Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older. She's of an age when she must choose: to seek marriage (difficult given her tarnished occupation), to be a kept woman, or to borrow money to buy a bar of her own. Each route has dangers, including investors demanding a return on their loans. Keiko has a quiet dignity that attracts men, but are they what they seem? Does she actually have choices?
Credits
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs Cast
| Name |
Character |
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Tatsuya Nakadai
He was 27, now 92 years old
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as Kenichi Komatsu, the manager |
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Daisuke Katô
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as Matsukichi Sekine |
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Eitaro Ozawa
He was 50, 79 years old when he died
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as Minobe |
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Masayuki Mori
He was 49, 62 years old when he died
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as Nobuhiko Fujisaki |
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Kyû Sazanka
He was 18, 29 years old when he died
|
|
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Jun Tatara
He was 42, 89 years old when he died
|
|
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Yû Fujiki
He was 28, 74 years old when he died
|
|
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Noriko Honma
She was 48, 97 years old when she died
|
|
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Yutaka Sada
He was 48, 106 years old when he died
|
|
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Noriko Sengoku
She was 37, 90 years old when she died
|
|
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Hideko Takamine
She was 35, 86 years old when she died
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as Keiko Yashiro |
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Reiko Dan
She was 24, 68 years old when she died
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as Junko Inchihashi |
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Yoshifumi Tajima
He was 41, 91 years old when he died
|
|
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Takuzô Kumagai
|
|
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Haruko Tôgô
|
|
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Akira Tani
He was 5, now 59 years old
|
|
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Ken Mitsuda
He was 57, 95 years old when he died
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|
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Kin Sugai
She was 33, 92 years old when she died
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|
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Chieko Nakakita
She was 33, 79 years old when she died
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as Tomoko |
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Ayumi Sonoda
She was 26, now 91 years old
|
|
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Masao Oda
He was 52, 65 years old when he died
|
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Keiko Awaji
She was 26, 80 years old when she died
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as Yuri |
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Michiyo Yokoyama
She was 23, now 88 years old
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Machiko Kitagawa
She was 27, now 92 years old
|
|
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Akira Sera
He was 47, now 112 years old
|
|
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Toshiko Higuchi
She was 20, 39 years old when she died
|
|
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Keiko Yanagawa
She was 23, now 88 years old
|
|
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Chikako Hosokawa
She was 54, 70 years old when she died
|
|
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Sadako Sawamura
She was 51, 87 years old when she died
|
|
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Natsuko Kahara
She was 39, 70 years old when she died
|
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When a Woman Ascends the Stairs Crew
