When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
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.
Director:
Mikio Naruse
Writer:
Ryuzo Kikushima
![]() |
Hideko Takamine as Keiko Yashiro |
![]() |
Masayuki Mori as Nobuhiko Fujisaki |
![]() |
Reiko Dan as Junko Inchihashi |
![]() |
Tatsuya Nakadai as Kenichi Komatsu |
![]() |
Daisuke Katō as Matsukichi Sekine |
![]() |
Ganjirō Nakamura II as Goda |
![]() |
Eitarō Ozawa as Minobe |
![]() |
Keiko Awaji as Yuri |
![]() |
Chieko Nakakita as Tomoko |
![]() |
Jun Tatara as Goldfish |
![]() |
Yū Fujiki as Matsui |
![]() |
Masao Oda as Yoshizo Yashiro |
![]() |
Ken Mitsuda as Sonoda |
![]() |
Chikako Hosokawa as Matsuko |
![]() |
Sadako Sawamura as Toshiko |
![]() |
Kyū Sazanka as Bar Owner |
![]() |
Noriko Sengoku as Fortune Teller |
![]() |
Kin Sugai as Katsuko |
![]() |
Toshiko Higuchi as Hostess |
![]() |
Noriko Honma as Mineko |
![]() |
Natsuko Kahara as Fujie |
![]() |
Machiko Kitagawa as Kiyomi |
![]() |
Takuzō Kumagai as Bar Customer |
![]() |
Fumie Noguchi as Natsuko |
![]() |
Yutaka Sada as Yoshikawa |
![]() |
Akira Sera as Mizutani |
![]() |
Toki Shiozawa as Hostess |
![]() |
Ayumi Sonoda as Mitsuko |
![]() |
Yoshibumi Tajima as Electric Company Director |
![]() |
Akira Tani as Real Estate Agent |
![]() |
Mitsuo Tsuda as Bar Customer |
![]() |
Haruko Tōgō as Shizuko |
![]() |
Keiko Yanagawa as Yukiko |
![]() |
Michino Yokoyama as Miyuki |
![]() |
Akiko Wakabayashi as Hostess |
![]() |
Rumi Konishi as |
![]() |
Kyoko Mori as |
| Directing | Mikio Naruse | Director |
| Camera | Masao Tamai | Director of Photography |
| Directing | Sakae Hirosawa | Assistant Director |
| Editing | Eiji Ooi | Editor |
| Costume & Make-Up | Hideko Takamine | Costume Design |
| Sound | Masao Fujiyoshi | Sound |
| Production | Ryuzo Kikushima | Producer |
| Sound | Toshirō Mayuzumi | Original Music Composer |
| Art | Satoru Chūko | Production Design |
| Sound | Hisashi Shimonaga | Sound |
| Writing | Ryuzo Kikushima | Screenplay |