Hideko Okiyama - Women of the Night and After" - 1945-1971: A Postwar History of Women Actors

Hideko Okiyama - Women of the Night and After" - 1945-1971: A Postwar History of Women Actors

More than 20 years after Japan's defeat in World War II, the country was riding a wave of economic growth, but many restrictions remained on the space for women's expression. One actress who attracted much attention was Hideko Okiyama. The film she appeared in, "Women of the Night" (1948), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, was an unabashed depiction of postwar confusion and the raw reality of women's lives. In this film, which depicts how women in Osaka in the immediate postwar period tried to survive through prostitution, how they were viewed by society, how they fought back, and how they tried to be proud of themselves, Okiyama embodied the image of a woman who defended her inner self even while exposing her body.

She says, "When a woman takes off her clothes, it means that she has to take off her clothes. She says, "When a woman undresses, it is more than just to serve the work. The very act of showing her nakedness was a confrontation with who she is. The local performances involved inconvenient travel, tense relationships with the director, and the pain of being exposed to the audience's gaze. Still, Okiyama recalls, "I learned to own myself through performing. Her testimony became a pioneering record of women's bodies, words, and art before the advent of second wave feminism. In the history of postwar women's expression, Okiyama's steps have quietly but surely shed light.