[KineJapan] "Why do Japanese actresses give such good performances?"

[Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum via KineJapan]

Dear all,

Hisashiburi, etc, etc!

I'm wondering if anyone might be able to help me out by identifying a
puzzling sourceless quotation that I might like to use in an article
introducing a forthcoming season of films about Japanese actresses at the
British Film Institute.

The quotation, as I remember it, is that either a famous Japanese actress,
or a famous director, was asked something along of the lines of: "Why are
Japanese actresses so good?" And the reply was something like, "Because
Japanese women have to spend their whole lives acting." Several people I've
talked to confirm that they think they've heard the line, but no one can
remember where it comes from and where it's cited. I felt pretty sure that
it was in one of the older books, e.g., an early Richie or a Mellen, but
the closest I've found either googling or looking through my library is Ian
Buruma, but he's making a general comment about Japanese society, not
specifically about women, and it's his own point, not something ascribed to
a Japanese commentator.

It would be especially interesting if it had been an actress who had come
out with the line - less interesting if I'm misremembering and it was a
foreign critic who said it.

Thanks in advance for any leads,

ALEX JACOBY
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