Kyoko Kishida
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese actress, voice actress, and writer of children's books.
Her father was Kunio Kishida
, a playwright and the founder of the Bungaku-za. She became an actress in 1950, and starred in a Yukio Mishima
production of the 1960 film Salome
. Her film and television drama credits number in the hundreds. Among them are four Taiga drama
series on NHK
television, with roles such as Aguri (the wife of Asano Naganori
and Yodo-Dono
(the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
). She appeared in various roles, including acting and narrating, in various Ōoku series on television. In the series Gokenin Zankurō
, she portrayed the mother of the title character (played by Ken Watanabe
), and narrated a Lone Wolf and Cub
television series.
Kishida's film credits include Yasujirō Ozu
's An Autumn Afternoon
(1962), The Broken Commandment
(based on a novel by Shimazaki Toson
), Hiroshi Teshigahara's The Woman in the Dunes (1964) and The Face of Another (1966) (both from novels by Kōbō Abe
), Yasuzo Masumura
's Manji
(1964)(based on a novel by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki), Kon Ichikawa
's The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
(1987) based on the classic story, Heaven and Earth
(1990), and Spring Snow
, the 2005 Isao Yukisada
adaptation of the Mishima novel.
Anime fans know Kishida as the voice of Moomin in the original 1960s television series. She provided narration for Vampire Princess Miyu
and Princess Tutu
as well as the 2005 Book of the Dead
. In addition, she dubbed roles for Columbo and Miss Marple
, and narrated Prophecies of Nostradamus
. Kishida appeared in commercials for Nestle
, TDK
, and Asahi Shimbun
.
Kyōko Kishida died on December 17, 2006 in Tokyo from respiratory failure
caused by a brain tumor
.
Her father was Kunio Kishida
Kunio Kishida
was one of the most prominent Japanese dramatist and writer of the early 20th century and is regarded as one of the founders of modern Japanese drama....
, a playwright and the founder of the Bungaku-za. She became an actress in 1950, and starred in a Yukio Mishima
Yukio Mishima
was the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
production of the 1960 film Salome
Salome
Salome , the Daughter of Herodias , is known from the New Testament...
. Her film and television drama credits number in the hundreds. Among them are four Taiga drama
Taiga drama
is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music...
series on NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
television, with roles such as Aguri (the wife of Asano Naganori
Asano Naganori
was the daimyo of the Akō Domain in Japan . His title was Takumi no Kami . He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as Chushingura, one of the favourite themes of kabuki, joruri and Japanese books and films.He was born in Edo as the eldest son of Asano...
and Yodo-Dono
Yodo-Dono
or was a prominently-placed figure in late-Sengoku period. She was a concubine and second wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was then the most powerful man in Japan. She also became the mother of his son and successor, Hideyori. She was also known as Lady Chacha...
(the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
). She appeared in various roles, including acting and narrating, in various Ōoku series on television. In the series Gokenin Zankurō
Gokenin Zankuro
is a novel by Renzaburo Shibata. The protagonist of this jidaigeki is Matsudaira Zankurō, a low-ranking gokenin in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate. He lives with his mother Masajo in the shogunal capital of Edo...
, she portrayed the mother of the title character (played by Ken Watanabe
Ken Watanabe
is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. To English-speaking audiences he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Letters from Iwo Jima and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in The Last Samurai, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best...
), and narrated a Lone Wolf and Cub
Lone Wolf and Cub
is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.Lone Wolf and Cub...
television series.
Kishida's film credits include Yasujirō Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
's An Autumn Afternoon
An Autumn Afternoon
is a 1962 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. It stars Ozu regular Chishu Ryu as the patriarch of the Hirayama family who oversees the wedding of his daughter, played by Shima Iwashita. It was Ozu's last film; he died in the following year...
(1962), The Broken Commandment
The Broken Commandment
The Broken Commandment is a Japanese novel written by Tōson Shimazaki published in 1906 under the title Hakai The Broken Commandment. The novel deals with the burakumin, formerly known as eta...
(based on a novel by Shimazaki Toson
Shimazaki Toson
is the pen-name of Shimazaki Haruki, a Japanese author, active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. He began his career as a romantic poet, but went on to establish himself as a major proponent of naturalism in Japanese fiction.-Early life:...
