Kumeko Urabe
Date of birth: 1902-10-05
Place of birth: Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Known for: Acting
Also known as: 浦邊粂子
Biography
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.
Movie Credits
Early Spring
1956-01-29
A young Tokyo salary man and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship
Hachiko
1987-08-01
The tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even
Scarred Yosaburo
1960-07-10
The film depicts the scarring of Yosaburo at the hands of yakuza thugs who catch him with mistress o
Nocturnal Lights
1966-06-19
The Salaryman's Carefree Life: What a Relaxed Job This Is!
1962-05-12
The salaryman is the object of admiration in the world. Because there is no more carefree job than t
Haru no sanmyaku
1962-02-17
1962 Japanese movie
Teppo Yasu no Shogai
1962-02-21
1962 Japanese movie
Yaji and Kita: Yasuda's Rescue
1927-12-30
Yaji and Kita: Yasuda's Rescue is a 1927 black and white Japanese silent film directed by Tomiyasu I
Street of Shame
1956-03-18
The lives of five sex workers employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation is debating the passag
湖愁
1962-03-11
1962 Japanese movie
Victory and Defeat
1960-04-27
After the boxing champion retires, the head of a powerful gym, Minegishi (So Yamamura), recommends Y
Wedding March
1951-12-28
Melodrama by Kon Ichikawa
Kono ni uruwashi
1962-03-18
1962 Japanese movie
Duel in the Sun
1950-03-07
A film by Kiyoshi Saeki
Oogonju
1950-11-04
The Song Lantern
1960-05-18
The title of the film reflects the custom of writing poems and lyrics on paper lanterns. The film t
Bridge of Japan
1956-10-01
Ichikawa's 1956 adaptation of Nihonbashi was the first to take the work of Kyoka Izumi— until then
Floating Weeds
1959-11-17
When a theater troupe's master visits his old flame, he unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpect
Irresponsible Rascal of Japan
1962-12-23
Sequel to "Irresponsible Age of Japan".
Dupe
1965-10-01
Koina no Ginpei
1954-01-15
1954 Japanese movie
The 26 Martyrs of Japan
1931-10-01
Jesuit priests in Japan during the 17th century are persecuted by the shogunate to for trying to spr
Women of the Night
1948-05-26
In early post-war Osaka, three women, war widow Fusako, her sister Natsuko, an expatriate from Korea
Aru yo no seppun
1946-05-23
The romantic struggles of three close friends who came back from the war.
Women Doing Time
1966-03-05
Part 2 of the 'Onna bangaichi' series
Night Scandal
1964-07-11
Girl in College
1969-03-30
The Broken Commandment
1962-04-06
Ushimatsu's father told him never to reveal his lower-caste heritage; years later, he now contemplat
Yearning
1964-01-15
War widow Reiko rebuilds and runs the grocery shop in the house of her husband's family. Many years
She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum
1955-11-29
On the way back to his childhood home, a septuagenarian man recalls his childhood and adolescence, i
The Wild Geese
1953-09-15
A young woman, who must support her father as a middle-aged man's mistress, finds herself falling in
The Body
1962-11-08
The sexual experiences of the passionate Sakiko, from her fling with her boss in her first job to he
Ah, My Hometown
1938-10-06
A village romantic drama. (Now lost.)
Before Spring
1980-09-20
Out of the blue, a bourgeois family on the Sea of Japan finds an unconscious woman on the beach and
Being Two Isn't Easy
1962-11-18
The days leading up to a toddler's second birthday are seen alternately from the child's point of vi
The Straits of Love and Hate
1937-06-17
A story of a servant girl whose life is upturned by her doomed love for a spineless young man.
Hibari no komoriuta
1951-09-21
Hibari no komoriuta (ひばりの子守唄, literally "Hibari's Lullaby") is a 1951 black-and-white Japanese film
Kyū-chan ondo
1962-07-01
1962 Japanese movie
Moken no himitsu
1924-03-14
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, Sherlock Holmes is hi
18 Roughs
1963-09-11
Experienced shipyard worker Shimazaki gets an offer of free lodging from his employer in the company
The Story of Shunkin
1954-06-27
Based on the novel by Junichiro Tanizaki. Story of the beautiful blind daughter of a wealthy busines
Secret Club 000
1965-12-04
Shi no machi wo nogarete
1952-05-22
Group of women escape Chinese controlled area for Japanese occupied lands during Pacific War.
When a Woman Loves
1960-01-03
Story of a romance between a middle-aged journalist and a young woman.
