Reisen Ri

Reisen Ri
Born
Lee Cho-ja

(1942-03-25)25 March 1942
Tokyo, Japan
Died22 June 2021(2021-06-22) (aged 79)
Tokyo, Japan
Other nameHatsuko Otsuru
OccupationActress
MovementAngura
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1967; div. 1988)​
Japanese name
Kanji李麗仙
Hiraganaり れいせん
Katakanaリ レイセン
Korean name
Hangul
이여선
Hanja
李麗仙
RRI Yeoseon
MRI Yŏsŏn
Alternate name
Hangul
이초자
RRI Choja
MRI Ch'oja

Reisen Ri (Japanese: 李麗仙, Korean: 이여선, born Lee Cho-ja [이초자]; 25 March 1942 – 22 June 2021), also credited as Reisen Lee, was a Japanese actress of Zainichi Korean origin. She was associated with the Angura underground theatre movement, and was the wife of playwright Jūrō Kara.

Life and career

A third-generation Zainichi Korean, Ri was born Lee Cho-ja in Tokyo in 1942. Her Japanese civil name was Hatsuko Otsuru. She graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School and studied acting in Butai Geijutsu Gakuin, where she met her future husband Jūrō Kara.

She joined Kara's "Situation Theatre" in 1963 and gave her film debut in Nagisa Ōshima's 1969 Diary of a Shinjuku Thief. In 1972, she starred in Hiroshi Teshigahara's film Summer Soldiers, and in 1985, in Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. In addition, she appeared on stage in Japan and South Korea.

Personal life

Ri was married to Kara from 1967 to 1988, though they remained friends after separating. She was friends with South Korean dissident writer Kim Chi-ha.

In 1975, she acquired Japanese citizenship.

Death

She died in Tokyo of pneumonia on 22 June 2021, aged 79.

Selected filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 "女優の李麗仙さんが死去、79歳 元夫は唐十郎、大鶴義丹は実の息子". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 25 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 "李麗仙". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  3. ↑ Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (DVD). The Criterion Collection. 2008.
  4. ↑ "女優の李麗仙さんが死去、79歳 元夫は唐十郎、大鶴義丹は実の息子". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 25 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 "李麗仙さん日本国籍取得秘話 愛息・大鶴義丹のために…金大中事件とブラックリスト". Tokyo Sports Press (in Japanese). 26 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "女優人生50年、李麗仙さんが韓国名にこだわったワケ". Chosun Online (in Japanese). 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "李麗仙さん日本国籍取得秘話 愛息・大鶴義丹のために…金大中事件とブラックリスト". Tokyo Sports Press (in Japanese). 26 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  8. ↑ "女優人生50年、李麗仙さんが韓国名にこだわったワケ" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  9. 1 2 "李麗仙 (Reisen Ri)" (in Japanese). Kinenote. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  10. ↑ Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (DVD). The Criterion Collection. 2008.
  11. 1 2 "女優人生50年、李麗仙さんが韓国名にこだわったワケ". Chosun Online (in Japanese). 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2023.