Earlier this year, I attended five films in a series at Japan Society in New York entitled “The Most Beautiful: The War Films of Shirley Yamaguchi and Setsuko Hara,” curated by Aiko Masubuchi, and wound up seeing five films there, three of them starring Yamaguchi, more widely known as Yoshiko Yamaguchi, and two of them starring Hara, all made in the years 1937-1943, during the period of Japan’s occupation of China. As preparation for seeing these films, I began reading a novel about Yamaguchi called The China Lover, by historian Ian Buruma, who has written several books about Japanese history and culture, two of which I’ve read. In the novel, there’s a character named Yoshiko Kawashima, who is also known as Eastern Jewel, a historical figure who was a princess of the Manchu royal family and a cousin of Pu Yi, the famed “Last Emperor” of China. She got her Japanese name when she was sent to Japan at the age of six to be raised by Naniwa Kawashima, a Japanese translator of Chinese and friend of Yoshiko’s father, Prince Su. She self-identified as Japanese for much of her life. I realized as I was reading about her that I own a DVD of a Hong Kong film called KAWASHIMA YOSHIKO (1990), a full-scale biopic starring Anita Mui in the title role. I’d never seen it, so I resolved to do so at the earliest opportunity.
Tag Archives: Lady Karate
Yoshiko Kawashima – Manchu Princess, Japanese Spy: Four Films
23 Jun
Advertisements
- Comments 1 Comment
- Categories Academy Awards, Actors, Authors, Criterion, Hong Kong Cinema, Kung Fu Cinema, World War II
Advertisements
Archives
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
Categories
- 1967
- 42nd Street
- Academy Awards
- Actors
- American Stars in Japanese Films
- Animation
- Asians in Hollywood
- Asians in TV Westerns
- Authors
- Blu-ray
- Bronx Theaters
- Centennials
- Chinese Cinema
- Comedy
- Comic Books
- Composers
- Criterion
- Directors
- Documentary
- European Cinema
- Film music
- film noir
- France
- Gangster films
- Hollywood Cinema
- Hong Kong Cinema
- Italian cinema
- James Bond
- Japan
- Japan Journal
- Japanese animation
- Japanese cinema
- Japanese television
- Kaiju
- Kung Fu Cinema
- Manga
- Museums
- Musicals
- New York in the movies
- New York Theaters
- Obituaries
- Power Rangers
- Roger Corman
- Science Fiction
- Sentai
- Shaw Bros.
- Television
- Theaters
- Times Square
- Tokusatsu
- Uncategorized
- VHS
- Walt Disney
- Westerns
- World War II