Yoshiko Yamaguchi
Yoshiko Yamaguchi | |
---|---|
山口 淑子 | |
Member of the House of Councillors | |
In office 8 July 1974 – 7 July 1992 | |
Constituency | National district (1974-83) National PR (1983-1992) |
Personal details | |
Born | Yoshiko Yamaguchi February 12, 1920 Liaoyang, Manchuria, Republic of China |
Died | September 7, 2014 Tokyo, Japan | (aged 94)
Nationality | Japanese |
Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
Spouses | |
Occupation | Singer, actress, journalist, politician |
Awards | Order of the Sacred Treasure, Second Class |
Musical career | |
Also known as | Yoshiko Ōtaka (大鷹 淑子) Pan Shuhua (潘淑華) Shirley Yamaguchi Li Hsiang-lan (李香蘭) |
Genres | Popular music |
Years active | 1938–1958 |
Chinese name | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Lǐ Xiānglán |
Wade–Giles | Li3 Hsiang1-lan2 |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Jyutping | Lei5 Hoeng1 Laan4 |
Yoshiko Yamaguchi (山口 淑子, Yamaguchi Yoshiko, February 12, 1920 – September 7, 2014) was a Japanese singer, actress, journalist, and politician. Born in China, she made an international career in film in China, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States.
Early in her career, the Manchukuo Film Association concealed her Japanese origin and she went by the Chinese name Li Hsiang-lan (李香蘭), rendered in Japanese as Ri Kōran. This allowed her to represent China in Japanese propaganda movies. After the war, she appeared in Japanese movies under her real name, as well as in several English language movies under the stage name, Shirley Yamaguchi.
After becoming a journalist in the 1950s under the name Yoshiko Ōtaka (大鷹 淑子, Ōtaka Yoshiko), she was elected as a member of the
Early life
She was born on February 12, 1920, to Japanese parents, Ai Yamaguchi (山口 アイ, Yamaguchi Ai) and Fumio Yamaguchi (山口 文雄, Yamaguchi Fumio), who were then settlers in Fushun, Manchuria, Republic of China, in a coal mining residential area in Dengta, Liaoyang.
Fumio Yamaguchi was an employee of the
As a youth Yoshiko suffered a bout of tuberculosis. In order to strengthen her breathing, the doctor recommended voice lessons. Her father initially insisted on traditional Japanese music, but Yoshiko preferred Western music and thus received her initial classical vocal education from an Italian dramatic soprano (Madame Podresov, married into
Career in China
Yoshiko made her debut as an actress and singer in the 1938 film, Honeymoon Express (蜜月快車), by
The Chinese actors who appeared in the Manchuria Film Production movies were never informed that she was Japanese, but they suspected she was at least half-Japanese as she always ate her meals with the Japanese actors instead of the Chinese actors, was given white rice to eat instead of the sorghum given to the Chinese, and was paid ten times more than the Chinese actors were.[3] Though in her subsequent films she was almost exclusively billed as Li Hsiang-lan, she appeared in a few as "Yamaguchi Yoshiko".
Many of her films bore some degree of promotion of the Japanese national policy (in particular, pertaining to the
The 1940 film, China Nights (中國の夜), also known as Shanghai Nights (上海の夜), by Manchuria Film Productions, is especially controversial. It is unclear whether it was a "National Policy Film" as it portrays Japanese soldiers in both a positive and negative light. Here, Li played a young woman of extreme anti-Japanese sentiment who falls in love with a Japanese man. A key turning point in the film has the young Chinese woman being slapped by the Japanese man, but instead of hatred, she reacts with gratitude. The film was met with great aversion among the Chinese audience as they believed that the Chinese female character was a sketch of debasement and inferiority. 23,000 Chinese people paid to see the film in 1943.[6] After the war, one of her classic songs, "Suzhou Serenade" (蘇州夜曲), was banned in China due to its association with this film. A few years later, when confronted by angry Chinese reporters in Shanghai, Li apologized and cited as pretext her inexperienced youth at the time of filmmaking, choosing not to reveal her Japanese identity. Though her Japanese nationality was never divulged in the Chinese media until after the Sino-Japanese War, it was brought to light by the Japanese press when she performed in Japan under her assumed Chinese name and as the Japan-Manchuria Goodwill Ambassadress. Oddly enough, when she visited Japan during this period, she was criticized for being too Chinese in dress and in language.[7] When she landed in Japan in 1941 for a publicity tour, dressed in a cheongsam (or qípáo) and speaking Japanese with a Mandarin accent, the customs officer asked her upon seeing she had a Japanese passport and a Japanese name, "Don't you know that we Japanese are the superior people? Aren't you ashamed to be wearing third-rate Chink clothes and speaking their language as you do?"[8]
In 1943, Li appeared in the film
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Visit to Japan. Concert in Nishinomiya (1939)
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Visit to Japan. In the dressing room (1940)
United States, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2012) |
At the end of World War II, Li was arrested in Shanghai by the
In spite of the acquittal, the Chinese judges still warned Li to leave China immediately or she would risk being lynched; and so in 1946, she resettled in Japan and launched a new acting career there under the name Yoshiko Yamaguchi, working with directors such as
In the 1950s, she established her acting career as Shirley Yamaguchi in Hollywood and on Broadway (in the short-lived musical "Shangri-La") in the U.S. She married Japanese American sculptor, Isamu Noguchi, in 1951.[12] Yamaguchi was Japanese, but as someone who had grown up in China, she felt torn between two identities and later wrote that she felt attracted to Noguchi as someone else who was torn between two identities.[13] Li spent between 1953 and 1954 in Vancouver, Canada. They divorced in 1956. She revived the Li Hsiang-lan name and appeared in several Chinese-language films made in Hong Kong. Some of her 1950s Chinese films were destroyed in a studio fire and have not been seen since their initial releases. Her Mandarin hit songs from this period include "Three Years" (三年), "Plum Blossom" (梅花), "Childhood Times" (小時候), "Only You" (只有你), and "Heart Song" (心曲 – a cover of "Eternally").
