Career
Born Reiko Ando in Tokyo, she began as a stage actress. Early in her career, she became well known for portraying older women. One of her memorable roles was that of the voice of Kanta"s grandmother in the 1988 Studio Ghibli movie My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro).
She died on April 27, 2010, of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital.
She was 98.