Takako Irie on Couch by Nakamura Daizaburō

Artist Nakamura Daizaburō (1898–1947) painted this folding screen for the 11th Japan Fine Arts Exhibition in 1930. The lovely model for the painting was Irie Takako (1911–1995), a Japanese actress from a noble family who lived a turbulent life. Her family descended from Sugawara no Michizane (845–903), a politician, scholar, and poet who tragically died in exile, but eventually rose to be revered in the Shinto belief system as the god of learning. Although Irie was born into privilege, her father died when she was twelve years old, and after the Great Kantō Earthquake  in1923, her family struggled financially.

Irie’s brother worked for a film company and at his suggestion, she became an actress and made her movie debut in 1928. At first her career was controversial. As a member of nobility, Irie was not expected to need to earn money, and especially not through employment in the occasionally scandalous entertainment industry. Eventually, however, Irie became known as the “Queen of the Silver Screen” and “Miss Japan.” She was a pioneering entrepreneur at a time when women were expected to be “good wives and good mothers,” and started her own production company when she was only twenty years old. Irie was extremely popular in the pre-war film industry—it was said among actors that to perform with her was the highest honor. At the time, film companies commonly took out life insurance policies on actresses’ faces and bodies. A prominent actress would typically be insured for around 10,000 yen. In comparison, Irie was insured for 50,000 yen, the equivalent of approximately one million dollars today.

Irie’s thin eyebrows, bright red lipstick, and gorgeous kimono with a flower-designed crest on the chest indicate her bold fashion sense at a time when the “modern girl” style was popular. Her scarlet kimono and mature pose project a confidence beyond her years. The painting’s elegance not only suggests Irie’s background as an entertainer, but also indicates elite status as a celebrity icon in 1930s Japan.

— Kiyoe Minami, Research Associate

Nakamura Daizaburō (1898–1947)
Takako Irie on Couch
Japan, Shōwa period (1926–1989), c. 1930
Color and gold on silk
Purchase, Marjorie Lewis Griffing and Beatrice Watson Parrent Funds & the Estate of Selden Washington, 1994 (7547.1)