Setsuko Hara
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.
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Filmography (80 Appearances)
Noriko Setsuko 2
Noriko Setsuko
Untitled # 7 : Rare
Chûshingura
Musume to watashi
The End of Summer
Love and Fascination
The Wayside Pebble
Late Autumn
Life of a Country Doctor
Daughters, Wives and a Mother
The Three Treasures
Oban kanketsu hen
Holiday in Tokyo
Woman Unveiled
Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen
Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen
Tokyo Twilight
Ôban
Women in Prison
Three Youngmen and a Dream Girl
Settlement of Love
Sudden Rain
Nobuko Rides on a Cloud
Sound of the Mountain
Tokyo Story
White Fish
Tokyo Sweetheart
Kin no tamago: Golden Girl
The Wind Blows Twice
Repast
Early Summer
The Idiot
The Rainbow-Colored Flower
Alps Story: The Wild
A Female Doctor's Examination Room
Shirayuki sensei to kodomo tachi
Late Spring
The Blue Mountains: Part II
The Blue Mountains: Part I
Here's to the Young Lady
Kōfuku no genkai
A Woman in the Typhoon Area
Fujisancho
Temptation
Three-Fingered Detective
The Ball at the Anjo House
The Age of Beginnings
No Regrets for Our Youth
Three Women of the North
Until Victory Day
The Cruel Sea
Searing Wind
Toward the Decisive Battle in the Sky
Suicide Troops of the Watchtower
The Opium War
The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya
Green Earth
Currents of Youth
Sky of Hope
Story of Leadership
The Sisters' Agreement
The Snake Princess
Wedding Day
Toyuki
Hikari to kage (Kōhen)
Hikari to kage (Zenpen)
Women in Tokyo
The Town
Shanghai Landing Party
Beautiful Departure
Winter Inn
Pastoral Symphony
The Giant
The Woman Aiming for the Shogun
Mother's Melody
The Daughter of the Samurai
The Crown of Life
Priest of Darkness
Throwing the Soul Away