
Tomoko Naraoka
Actor · 1929 – 2023 · Komagome, Hongo Ward, Tokyo City, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Tomoko Naraoka (奈良岡 朋子 Naraoka Tomoko, born December 1, 1929) is a Japanese actress and narrator. The daughter of a painter, she was born in Komagome, Hongō (present-day Bunkyo), in the city of Tokyo, Japan. She graduated from Joshibi University of Art and Design. Naraoka debuted as a cinema actress in the 1949 film Chijin no Ai, based on the novel Naomi. In 1981 she appeared in Rengō Kantai (lit. "Combined Fleet", United States title: The Imperial Navy). She also appeared in Torajirō Sarada Kinenbi (a 1988 movie in the long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series) as well as eight films in the Tsuribaka Nisshi series. Naraoka has appeared in several NHK Taiga dramas. Her first was the 1969 Ten to Chi to, in the role of the wife of Uesugi Sadazane. She portrayed Kita no Mandokoro (the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi) in Haru no Sakamichi (1971). Her next Taiga drama appearance was in 1976 in Kaze to Kumo to Niji to. She narrated the 1986 Inochi and 1989 Kasuga no Tsubone. She is the narrator of the 2008 drama Atsuhime. Other noteworthy narration roles include the 1983 serialized morning television drama Oshin. She also narrated Onna wa Dokyō (1992) and Haru Yo Koi (1994–1995). A nonfiction voice role was in the series Kiwameru: Nihon no Bi to Kokoro.
Movies24
Movie7.8AnimeAnimationWhen Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.
MovieDramaA tragic love story between a prostitute and a young trainee monk.
Movie7.1DramaOn a Tokyo dump’s shantytown edge, interwoven vignettes follow residents scraping by: a boy who “drives” an imaginary trolley, a homeless father and son designing a dream house, a young woman brutalized at home, drunks, schemers, and saints of small kindnesses. Kurosawa crafts a ragged mosaic of hardship, fantasy, and flickers of grace that keep people moving forward.
Movie7.1DramaA railway stationmaster at a dying end-of-the-line village in Hokkaido is haunted by memories of his dead wife and daughter. When the railroad line is scheduled to be closed, he is offered a job at a hotel, but he is emotionally unable to part with his career as a railroader. His life takes a turn when he meets a young woman with an interest in trains who resembles his daughter.
Movie5.8ComedyDramaYumiko returns to work in Hama-chan's department. She had once left the company after getting married, but a dark shadow now seems to loom over her.
Movie6.6WarDramaA lavish retelling of the true story of the final voyage and ultimate destruction and sinking of the battleship Yamato, Japan's greatest flagship during the Second World War.
Movie7.2DramaExpelled from her group for losing her virginity, blind travelling musician Orin endures a life of hardship, abuse, and poverty while wandering the countryside, finding brief companionship with an army deserter, and struggling against a society that marginalises her.
Movie7.1CrimeDramaIn the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.
Movie7.3RomanceDramaRokuheita Narumi is fascinated by oriental art and works as the director of the Saho Art Museum in Nara. His wife, Noriko, is unable to leave Tokyo, despite his wishes, and the two live separately. Feeling lonely and neglected by her husband, she immerses herself in the depraved life of the city and continues to have a loveless relationship with a doctor, Katsumori. One day, Narumi arrives in Tokyo and learns of Noriko's affair, but he cannot divorce her for the sake of their child, so he devotes himself to his work.
Movie7.6DramaShuji was once a feared member of the Yakuza crime syndicate, but he's reformed his ways, abandoned his old life and left the city for a small coastal fishing town where he's become an honest fisherman.
Movie7.2DramaAn essayist, he finds peace in his mountain life. His routine is pleasantly disturbed by occasional visits from Machiko, his editor and love interest, as he struggles to let go of his late wife's ashes.
