Wissenswertes

Daughter of an actor and a geisha, she was trained as a musician on the three-stringed traditional Japanese shamisen. Her acting career began at the age of fourteen. She joined the Nikkatsu studio in Kyoto in 1930, because her mother was a friend of the chief executive. International fame came through her roles in several films by Akira Kurosawa, notably her Lady Macbeth-like character Asaji in 'Throne of Blood' (1957).

Isuzu Yamada was named a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese government in 1993 and seven years later became the first actress to receive the illustrious Order of Culture from the Emperor of Japan.

Mother of actress Michiko Saga.

Mother of Michiko Saga.