Kumeko Urabe

Kumeko Urabe was a Japanese movie actress, and one of the first in the country. Born Kimura Kume, she also adopted the stage names Kumeko Ichijo, Toyama Midori, Chidori Shizuura and Chidori Toyama. She worked on stage and in film and television. Urabe was born in a rural part of the Shizuoka Prefecture. She lived in several homes while growing up, as she relocated with her father, a Buddhist priest, among the temples to which he was assigned. Urabe completed her education in Numazu, and left school in 1919 to join a theatre company, touring under various stage names as an actor and dancer.