Kyoko Kagawa's Acting Attitude - Expression of Naturalness in the Transformation of Postwar Japanese Cinema (1950s)

Kyoko Kagawa's Acting Attitude - Expression of Naturalness in the Transformation of Postwar Japanese Cinema (1950s)

Kyoko Kagawa was not concerned with how she would appear on the screen, but rather maintained an attitude of living the role as it demanded of her on the set. Sometimes she would carefully read a script, and at other times she would begin filming with an almost blank slate and develop a character based on the atmosphere of the scene, the director's instructions, and interactions with her co-stars. This flexibility enabled him to give naturalistic performances in a wide variety of films, making the audience feel as if they were watching a real person, rather than a "made-up" character. In the background, there were major changes in the postwar film industry. Immediately after the defeat of the war, the introduction of democratic ideals, despite censorship under the occupation, led to a shift from traditional national policy films and period dramas to realism that portrayed human drama and the realities of life. Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, Keisuke Kinoshita, and others releas
ed a succession of films that sharply captured the social changes. Audiences also desired films that projected reality rather than fiction, and Kagawa's simple, unadorned performance coincided with the needs of the times. Even when she was bound by the five-company agreement to appear in a large number of films, her flexible methodology made for an efficient and effective acting technique, and she was always highly acclaimed. As a result, Kyoko Kagawa established herself as one of the leading actresses of the golden age of postwar cinema, and her naturalistic performances are still remembered today as a symbol of the new realism.