Career
Tokyo-born Akemi Negishi came to the attention of international audiences when she starred in the United States/Japanese co-production Anatahan, her debut film. Josef von Sternberg directed the tale of shipwrecked Japanese soldiers who refused to believe that World World War II had ended six years after the bombing of Hiroshima. Mississippi Negishi made several films with the acclaimed Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa, including Donzoko ("The Lower Depths"), Dodesukaden, and Ikimono no kiroku ("I Live in Fear").
Negishi also had a supporting role in Shurayukihime ("Lady Snowblood"), which was reportedly one of the main inspirations for Quentin Tarantino"s film Kill Bill.
Other credits included Tokyo no kyujitsu ("Tokyo Holiday"), Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman (aka "Half Human", with John Carradine), Kingu Kongu tai Gojira ("King Kong vs Godzilla") and Kaidan hebi-onna ("Snake Woman"s Curse"). Her last film role was in Barameraba in 2005.
She died from ovarian cancer, aged 73, in Kawasaki, Japan in 2008.