Her elder sister was married to film director Hisatora Kumagai, which gave her an entry into the world of the cinema: he encouraged her to drop out of school, which she did and went to work for Nikkatsu Studios in Tamagawa, outside Tokyo, in 1935.
A súa irmá máis vella casou co director de cinema Hisatora Kumagai, que a introduciu no mundo do cinema, animándoa a que deixase a escola, o que fixo e comezou a traballar para os estudios Nikkatsu en Tamagawa, nas aforas de Toquio, en 1935.