Singers, actors and politicians who love Japan and China

She is one of the most popular singers in China and Japan. She was a friend of Charlie Chaplin and a well-known actress, appearing in many films. Akira Kurosawa She also wrote a book about her life in the United States and has written many books about her life. She also wrote a book about her life in the United States and has written many books about her life. She also wrote a book about her life in the United States and has written many books about her life. She has also written many books … On top of that, she was a pioneering politician who advocated for Palestinian rights more than 50 years ago and a self-taught polyglot. Any one of these would have been an impressive lifetime achievement. But when fate asked Yoshiko Yamaguchi which legacy she wanted to leave behind, she refused to choose and chose all of the above.

As we approach September 7 and the tenth anniversary of her death, let us remember one of the most fascinating women in modern history.

© 20th Century Fox Film Corporation

What does a name mean? It turns out that names are important

Born in 1920 to Japanese immigrants in Manchuria, China, Yamaguchi spoke Japanese as her first language, but later learned Mandarin and even a little Russian after befriending a schoolmate named Lyuba Monosova Gurinets. Later, Yoshiko took singing lessons from an Italian soprano, further enriching her international upbringing. Through these experiences, the young girl unknowingly laid the foundation for her future turbulent life.

After the Japanese invasion of the region in 1931, Yamaguchi’s voice was discovered by the Manchukuo Film Association, which, interestingly enough, would later bring the world Japan’s first female director. Since she spoke fluent Mandarin by then, Wanrong wanted Yamaguchi to use the name given to her by her Chinese godfather: Li Xianglan (spelled Li Hsiang-lan or Ri Koran in Japanese), and pretend she was Chinese in a series of romance movies.

These movies were really propaganda films about Chinese women falling in love with Japanese soldiers or sailors etc. In one infamous moment, her character is slapped China Night (1940) She later apologized and shouted, “It didn’t hurt at all when you hit me. I’m very happy, very happy.”

Perhaps because of her youth and her naive belief that she was helping the people of Manchuria, who were her friends and family, Yamaguchi did not fully realize the purpose of her work. “I thought my films were just simple romances,” she later told Boston Globe In 1991, immediately after the war, she publicly apologized for her role in the Vangrong propaganda film and condemned the invasion of Manchuria, a very risky move for an entertainer.

Ri Koran or Xianglan?

The least controversial of her films (at least in Asia) is eternal (1943), a Sino-Japanese co-production shot in Shanghai, in which the two countries worked together over their shared hatred of Britain. The film openly criticized the Opium Wars and was a huge success for its catchy songs, many of which are still considered Chinese pop hits today, and made Xianglan one of the most popular singers in all of China at the time.

She is as popular in Japan as Li Kelan, and her performances always draw large crowds. However, as she Pandan: My Early Life (published in 1987), she struggled with her dual identity.

At a press conference in Beijing shortly after the premiere eternal, A reporter asked her about her role in a Vangrong propaganda film, concluding with “Where is your pride in being Chinese?” She wrote that she nearly broke down and revealed her Japanese ancestry, but ultimately restrained herself.

Meanwhile, in Japan, they thought her mannerisms and dress were a little too Chinese for their liking. In her mind, things weren’t so clear-cut. She considered herself a binational person, with China being her “homeland” (or “motherland” in some translations) and Japan being her “ancestral country” (or “motherland”). Unfortunately, an incident ultimately forced her to declare that she belonged to one nation or risk death.

Scandal (1950), Akira Kurosawa. © Shochiku Co. c/o The Japan Society

Geisha Dolls to the Rescue

After World War II, Xianglan was arrested in Shanghai and sentenced to death for “collaborating” with the Imperial Japanese Army while a Chinese citizen. Thankfully, her parents managed to find her Japanese birth certificate, but due to travel restrictions, they had to smuggle it to Shanghai hidden in the head of a geisha doll with the help of Xianglan’s old friend Gurinets.

Although this action saved her life, it also ended her acting career in mainland China. One judge called the young woman “a Chinese swindler who used her outstanding beauty to make films that humiliated China and undermined China’s dignity.” In 1946, Yoshiko Yamaguchi temporarily bid farewell to the entertainment industry and went to Japan to continue her acting career.

World Tour

With the fame of “The Quran”, Yamaguchi soon found an opportunity to work with Kurosawa, and first appeared in Dawn Escape He wrote the screenplay for the film in 1950. That same year, she starred in scandal Starring opposite screen legend Toshiro Mifune, this time directed by Akira Kurosawa himself. Yamaguchi then sought new challenges, eventually moving to the United States, where she changed her name again. This time she called herself Shirley.

Shirley Yamaguchi used her English skills, honed in Shanghai, to appear in several films and a Broadway musical. It was during this time that she met Charlie Chaplin while working on his film scores. spotlight (1952). Sadly, her association with Chaplin led to her being banned from the United States, as the famous actor was forced to leave the country following an FBI anti-communist investigation.

Yamaguchi slowly lost opportunities to perform in other countries, so she briefly reverted to the name Xianglan and made several Chinese films in British-controlled Hong Kong. However, by 1958, her acting career had come to an end, and both Li Xianglan and Yamaguchi had left the entertainment industry, replaced by Ōtaka Yoshiko, the new wife of Japanese diplomat Hiroshi Ōtaka, who traveled to Sri Lanka and Burma for work.

© Isamu Noguchi Photo Archive

Never Stop

After returning to Japan, Yoshiko Ōtaka entered the journalism industry and was promoted to news anchor for Fuji TV in 1969, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and advocating for Palestinian rights.

Five years later, she turned to politics again. In 1974, she was elected to the Senate, where she served for 18 years. She spent the rest of her life fighting for women’s rights around the world until her death at the age of 94.

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