Michiko Maeda
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
film and television actress. After becoming known as the first Japanese actress to appear in a nude scene in a mainstream film, Maeda was banned from the Japanese cinema after an incident in which she refused to obey a director, and did not return to the Japanese screen until 42 years later.
on February 27, 1934. She was working in a department store in the Nihonbashi
district of Tokyo when she began working as an actress at the Shintōhō
studio in 1955
. Her film debut was in director Hiromasa Nomura's Santōshain to Onna Hisho , released in August 1955. Maeda's minor role as a striptease dancer
in director Seiichiro Uchikawa's Eikō to Bakusō Ō ' onMouseout='HidePop("49984")' href="/topics/1956_in_film">1956
) brought her to public attention through her voluptuous figure. In their The Japanese Film: Art and Industry, Anderson and Richie
described Maeda as "a star who consisted almost entirely of mammary glands."
Shintōhō took advantage of Maeda's popularity to cast her in more roles in which she could display her famous figure. Other film studios reportedly engaged in a nation-wide search to discover their own buxom models to compete with Maeda. Later in 1957, she was given the starring role in , a melodramatic thriller set on an isolated island about a woman seeking revenge for her dead lover. Maeda became notorious for playing the first nude scene in a Japanese film.
For Shintōhō, Maeda appeared in string of female pearl-diver films which exploited similar nude scenes, concluding with (1957
). While acting in the film Konpira Riseiken for director Goro Katano, Maeda refused to do a scene in which she was to lift her slip for the camera.
The resulting scandal became known as the , and made headlines in international news. As a result of her refusal to obey the director, Maeda was dismissed from Shintōhō and banned from the film industry. Her exile from Japanese cinema lasted for four decades.
Maeda was invited to appear in two films in Taiwan
in 1963
. She returned to Japanese media with the 1972 Nippon Television
soap opera
, Dakuryū no Onna , and appeared on television and on the stage until her retirement in 1976.
After 42 years of exile from the Japanese film world pink film pioneer Satoru Kobayashi
and cult film director Teruo Ishii
persuaded her to appear in Ishii's 1999
remake of Nobuo Nakagawa
's Jigoku
(1960
). Maeda played the role of Enma Daio, the Judge of Hell.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
film and television actress. After becoming known as the first Japanese actress to appear in a nude scene in a mainstream film, Maeda was banned from the Japanese cinema after an incident in which she refused to obey a director, and did not return to the Japanese screen until 42 years later.
Life and career
Michiko Maeda was born in OsakaOsaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
on February 27, 1934. She was working in a department store in the Nihonbashi
Nihonbashi
, or Nihombashi, is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603, and the current bridge made of stone dates from 1911...
district of Tokyo when she began working as an actress at the Shintōhō
Shintoho
was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big-6 film studios during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Tōhō Company...
studio in 1955
1955 in film
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
. Her film debut was in director Hiromasa Nomura's Santōshain to Onna Hisho , released in August 1955. Maeda's minor role as a striptease dancer
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
in director Seiichiro Uchikawa's Eikō to Bakusō Ō ' onMouseout='HidePop("49984")' href="/topics/1956_in_film">1956
1956 in film
The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) brought her to public attention through her voluptuous figure. In their The Japanese Film: Art and Industry, Anderson and Richie
Donald Richie
Donald Richie is an American-born author who has written about the Japanese people and Japanese cinema. Although he considers himself only a writer, Richie has directed many experimental films, the first when he was 17...
described Maeda as "a star who consisted almost entirely of mammary glands."
Shintōhō took advantage of Maeda's popularity to cast her in more roles in which she could display her famous figure. Other film studios reportedly engaged in a nation-wide search to discover their own buxom models to compete with Maeda. Later in 1957, she was given the starring role in , a melodramatic thriller set on an isolated island about a woman seeking revenge for her dead lover. Maeda became notorious for playing the first nude scene in a Japanese film.
For Shintōhō, Maeda appeared in string of female pearl-diver films which exploited similar nude scenes, concluding with (1957
1957 in film
The year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
). While acting in the film Konpira Riseiken for director Goro Katano, Maeda refused to do a scene in which she was to lift her slip for the camera.
The resulting scandal became known as the , and made headlines in international news. As a result of her refusal to obey the director, Maeda was dismissed from Shintōhō and banned from the film industry. Her exile from Japanese cinema lasted for four decades.
Maeda was invited to appear in two films in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
in 1963
1963 in film
The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
. She returned to Japanese media with the 1972 Nippon Television
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, Dakuryū no Onna , and appeared on television and on the stage until her retirement in 1976.
After 42 years of exile from the Japanese film world pink film pioneer Satoru Kobayashi
Satoru Kobayashi (director)
was a Japanese film director most famous for directing the first pink film, the type of softcore pornographic films that became the most prolific film genre in Japan during the 1960s and 1970s...
and cult film director Teruo Ishii
Teruo Ishii
was a Japanese film director best known in the West for his early films in the Super Giant series, and for his films in the Ero guro subgenre of pinku eiga such as Shogun's Joys of Torture . He also directed the 1965 film, Abashiri Prison, which helped to make Ken Takakura a major star in Japan...
persuaded her to appear in Ishii's 1999
1999 in film
The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
remake of Nobuo Nakagawa
Nobuo Nakagawa
was a Japanese film director, most famous for the stylized, folk tale-influenced horror films he made in the 1950s and 1960s.-Career:Born in Kyoto, Nakagawa was early on influenced by proletarian literature and wrote amateur film reviews to the Kinema Junpō film magazine. He joined Makino Film...
's Jigoku
Jigoku (film)
is a 1960 Japanese horror film, directed by Nobuo Nakagawa and starring Utako Mitsuya and Shigeru Amachi. Jigoku was re-made in 1970 by Tatsumi Kumashiro, and later re-made again under the title of Japanese Hell by Teruo Ishii in 1999....
(1960
1960 in film
The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
). Maeda played the role of Enma Daio, the Judge of Hell.