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This portrait of female volunteer workers at an optics plant during World War II, shot on location at the Nippon Kogaku factory, was created with a patriotic agenda. Yet thanks to Akira Kurosawa’s groundbreaking semidocumentary approach, The Most Beautiful is a revealing look at Japanese women of the era and anticipates the aesthetics of Japanese cinema’s postwar social realism.
Original Release
04/13/1944
US Release
06/12/1988
Links
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Takashi Shimura | Chief Goro Ishida |
| Sôji Kiyokawa | Soichi Yoshikawa, Chief of General Affairs Section |
| Ichirô Sugai | Ken Shinda, Chief of Labor Section |
| Takako Irie | Noriko Mizushima, dorm mother |
| Yôko Yaguchi | Tsuru Watanabe, president of women workers |
| Sayuri Tanima | Yuriko Tanimura, vice president of the women workers / Yuriko Tanimura, vice president of women workers |
| Sachiko Ozaki | Sachiko Yamazaki |
| Shizuko Nishigaki | Fusae Nishioka |
| Asako Suzuki | Asako Suzumura |
| Haruko Toyama | Masako Koyama |
Directors
Writers
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Takashi Shimura | Chief Goro Ishida |
| Sôji Kiyokawa | Soichi Yoshikawa, Chief of General Affairs Section |
| Ichirô Sugai | Ken Shinda, Chief of Labor Section |
| Takako Irie | Noriko Mizushima, dorm mother |
| Yôko Yaguchi | Tsuru Watanabe, president of women workers |
| Sayuri Tanima | Yuriko Tanimura, vice president of the women workers / Yuriko Tanimura, vice president of women workers |
| Sachiko Ozaki | Sachiko Yamazaki |
| Shizuko Nishigaki | Fusae Nishioka |
| Asako Suzuki | Asako Suzumura |
| Haruko Toyama | Masako Koyama |
| Aiko Masu | Tokiko Hiroda |
| Kazuko Hitomi | Kazuko Futomi |
| Shizuko Yamada | Hisae Yamaguchi |
| Itoko Kôno | Sue Okabe |
| Toshiko Hattori | Toshiko Hattori |
| Emiko Rei | Chie Shima |
| Haruko Mii | Haruko Kawai |
| Minori Toyohara | Minori Yoyota |
| Eiko Hirayama | Yoshiko Shirayama |
| Harue Yamashita | Kiyo Mishima |
Producers
| Name | Role |
|---|
| Motohiko Itô | Producer |
| Jin Usami | Producer |
