TAKAMINE HIDEKO

[Peter Grilli]

Let me add my vote of praise to Joel Cohn's about Phyllis Birnbaum's
essay
on Takamine Hideko, which has been republished in her book
"Modern Girls, Shining Stars, The Skies of Tokyo:  Five Japanese Women"
 (NY, Columbia University Press, 1999)

Birnbaum's essay on Takamine, titled "The Odor of Pickled Radishes,"
appeared first in the New Yorker Magazine about 6-7 years ago -- and it
is superb!
(The four other essays in her book -- on Matsui Sumako, Takamura Chieko,

Yanagiwara Byakuren, and Uno Chiyo -- are also very good.)

Takamine herself is a skillful and prolific writer.  No fan should miss
her
revealing autobiography,
"Watashi no tosei nikki"  (2 volumes, Asahi Shimbun-sha, 1980).

Other memoirs of hers are:
"Tsuzurikata Pari"  (Tokyo, Ushio Shuppan-sha)
"Ippiki no mushi"  (Tokyo, Ushio Shuppan-sha)

See also her travel essays, written with husband Matsuyama Zenzo:
"Tabi wa michizure -- Aloha Oe"  (Tokyo, Ushio Shuppan-sha, 1982) and
"Tabi wa michizure -- Gandara" (Tokyo, Ushio Shuppan-sha)

And her witty cookbook:  "Daidokoro no ookesutora" (Tokyo, Ushio
Shuppan-sha, 1982)

Sato Tadao also has an essay on Takamine that is supposed to be good (I
haven't read it yet):  "Fumetsu no sutaa: Takamine Hideko no subete"
(Shuppan Kyodo, 1990)

Peter Grilli


Joel Cohn wrote:

> There is also a chapter on Takamine in Phyllis Birnbaum's _Modern
Girls,
> Shining Stars, the Skies of Tokyo:  5 Japanese Women_ (1999, Columbia
U
P)
>
> At  5:33 1/19/0 -1000, Maureen Donovan wrote:
> >>1) the biography of Takamine Hideko (the english version), by
> >>   James O'Brien, titled "Takamine Hideko: the actress".
> >>   i tried already the obvious channels (Amazon and the like),
> >>   but no success.
> >>   also, if anyone has read it already, is it any good?
> >>
> >
> >Here's the citation (from the Bibliography of Asian Studies):
> >Author: O'Brien, James
> >Title: Takamine Hideko: the actress
> >Citation: In: Mulhern, Chieko Irie, ed. Heroic with grace: legendary
women
> >of Japan. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 1991. 326p. (An East gate book.)

1991
> >265-296
> >
> >Maureen Donovan, Ohio State University Libraries