TV presenter and politician
She returned to Japan and after retiring from the world of film in 1958, she appeared as a hostess and anchorwoman on TV talk shows. As a result of her marriage to the Japanese diplomat Hiroshi Ōtaka, she lived for a while in Burma (modern Myanmar). They remained married until his death in 2001.
In 1969, she became the host of The Three O'Clock You (Sanji no anata) TV show on
Yamaguchi was considered by many Chinese in the post-World War II period to be a Japanese spy and thus a traitor to the Chinese people.
Yamaguchi was one of the first prominent Japanese citizens to acknowledge the Japanese brutality during wartime occupation. She later campaigned for greater public awareness of that part of history and advocated paying reparations to so-called comfort women, Korean women who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese military during the war.[19]
A recording of a 1950 concert performance in Sacramento, California, was discovered by a professor from the University of Chicago in 2012. The concert included six songs and was performed before an audience of Japanese Americans, many of whom had likely been interned during World War II. Speaking in 2012 about the concert, Yamaguchi said, "I sang with hope that I could offer consolation to the Japanese Americans, as I heard that they had gone through hardships during the war."[20] She died at the age of 94 in Tokyo on September 7, 2014, exactly ten years after one of her fellow Seven Great Singing Stars, Gong Qiuxia.[21]
Names
She was credited as Shirley Yamaguchi in the Hollywood movies, Japanese War Bride (1952), House of Bamboo (1955), and Navy Wife (1956). She was once nicknamed The Judy Garland of Japan.[22]
Other names used as movie actress:
- Li Hsiang-lan
- Li Hsiang Lan
- Ri Kōran
- Li Xiang Lan
- Hsiang-lan Li
- Xianglan Li
- Li Xianglan
- Yoshiko Yamaguchi
Selected filmography
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1938 | 蜜月快車 (Mí yùe kuài chē / Honeymoon Express) | Bride |
1939 | 富貴春夢 (Fùguì Chūnmèng) | |
冤魂復仇 (Yuānhún Fùchóu) | ||
鐵血慧心 (Tǐe xǔe hùi xīn) | ||
白蘭の歌 (Byakuran no uta / Song of the White Orchid) | Li Hsueh-hsiang | |
1940 | 東遊記 (Toyuki / Journey to the East) | Liqin, a typist |
支那の夜 (Shina no Yoru / China Nights) | Chinese orphan | |
孫悟空 (Monkey King) | Oriental Woman | |
熱砂の誓い (Nessa no Chikai / Vow in the Hot Sand) | Li Fangmei | |
1941 | 君と僕 (Kimi to boku / You and I) | |
蘇州の夜 (Soshū no yoru / Suzhou Night) | ||
1942 | 迎春花 (Yíng chūn hūa) | |
1943 | 戦ひの街 (Tatakai no machi / Fighting Street) | |
サヨンの鐘 (Sayon no kane / Sayon's Bell) | Sayon | |
誓ひの合唱 (Chikai no gassho / The Choir's Vow) | ||
萬世流芳 (Wàn Shì Liú Fāng / Eternity) | ||
1944 | 野戦軍楽隊 (Yasen gungakutai / Military Band on the Battlefield) | Ai Ran |
私の鶯 (Watashi no uguisu / My Japanese Nightingale) | ||
1948 | わが生涯のかゞやける日 (Waga shōgai no kagayakeru hi / The Most Beautiful Day of My Life) | |
幸運の椅子 (Kōun no isu / Seat of Fortune) | ||
情熱の人魚 (Jōnetsu no ningyō / Mermaid of Passion) | ||
1949 | 帰国(ダモイ) (Damoi / Repatriation) | |
人間模様 (Ningen moyō / Human Patterns) | ||
流星 (Ryūsei / Shooting Star) | ||
果てしなき情熱 (Haté shinaki jōnetsu / Passion without End) | ||
1950 | 暁の脱走 (Akatsuki no dasso / Escape at Dawn ) |
Harumi |
醜聞 (Shubun / Scandal) | Miyako Saijo 西条美也子 | |
1952 | Japanese War Bride | Tae Shimizu |
霧笛 (Muteki / Foghorn) | ||
戦国無賴 (Sengoku burai / Sword for Hire) | Oryo | |
上海の女 (Shanhai no onna / Woman of Shanghai) | Li Lili (Singer) | |
風雲千両船 (Fuun senryobune) | ||
