Actress. Born Masae Aida, she was one of Japan’s most beloved actresses, best known for her luminous work in the films of Yasujiro Ozu. Her portrayal of an idealistic young student who opposes Japan's militarism in Akira Kurosawa's 1946 film, "No Regrets for Our Youth," made her a star, and she remained one until she retired from acting at the peak of her popularity in 1962. Though she worked for numerous directors, she is most closely associated with Ozu, particularly in his famed "Noriko Trilogy" - 1949's "Late Spring," 1951's "Early Summer," and, especially, 1953's "Tokyo Story," a film which regularly appears on lists of the Top 10 films of all time. She was adept at portraying women torn between their sense of duty and their own needs and desires, and she projected a nobility and generosity that corresponded with the Japanese ideal of the perfect woman. After seeing one of her films, the novelist Shusaku Endo famously wrote, “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?” Upon retiring, she withdrew from public view, and, like Greta Garbo, refused all interviews.
Actress. Born Masae Aida, she was one of Japan’s most beloved actresses, best known for her luminous work in the films of Yasujiro Ozu. Her portrayal of an idealistic young student who opposes Japan's militarism in Akira Kurosawa's 1946 film, "No Regrets for Our Youth," made her a star, and she remained one until she retired from acting at the peak of her popularity in 1962. Though she worked for numerous directors, she is most closely associated with Ozu, particularly in his famed "Noriko Trilogy" - 1949's "Late Spring," 1951's "Early Summer," and, especially, 1953's "Tokyo Story," a film which regularly appears on lists of the Top 10 films of all time. She was adept at portraying women torn between their sense of duty and their own needs and desires, and she projected a nobility and generosity that corresponded with the Japanese ideal of the perfect woman. After seeing one of her films, the novelist Shusaku Endo famously wrote, “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?” Upon retiring, she withdrew from public view, and, like Greta Garbo, refused all interviews.
Bio by: Miracle Mile Tim
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