Sound in the Mist
1956-11-21
In the heart of the Japanese Alps, in Kamikochi, Nagano Prefecture, botany professor Kazuhiko Onuma
Mistress of a Foreigner
1930-07-01
Tōjin Okichi is a 1930 film by Kenji Mizoguchi based on the novel by Gisaburo Juichiya. Only 4 minu
The Man From Chungking
1943-11-11
Mysterious incident at a secret factory! Important documents lost! What is the true identity of the
Koyoi Tsuma to Narinu
1947-03-04
A hospital melodrama where the conflict between love and friendship rules the faith of the protagoni
Osumi and Her Mother
1924-06-29
Directed by Minoru Murata.
Gakusei geisha koi to kenka
1962-09-01
1962 Japanese movie
母山彦
1952-04-24
Tomorrow I'll Be a Fire-Tree
1955-10-05
The Precipice
1958-03-18
Kosaka drops to death while ice climbing with his friend Uozu to see the sunrise on the New Year’s D
Confronting Fear
1958-07-20
Former boxer Goro Kawasaki was attacked by the organizer of the fights for knocking out his opponent
俺は死なない
1956-08-21
Onna Ikitemasu: Sakariba Wataridori
1972-12-09
Akane Kawasaki, known for her aversion to physical contact with men, possesses some unfavorable habi
喜劇 右向けェ左！
1970-12-31
Mamoru Hirayama, the sales manager of Clover Shoji, a women's underwear manufacturer, was selected b
An Heir's Place
1953-06-03
This film stars Tanaka Kinuyo as the mother of the heir to the Hosho name, a famous lineage of Noh a
(Street of Wandering Pigeons) When Will the Birds Come Home
1955-06-21
Yoshida Denkichi does loses sight of his wife Chiyoko and daughter Toyoko during the war, and is tak
Parakin to Kyū-chan mōshiwakenai yarō-tachi
1962-12-30
1962 Japanese movie
Tsuki yori no shisha
1934-03-29
Ikiru
1952-10-09
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for
A Certain Woman
1954-03-13
Kokoro no jitsugetsu: Retsujitsu hen - Gekko hen
1931-10-30
Saigo no kikyō
1945-07-26
1945 Japanese movie
Four and A Half Mats
1966-02-17
Fukazawa Shino is a prostitute in the late Meiji period. Shino was deceived by Tatsukichi and sold.
Repast
1951-11-23
Michiyo lives in the small place Osaka and is not happy with her marriage; all she does is cook and
Lightning
1952-10-09
The story of Kiyoko, a young woman who has successfully managed to make a break with her dysfunction
Brother and Sister
1953-08-19
The eldest daughter of a rural family Mon returns home from Tokyo pregnant after an affair with a co
Ginza Cancan Girls
1949-08-16
Shizuko Kasagi and Hideko Takamine star as young women who try to raise money for a needy old friend
Where Chimneys Are Seen
1953-03-05
Where Chimneys Are Seen focuses primarily on the interconnected lives of two couples in a lower-midd
The Pretty Jade
1966-09-17
Part 3 of the 'Onna bangaichi' series
Who Is the Criminal?
1945-12-27
1945 Japanese movie
A Face Glowing at Night
1946-06-13
Ex-war financier Kuraishi Kinnosuke is visited by a ghostly face in the middle of the night telling
Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky
1954-11-23
This drama of middle-class life in postwar Japan tells the story lower-middle-class workers in the c
The Makioka Sisters
1959-01-14
Based on the famous novel by Junichiro Tanizaki, this is a story of the four sisters of the ancient
A Mother's Love
1950-06-27
A bar girl tries to pass her three children, each from a different father, to rural relatives.
Bot-chan
1953-06-15
1953 Toho adaptation of Natsume's novel.
The Song of the Cart
1959-02-11
A lifetime story of a woman who stubbornly lives in a poor mountain village in post-war Japan.
Submarine Ro Hasn't Surfaced
1954-07-13
Japanese war film.
続二等兵物語 決戦体制の巻
1957-03-26
Third sequel to "Story of Second Class Private".
Training Ship of Yearning
1956-10-10
A youthful film filled with youth and passion, set against the backdrop of the ocean and filled with
Stakeout
1958-01-15
Two detectives begin a stakeout based on the slim chance of catching a murderer whom they suspect wi
Miss Lonely
1985-04-12
Lonely and love-stricken high-school student Hiroki pursues a girl, but another one mysteriously app
An Innocent Witch
1965-10-30
Ayako, a young woman from a rural fishing village, is sold by her family into a brothel when her fat
Moment of Terror
1966-04-16
When an only child is struck by a car and dies, the child's mother seeks vengeance against the drive
The Golden Demon
1954-03-21
Tokyo, 1890. Through avarice, a series of misunderstandings, and failures of courage, the engagement
Eriko
1962-03-25
Japanese "kayo" film centered around the song "Eriko" by Yukio Hashi.
