1960s/1970s/1980s Japanese Genre Cinema - From Books and Magazine Articles (NSFW)

[Takuma]

Interesting, any further explanation on why they dropped the 'da' off the 'Ikeda'?

I don't think there was. Maybe Ike just sounded more "dynamic" than Ikeda (which is a pretty common name)?

Changing names wasn't uncommon I think, e.g. Shinichi Chiba was really Sadaho Maeda but Shinichi Chiba sure sounds cooler.

[RDP]

Interesting, any further explanation on why they dropped the 'da' off the 'Ikeda'?

[Takuma]

So, I bought Norifumi Suzuki's book Toei Guerilla Senki (東映ゲリラ戦記) and the 1st chapter is called “The 16 Year Old Enchantress” and it's about Reiko Ike and the making of Hot Springs Mimizu Geisha (温泉みみず芸者) (1971).

Suzuki says he and producer Kanji Amao were scouting for fresh faces for the film in Kyoto but weren't finding anyone. Finally they spotted a good looking girl in a magazine that was doing semi-nude photos of young women. But all the models had fake names. Suzuki went back to Tokyo to talk with the publisher and found out the model's real name: Reiko Ikeda. During production they decided to drop the “da” from Ikeda. Miki Sugimoto was found the same way, she was also doing modelling.

Suzuki describes his first impressions of Ike: “Strong eye shadow and heavy make-up, vibrant red lips, big bust, smoking a cigarette, and underage”.

And there was the problem. According to Suzuki, Ike was 16. Suzuki says he and Amao had a serious talk with Ike and told her she was never to reveal her real age. They were especially worried that if someone casually asked Ike's animal zodiac and she replied truthfully, that would give away her real birth year. To which she replied “don't worry, don't worry, I've had big boobs since 6th year elementary school and I knew how to dress [like an adult] since junior high 3rd year. Women can lie with make-up, can't they?”. And she said all that while holding teen magazine Seventeen in her hand!

It's not specifically stated, but I think the “official birth date” of May 25, 1953 that you see in some sources was fabricated by Suzuki and Amao. I think June 25, 1954 is her real birth date. Hotwax's 和モノ事典1970's 人名編 (2006) book says June 25, 1954. The liner notes on Nikkatsu's Black Panther Bitch M (黒い牝豹ï¼) (1974) DVD likewise state "born 1954". I also have a Jan 15, 1972 issue of Heibon Punch that comes with a Ike pin up poster which states Ike's age as 17, which would also make it 1954.


Cinematographer Shin Furuya, Norifumi Suzuki and Reiko Ike.

[Takuma]

Re-post from last year to organize content into the correct thread

Yumiko Katayama update!

She was telling some great stories about Toei and how she got into Inferno of Torture, where she plays the first girl tattoeed by both Asao Koike and Teruo Yoshida. She said she joined Toei via Toei's new faces competition (like Sonny Chiba and Ken Takakura before her). Toei brought the screenplay to her but she refused it on basis of the nudity and its extreme nature. The film later went into production with a different actress, who however quit in the middle of filming because she couldn't take it! Meanwhile Katayama had agreed to do a bikini shoot for Heibon Punch, but it turned out a nude photo shoot! She used a fake name, but Toei found out said now she has no excuse not to do (replace the missing actress in) Inferno of Torture.

Finally got this! Feb 10, 1969 issue!







No wonder Toei spotted her photos. The name she used was å¡” えいå/ To Eiko (= Toei-ko = Toei-girl))

(there's a few more photos in the magazine but I feel I shouldn't post them all. Fans ought to hunt down the magazine by themselves).

[Takuma]

There's a nice little Reiko Ike biography in the Hotwax's Who's Who Book 和モノ事典1970's 人名編 (2006). English summary (scan below, please point out if I made any glaring mistakes)

Reiko Ike, a nude actress and the centre of the “Toei Porno” line from 1971 to 1974. Born June 25, 1954 in Tokyo. The real name is Reiko Ikeda. Did fashion and nude modelling under various aliases such as 眞木åœå and ケイ真紀 until fall 1971. Was scouted by director Norifumi Suzuki and producer Kanji Amao in May 1971 at the famous Aoi Heya club in Tokyo where both Ike and Miki Sugimoto used to hang out (note: in his book Suzuki says they had seen Ike's photos in a men's magazine and came to Tokyo to look for her). Body measurements were B98 W58 H90.

With the release of Onsen Mimizu Geisha in July 1971, Ike was billed “Porno Actress”, the first in Japan as the word “porno” had not been used in cinema context in Japan before. In October Toei had her attend and win a “Big Bust Pride” (バスト自慢コンクール) competition held at Hachijō-jima island. She continued to enjoy great success throughout 1971.

In 1972 Ike attempted a career chance to singing with the record releases World of Ecstasy (恍惚の世界) (1971/12), and 変身 (1972/7) which came out via Victor Records. She announced she'd no longer take pornographic roles and would pursue an idol career. “I want to succeed without taking my clothes off” she said. Miki Sugimoto was made the new Toei Porno star. However, Ike's record sales were not great and she returned to Toei later in 1972 to become the studio's top sex star once again, responding to the audiences' demand.

Following the decline of erotic films in 1974, Ike tried a new direction with the Nikkatsu Action film Black Panther Bitch M and the Hong Kong horror film The Bedevilled but the films were not particularly successful, and she'd go on to appear in jitsuroku yakuza films instead. Retired from the film biz in 1977 following the news of drug law violation, though she made one more film appearance in 1979 in Golden Dog.

[Takuma]

I thought I'd share some photos, articles and other content from Japanese books and magazines. I'll try my best to summarize and translate some gems as well, within the scope of my skills. Native or more advanced Japanese speakers, please point out if I make any mistakes.

Be noted that these posts will be very infrequent.

Girl Boss Guerilla (1972)