Setsuko Hara, nascuda Masae Aida, va ser una actriu japonesa. A Occident, és més coneguda per les seves actuacions en les pel·lícules de Yasujiro Ozu Early Summer i, principalment, Contes de Tòquio, tot i que ja havia aparegut en 67 pel·lícules abans de treballar amb Ozu per primera vegada.

原节子（1920年6月17日—2015年9月5日），本名会田昌江，生于日本神奈川县横滨市，女演员。有映画“四大女优”之称（另三位是田中绢代、高峰秀子和山田五十铃）。

原节子幼年时的志愿是成为一名老师，1935年为补贴家计，经作为导演的姐夫熊谷久虎介绍，退学从影，处女作为1935年的《年轻人啊别犹豫不决》。1936年得德国导演阿诺德·芬克赏识，主演日本和德国合作拍摄的《新乐土》（英文片名“武士的女儿”，德语：Die Tochter des Samurai）。本片在柏林上映时，原节子曾作为日本亲善大使赴柏林访问，并与当时纳粹德国宣传部部长约瑟夫·戈培尔会面。回国后，在二战期间，原节子曾参与过以日本军国主义和大东亚共荣为主题的电影。

二次大战后，原节子真正迈向电影事业的巅峰，1946年主演黑泽明名作《我于青春无悔》，饰演一名京大事件人士的妻子，为丈夫的理想承受旁人的异样眼光而无怨无悔，最终能光明面对人生。原节子成功地塑造了坚强、独立、自主、有主见的女性形象，也使其成为日本战后新女性的理想代表。

1949年，原节子参与小津安二郎《晚春》一片的演出，扮演一位与父亲相依为命，到了适婚年龄仍陪在父亲身边的女儿，此片不但成为小津电影日后广受推崇的起点，也因而展开两人长年为人称道的合作关系。往后，原节子经常成为小津电影中的女性角色，永远如此温婉大方、善体人意，却又不乏主见，无疑是小津电影中最令人难忘的女性，原节子终身未婚，也因此被誉为“永远的女儿”、“永远的贞女”、“永远的圣女”……。

1962年，事业正如日中天的原节子在拍完稻垣浩执导的《忠臣藏》后，开始淡出影坛，隐居到小津安二郎电影多次出现的场景镰仓，恢复本名深居简出，不再过问电影界的事。1963年12月，小津安二郎因癌症逝世，原节子出席完小津家的告别仪式，此后没再在传媒前出现。

2015年9月5日，原节子因肺炎在神奈川县的医院内病逝，享年95岁；但逝世后两个多月的11月25日，才对外公布死讯。

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, although she is mostly unknown in the US. She suddenly quit acting in 1963 (the same year as Ozu's death), and had since 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.

Setsuko Hara (17 de junho de 1920 - 5 de setembro de 2015) foi uma atriz japonesa que apareceu em seis dos filmes de Yasujirō Ozu, principalmente como Noriko na 'Noriko Trilogy': Late Spring (1949), Early Summer (1951) e Tokyo História (1953). Seus outros filmes para Ozu foram Tokyo Twilight (1957), Late Autumn (1960) e finalmente The End of Summer em 1961. Ela nasceu Masae Aida em Yokohama, prefeitura de Kanagawa. Ela ganhou destaque como atriz ainda jovem, na co-produção germano-japonesa de 1937.