Noriko Tatsumi
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese actress known primarily for her appearances in pink films of the 1960s. During the "First Wave" of pink film, Tatsumi became known as the first "Queen" of Japanese softcore sex movies, a title which she held from 1967
through 1970
. She most often appeared in the films of the World Eiga and Nihon Cinema studios, and is best known for her work with director Kōji Seki
, especially Whore (1967) and Erotic Culture Shock (1969). She also appeared in director and Seijun Suzuki
script-writer, Atsushi Yamatoya's influential 1967 cult film, Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands
.
. There is some discrepancy as to which film was her debut. Some sources say that Tatsumi's first film was Double Docking aka Two Virgins, while others claim that her debut was in Muddy Uniform. Director Shintaro Kishi is usually credited with launching Tatsumi's career, by giving her a starring role in his Double Docking. Tatsumi's role is that of a woman who starts working in a nightclub in order to discover the mystery behind her sister's disappearance. In the process, she finds an illicit prostitution ring. Muddy Uniform, intended as a juvenile delinquent
film, became a pink film by default because of its abundant sex scenes. In another early film, Clutches (1967), Tatsumi plays a gold-digger who takes over a businessman's enterprise.
Nihon Cinema's Whore (1967) teamed Tatsumi with actress Miki Hayashi and director Kōji Seki
. The film was a suspense thriller with Tatsumi as a woman plotting her husband's death to collect a large inheritance. Tatsumi would continue to work with Hayashi and Seki throughout the 1960s.
In director Toshio Okuwaki's Climax (1967), Tatsumi plays the role of a woman engaged to a rich man. Her overly protective brother, a poor college student, is against the marriage, but agrees to cause no problems in exchange for a loan from his sister's fiancee. When he later comes to the conclusion that he has betrayed his values, he murders his sister. The Weissers, in their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, judge the film better than Okuwaki's more typical, later work, and conclude, "It's not great filmmaking, but at least this movie manages to be unique within its grim view of life."
Suzuki
screenwriter
Atsushi Yamatoya's directorial debut, Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands
(1967) is a hallucinogenic film-noir-style satire which became "one of the major cult films of the '60s". The plot involves a rich businessman whose girlfriend is raped and killed by four men. When the men send the businessman a film of the crime, he complains about the film's poor cinematography. While practising shooting targets in the desert, the businessman hires a private detective to track down the criminals. The private investigator discovers the woman is not really dead, becomes involved in a sexual liaison with her, and then she is again "killed" by the four criminals. The private investigator comes across a shack in the middle of a desert filled with mannequins modeled after the girl. After a mysterious gunshot, the film circles back to the target-practise scene where the businessman is hiring the private eye. During the filming of this cult film, Tatsumi and lead actor Shohei Yamamoto simultaneously appeared in Love's Milky Drops using the same sets as Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands.
The pink films of this era had very low budgets and were made by independent studios. Pink film directors from the critically respected Kōji Wakamatsu
to the critically reviled Giichi Nishihara
generally focused on sensationalistic, violent, and often mysogynistic themes. Tatsumi, however, became associated with the higher-class productions within the genre. Lynch and Rope (1967) was an unusual project for Tatsumi in this regard, because she normally avoided this type of violent, S&M genre film. She lent her voice to the film as narrator, and it is assumed that she participated in the project as a favor to the film's director, the man who helped start her career, Shintaro Kishi.
Tatsumi was paired—almost—with future Nikkatsu
Roman Porno queen, Naomi Tani
in Memoirs Of A Modern Female Doctor (1967). The film was in two separate sections, and Tatsumi and Tani appeared in different stories. Tatsumi's story had her as a sexually promiscuous office lady who sleeps with her boss and co-workers, eventually becoming pregnant. Director Mamoru Watanabe
's Slave Widow
(1967) had three major pink film stars together—Noriko Tatsumi, Mari Iwai and Naomi Tani. One of the better films of the First Wave of pink film, Tatsumi's acting ability was singled out for praise in this film which helped her to attain the status of Queen of the Pink film. Along with Genji Nakamura and Banmei Takahashi
, director Mamoru Watanabe is considered one of the three "Pillars of Pink" of the Wave of Pink film.
Controversial early pink film director Tetsuji Takechi
chose Tatsumi as the female lead in his Ukiyo-E Cruel Story (1968). Made after Takechi's imprisonment and high-profile trial over his 1965 film Black Snow
, Ukiyo-e Cruel Story
was intended as a direct message to Eirin
, the Japanese film-rating board. Made after Takechi had won the trial, the film is about a painter of erotic pictures who is persecuted by the government. Though still containing significant erotic content, this is one of Takechi's few films to pass the censor relatively un-edited, perhaps because Eirin feared losing another embarrassing public confrontation with the outspoken director.
