Photo of Kumeko Urabe
Acting

Kumeko Urabe

Profession
Acting
Born
October 5, 1902 · Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Died
October 26, 1989

Biography

Kumeko Urabe (Japanese: 浦辺粂子), born Kimura Kume ((木村 くめ)), (October 5, 1902 – October 26, 1989) was a Japanese movie actress, one of the first in the country. She worked on stage and in film and television. Urabe was born in a rural part of the Shizuoka Prefecture. She lived in several homes while growing up, as she relocated with her father, a Buddhist priest, among the temples to which he was assigned. Urabe completed her education in Numazu, and left school in 1919 to join a theatre company, touring under various stage names as an actor and dancer. In 1923, Urabe auditioned at the film studio Nikkatsu, and adopted the name Kumeko Urabe, by which she was known for the rest of her life. She appeared in her first film the following year, and continued to act until 1987. She worked with such directors as Kenji Mizoguchi and Mikio Naruse, and performed in over 320 films, including Ikiru, Older Brother, Younger Sister, Portrait of Madame Yuki, She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum, and Street of Shame. She also starred in television dramas, including thirteen episodes of Toshiba Sunday Theatre between 1958 and 1980. In the following decade, she carved a niche as a Grandma idol, until her death in 1989.

Known for

Ikiru poster
Ikiru
Film · 1952 · ★ 8.3
Floating Weeds poster
Floating Weeds
Film · 1959 · ★ 7.5
Hachiko poster
Hachiko
Film · 1987 · ★ 7.8
Tokyo Twilight poster
Tokyo Twilight
Film · 1957 · ★ 7.7
Street of Shame poster
Street of Shame
Film · 1956 · ★ 7.7
Early Spring poster
Early Spring
Film · 1956 · ★ 7.5
Twenty-Four Eyes poster
Twenty-Four Eyes
Film · 1954 · ★ 7.7
Yearning poster
Yearning
Film · 1964 · ★ 8.1
Two in the Shadow poster
Two in the Shadow
Film · 1967 · ★ 7.8
Repast poster
Repast
Film · 1951 · ★ 7.6
Women of the Night poster
Women of the Night
Film · 1948 · ★ 7.1
Lightning poster
Lightning
Film · 1952 · ★ 7.3

Filmography