Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2010

Photo courtesy of IMAGE.NET

Actress Mika Mifune (Kekkon 2) was the special guest at a recent screening of the British coming-of-age film An Education. The story deals with a 16-year-old girl who starts a relationship with a much older man. Mifune, 27, who married her musician husband Joji Takahashi when she was 16 and he 40, was, predictably, asked her views on the subject by reporters. “Being with an older man, you don’t get treated like a child even at the age of 16, so I had to grow up,” she said. “When we were dating, we always went out together with my mother. But the first time just the two of us had a date, Joji turned to me at Shibuya crossing and just out of nowhere said, ‘Hey, why don’t we get married?’” The couple came in for heavy criticism. “When we married, people were saying ‘You’re too young; it’s not going to work. It’s just going to end in divorce.’ So I thought I needed to grow up quickly. Of course, there was a big gap between my ideal of an adult woman and myself at that age.” Mifune said she could identify with the film’s lead character, the schoolgirl Jenny (Carey Mulligan). “She became a very realistic, honest woman, and I feel like I really understand her. At that age, major events have a huge impact on your life. After meeting Joji, I learned to respect people older than me, because they know more about the world than I do. Joji taught me that it’s very important to cherish every moment.” Asked her impression of the film, Mifune said, “At first, I thought it was going to be a cute movie, but it’s actually very serious. It makes you think. I thought Carey would be a very pure, innocent type of girl. She reminded of what Audrey Hepburn must have been like at that age.”