She is best known to Western audiences for her portrayal of Mariko (Lady Toda) in the 1980 miniseries, Shogun with Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune. She, Takeshi Ôbayashi (Urano), and Masumi Okada (Brother Michael) were the only members of Shogun's massive cast of Japanese actors shown speaking English.
Her film and TV career dates back to the early 1970s, and she continues to appear in Japanese and occasional Western productions. She lives in Shinjuku.