1967 in film
The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
through 1970
1970 in film
The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
. She most often appeared in the films of the World Eiga and Nihon Cinema studios, and is best known for her work with director Kōji Seki
Kōji Seki
aka is a Japanese film director known for his pioneering work in the pink film genre. Among the accomplishments of Seki's career: he directed the first pink films for Kokuei, the oldest pink film company, Japan's first 3-D film, the world's first 3-D sex film, and Japan's first "invisible man"...
, especially Whore (1967) and Erotic Culture Shock (1969). She also appeared in director and Seijun Suzuki
Seijun Suzuki
, born Seitaro Suzuki on May 24, 1923, is a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are renowned by film enthusiasts worldwide for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility...
script-writer, Atsushi Yamatoya's influential 1967 cult film, Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands
Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands
aka Dutch Wife of the Wasteland and The Dutch Wives of the Wild, originally released as , is a 1967 Japanese pink film written and directed by cult filmmaker Atsushi Yamatoya, starring the first "Queen" of pink film, Noriko Tatsumi, and with music by the noted jazz pianist, Yōsuke...
.
1967
Tatsumi made her pink film debut in 19671967 in film
The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
. There is some discrepancy as to which film was her debut. Some sources say that Tatsumi's first film was Double Docking aka Two Virgins, while others claim that her debut was in Muddy Uniform. Director Shintaro Kishi is usually credited with launching Tatsumi's career, by giving her a starring role in his Double Docking. Tatsumi's role is that of a woman who starts working in a nightclub in order to discover the mystery behind her sister's disappearance. In the process, she finds an illicit prostitution ring. Muddy Uniform, intended as a juvenile delinquent
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
film, became a pink film by default because of its abundant sex scenes. In another early film, Clutches (1967), Tatsumi plays a gold-digger who takes over a businessman's enterprise.
Nihon Cinema's Whore (1967) teamed Tatsumi with actress Miki Hayashi and director Kōji Seki
Kōji Seki
aka is a Japanese film director known for his pioneering work in the pink film genre. Among the accomplishments of Seki's career: he directed the first pink films for Kokuei, the oldest pink film company, Japan's first 3-D film, the world's first 3-D sex film, and Japan's first "invisible man"...
. The film was a suspense thriller with Tatsumi as a woman plotting her husband's death to collect a large inheritance. Tatsumi would continue to work with Hayashi and Seki throughout the 1960s.
In director Toshio Okuwaki's Climax (1967), Tatsumi plays the role of a woman engaged to a rich man. Her overly protective brother, a poor college student, is against the marriage, but agrees to cause no problems in exchange for a loan from his sister's fiancee. When he later comes to the conclusion that he has betrayed his values, he murders his sister. The Weissers, in their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, judge the film better than Okuwaki's more typical, later work, and conclude, "It's not great filmmaking, but at least this movie manages to be unique within its grim view of life."
Suzuki
Seijun Suzuki
, born Seitaro Suzuki on May 24, 1923, is a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are renowned by film enthusiasts worldwide for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Atsushi Yamatoya's directorial debut, Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands
Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands
aka Dutch Wife of the Wasteland and The Dutch Wives of the Wild, originally released as , is a 1967 Japanese pink film written and directed by cult filmmaker Atsushi Yamatoya, starring the first "Queen" of pink film, Noriko Tatsumi, and with music by the noted jazz pianist, Yōsuke...
(1967) is a hallucinogenic film-noir-style satire which became "one of the major cult films of the '60s". The plot involves a rich businessman whose girlfriend is raped and killed by four men. When the men send the businessman a film of the crime, he complains about the film's poor cinematography. While practising shooting targets in the desert, the businessman hires a private detective to track down the criminals. The private investigator discovers the woman is not really dead, becomes involved in a sexual liaison with her, and then she is again "killed" by the four criminals. The private investigator comes across a shack in the middle of a desert filled with mannequins modeled after the girl. After a mysterious gunshot, the film circles back to the target-practise scene where the businessman is hiring the private eye. During the filming of this cult film, Tatsumi and lead actor Shohei Yamamoto simultaneously appeared in Love's Milky Drops using the same sets as Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands.
The pink films of this era had very low budgets and were made by independent studios. Pink film directors from the critically respected Kōji Wakamatsu
Koji Wakamatsu
is a Japanese film director who directed such pinku eiga films as and . He also produced Nagisa Ōshima's controversial film In the Realm of the Senses...
to the critically reviled Giichi Nishihara
Giichi Nishihara
aka is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor best known known for his low-budget and sensationalistic pink films made for his Aoi Eiga studios in the 1960s and 1970s...
generally focused on sensationalistic, violent, and often mysogynistic themes. Tatsumi, however, became associated with the higher-class productions within the genre. Lynch and Rope (1967) was an unusual project for Tatsumi in this regard, because she normally avoided this type of violent, S&M genre film. She lent her voice to the film as narrator, and it is assumed that she participated in the project as a favor to the film's director, the man who helped start her career, Shintaro Kishi.
