Hideko Takamine, Star Of Mikio Naruse’s When A Woman Ascends The Stairs (And Much More), Passes Away At 86

Sad news from Variety, we have learned that actress Hideko Takamine has died at 86.

Takamine began her illustrious career as a child, and ultimately spent three decades in front of the camera.   She got her first start in the 1929 film, Mother.   Often compared to the likes of Shirley Temple as a child, she then moved into films like Kajiro Yamamoto’s Tsuzurikata Kyoshitsu.

During the 1950s, the actress beginning working as a ‘freelance’ actress, and became the muse for the likes of Keisuke Kinoshita (Twenty-Four Eyes) and Mikio Naruse, with whom she crafted 12 separate features, including the film When A Woman Ascends The Stairs.

She was married to writer/director Zenzo Matsuyama, and ultimately retired from films in 1979.   She went on to become a beloved essayist.   She passed away on December 28, due to compilations from a battle with lung cancer.

The actress can be seen in four films from the Criterion Collection, including Twenty-Four Eyes, When A Woman Ascends The Stairs, Tokyo Chorus and Masaki Kobayashi’s The Human Condition.   This is a truly sad loss for the world of film, and Takamine will be missed.

Source: Variety