Japanese Actress Shirley Yamaguchi, Who Starred in House of Bamboo, Dies at 94

August 2024 · 4 minute read

Chinese-born star had a life that was as dramatic as many of her movies

Yoshiko “Shirley” Yamaguchi, who starred in Japanese WWII pics posing as a Chinese but segued postwar to fame in Japanese and Hollywood films such as Samuel Fuller’s “House of Bamboo,” died at her Tokyo home of heart failure on Sept. 7, her family announced on Sunday. She was 94.

Born in 1920 in Manchuria to Japanese parents, Yamaguchi took the name Li Xianglan (in Japanese “Ri Koran”) to use in her Chinese singing and acting career, presenting herself as a local. Her films, including the 1938 “Honeymoon Express” and the 1940 “China Nights,” made her popular with Chinese audiences, while serving the propaganda purposes of her Japanese backers.

After the war she was tried and nearly executed for treason by a Chinese court, but was repatriated to Japan after her true identity became known. In the early postwar years, this time as Yoshiko Yamaguchi, she built a thriving singing and acting career in Japan.

Related Stories

Photo collage of Lionsgate franchises The Hunger Games, Expendables, and Saw. VIP+

What Lionsgate’s Partnership Deal With Runway Means

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 10: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This image was sent with an alternate crop.) Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris debate for the first time during the presidential election campaign at The National Constitution Center on September 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After earning the Democratic Party nomination following President Joe Biden's decision to leave the race, Harris faced off with Trump in what may be the only debate of the 2024 race for the White House. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Head of FCC Rejects Donald Trump's Call to Revoke ABC Broadcast License

In Hollywood, where the English-fluent actress was known as Shirley Yamaguchi, she scored major roles in films, television and even a short-lived Broadway play, “Shangri-la.”

Popular on Variety

Among her credits were Akira Kurosawa’s “Scandal” (1950), King Vidor’s “Japanese War Bride” (1952), Samuel Fuller’s noir classic “House of Bamboo” (1955) and the pioneering Toho and Shaw Brothers co-production “Madame White Snake” (1956), in which she played an ancient snake spirit able to take human form. In Hong Kong she appeared in several now-lost local films, while recording Chinese-language hits.

In 1951 she married Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi, but the union ended in divorce in 1956. In 1958 she wed Japanese diplomat Hiroshi Otaka and retired from show business. In 1974, she was elected to the House of Councillors, Japan’s upper house, as a member belonging to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a post she held until 1992. She also wrote her autobiography, in which she expressed regret for her wartime deceptions, hosted a TV talk show and otherwise maintained a media presence, this time as Yoshiko Otaka.

She penned an autobiography and her dramatic life was fictionalized in Ian Buruma’s novel “The China Lover.” In Japan her life story has inspired a hit musical, TV dramas and a biopic that director Hirokazu Kore’eda is reportedly preparing.

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXKAjp%2BgpaVflsCqrY6jmKmZnprApnnAnKurnaOoerS0yKujnrFdrq6urcaumqGhXZm2pr%2BMmqtmcWRifnN8kGxnbmxkanw%3D