Tōkyō no josei, 1939. 1930s Japan, public domain image.

Setsuko Hara was a popular Japanese actress who appeared in over 100 films during her career. Born on 17 June 1920 in Yokohama, Japan, she began acting in films at the age of 15. Hara quickly became one of Japan's most popular actresses, known for her natural beauty and understated performances. Hara's breakthrough role came in the 1946 film No Regrets for Our Youth, directed by Akira Kurosawa. She went on to star in several other Kurosawa films, including The Idiot (1951) and Throne of Blood (1957). Hara also worked with other prominent Japanese directors such as Yasujiro Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Hiroshi Inagaki. Hara's most famous role was in Ozu's 1953 film Tokyo Story, in which she played a daughter struggling to connect with her aging parents. The film is now considered a masterpiece of Japanese cinema and is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. Hara retired from acting in 1963, at the height of her career, and lived a reclusive life away from the public eye. She died on 5 September 2015 at the age of 95. Her legacy as one of Japan's greatest actresses lives on through her films, which continue to be celebrated around the world.