Biography
Shima Iwashita is a Japanese stage and film actress. Born on 3 January 1941 in Tokyo, she made her television debut in an NHK drama in 1958 while still at school and her film debut in 1960.
She has appeared in films directed by Yasujirō Ozu, Keisuke Kinoshita, Masaki Kobayashi and, most frequently, her husband Masahiro Shinoda. Notable roles include Miho Tsugumo in Harakiri (1962), Michiko Hirayama in An Autumn Afternoon (1962), and dual parts in Double Suicide (1969). She starred in the Yakuza Wives series of films from 1986 to 1998.
Iwashita has received awards including the Blue Ribbon Newcomer Award in 1961 and the Hochi Film Award for Best Actress for Ballad of Orin (1977).