Movie7.1DramaWarShows the devastation caused by the atomic bomb, and by use of a fictional storyline, portrays the struggle of the ordinary Japanese people in dealing with the aftermath.
Movie7.5Hama-chan goes to Okayama to look for Su-san when he goes missing a few days after freezing up during his inaugural speech as the company chairman.
Movie8.3Hama-chan takes a vacation to go fishing in Akita despite warnings from Su-san as his company faces a restructuring process.
Movie6.7DramaCrimeEverything goes wrong when Jiro tries to break up his mother's relationship with a business man. The young rebel Jiro has to deal with an environment of crime and prostitution, and the impact of its choices on personal relationships: one with his mother, one with her business man lover and one with the girl in love with him.
Movie7.2DramaAfter her mother runs away from home, Tomoko is raised to be a geisha. One day Tomoko meets her mother in a red-light district in Tokyo and her life deeply gets in trouble.
MovieDramaSet along the river basin of Shimane Prefeture's Takatsu River, a government-protected river, this drama portrays various people living in an area burdened by decreasing population as they carry on the tradition of "Kagura" Shinto music and dance which is said to be the roots of Kabuki. Directing from his own screenplay is Nishikori Yoshinari of Railways. Saito Manabu (Komoto Masahiro) operates a ranch on a mountain and worries his son Tatsuya (Ishikawa Raizo) has been making a habit of skipping Kagura practice. Then Manabu learns his alma mater elementary school will be closed down.
Movie6.7ActionComedyIn 16th century Japan, a young man has to choose between becoming a master steel maker like his father and grandfather before him, or becoming a samurai so that he can help protect his village from attacks by the various clans which want the high-quality steel made there.
Movie7.8ComedyRomanceTetsuo is a young man living in Tokyo, who falls in love with a deaf-mute factory girl. He has always felt jealous of his college-educated brother, but ultimately wins both the girl and his father's acceptance and support in a touching and refreshing way.
MovieActionThe wandering gambler (Akira Kobayashi) once again picks up the dice he forswore in order to take revenge of the gangsters who exploit good citizens. The second installment in The Gambler series.
MovieAnimeAnimationTV adaptation of the novel "Twenty-Four Eyes", combining animation with a few live-action scenes.
Movie9.0DramaSet in Osaka just after the end of the war, the story depicts an unconventional merchant who returns from evacuation. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by Teru Miyamoto, and the screenplay was written by Eizo Sugawa, who also wrote "Horagawa". The director is Takeichi Saito, who also directed "Kawachi no Osan no Uta: Yokita no Ware". Kozo Okazaki, who worked on "I am a Cat," is in charge of the cinematography.
Movie7.7DramaMysteryHalf a Confession introduces itself as a thriller and abruptly changes gears, transforming into a tale of morality with deeper insights into its characters than we had anticipated. It begins when Soichiro Kaji (Terao), a retired detective, walks into police headquarters and confesses to the murder of his wife. We learn that the victim had prematurely developed Alzheimer's after the tragic death of their son, and in her suffering, had asked to die. The police chiefs would be far more content to take him at his word if it were not for a conspicuous hole in his story: 48-hour gap between the alleged murder and his confession. Fearing a public relations nightmare, they are eager to bury the incident and keep the press in the dark.
Movie7.0ComedyFamilySu-san resigns after getting fed up with corporate life, but he finds himself back in familiar surroundings on his first assignment at a new job.
Series3
TVDramaThe story chronicles the life of Yagyū Munenori.
TV7.0DramaThe story chronicles the life of Ii Naosuke.
TV8.3DramaSet in the 1950's, a Japanese Antarctic research exploration team and 19 dogs that accompanied the team are stationed at the Showa Base in Antarctica. After a year, the exploration team is ordered to withdraw from the Antarctic station due to severe weather conditions. The dogs have to be left behind. The following year, the next team arrives at the Showa Base station and a miraculous reunion occurs between a dog handler accompanying the new tean and two dogs, Taro and Shiro, that are brothers.