Setsuko Hara

Setsuko Hara was a Japanese actress who rose to fame in the 1930s and 1940s, and became one of the most celebrated and influential figures of the golden age of Japanese cinema. She starred in more than 100 films, working with renowned directors such as Yasujirō Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, Mikio Naruse, and Hiroshi Inagaki. She was known for her portrayals of women who embodied the ideals of traditional Japanese culture, as well as the challenges and changes of the postwar era. She often played characters named Noriko, who were devoted daughters, wives, or widows, and who expressed their emotions subtly and gracefully. She was admired for her natural beauty, elegant style, and refined acting skills. She was also regarded as a symbol of purity and innocence, earning the nickname "the eternal virgin". Hara was born Masae Aida in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, in a family with three sons and five daughters. Her elder sister was married to film director Hisatora Kumagai, who encouraged her to drop out of school and pursue a career in cinema. She joined the Nikkatsu Studios in 1935, and made her debut in the film Do Not Hesitate Young Folks! She adopted the stage name Setsuko Hara, which was given to her by the studio. She gained popularity and recognition as an actress in the 1937 German-Japanese co-production The Daughter of the Samurai, directed by Arnold Fanck and Mansaku Itami. She continued to appear in films during the war years, often playing tragic heroines who sacrificed themselves for their country or their loved ones. After the war, Hara became a key figure in the revival of Japanese cinema, and collaborated with some of the most acclaimed filmmakers of the time. She starred in Akira Kurosawa's first postwar film, No Regrets for Our Youth (1946), which depicted the struggles of a young woman who defied the militarist regime and supported her activist husband. She also worked with Kimisaburo Yoshimura in A Ball at the Anjo House (1947), which portrayed the decline of an aristocratic family in the aftermath of the war. She also appeared in films by Keisuke Kinoshita, Heinosuke Gosho, and Kon Ichikawa, among others. However, Hara is best remembered for her work with Yasujirō Ozu, with whom she made six films between 1949 and 1961. Their first collaboration was Late Spring (1949), in which she played Noriko, a loyal daughter who reluctantly agrees to marry after her father deceives her into thinking he will remarry. The film was a critical and commercial success, and established Hara as Ozu's muse and ideal heroine. They continued to work together in Early Summer (1951), Tokyo Story (1953), Late Autumn (1960), The End of Summer (1961), and An Autumn Afternoon (1962). In these films, Hara played variations of the Noriko character, who represented the changing roles and expectations of women in the modern Japanese society. She also conveyed the themes of family, marriage, aging, and loss that Ozu explored in his films. She was praised for her nuanced and expressive performances, which captured the inner feelings and conflicts of her characters. Hara retired from acting in 1963, shortly after the death of Ozu. She moved to Kamakura, Kanagawa, where she lived in seclusion until her death in 2015. She never married or had children, and she rarely gave interviews or appeared in public. She remained a mysterious and enigmatic figure, who fascinated and intrigued her fans and admirers. She was widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actresses of Japanese cinema, and her films have been praised and studied by critics and scholars around the world. She was also honored with various awards and recognitions, such as the Order of the Rising Sun, the Kinema Junpo Award, and the Mainichi Film Award.