"I swear you'll be punished by the gods," the young shrine maiden says in a thick Fukuoka Prefecture dialect, her eyes fixed on a naughty boy.
Alice Hirose plays Shiwasu, the lead character in the film "Mikocchaken!" (I'm a shrine maiden), which is currently showing at cinemas nationwide. The sharp-tongued heroine looks defiant and somehow grumpy, wearing a white kimono and red hakama pants, the standard garb of miko shrine maidens.
In the film, directed by Gu Su Yeon, Shiwasu works part-time at the shrine where her father serves as chief priest, while trying to find a regular job. She hates shrine maiden work, but there isn't anything else that she wants to do.
One day, somebody starts a small fire at the shrine, and Shiwasu catches the culprit. It turns out to be a 5-year-old boy named Kenta, played by Taiki Yamaguchi. Shiwasu is told to take care of the delinquent boy.
The 23-year-old Hirose, who marks the 10th anniversary of her acting career this year, has played various roles, from a high school student and editor to a bar hostess. She is currently a familiar face among TV viewers in NHK's high-profile morning drama "Warotenka" -- she portrays Ririko, a traveling entertainer and actress, who has remained an important supporting character since the drama started in October.
Her previous roles tended to involve characters who were cheerful, energetic or positive. In contrast, Shiwasu is apathetic about her future, has terrible manners and uses bad language. Her attitude toward work is far from perfect.
Some of the comments by the heroine include: "Do you want me to kick you?" "Old hag!" and "You'd better ring for a call girl." She carelessly drags a broom roughly along the ground when she's supposed to be sweeping. She even sits cross-legged and lays sprawled out on the floor while wearing her shrine maiden vestments. Because of this attitude, her colleagues keep their distance from her.
"I've never played such a complicated, spiteful person," Hirose said. "I wanted a break from the conventional images that I've portrayed in the past.
"I acted in a way that would be totally inappropriate in a sacred place," she added mischievously.
Hirose spent the week before shooting started at Miyajidake Jinja shrine in Fukutsu, Fukuoka Prefecture. The shrine is known for a phenomenon called "road of light," in which the approach to the shrine, running straight from the sea, is illuminated by the setting sun.
The film was mostly shot at the shrine, and Hirose received intensive training on how to behave as a shrine maiden and put on the uniform by herself. She also learned how to do her hair for her role and perform ceremonial dance.
Although all these things were meant to help her play the role, "right before shooting started, the director told me to forget everything," Hirose said with a wry smile.
Of course, just behaving badly doesn't mean a heroine is attractive.
Shiwasu, it turns out, is a kind-hearted person who hates injustice. For example, when she discovers Kenta is treated badly, his mother, played by Megumi, she confronts the woman.
Hirose describes her character as "socially inept."
"She can't let go of the negative feelings that young people often feel," the actress said. "I had a similar experience. During that time, everything seemed wrong. So I like Shiwasu's feelings as an ordinary person, who works hard while wondering what to do."
A Shizuoka Prefecture native, Hirose loved playing basketball when she was younger and dreamed of becoming a pro. Instead, she decided to seek an acting career, and made her film debut in 2008. After "Mikocchaken!" she will appear in the film "Taberu Onna" (Women who eat), which is scheduled to be released in September.
Early on in her career, Hirose said she felt that she would eventually quit acting. However, "At last, I've come to be able to work at my own pace, and my ambitions are growing," she said. "Now, I've set my mind on developing my acting career."
This change has made her feel a greater sense of tension when acting, Hirose said. "I'm so nervous that I sweat all over. I sometimes don't even know what I'm saying," she said. "In the past, I was less nervous. I was fearless."
Now that she has more acting ambitions, what roles would she like in the future?
"Personally, I'd play any roles offered to me, even an evil character," she said. "I don't mind being disliked. It'd be nice to play a despicable character who makes the audience feel disgusted as soon as she appears on the TV screen.
"I'm also interested in appearing in variety shows on TV so people can learn who I really am."
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