), Hiroshi Teshigahara's The Woman in the Dunes (1964) and The Face of Another (1966) (both from novels by Kōbō Abe
Kobo Abe
, pseudonym of was a Japanese writer, playwright, photographer and inventor. Abe has been often compared to Franz Kafka and Alberto Moravia for his surreal, often nightmarish explorations of individuals in contemporary society and his modernist sensibilities....
), Yasuzo Masumura
Yasuzo Masumura
was a Japanese film director.Masumura was born in Kōfu on Honshū. After dropping out of a law course at the University of Tokyo he worked as an assistant director at the Daiei studio, later returning to university to study philosophy; he graduated in 1949...
's Manji
Manji (film)
卍 is the title of several Japanese films based on the Japanese novel Quicksand written by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki in 1928.The theme is homosexuality between women. It was filmed in 1964, 1983, 1998 and 2006 in Japan.-Story:...
(1964)(based on a novel by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki), Kon Ichikawa
Kon Ichikawa
was a Japanese film director.-Early life and career:Ichikawa was born in Ise, Mie Prefecture. In the 1930s Ichikawa attended a technical school in Osaka. Upon graduation, in 1933, he found a job with a local rental film studio, J.O. Studio, in their animation department...
's The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
, also known as , is a 10th century Japanese folktale. It is considered the oldest extant Japanese narrative and an early example of proto-science fiction....
(1987) based on the classic story, Heaven and Earth
Heaven and Earth (1990 film)
Heaven and Earth is a 1990 film directed by Haruki Kadokawa starring Enoki Takaaki, Tsugawa Masahiko, Asano Atsuko, Zaizen Naomi and Nomura Hironobu.-Plot summary:...
(1990), and Spring Snow
Spring Snow (2005 film)
Spring Snow is a film adaptation of Yukio Mishima's novel Spring Snow, directed by Isao Yukisada.The cast includes Satoshi Tsumabuki as Kiyoaki Matsugae, Yūko Takeuchi as Satoko Ayakura, and Sosuke Takaoka as Shigekuni Honda.The film was nominated for nine Japanese Academy Awards...
, the 2005 Isao Yukisada
Isao Yukisada
from Kumamoto, Japan is a Japanese film director. He served as assistant director on Shunji Iwai's Love Letter, April Story, and Swallowtail Butterfly.-Director:* OPEN HOUSE * A Closing Day...
adaptation of the Mishima novel.
Anime fans know Kishida as the voice of Moomin in the original 1960s television series. She provided narration for Vampire Princess Miyu
Vampire Princess Miyu
is a Japanese horror manga series by Narumi Kakinouchi and Toshiki Hirano, as well as an anime adaptation by the same creators. The anime was originally presented in a 4-episode OVA licenced by AnimEigo in 1988, and was later adapted into a 26-episode television series licensed by Tokyopop and...
and Princess Tutu
Princess Tutu
is a magical girl anime series created by Ikuko Itoh in 2002 for animation studio Hal Film Maker. It was adapted as a 2-volume manga illustrated by Mizuo Shinonome...
as well as the 2005 Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead (film)
is a 2005 Japanese stop motion animation feature film directed by Kihachirō Kawamoto. It is his second feature film, the first being the Rennyo and His Mother and is based on the novel of the same name by Shinobu Orikuchi...
. In addition, she dubbed roles for Columbo and Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
, and narrated Prophecies of Nostradamus
Prophecies of Nostradamus
also known as The Last Days of Planet Earth or Catastrophe: 1999 is an experimental 1974 feature film by Toshio Masuda, inspired by the prophecies of Nostradamus. The film credits Toshio Yasumi as principal screenwriter, though Yasumi did not actually work on the film...
. Kishida appeared in commercials for Nestle
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
, TDK
TDK
, formerly , is a Japanese company which manufactures electronic materials, electronic components, and recording and data-storage media, and markets them globally. Their motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity"...
, and Asahi Shimbun
Asahi Shimbun
The is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
.
Kyōko Kishida died on December 17, 2006 in Tokyo from respiratory failure
Respiratory failure
The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...
caused by a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
.