Setsuko Hara

Setsuko Hara, born Masae Aida in Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, began her impressive acting career at age 15 when she entered the film industry through familial connections. Her early career saw her rise to prominence through the 1937 German-Japanese co-production Die Tochter des Samurai (The Daughter of the Samurai). Subsequent roles often cast her as a tragic heroine, but Hara solidified her status in Japan as 'the eternal virgin' through her quintessential portrayals of typical Japanese women. Her first film with renowned director Yasujirō Ozu was Late Spring in 1949, where she played a devoted daughter named Noriko. Her collaboration with Ozu spanned 12 years and six films, featuring her in a range of roles from a prospective bride to a war widow. After Ozu's death in 1963, Hara retreated from public life, maintaining her privacy until her death in 2015. She is widely recognized as one of the greatest Japanese actresses of her time. The novelist Shūsaku Endō was once moved to write after seeing one of Hara's performances, 'We would sigh or let out a great breath from the depths of our hearts, for what we felt was precisely this: Can it be possible that there is such a woman in this world?' The anime film Millennium Actress (2001) is said to be partly based on her life, despite its release over a decade before her death. Critics, filmmakers, and fellow actors alike praised Hara for her skill, beauty, and professionalism on set. She has left an indelible mark on Japanese cinema, a testament to her talent and immense contribution to the industry.