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Kyōko Kagawa Movies, Cast & Biography

Kyōko Kagawa (香川 京子 Kagawa Kyōko, born 5 December 1931) is a Japanese actress. She has appeared in leading and supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well and High and Low, Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, and Kenji Mizoguchi's Sansho the…

Born
5 December 1931
Birthplace
Aso [now Namegata], Ibaraki, Japan
Known for
Actor
Guides here
1 film

Biography

Who is Kyōko Kagawa?

Kyōko Kagawa (香川 京子 Kagawa Kyōko, born 5 December 1931) is a Japanese actress. She has appeared in leading and supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well and High and Low, Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, and Kenji Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff. She won the "New Face Nomination" sponsored by the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper out of about 6,000 applicants and joined Shintoho. She was also taking entrance exams for a regular company at the same time, and her final interview and the final exam for the New Faces camera test overlapped, but with her mother's advice, she decided to pursue acting. After appearing in Red Beard in 1965 , she gave birth to a child and accompanied her husband to New York where he was posted overseas, leaving the film industry for about three years. She returned to Japan in 1968. As film began to decline, she expanded her field of work to include television dramas and stage productions. She was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1998 and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2004 .

Biography from TMDB, edited for length. Verified 6 November 2026.

In our library

Kyōko Kagawa film guides

Full cast, ratings, runtime and official places to watch.

Filmography

Notable credits

  • Tokyo Story1953Kyoko Hirayama
  • High and Low1963Reiko Gondo
  • Sansho the Bailiff1954Anju
  • Red Beard1965Madwoman ("The Mantis")
  • After Life1999Kyoko Watanabe
  • The Bad Sleep Well1960Yoshiko Nishi
  • Mothra1961Michi Hanamura
  • Shall We Dance?1996Keiko Kishikawa
  • Chikamatsu Monogatari1954Osan
  • The Lower Depths1957Okayo, Osugi's Sister

Credit list from TMDB. Sorted by audience votes.

Questions

Frequently asked

Kyōko was born in which country?

Aso [now Namegata], Ibaraki, Japan.

What is Kyōko Kagawa best known for?

Best known as a actor, with 1 credited film in the MovieState library.

Which Kyōko Kagawa films can I read about here?

High and Low (1963).