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Keiko Tsushima (1926 – 2012)

Keiko Tshushima, a Japanese actress starred in many films and TV during 1950’s to 2000’s, died of cancer on August 1. She was 86. Tsushima is probably best known for her role of Shino in Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai”, which is considered one of the masterpieces among Japanese cinema. Other works include, Ozu’s “The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice”, Yoshimura’s “The Ball at the Anjo House” and Imai’s “Himeyuri Lily Tower”. She married Ichio Mori, the son of Iwao Mori, the executive at Toho cinema in 1958. Around this time, she started to appear in Japanese TV dramas more …

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JAPANESE FILMS

Someone Who Looks Like Gary Cooper (cont.)

This is part six of “Films of 1949” series (Part 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). Nobuyoshi Araki, a renowned photographer and an artist, admires young Setsuko Hara in “Late Spring” in his own particular way. He considers her sturdy build and impressive physique the most “photogenic”, very favorable human (female) features in visual arts. For Hara was uniquely “different” from other actresses of the era in this regard, Araki notes, she radiates her visual presence on the screen tremendously. He comments rather jokingly on the scene in which Hara was readied for wedding in the last of “Late Spring”(1); …

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JAPANESE FILMS

Bicycles

This is part three of “Films of 1949” series. (Part 1 and 2) On July 1, 1949, Japan Industrial Standard was enacted. It became the foundation of Japanese Industrial Revolution of late 20th century, defining standard of quality in all industrial products. The production of bicycles saw triple-digit growth in late 40’s. This statistics is a fine example of economic resurrection from the ashes. First of all, the capacity for any industrial production in 1945 was decimal. There was a large room to grow. Also, demand for bicycles was paramount, being relatively (though marginally) affordable for many Japanese. In Ozu’s …

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