Kawakami Sadayakko

Remembered as Japan's first actress, in an era when men played all stage roles including female parts. She built her reputation performing in the United States and Europe with her actor husband's troupe and became well known in Japanese society, with patrons that included a prime minister. After her husband's death in 1911, she left the stage and ran a textile company before later becoming the companion of industrialist Fukuzawa Momosuke. The two lived together at his Nagano villa from 1919 to 1924, where she helped him navigate business relationships with politicians and investors. In later life, she used her fortune to build a temple in Gifu, completed in 1933.