I thought that Miiko Taka was breathtaking in this movie. It was a perfect part for her in the movie. She seems very special. I wish I could find more on the intenet about her. I was facsinated by her when I first saw Sayonara in 1957, and after just seeing it again, she's still facsinating to me. I wish I could learn more about her. Does anybody have any more info about her they could share with me?
Barbara Land
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It is interesting that there isnt a whole lot of info about her. Two years ago I purchased the original 1957 movie pamphlet here in Japan (its all in Japanese).The only information they list for her was that she was the daughter of a very wealthy Japanese family in Seatle Washington. In other words, she was American. When they casted Sayonara, they found Nancy Umeki singing in clubs around Hokkaido. She taught herself English. Hollywood really needed someone who spoke English well enough to be the lead.
Just on a side note, I dont think Miiko spoke Japanese. In the movie her Japanese is really quite bad (pronunciation wise).
Miiko did speak Japanese, but it wasn't her first tongue and as a native of Washington state she was of course not as conversationally fluent in it as a native speaker.
But though her own career was rather sporadic, she frequently served as escort/translator for Toshiro Mifune when he traveled to the US and some other foreign locales, so obviously her Japanese was good enough to serve that purpose. I thought she was excellent in a difficult role in "Sayonara" and very beautiful and talented, and it's too bad she didn't enjoy a bigger career...though considering the few opportunites available to Asian (the current, broadly inaccurate term) actors and actresses fifty years ago, she made out about as well as the unfair circumstances of the era permitted.
Loved both her work and the film so much, saw it for the first time just last night. Extraordinary cinematography. 10/10 for sure! =)
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