Kumeko Urabe
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.
Acted in
Hachiko
1987
as Tabacco shop owner
Miss Lonely
1985
as Fuki Inoue
Before Spring
1980
as Toyo
Tora-san's Pure Love
1976
Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director
1975
White Runway
1974
Stray Dog
1973
Onna Ikitemasu: Sakariba Wataridori
1972
as Tsue
Kininaru Yomesan
1971
The Secret Ceremony
1971
Adults Games
1971
喜劇 右向けェ左！
1970
The Bad Guy Blues
1969
Gateway to Glory
1969
Girl in College
1969
I Sell My Husband
1968
Two in the Shadow
1967
Eyes, the Sea and a Ball
1967
Yanagase Blues
1967
as Kane Sasagawa
Flower Cards Chivalry
1967
Game of Chance
1966
as Sugi
The Pretty Jade
1966
Nocturnal Lights
1966
Moment of Terror
1966
as Hisako Kanematsu
Women Doing Time
1966
Four and A Half Mats
1966
as Riku
Secret Club 000
1965
The Passionate Spinster
1965
as Tokiko Tsurukawa
An Innocent Witch
1965
Dupe
1965
Night Scandal
1964
as Shino
Destroyer Yukikaze
1964
Jakoman and Tetsu
1964
as Taka
Yearning
1964
as Bar Madam
18 Roughs
1963
as Gin Ishii
Ghost Story of Devil's Fire Swamp
1963
Teinen Taishoku
1963
Parakin to Kyū-chan mōshiwakenai yarō-tachi
1962
Nippon Irresponsible Guy
1962
Being Two Isn't Easy
1962
as Ino
The Body
1962
Gakusei geisha koi to kenka
1962
Kyū-chan ondo
1962
Sarari man donto bushi - Kiraku na kagyô to kita monda
1962
The Broken Commandment
1962
as Owner of the hotel
Eriko
1962
as Oshima
Kono ni uruwashi
1962
湖愁
1962
Teppo Yasu no Shogai
1962
Haru no sanmyaku
1962
Night Mist Makes Women Cry
1962
as Yoshi Namikawa
Nippon no obaachan
1962
as Waka
Love's Family Tree
1961
Refresher Course for Wives
1961
Tsukinode no ketto
1960
as Otani
The Woman Who Touched Legs
1960
Scarred Yosaburo
1960
The Song Lantern
1960
Storm on the Silvery Peaks
1960
as Old woman
Victory and Defeat
1960
as Sato
A Woman's Testament
1960
Floating Weeds
1959
as Shige
Tokyo Omnibus
1959
When a Woman Loves
1959
as Otome
Diary of a Substitute Doctor
1959
The Song of the Cart
1959
The Makioka Sisters
1959
Goodbye, Hello
1959
Confronting Fear
1958
The Precipice
1958
Futari dake no hashi
1958
Mother
1958
Stakeout
1958
as Proprietress of the Hotel Hizen-ya
Inazuma Kaidō
1957
Elegy of the North
1957
as Grandma
Fighting Letter for 29 People
1957
Snow Country
1957
Tokyo Twilight
1957
as Komatsu's Mistress
続二等兵物語 決戦体制の巻
1957
Typhoon Over Nagasaki
1957
Itohan Monogatari
1957
as Okô
Young Lovers
1957
Sound in the Mist
1956
Training Ship of Yearning
1956
Bridge of Japan
1956
俺は死なない
1956
Children Seeking a Mother
1956
Twice on a Certain Night
1956
Yaneura no Onna-tachi
1956
Street of Shame
1956
as Otane
Early Spring
1956
as Shige Kitagawa
She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum
1955
as Grandmother
Tomorrow I'll Be a Fire-Tree
1955
as Tomi
(Street of Wandering Pigeons) When Will the Birds Come Home
1955
as Masa
Fantasy of Youth
1955
The Magistrate
1955
A Woman's Life
1955
as Nobuko's mother
A Man Among Men
1955
as Okimi
Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky
1954
as Shige, Ryoichi's stepmother
Twenty-Four Eyes
1954
as Otoko Sensei no Tsuma
Submarine Ro Hasn't Surfaced
1954
The Story of Shunkin
1954
The Golden Demon
1954
as Tose
A Certain Woman
1954
as Tome
Koina no Ginpei
1954
The Wild Geese
1953
as Otsune
Brother and Sister
1953
as Riki - the Mother
Bot-chan
1953
as Kiyo
An Heir's Place
1953
Where Chimneys Are Seen
1953
as Kayo Nojima
Kanpai! Tokyo Musume
1952
Ikiru
1952
as Tatsu Watanabe
Lightning
1952
as Osei
母子鶴
1952
as Onao
Shi no machi wo nogarete
1952
A Ripple in a Morning
1952
母山彦
1952
Wedding March
1951
as Auntie
The Life of a Horse Trader
1951
as Onobu
Repast
1951
as Taniguchi Shige
Hibari no komoriuta
1951
Oogonju
1950
as Connie Sonobe's mother
Portrait of Madame Yuki
1950
as San
A Mother's Love
1950
Snow-Flake
1950
Duel in the Sun
1950
as Boarding house landlady
Akireta musumetachi
1949
Ginza Cancan Girls
1949
The Rainbow Man
1949
as Kane Nonomura
Nocturnal Gate
1948
Women of the Night
1948
as Brothel Keeper
Women of the Night
1948
as Brothel-keeper
Koyoi Tsuma to Narinu
1947
A face glowing at night
1946
Aru yo no seppun
1946
as Takako
Who Is the Criminal?
1945
Saigo no kikyō
1945
The Man From Chungking
1943
as 妻とよ
The Tiger of Malaya
1943
as Tomi
New Snow
1942
Passion to Soar
1941
Ah, My Hometown
1938
The Straits of Love and Hate
1937
as Ume
Tsuki yori no shisha
1934
The Feast of Gion
1933
The Water Magician
1933
as Ogin
Kokoro no jitsugetsu: Retsujitsu hen - Gekko hen
1931
The 26 Martyrs of Japan
1931
as Ohisa, Mother of Antonio
And Yet They Go On
1931
Mistress of a Foreigner
1930
as Omatsu
Yaji and Kita: Yasuda's Rescue
1927
as Otoku
Osumi and Her Mother
1924
Moken no himitsu
1924
Seisaku no tsuma
1924