Sessue Hayakawa
Sessue Hayakawa | |
---|---|
早川 雪洲 | |
Born | 早川 金太郎 (Hayakawa Kintarō) June 10, 1886 Minamibōsō, Chiba, Empire of Japan |
Died | November 23, 1973 Tokyo, Japan | (aged 87)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1914–1966 |
Spouse | [1] |
Children | 3 |
Signature (Japanese) | |
Signature | |
Kintarō Hayakawa (
After withdrawing from the Japanese naval academy and attempting suicide at 18, Hayakawa attended the
Of his
Early life and career
Hayakawa was born Kintaro Hayakawa (早川 金太郎, Hayakawa Kintarō) in the village of Nanaura, now part of a town called Chikura, in the city of Minamibōsō in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on June 10, 1886.[15][16][17] From a young age he yearned to go overseas and took on English studies in preparation. His father was the head of a fishermen's union with some wealth. He had five siblings.[11]
From an early age, Hayakawa's family intended him to become an officer in the
After he recovered from the suicide attempt, Hayakawa moved to the
The above account, however, is disputed, in part or in whole. According to professor of Japanese language and literature at
Another revisionist account by author Orie Nakagawa holds that Hayakawa had always intended to go to California to find work under his older brother in San Francisco; his father, however, convinced him to study at Chicago instead, and Hayakawa did so for a year before leaving to return to his original pursuits.[11]
It was around this time that Hayakawa first assumed the stage name Sessue (雪洲, Sesshū), meaning "snowy continent" (雪 means "snow" and 洲 means "continent").[18][24] One of the productions in which Hayakawa performed was called The Typhoon. Tsuru Aoki, a member of the acting troupe, was so impressed with Hayakawa's abilities and enthusiasm that she enticed film producer Thomas H. Ince to see the play.[16] Ince saw the production and offered to turn it into a silent film with the original cast. Eager to return to Japan, Hayakawa tried to dissuade Ince by requesting the astronomic fee of $500 a week, but Ince agreed to his request.[18]
The Typhoon (1914) became an instant hit and was followed by two additional pictures produced by Ince, The Wrath of the Gods (1914) co-starring Hayakawa's new wife, Aoki, and The Sacrifice (1914). With Hayakawa's rising stardom, Jesse L. Lasky soon offered Hayakawa a contract, which he accepted, making him part of Famous Players–Lasky (now Paramount Pictures).[18][25][26]
Stardom
White women were willing to give themselves to a Japanese man. [...] When Sessue was getting out of his limousine in front of a theater of a premiere showing, he grimaced a little because there was a puddle. Then, dozens of female fans surrounding his car fell over one another to spread their fur coats at his feet.
Miyatake Toko, a celebrity photographer in early 1900s Los Angeles[27]
Hayakawa's second film for Famous Players–Lasky was The Cheat (1915), directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The Cheat co-starred Fannie Ward as Hayakawa's love interest and was a huge success, making Hayakawa a romantic idol and sex symbol to the female movie-going public.[3][4][5] "It caused a sensation," says Stephen Gong, the executive director of San Francisco's Center for Asian American Media. "The idea of the rape fantasy, forbidden fruit, all those taboos of race and sex—it made him a movie star. And his most rabid fan base was white women."[28] With his popularity and "broodingly handsome"[2][29] good looks, Hayakawa commanded a salary that reached over $3,500 a week at the height of his fame in 1919.[7][30] In 1917, he built his residence, a castle-styled mansion, at the corner of Franklin Avenue and Argyle Street in Hollywood, which was a local landmark until it was demolished in 1956.[18]
Following The Cheat, Hayakawa became a
Over the next three years, Hayakawa produced 23 films and had earned $2 million by 1920, with which he was able to pay back the $1 million he had borrowed from Connery.
Hayakawa left Hollywood in 1922; different authors give various explanations such as prevailing
Later career
Returning to the United States again in 1926 to appear on Broadway—and later in vaudeville—Hayakawa opened a Zen temple and study hall on New York's Upper West Side.
