Chieko Baisho lets kind people get cross without making their kindness seem false. Her Sophie steadies Howl's Moving Castle, and we value the affection she makes convincing between people who are not always easy company.
Fi1m perspective
Sophie sounds capable of being cross with someone she cares for. In Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Chieko Baisho gives her a firmness that makes the kindness convincing, even when the fantasy around her becomes tangled. We were moved by her affection because Baisho leaves room in it for irritation. She does not make caring for somebody sound like an agreement to find everything about them agreeable.
That firmness is familiar from the ordinary, resilient women associated with her long collaboration with director Yōji Yamada, which began in the mid-1960s. Her recurring Sakura Suwa in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series (1969–1995) anchors that part of the career. The Yellow Handkerchief (1977) paired her with Ken Takakura under Yamada's direction, while A Distant Cry from Spring (1980) offered another woman facing hardship. The risk in such consistent casting is that dependability starts to look like the whole job. We should be wary of praising her for being reassuring and failing to notice what else she is doing.
Sophie is a useful corrective to that narrow view. Baisho voices both her young and older selves, and the firmness survives the change in age; the character never becomes merely a sweet voice for the audience to like. Takuya Kimura's Howl benefits from her steady presence, and the affection between them feels convincing because their awkward qualities remain audible. The film's tangled plotting is a real reservation, but these performances make us willing to stay with people who are not always easy company.
Her later work includes the lead role of Michi Tsunotani in the contemporary drama Plan 75 (2022), so the animation credit is hardly the place to stop. For a first encounter, though, we would choose Sophie. Listen for the impatience as well as the kindness.
Biography
Chieko Baisho is a Japanese actress and singer. Born on 29 June 1941 in Kita, Tokyo, she began her career as a singer in 1962 before making her film debut in the early 1960s.
In Japan she is best known for her role as Sakura in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, appearing from 1969 until 1995. She has acted in many films directed by Yōji Yamada since the 1960s. She voiced Sophie in Howl's Moving Castle (2004), performing both the young and old versions of the character as well as the theme song.
Baisho won the Best Actress award at the 5th Hochi Film Award for A Distant Cry from Spring (1980). Other credits include The Yellow Handkerchief (1977), The Hidden Blade (2004), Kabei: Our Mother (2008), The Little House (2014), Weathering with You (2019) and Plan 75 (2022).