Kanpai! Tokyo Musume
1952-12-17
Romantic comedy about a love triangle between two girls who fall in love with a reliable young docto
The Woman Who Touched Legs
1960-08-24
Detective Katahachi meets a young and beautiful pickpocket and doesn’t arrest her because she was no
The Life of a Horse Trader
1951-12-07
The tale of Katakana Yonetaro aka "The Shark," a rough-and-tumble horse trader in Japan's northernmo
Elegy of the North
1957-09-01
A sensitive young woman aged 22 fell in love with a middle aged man who was troubled by his unfaithf
The Bad Guy Blues
1969-08-27
A story about club hostesses in Osaka.
Two in the Shadow
1967-11-18
A man is involved in a fatal car accident, and though he is blameless, his company transfers him to
The Feast of Gion
1933-08-31
A sad love film where the action takes place in Kyoto, in a trading house. Considered a lost film.
Jakoman and Tetsu
1964-02-08
In a village subsisting on its herring fishery, a one-eyed criminal named Jakoman terrorizes the inh
Love's Family Tree
1961-11-22
Akireta musumetachi
1949-10-11
Japanese comedy film.
Portrait of Madame Yuki
1950-10-21
A young woman takes up her new job as the servant of a noblewoman and soon discovers that underneath
Snow Country
1957-04-30
It's a man's world. Shimamura, an artist, comes to this snowbound town to rejuvenate himself. He con
Stray Dog
1973-09-29
When his pistol is stolen, police detective Murakami is humiliated, especially when the gun is later
Fantasy of Youth
1955-04-19
Adaptation of the novel by Bunroku Shishi.
Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director
1975-05-24
In 39 interviews with actors and actresses, writers, producers and staff members, interspersed with
Adults Games
1971-01-27
The girl students of rival junior high schools stage duels and show a curious interest in sexual pas
And Yet They Go On
1931-06-12
Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Released in 2 parts. His only release of 1931. Considered a lost film.
The Secret Ceremony
1971-06-23
Erotic drama.
I Sell My Husband
1968-11-09
Japanese comedy film.
Snow-Flake
1950-05-17
Refresher Course for Wives
1961-08-13
One night, three wives, Matsuyo, Keiko and Mari, receive a mysterious telephone call. The voice tell
Tokyo Omnibus
1959-10-30
The story tells of Tsuchiya, a university professor and a widower who is in love with a widow who ru
Typhoon Over Nagasaki
1957-02-06
Pierre Marsac, a French engineer working for the Nagasaki shipbuilding yards, has fallen in love bot
Eyes, the Sea and a Ball
1967-09-30
A teacher in a poor island community tries to improve his students' spirits by entering them in a vo
Nippon no obaachan
1962-01-03
Two obaachans become fast friends listening to music in front of a record store. They both boast abo
母子鶴
1952-07-03
A Ripple in a Morning
1952-05-01
Atsuko is an office secretary who is also her family's primary source of income and caretaker in pos
Game of Chance
1966-10-22
Bungo becomes a single parent when his wife leaves him because of his drinking and gambling. Decidin
Young Lovers
1957-01-03
The story of a young couple deeply in love with each other but, because of complications and misunde
A Woman's Testament
1960-01-14
The first story concerns an attractive young woman who works in a Tokyo nightclub. Her plan for a so
A Bridge for Two Alone
1958-03-05
The Tiger of Malaya
1943-06-24
A band of guerrillas fight against occupying British forces in Malaya.
Tokyo Twilight
1957-04-30
Two sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot accept the fact
Night Mist Makes Women Cry
1962-02-04
A love melodrama.
