A former dancer, she began her screen career in 1949 on the strength of her beauty and physical grace but displayed unexpected dramatic ability the following year as the feminine lead in Kurosawa's Rashomon, a film that brought her international fame. She went on to star in many other Japanese productions, notably Kinugasa's Gate of Hell (1953), Mizoguchi's Ugetsu (1953) and Street of Shame (1956), and Ichikawa's Odd Obsession (1959). She co-starred with Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford in the US film The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956).