Harumi Hanayagi (花柳 㠯る㠿, Hanayagi Harumi, 24 February 1896
â€" 11 October 1962) was a pioneering Japanese film and stage
actress.In 1915, Hanayagi became a student at the Geijutsuza, the
modern theater troupe led by HÅ getsu Shimamura and Sumako Matsui, and
made her stage debut. She moved to the TÅ jisha troupe in 1917 and
appeared with them in a series of films directed by Norimasa Kaeriyama
for Tenkatsu, starting with The Glow of Life (released 1919). In an
era where female roles on screen were played by male actors
(onnagata), Hanayagi was considered "the first billed appearance of a
female performer" in Japanese cinema, even though actresses such as
Nakamura Kasen had appeared in earlier films or in rensageki, a
combination of film and live stage performance. After appearing in
more films, she focused her career on the stage after 1920, eventually
appearing in the Tsukiji Little Theater as well as the proletarian
theater of Tomoyoshi Murayama. She retired in 1928 after getting
married.
â€" 11 October 1962) was a pioneering Japanese film and stage
actress.In 1915, Hanayagi became a student at the Geijutsuza, the
modern theater troupe led by HÅ getsu Shimamura and Sumako Matsui, and
made her stage debut. She moved to the TÅ jisha troupe in 1917 and
appeared with them in a series of films directed by Norimasa Kaeriyama
for Tenkatsu, starting with The Glow of Life (released 1919). In an
era where female roles on screen were played by male actors
(onnagata), Hanayagi was considered "the first billed appearance of a
female performer" in Japanese cinema, even though actresses such as
Nakamura Kasen had appeared in earlier films or in rensageki, a
combination of film and live stage performance. After appearing in
more films, she focused her career on the stage after 1920, eventually
appearing in the Tsukiji Little Theater as well as the proletarian
theater of Tomoyoshi Murayama. She retired in 1928 after getting
married.
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