Ghost Story of Devil's Fire Swamp
1963-06-23
Nishina Saburouta is powerful but corrupted priest. One night, an old samurai who couldn't bear him
Twenty-Four Eyes
1954-09-15
From 1928 to 1946, the lives of 12 young people and their school teacher in a poor Japanese village
The Passionate Spinster
1965-11-23
She'd watched them go one by one. Friend after friend. White dress after another. Yet again, Shimako
The Rainbow Man
1949-07-18
When a young woman is named as the prime suspect in a murder, her girlfriend and her girlfriend's bo
Tsukinode no ketto
1960-11-16
Tora-san's Pure Love
1976-12-25
When Tora-san's infatuation with his nephew's school teacher causes family turmoil, he leaves on his
The Water Magician
1933-06-01
Taki no Shiraito is a very independent young woman with a famous water juggling act in a travelling
Itohan Monogatari
1957-01-15
Based on the original work by Shuji Hojo, Itohan Monogatari depicts the fate of a clumsy and kind-he
Gateway to Glory
1969-07-12
A young man leaves his widowed mother on her improverished farm and makes his career in the Japanese
Twice on a Certain Night
1956-06-08
Poor social conditions badly affect the relationship between a married couple, when the husband, who
A Woman's Life
1955-01-29
The film adaptation of Yuzo Yamamoto's novel tells the story of the difficult fate of a single mothe
A Man Among Men
1955-01-03
Gangsters Ken and Maki are rivals in the ticket-scalping game. They make an uneasy truce, but Ken wr
Storm on the Silvery Peaks
1960-04-29
Destroyer Yukikaze
1964-02-16
Yutaro Kida, a worker at the Sasebo Naval Arsenal, volunteers for the navy but finds himself a cook'
Flower Cards Chivalry
1967-03-10
A wandering gambler runs into a young swindler woman working with an old man. They are both arrested
Yanagase Blues
1967-09-15
Jiro, a smooth-talking, womanizing bartender, flees from a Yakuza boss to Yanagase.
Nocturnal Gate
1948-10-02
Inazuma Kaidō
1957-09-21
Fighting Letter for 29 People
1957-06-04
The Magistrate
1955-03-25
Seisaku no tsuma
1924-01-02
Teinen Taishoku
1963-03-01
Yaneura no Onna-tachi
1956-05-14
New Snow
1942-10-01
Minowada, a young teacher at a National People's School, has his own theory of education and the dau
Passion to Soar
1941-11-30
Children Seeking a Mother
1956-08-08
While working in an education center for lonely children, a mother seeks her missing son.
Goodbye, Hello
1959-01-03
Kazuko and Umeko have been friends since college. They are modern businesswomen who have many obliga
Diary of a Substitute Doctor
1959-05-27
Mother
1958-03-05
A Grain of Wheat
1958-09-14
The film depicts a group of boys and girls who graduate from a local junior high school and head to
Chained Bitch
1965-10-15
Japanese prison exploitation movie. Part 1 of the 'Onna bangaichi' series
Color
1965-06-13
The Final Gamble
1970-02-11
White Cliffs
1960-04-05
1960 Toei film.
The Cold-Hearted Sea
1984-11-17
A film adaptation of the novel of the same title written by Hiroshi Hatayama (畑山博).
The Refugee
1955-05-03
A Chinese medical student named Gan Shosho finds himself cut off from his homeland as he is studying
Uogashi no senpū musume
1963-03-03
1963 Japanese movie
Tokyo Eyes
1958-01-03
A beautiful older sister and her younger brother, both designers who paint the dreams of young hope,
刑事部屋
1956-04-04
Love and the Shop Curtain
1961-04-28
Otami and daughter Yuri run the Matsuoka, a 150-year-old Japanese-style inn in Tokyo which they plan
Victory or Defeat
1954-12-01
Hibi no haishin
1958-02-16
Hiroyuki, a married executive, falls madly in love with Ikuko, the mistress of a ruthless jeweler. T
Ie naki musume
1939-04-13
An orphan Mihato Mari works as a secretary at a spinning factory.
日輪 前篇
1926-05-21
Directed by Minoru Murata.
Irohanihoheto
1960-05-20
The anonymous partnership Investment Economic Association, led by its president Ryuichi Amano, colle
Koi no otome kawa
1969-01-11
1969 Japanese movie
We Are Salarymen
1963-11-24
Eiichiro, a talented young salesman, grows disillusioned with office politics and returns to his fam
Flower's Yearning
1958-08-05
Domoto Kozue, a gifted young ikebana artist, shoulders the legacy of her late father’s school while
Dadakko Shachou
1956-02-12
Adapted from a novel by Kaoru Funayama
Yurakucho 0 Street
1958-10-07
A satirical comedy set in Tokyo's new landmark food center in Yurakucho.
The Cat Knew
1958-05-07
東京シンデレラ娘
1954-04-26
Namida no kisetsu
1969-03-21
Kyoichi Kageyama, a TV station reporter, is always getting into trouble. But when he gets his hands