Tatsumi was paired—almost—with future Nikkatsu
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:...
Roman Porno queen, Naomi Tani
Naomi Tani
is a Japanese actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films with an S&M theme during the 1970s.-Early career:Born October 20, 1948, in the Hakata ward of Fukuoka, Naomi Tani moved to Tokyo at the age of 18. After arrival in Tokyo, she was featured in a photo layout...
in Memoirs Of A Modern Female Doctor (1967). The film was in two separate sections, and Tatsumi and Tani appeared in different stories. Tatsumi's story had her as a sexually promiscuous office lady who sleeps with her boss and co-workers, eventually becoming pregnant. Director Mamoru Watanabe
Mamoru Watanabe
is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor, known for his work in the pink film genre. Along with directors Genji Nakamura and Banmei Takahashi, Watanabe is known as one of the "Three Pillars of Pink".-Early life:...
's Slave Widow
Slave Widow
is a 1967 Japanese Pink film directed by Mamoru Watanabe and starring Noriko Tatsumi. Along with the first "Queen" of Japanese soft-core pornography, the film's cast includes Mari Imai and an early appearance by Naomi Tani, two other major stars of pink film....
(1967) had three major pink film stars together—Noriko Tatsumi, Mari Iwai and Naomi Tani. One of the better films of the First Wave of pink film, Tatsumi's acting ability was singled out for praise in this film which helped her to attain the status of Queen of the Pink film. Along with Genji Nakamura and Banmei Takahashi
Banmei Takahashi
is a Japanese film director. Takashi started his career in the pink film industry, making his directorial debut in 1972 with Escaped Rapist Criminal. Due to a disagreement with his producer, Takahashi quit the film industry for a couple years...
, director Mamoru Watanabe is considered one of the three "Pillars of Pink" of the Wave of Pink film.
1968
Though Nikkatsu's wouldn't officially enter the pink film genre until the inception of their Roman Porno series in November, 1971, they did experiment with the form in 1968. In Tokyo Bathhouse, Tatsumi was at the top of the cast of over 30 sex-film stars of the era in cameo appearances. According to Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, "There has never been - and never again will be - such a smorgasbord of major sex stars populating one movie." Tatsumi given top billing among the was listed as the star. Several of the pink film stars stayed on for Ukiyo-e Women (1968), Nikkatsu's sister-film to their first pink project. Of the all sex-film star cast, Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films reports, "The stand-out among all the succulent beauties is Noriko Tatsumi who plays an extremely passionate nun."Controversial early pink film director Tetsuji Takechi
Tetsuji Takechi
was a Japanese theatrical and film director, critic and author. First coming to prominence for his theatrical criticism, in the 1940s and 1950s he produced influential and popular experimental kabuki plays. Beginning in the mid-1950s, he continued his innovative theatrical work in noh, kyōgen and...
chose Tatsumi as the female lead in his Ukiyo-E Cruel Story (1968). Made after Takechi's imprisonment and high-profile trial over his 1965 film Black Snow
Black Snow
Black Snow can refer to:* Black Snow , a 1990 Chinese film* A name used by wrestler Booker T* A comedy by Mikhail Bulgakov...
, Ukiyo-e Cruel Story
Ukiyo-e Cruel Story
is a 1968 Japanese Pink film directed by the "Father of Pink", Tetsuji Takechi, and starring the current "Queen" of Pink, Noriko Tatsumi. Made after Takechi had won an obscenity trial over Black Snow , the film has been called "Takechi's personal message to Eirin." Though still containing...
was intended as a direct message to Eirin
Eirin
is the abbreviated name for , Japan's movie regulator. Eirin was established on the model of the American Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America's Production Code Administration in June, 1949, on the instructions of the US occupation force...
, the Japanese film-rating board. Made after Takechi had won the trial, the film is about a painter of erotic pictures who is persecuted by the government. Though still containing significant erotic content, this is one of Takechi's few films to pass the censor relatively un-edited, perhaps because Eirin feared losing another embarrassing public confrontation with the outspoken director.
