賞
Organization: Kinema Junpo
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Film Awards
1954
Work: Twenty-Four Eyes / The Garden of Women / Somewhere Under the Broad Sky / The Pleasure of Evil
Category: 女優主演賞
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Film Awards
2010
Category: 特別賞
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: 死後受賞
Locarno International Film Festival
1965
Work: Midare (Disorder)
Category: 最優秀女優賞
Organization: Locarno Film Festival
Result: 受賞
Asia Pacific Film Festival
1956
Work: Floating Clouds
Category: 最優秀女優賞
Organization: Asia Pacific Film Festival Organization
Result: 受賞
Art Festival Prize (Geijutsu Senshō)
1962
Work: Nameless, Poor and Beautiful / The Eternal One
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan)
Result: 受賞
Japan Essayists' Club Award
1976
Work: My Life Diary
Organization: Japan Essayists' Club
Result: 受賞
Medal with Blue Ribbon
1975
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Twenty-Four Eyes

1954 Film (Drama)

She stars as a new teacher assigned to a small island school; one of her landmark, nationally beloved films.

educationnostalgiawomen's lives

Floating Clouds

1955 Film (Melodrama)

A Naruse-directed classic depicting a woman entangled with an unfaithful man; acclaimed as a showcase for her acting.

romancedependencytragedy

Carmen Comes Home

1951 Color film (musical elements)

Her starring role in Japan's first full-color feature; includes song and dance elements.

identityrural vs urban

Impulsive Murder: My Son

1979 Film (Drama)

Her final film role before retirement; earned her the Japan Academy Prize for Best Actress (Excellence).

familyimpulseatonement

Bibliography

  • My Solo Journey in Paris
  • My Life Diary
  • A Single Insect
  • How to Spell Paris
  • Human Flea Market

Adaptations

  • Twenty-Four Eyes (film adaptations and screenings)
  • Several major films adapted for stage or television

Translations of Works

  • My Life Diary (limited English translations)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
frank, essay-like proseautobiographical and observant
Recurring Motifs
women's livestension between career and private lifetravel and reminiscence

Health

  • lung cancer
    2010（診断・死去）
    Died of lung cancer in 2010. Had a long history of heavy smoking.

Legacy

She rose from child actor to one of Japan's leading actresses across pre- and postwar eras. Renowned for her versatility and craft, she also contributed culturally as an essayist and art donor.

Museums

  • Setagaya Art Museum (donated collection) Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
  • The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (donation to the Umemura Ryuzaburo corner) Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan

Archives

  • National Film Archive of Japan (retrospectives and screenings)
  • Some personal materials held in institutional archives

In Popular Culture

  • 100th birth anniversary project (2024): special exhibitions at Tokyo Tower and film retrospectives
  • Ranked No.1 female actor in Kinema Junpo all-time Japanese actors poll (2014)

Quotes

  • I had long thought I was already retired, you know.
    Source: Statement at a 1979 production press conference (1979)

Trivia

  • Nickname was 'Deco-chan'.
  • Debuted as a child actor in 1929 and had a career spanning about 50 years.
  • A heavy smoker in life; died of lung cancer.
  • Had an adopted daughter, Akemi Saito.