Which Kurosawa film stars Setsuko Hara as Yukie Yagihara?

Which Kurosawa film stars Setsuko Hara as Yukie Yagihara? The answer is No Regrets for Our Youth.

Released in 1946, No Regrets for Our Youth stars Setsuko Hara as Yukie, the daughter of Professor Yagihara, a scholar dismissed for opposing militarism. The story follows her political and personal awakening as she becomes involved with two very different men: the idealistic activist Ryukichi Noge and the more cautious Itokawa.

The film begins in the political turbulence of the 1930s and extends through World War II and Japan's postwar transition. It draws on the real Takigawa incident, in which Kyoto Imperial University professor Yukitori Takigawa was removed from his post after a government dispute over academic and political freedom.

Hara's performance is especially important because it presents her character as active, independent, and willing to endure social hardship. After Noge's death, Yukie works alongside his parents in the countryside rather than simply returning to a comfortable life. The film is therefore both a political drama and a story of personal responsibility. It is also Kurosawa's first postwar film and a prominent example of Occupation-era “democratization cinema.”