Chieko Takehisa
Born 1912 (age 94) · Nakakawaguchi, Akita, Japan
Appears in 26 titles

Chieko Takehisa (March 6, 1912 – September 14, 2006) was a Japanese actress from Akita Prefecture. At 15, she dropped out of high school to join the movie industry. She then starred in many films and plays from the 1930s to the 1940s, becoming popular as an actress in "moga" (modern girl) roles. In 1935, Takehisa met American journalist Clarke Kawakami at a Christmas party. They soon fell in love, but America's Japanese exclusion laws created great difficulty in securing a visa for Takehisa. In 1941, she finally arrived in the United States on a student visa, marrying Kawakami in August of that year. After the Pearl Harbor attack, Takehisa returned to Japan, resuming her film career, and the two lost contact. In 1945, Kawakami learned that Takehisa had survived the war. Hoping to find her, he returned to Japan and joined General Douglas MacArthur's staff in charge of the U.S. occupation. There, he was reunited with Takehisa, who was astonished to see him. The couple would have three children in the following years, and Takehisa effectively retired from the film industry by the late 1940s. Takehisa moved to Hawaii in 1950 with her family, where she lived for the rest of her life.

Filmography

Learn from Experience, Part One
Learn from Experience, Part Two
Horse
6.3
Horse
1941
as Saku Onoda, Ine's mother
Brother and Sister
The Bride from Japan
9.0
The Bride from Japan
1959
as Taro's mother
Subterranean Heat
7.0
Subterranean Heat
1938
as Okayo
Japanese Women's Textbook
9.0
Japanese Women's Textbook
1937
as (Volume 1)
The Monkey King
7.0
The Monkey King
1940
as Witch
Kaze no ko
9.0
Kaze no ko
1949
9.0
Botchan
1935
as Kosuzu, the geisha
Yoru no hato
7.0
Yoru no hato
1937
as Okiyo
10.0
Nangoku taiheiki
1937
as Fujiharu
Those Who Make Tomorrow
10.0
Those Who Make Tomorrow
1946
as Kin Okamoto, Mother
Tadano Bonji: Jinsei Benkyô
To Love and Swear
To Love and Swear
1945
as Shiraishi's wife
Hikari to kage (Zenpen)
Wife of a Lily
1940
Blizzard Ronin
Blizzard Ronin
1939
Kantaro of Ina
Kantaro of Ina
1943