Make Your Own Judgments in a Crisis - Sayuri Yoshinaga, July 1967

Make Your Own Judgments in a Crisis - Sayuri Yoshinaga, July 1967

In the 1965's, the Japanese entertainment industry was in the midst of a period in which the film industry was in decline due to the spread of television, and the star system was beginning to change. Sayuri Yoshinaga, who had become a national actress, was no longer just an idol of "purity," but had grown into a woman who sought independence as a woman. I believe that even Ms. Yoshinaga faces various crises. She is a human being who has to make her own decisions at that time." Her words reflect the image of an actress who defies the management structure of the entertainment industry and lives by her own will. At the time, Japanese society was booming with rapid economic growth, women were entering the workforce, and the way of life of individuals was beginning to be questioned. Yoshinaga embodied the changing values of the time. Her leading roles in "Ai to shite no mitsumete" and "Blue Mountains," which depicted the longing for freedom and love held by young people in the pos
twar era, drew sympathy from audiences. Sayuri Yoshinaga was an actress who embodied the spirit of "from subservience to independence" in the midst of the changes of the Showa era, and her way of life continues to be universally sympathetic to many people today.