1969
Erotic Culture Shock: Swapping Partners (1969) concerns a woman whose husband is eager to experiment with wife-swapping. She refuses until she discovers that her father is involved in a similar activity. Packed-Full With Women (1969) was a sex-comedy which gave Tatsumi little to do but take off her clothes.Partial filmography
| Title | Director | Company | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double Docking / Two Virgins ダブル処女 |
Shintaro Kishi | Yamabe Productions/Kanto Eihai | 29 January 1967 |
| Memoirs Of A Modern Female Doctor 現代女性医学 Gendai Joi Igaku |
Kinya Ogawa | Okura Eiga | 1 May 1967 |
| Slave Widow Slave Widow is a 1967 Japanese Pink film directed by Mamoru Watanabe and starring Noriko Tatsumi. Along with the first "Queen" of Japanese soft-core pornography, the film's cast includes Mari Imai and an early appearance by Naomi Tani, two other major stars of pink film.... 奴隷未亡人 Dorei Mibōjin |
Mamoru Watanabe Mamoru Watanabe is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor, known for his work in the pink film genre. Along with directors Genji Nakamura and Banmei Takahashi, Watanabe is known as one of the "Three Pillars of Pink".-Early life:... |
Mutsukuni Eiga | 11 July 1967 |
| Taste Of Women 女の味 Onna no aji |
Kōji Seki Kōji Seki aka is a Japanese film director known for his pioneering work in the pink film genre. Among the accomplishments of Seki's career: he directed the first pink films for Kokuei, the oldest pink film company, Japan's first 3-D film, the world's first 3-D sex film, and Japan's first "invisible man"... |
Nihon Cinema | July 1967 |
| Clutches 毒牙 Dokuga |
Osamu Yamashita | Kanto Eihai | 12 September 1967 |
| Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands aka Dutch Wife of the Wasteland and The Dutch Wives of the Wild, originally released as , is a 1967 Japanese pink film written and directed by cult filmmaker Atsushi Yamatoya, starring the first "Queen" of pink film, Noriko Tatsumi, and with music by the noted jazz pianist, Yōsuke... 荒野のダッチワイフ Kōya no Dutch Wife |
Atsushi Yamatoya | Kokuei | 3 October 1967 |
| Whore 売女（ばいた） Baita |
Kōji Seki | Nihon Cinema | 17 October 1967 |
| Ten Years Of Evil 悪道庵十年 Akudama Junen |
Mamoru Watanabe Mamoru Watanabe is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor, known for his work in the pink film genre. Along with directors Genji Nakamura and Banmei Takahashi, Watanabe is known as one of the "Three Pillars of Pink".-Early life:... Shinya Yamamoto |
Kiei | October 1967 |
| Lynch and Rope リンチと縛り Lynch to shibari |
Shintaro Kishi | Yamabe Productions/Nihon Cinema | 7 November 1967 |
| Love's Milky Drops 多情な乳液 Tajo Na Nyueki |
Ario Takeda | Yamabe Productions/Okura Eiga | 1 December 1967 |
| Muddy Uniform 泥だらけの制服 Dorodarake no seifuku |
Takae Shindo Tak Shindo Takeshi "Tak" Shindo was a Japanese-American musician, composer and arranger. He was one of the prominent artists in the exotica music genre during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Shindo also founded a dance band in 1947 and was a frequent lecturer and writer on Japanese music... |
Kanto Movie | 1967 |
| Climax | Toshio Okuwaki | World Eiga | 1967 |
| Hot Crime 熱い犯行 Atsui Hanko |
Moto Sasaki | Nihon Cinema | June 1968 |
| Tokyo Bathhouse 女浮世風呂 Onna Ukiyo Buro |
Motomu Ida | Aoyama Productions/Nikkatsu Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:... |
10 July 1968 |
| 女のうれし泣き Onna no ureshinaki |
Ario Takeda | 六邦映画 | August 1968 |
| Ukiyo-e Cruel Story Ukiyo-e Cruel Story is a 1968 Japanese Pink film directed by the "Father of Pink", Tetsuji Takechi, and starring the current "Queen" of Pink, Noriko Tatsumi. Made after Takechi had won an obscenity trial over Black Snow , the film has been called "Takechi's personal message to Eirin." Though still containing... 浮世絵残酷物語 Ukiyoe Zankoku Monogatari |
Tetsuji Takechi | Takechi Productions / Daiei | 7 September 1968 |
| Red Pleasure 赤い快楽 Akai Kairaku |
Moto Sasaki | Nihon Cinema | September 1968 |
| Ukiyo-E Women 秘帳 女浮世草紙 Onna Ukiyozoshi |
Motomu Ida | Aoyama Productions/Nikkatsu Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:... |
19 October 1968 |
| Hungry For Lust 飢えた獣欲 Ueta Joyoku |
Kaoru Umezawa | Nihon Cinema / Shishi | November 1968 |
| Erotic Culture Shock: Swapping Partners Erotic Fuudoki-kaedoko |
Kōji Seki | Shin Nihon | 1969 |
| Packed-Full With Women Onna No Takobeya |
Akio Takeda | Nihon Cinema | 1969 |
| Way Of Lust Shikiyoku No Hate |
Akio Takeda | Nihon Cinema | 1969 |