In 1949,
After the war, Hayakawa's on-screen roles can best be described as "the honorable villain", a figure exemplified by his portrayal of Colonel Saito in
After retiring, Hayakawa dedicated himself to
Racial barriers
Throughout Hayakawa's career, many segments of American society were filled with feelings of
Writing to the "What the Picture Did for Me" section of the
Hayakawa's early films were not popular in Japan because many felt that his roles portrayed Japanese men as sadistic and cruel. Many Japanese viewers found this portrayal insulting. Nationalistic groups in particular were censorious.[57] Some Japanese believed that Hayakawa was contributing to increased anti-Japanese sentiment in the U.S., and regarded him as a traitor to the Japanese people. After Hayakawa established himself as an American superstar, the negative tone in the press that regarded him as a national and racial shame lessened by a noticeable degree, and Japanese media started publicizing Hayakawa's cinematic achievements instead.[58] His later films were also not popular, because he was seen as "too Americanized" during a time of nationalism.[59]
Personal life
On May 1, 1914, Hayakawa married fellow Issei performer Tsuru Aoki, who co-starred in several of his films. Hayakawa had previously married a white actress, Ruth Noble, a fellow vaudeville performer[60] who had co-starred with him in The Bandit Prince.[61] Noble gave birth to a son, Alexander Hayes, but they divorced in 1929 and Hayakawa got custody of the child. Sessue and Aoki adopted him, changing his name to Yukio, and they raised and educated him in Japan. Later, they adopted two more daughters:[18] Yoshiko, an actress, and Fujiko, a dancer. Aoki died in 1961.[62]
Physically, Hayakawa possessed "an athlete's physique and agility".[2] A 1917 profile on Hayakawa stated that he "is proficient in jiu-jitsu, an expert fencer, and can swim like a fish. He is a good horseman and plays a fast tennis racket. He is tall for a Japanese, being five feet seven and a half inches (171.45 cm) in height, and weighs 157 pounds (71.21 kg)."[63]
Hayakawa was known for his discipline and martial arts skills. While filming The Jaguar's Claws, in the Mojave Desert, Hayakawa played a Mexican bandit, with 500 cowboys as extras. On the first night of filming, the extras drank all night and well into the next day. No work was being done, so Hayakawa challenged the group to a fight. Two men stepped forward. Hayakawa said, "The first one struck out at me. I seized his arm and sent him flying on his face along the rough ground. The second attempted to grapple and I was forced to flip him over my head and let him fall on his neck. The fall knocked him unconscious." Hayakawa then disarmed yet another cowboy. The extras returned to work, amused by the way the small man manhandled the big bruising cowboys.[18]
Death and legacy
Hayakawa retired from film in 1966. He died in
Many of Hayakawa's films are
A musical based on Hayakawa's life, Sessue, was performed in Tokyo in 1989. In September 2007, the
In 2020, Hayakawa's life story was told as part of PBS's documentary Asian Americans.[68]
His legacy is lasting, especially in the
Filmography
See also
- Portrayal of East Asians in Hollywood
- Stereotypes of East Asians in American media
References
- ISBN 978-0313289026.
- ^ a b c Saltz, Rachel (2007-09-07). "Sessue Hayakawa: East And West, When The Twain Met". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Miyao 2007, pp. 1–3, 191, 227, 281
- ^ ISBN 978-1586483944.
- ^ ISBN 978-1502403643.
- ^ "Sessue Hayakawa: The Legend". Goldsea. p. 2.
- ^ a b Miyao 2007, pp. 334, 325
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 176
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 227
- ^ a b Miyao 2007, p. 263
- ^ ISBN 978-4062179157.
- ^ Eaton, William J. (15 December 1993). "Out of the Vault and Onto the Film Registry's List : Movies: Some of the Library of Congress' newly selected classics and popular favorites will make a nationwide tour next September". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ Tsutakawa, Mayumi (2 March 2017). "STG presents Sessue Hayakawa in The Dragon Painter". International Examiner. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ "Complete list of films admitted". CNN. 18 November 1997. Archived from the original on 2011-01-31. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 241
- ^ a b c d Kizirian, Shari. The Dragon Painter Archived 2020-01-31 at the Wayback Machine. Silent Film Festival.
- ^ Perpetually Cool: The Many Lives of Anna May Wong (1905-1961). p. 179.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Sessue Hayakawa: The Legend". Goldsea.
- ^ Locke, Michelle. IN THE SILENT MOVIE ERA, HAYAKAWA BROKE HEARTS. Deseret News.
- ^ King, James. Under Foreign Eyes. p. 18.
