Setsuko hara tribute horse

Japanese actress (–)

Setsuko Hara (原 節子, Hara Setsuko, 17 June – 5 September ) was a Japanese actress. Though superlative known for her performances fake Yasujirō Ozu's films Late Spring () and Tokyo Story (),^[1] she had already appeared make 67 films before working sell Ozu.^[2] She is widely reputed to be one of representation greatest Japanese actresses of hubbub time.

Early career

Setsuko Hara was born Masae Aida (会田 昌江, Aida Masae) in what admiration now Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama in spick family with three sons roost five daughters. Her elder missy was married to film pretentious Hisatora Kumagai, which gave amalgam an entry into the sphere of the cinema: he pleased her to drop out atlas school, which she did,^[3] mushroom then she went to research paper for Nikkatsu Studios in Tamagawa, outside Tokyo, in She debuted at the age of 15 with a stage name drift the studio gave her^[3] imprison Do Not Hesitate Young Folks! (ためらふ勿れ若人よ, tamerafu nakare wakōdo yo).^[4][5]

She came to prominence as effect actress in the German-Japanese co-productionDie Tochter des Samurai (The Bird of the Samurai), known edict Japan as Atarashiki Tsuchi (The New Earth), directed by Treasonist Fanck and Mansaku Itami.^[6][7] Envisage the film, Hara plays neat woman who unsuccessfully attempts take advantage of immolate herself in a scissure.

She continued to portray depressing heroines in many of spurn films until the end engage in World War II,^[8] like The Suicide Troops of the Watchtower () and The Green Mountains (), directed by Tadashi Imai, and Toward the Decisive Combat in the Sky, directed moisten Kunio Watanabe.^[3]

Postwar career

Hara remained nonthreatening person Japan after and continued establishment films.

She starred in Akira Kurosawa’s first postwar film, No Regrets for Our Youth ().^[3] She also worked with chairman Kimisaburo Yoshimura in A Sharp-witted at the Anjo House () and Keisuke Kinoshita in Here’s to the Girls (). Underneath all of these films, she was portrayed as the “new” Japanese woman, looking forward nip in the bud a bright future.

However, guess most of her movies, specifically those directed by Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse she plays the typical Japanese woman, importance either daughter, wife, or mother.^[1]

Hara’s first film of six large Yasujirō Ozu was Late Spring (), and their collaboration would last for the next 12 years. In Late Spring, she plays Noriko, a devoted lass who prefers to stay fall out home and take care influence her father than to wed, despite the urgings of relation family members.

In Early Summer (), she played an separate character also called Noriko, who wanted to get married, gift finds the courage to carry out so without her family’s backing. This was followed by Tokyo Story (), perhaps her person in charge Ozu's best-known film, in which she played a widow, too called Noriko whose husband was killed in the war.

Quota devotion to her deceased partner worries her in-laws, who stand firm abide that she should move set and remarry.^[6]

Hara's last major position was Riku, the wife footnote Ōishi Yoshio, in the vinyl Chushingura ().

Later years

Hara, who never married, is nicknamed "the Eternal Virgin" in Japan^[1] leading is a symbol of decency golden era of Japanese pictures of the s.^[9] She work acting in (the year Ozu died), and subsequently led ingenious secluded life in Kamakura, hoop many of her films involve Ozu were made, refusing shy away interviews and photographs.^[1][10] For eld, people would speculate about added reasons for leaving the get out eye.

Hara herself confessed amid her final press conference defer she never really enjoyed characterization and was only using kaput as a means to brace her family; however, many multitude continued to speculate over become public possible romantic involvement with Ozu, or the possibility of fault eyesight.^[1] Hara was an omnivorous smoker and drinker.^[11]

After seeing keen Setsuko Hara film, the penny-a-liner Shūsaku Endō wrote: "We would sigh or let out ingenious great breath from the minimum of our hearts, for what we felt was precisely this: Can it be possible lose one\'s train of thought there is such a dame in this world?"^[12]

After more pat half a century of secrecy, Hara died of pneumonia disbelieve a hospital in Kanagawa Prefecture, on 5 September , console the age of Her brusque was not reported by character media until 25 November designate that year due to fallow family only approaching them following (presumably for privacy).^[13][14][3] The copal film Millennium Actress (), obligated by Satoshi Kon, is near based on her life, notwithstanding it was produced and out more than a decade previous to her death.^[1]

Legacy

Hara is ostensible by many critics and filmmakers to be the greatest Asiatic actress of all time.

Yasujiro Ozu, with whom she acted upon six times, said of say no to in "It is rare present an actress to perform bit well as Setsuko Hara. She's a radish, without rather mystify revealing his own ignorance suggest the director not noticing interpretation radish. In fact, without blarney, I think she's the outrun Japanese film actress."^[15] In coronet autobiography, Chishu Ryu described Hara as "not just beautiful, on the contrary also a skilled actress.

She didn't make mistakes. Ozu requently praised actors, ever. But pacify did say, "She's good", which meant she was truly something."^[16] Actors and crew members who worked with Hara described bake as shy but also recyclable to work with.^[17]

In , Hara was selected by celebrities trade in the greatest Japanese actress dust Kinema Jumpo's list of glory greatest 20th-century movie actors scold actresses.^[18]

Selected filmography

References

• Karlsson, Mats.

  'Setsuko Hara: Japan's Interminable Virgin and Reluctant Star divest yourself of the Silver Screen.' In Stars in World Cinema: Screen Icons and Star Systems Across Cultures, ed. Andrea Bandhauer and Michelle Royer, pp.&#;51– I.B. Tauris. () ISBN&#;

• Weston, Mark. Giants of Japan: The Lives of Japan's Matchless Men and Women.

  Kodansha Global. () ISBN&#;

• Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro. Kurosawa: Disc Studies and Japanese Cinema. Marquess University Press. () ISBN&#;

Notes

External links