1953 | 抱擁 (Hōyō / The Last Embrace) | Yukiko Nogami |
1954 | 土曜日の天使 (Doyōbi no tenshi / Sunday's Angel) | |
The United States Steel Hour | Presento | |
1955 | 金瓶梅 (Jīn Píng Méi) | Pan Jinlian |
House of Bamboo | Mariko | |
The Red Skelton Hour |
Guest vocalist | |
1956 | Navy Wife | Akashi |
白夫人の妖恋 (Byaku fujin no yōren / The Legend of the White Serpent ) |
Madam White | |
1957 | Robert Montgomery Presents (The Enemy) | Hana |
神秘美人 (Shénmì měirén / The Lady of Mystery) | ||
1958 | 一夜風流 (Yí yè fēng líu / The Unforgettable Night) | Ge Qiuxia |
アンコール・ワット物語 美しき哀愁 (Ankoru watto monogatari utsukushiki aishu / The Princess of Angkor Wat) | ||
東京の休日 (Tōkyō no kyūjitsu / A Holiday in Tokyo) | Mary Kawaguchi |
In the media
Movies about her
- Fuji Television made a TV movie, Sayonara Ri Kōran, starring Yasuko Sawaguchi in 1989 as a special project to mark the company's 30th anniversary.
- A two-part TV movie, on February 11 and 12, 2007.
- Japanese filmmaker, Hirokazu Koreeda, is planning a feature filmbased on her life story.
Other media
- The novel, The China Lover (2008), by Ian Buruma is a fictionalized account of her life.[23]
- A Japanese musical based on her life was produced by the
- The character, Li Kohran, from the SEGA multimedia Sakura Wars game franchise is named for her stage name.
References
- ^ 大鷹淑子副理事長に聞く「21世紀のいま、若い人々に伝えたいこと」 Asian Women's Fund
- ^ Hotta 2007, pp. 132
- ^ Hotta 2007, pp. 132
- ^ Baskett 2008, pp. 77–79
- ISBN 9784103667018.
- ^ 映画旬報」昭和18年6月1日号 20・21p 中国人の鑑識眼 野口久光
- ^ Baskett 2008, pp. 79–82
- ^ Hotta 2007, pp. 132
- ^ Baskett 2008, pp. 69–70
- ^ "Bai Guang". Baidu. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved April 28, 2007.
- ^ Baskett 2008, pp. 142–144
- ^ Hotta 2007, pp. 132
- ^ Hotta 2007, pp. 132
- ^ Hotta 2007, pp. 132
- ^ Hotta 2007, pp. 132
- S2CID 194086803.
- ^ Hotta 2007, pp. 132
- ^ Interview with Ri Kōran by Tanaka, et al. "Looking Back on My Days as Ri Kōran (Li Xianglan)" on ZNet (Zmag.org) January 26, 2005. Article appeared in Sekai, September 2003, pp.171–75.
- ^ Vitello, Paul (September 22, 2014), "Yoshiko Yamaguchi, 94, Actress in Propaganda Films", The New York Times
- ^ "Recording of Japanese actress Yoshiko Yamaguchi's 1950 US concert uncovered". Mainichi Shimbun. August 18, 2012. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ^ 山口淑子さん死去=女優「李香蘭」、政治家として活躍-94歳 [Yoshiko Yamaguchi / Li Xianglan dies at 94] (in Japanese). Jiji Press. September 14, 2014. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
- ISBN 9781476621548.
- ^ Hadfield, James (July 29, 2009). "The China Lover". Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ "Exploring the Enchanting World of Shiki Theatre Company: A Japanese Theatrical Marvel". TOKYO MUSICALS. January 6, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ "Shiki Theatre Company Musical Li Xianglan [English Subtitles] Musical DVD". CDJapan. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
Bibliography
- Yamaguchi, Yoshiko (1987). Ri Kōran: My Half-Life. Tokyo: ISBN 9784103667018.
- Yamaguchi, Yoshiko (2015). Fragrant Orchid: the Story of my Early Life. Honolulu: ISBN 978-0-8248-3984-0.
- Baskett, Michael (2008). The Attractive Empire: Transnational Film Culture in Imperial Japan. Honolulu: ISBN 978-0-8248-3223-0.
- Hotta, Eri (2007). Pan-Asianism and Japan's War 1931-1945. London: ISBN 978-0230609921.
External links
- Shirley Yamaguchi at IMDb
- Yamaguchi Yoshiko at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)
- 【李香蘭MV】 別走(行かないで)玉置浩二 on " ("Goodbye Ri Kōran")