- ^ a b /projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/sessue-hayakawa/ Sessue Hayakawa - Hollywood Star Walk]. Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Art and artifice".
- ^ a b Monaghan, Amy (2018). "Art and artifice". University of Chicago Magazine. 111 (1). Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Chin, Frank. Born in the USA: A Story of Japanese America, 1889-1947. p. 14.
- ^ a b Miyao 2007, p. 55
- ISBN 978-0813522760.
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 1
- ^ a b c Venutolo, Anthony (2008-03-08). "Cinema can't keep up with Hayakawa's strides". The Star-Ledger. Newark: nj.com. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ Heartthrobs: A History of Women and Desire. p. 111–112.
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 214
- ^ "COUNTERPUNCH LETTERS: What Really Counts in Opera? Depends Whom You Ask". Los Angeles Times. 1993-06-21. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ Bernardi, p. 71.
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 303
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 50
- ^ a b Miyao 2007, p. 261
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 226
- ^ a b Hollywood Goes Oriental: CaucAsian Performance in American Film. p. 22.
- ^ Flickers of Desire: Movie Stars of the 1910s. p. 110.
- ^ Variety (1926). Variety (July 1926). Media History Digital Library Media History Digital Library. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. p. 12.
- OCLC 7621473. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 5
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 3
- ^ "Obituary-Sessue Hayakawa". Variety. 1973-11-28. p. 62.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8147-5256-2.
- ^ a b c Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965, Volume 1. p. 318.
- ^ Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema. p. 78.
- ^ King, Rachel (5 December 2016). "One of the First Hollywood Heartthrobs Was a Smoldering Japanese Actor. What Happened?". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Watch: This Japanese actor dominated the silent film era—and went on to fight Asian stereotypes". timeline.com. Timeline. 2017-10-10. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 260
- OCLC 3316444. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
- ^ Miyao 2007, pp. 30, 33–34
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 153
- ^ Archerd, Army (7 December 2006). "1957: 'Bridge' from Hayakawa to Watanabe". Variety. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ "Robertson-Cole: The Tong Man". Exhibitors Herald. March 20, 1920. p. 79. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ Miyao 2007, p. 6
- ISBN 978-0520244238.
- ^ Wada, Hirofumi (2004). Pari Nihonjin no shinsho chizu 1867–1945 [Japanese Impressions of Paris]. Tokyo: Fujiwara Shoten. pp. 61–62.
- ^ Flickers of Desire: Movie Stars of the 1910s. p. 111–112.
- ^ Richie, Donald (2007-08-12). "Lauded in the West, ignored in the East". The Japan Times. japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ISBN 9780199731664.
- ^ Miyao 2014, pp. 162–163
- ^ "Ruth Noble Bids Sessue Goodbye". Elmira Star-Gazette. 1931-12-17.
- ^ Goodwin's Weekly, Volume 28. p. 12.
- ^ "Sessue Hayakawa". Walk of Fame. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Schilling, Mark (2013-01-17). "Nagisa Oshima: a leading force in film". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
- ^ "Gil Rossellini Interview with Nagsia Oshima (Part 3 of 3)". YouTube. Event occurs at 3:15. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
Yes, I am planning to shoot a story of a Japanese. His name is Sessue Hayakawa. He was the only Japanese star in Hollywood. It was the 1910s silent film period of Hollywood. I will try to describe this star and the situation of the Japanese in the states.
- ^ Kristen Lopez (2020-05-12). "'Asian Americans': PBS Documentary Compels Viewers to Honor and Remember – IndieWire". Indiewire.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
- ^ Transnational Sport: Gender, Media, and Global Korea. p. 284.
- ^ Embodying Asian/American Sexualities. p. 67.
Bibliography
- Miyao, Daisuke (2007). ISBN 978-0-8223-3969-4.
External links
- Zen Showed Me the Way (book) by Sessue Hayakawa at Worldcat.org
- The Bandit Prince (book) by Sessue Hayakawa at Worldcat.org
- Sessue Hayakawa at IMDb
- Sessue Hayakawa at the Internet Broadway Database
- Japan Times Article on Hayakawa
- Sessue Hayakawa Gallery at Silent Gents
- Sessue Hayakawa: East and West, When the Twain Met
- Literature on Sessue Hayakawa
- The Slanted Screen: Asian Men in Film and Television. Directed by Jeff Adachi.
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