
Kumeko Urabe
Born October 5, 1902 · Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
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.
Notable Appearances
More Movies

Ginji of the Seven Faces

Rōkyoku tengu dōjō

Yurakucho 0 Street

Tokyo Gang

Repast

Checkers in Tan Tan tanuki

The Buried Treasure

Tokyo Twilight

Early Spring

The Woman Who Touched Legs

Floating Weeds

Street of Shame

I Was Tokichiro

Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director

Yearning

Shinzōyaburi no oka

Asashio yushio

Asakusa monogatari

Stakeout

Lonely Heart

Shunsetsu no mon

Portrait of Madame Yuki

Typhoon Over Nagasaki

Haha no mizūmi

Machi no kotengu

Two in the Shadow

Snow Country

Mabuta no haha

Yobiko hoshi

To the Ends of the Earth

Women of the Night

Jakoman and Tetsu

Oka wa hanazakari

Tenka o nerau bishōnen

Ghost Story of Devil's Fire Swamp

Brother and Sister

An Innocent Witch

Dorei no machi

Forever My Love

Dokuja-tō kidan: Joōbachi

Koi no Oranda-zaka

Tokyo Elegy

Destroyer Yukikaze

Irohanihoheto

Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky

Moment of Terror

Lightning

The Wild Geese

Tora-san's Pure Love

Sound of Youth

White Cliffs

The Broken Commandment

Being Two Isn't Easy

A Woman's Testament

The Golden Demon

The Rainbow Man

A Girl Who Delivers Happiness

House of Many Pleasures

She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum

Happiness For You — Sentimental Boy

Youth

The Song of the Cart

Nippon no obaachan

Scarred Yosaburo

A Grain of Wheat

The Life of a Horse Trader

Four and A Half Mats

Stray Dog

Game of Chance

Girl in College

Twenty-One Concubines: The Life of a Pervert

Night Scandal

Hahakozuru

Tomorrow I'll Be a Fire-Tree

Elegy of the North

Hills of a Foreign Country

Wicked Priest 4: The Killer Priest Comes Back

The Water Magician

Tokyo Omnibus

Headquarters of Crime Detection

Onna Ikitemasu: Sakariba Wataridori

Haha yamahiko

Flower Cards Chivalry

Mother

Here It is Quiet

Victory and Defeat

Three Mothers

Nocturnal Lights

Where Chimneys Are Seen

Young Lovers

An Heir's Place

The Refugee

Genghis Khan

A Man Among Men

Bridge of Japan

Parakin to Kyū-chan mōshiwakenai yarō-tachi

A Ripple in a Morning

Training Ship of Yearning

Bot-chan

Storm on the Silvery Peaks

A Certain Woman

The Straits of Love and Hate

Shinju fujin: Shojo no maki

When a Woman Loves

Hibi no haishin

東京シンデレラ娘

The Precipice

The Legendary Hell

Uogashi no senpū musume

Snow-Flake

Arashi no naka no shimai

Blind Love

Koyoi Tsuma to Narinu

Lovely Days

A Woman's Life

Monkey Business

The Secret Ceremony

Chained Bitch

A Bridge for Two Alone

Tsuki yori no shisha

Sound in the Mist

Before Spring

Twice on a Certain Night

The Makioka Sisters

Kyū-chan ondo

18 Roughs

Nocturnal Gate

Tokyo Eyes

Troupers of Asakusa

Hear My Mother's Cry

Dupe

Inazuma Kaidō

Submarine Ro Hasn't Surfaced

Kenji to onnakanshu

The Body

Adults Games

Itohan Monogatari

Women Doing Time

Wedding March

Color

Shinju fujin: Hitozuma no maki

Duel in the Sun

Yanagase Blues

Love's Family Tree

Yaneura no Onna-tachi

Secret Club 000

Irresponsible Rascal of Japan

The 99th Bride

The Song Lantern

Teppo Yasu no Shogai

Fighting Letter for 29 People

Gakusei geisha koi to kenka

Refresher Course for Wives

The Monk Who Became a Raccoon Dog

The Bad Guy Blues

We Are Salarymen

The Little Green Box

Hibari no komoriuta

Escape from the City of Death

New Snow

The Cold-Hearted Sea

Flower's Yearning

The Final Gamble

The Pretty Jade

Haru no sanmyaku

Hiren tsubaki

The Cat Knew

The Salaryman's Carefree Life: What a Relaxed Job This Is!

The Story of Shunkin

The 26 Martyrs of Japan

The Passionate Spinster

Confronting Fear

Teinen Taishoku

Koga Manshion

Goodbye, Hello

Saigo no kikyō

Convent Bride

Koina no Ginpei

Eyes, the Sea and a Ball

喜劇 右向けェ左!

Ginza Cancan Girls

The Feast of Gion

I Sell My Husband

Fantasy of Youth

Akireta musumetachi

River Of Love

Season of Tears

Kono ni uruwashi

Tsukinode no ketto

Who Is the Criminal?

Love and the Shop Curtain

The Spoiled Brat President

Koshū

Yaji and Kita: Yasuda's Rescue

俺は死なない

The Man From Chungking

Diary of a Substitute Doctor

Children Seeking a Mother

Victory or Defeat

The Tiger of Malaya

A Face Glowing at Night

The Magistrate

Aru yo no seppun

Kokoro no jitsugetsu: Retsujitsu hen - Gekko hen

And Yet They Go On








