Setsuko Hara

Setsuko Hara

1920-06-17 – 2015-09-05 (age 95) Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Setsuko Hara (June 17, 1920 – September 5, 2015) was a Japanese actress who appeared in six of Yasujirō Ozu's films, most notably as Noriko in the "Noriko Trilogy": Late Spring (1949), Early Summer (1951), and Tokyo Story (1953). Her other films for Ozu were Tokyo Twilight (1957), Late Autumn (1960), and finally The End of Summer in 1961.

She was born  Masae Aida in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture. She came to prominence as an actress at an early age, in the 1937 German-Japanese co-production Die Tochter des Samurai (Daughter of the Samurai), known in Japan as Atarashiki Tsuchi (The New Earth), directed by Arnold Fanck and Mansaku Itami.

She also starred in films by Akira Kurosawa, Mikio Naruse, and other prominent directors.

She was called "the Eternal Virgin" in Japan and is a symbol of the golden era of Japanese cinema of the 1950s. She suddenly quit acting in 1963 (the same year as Ozu's death), and led a secluded life in Kamakura, refusing all interviews and photographs. Her last major role was Riku, wife of Ōishi Yoshio, in the 1962 film Chushingura. She was the inspiration for the protagonist of the 2001 movie Millennium Actress.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Setsuko Hara, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Photos

Known For

Tokyo Story
Tokyo Story

1953

as Noriko Hirayama

Late Spring
Late Spring

1949

as Noriko Somiya

The Idiot
The Idiot

1951

as Taeko Nasu

Tokyo Twilight
Tokyo Twilight

1957

as Takako Numata

The Three Treasures
The Three Treasures

1959

as Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess

Late Autumn
Late Autumn

1960

as Akiko Miwa

Early Summer
Early Summer

1951

as Noriko Mamiya

Daughters, Wives and a Mother
Priest of Darkness
Priest of Darkness

1936

as Onami

The End of Summer
The End of Summer

1961

as Akiko

Sound of the Mountain
Sound of the Mountain

1954

as Ogata Kikuko

Chûshingura
Chûshingura

1962

as Riku Oishi

No Regrets for Our Youth
No Regrets for Our Youth

1946

as Yukie Yagihara

Repast
Repast

1951

as Michiyo Okamoto

Holiday in Tokyo
Sudden Rain
Sudden Rain

1956

as Fumiko Namiki

Oban kanketsu hen
Oban kanketsu hen

1958

as Kanako Arishima

Here's to the Young Lady
Here's to the Young Lady

1949

as Yasuko Ikeda

Tokyo Sweetheart
Tokyo Sweetheart

1952

as Yuki