Keiko Tsushima

Keiko Tsushima never collected trophies, and she did not need them. Her place in film history is secured by two collaborations that most actors would trade a shelf of awards for: the small, unforgettable role of Shino in Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and a part in Yasujirō Ozu's The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice. Those films are canonical, taught in film schools and screened in repertory houses around the world, which means her work is seen by more people today than it was during her career. She also carried a successful television career in Japan, starring in Sakura and Kimi ga Jinsei no Toki. For an actress who avoided publicity, that is a substantial kind of recognition: not awards, but permanence.