A country cousin follows her forbidden love to Tokyo's glittering underworld—what could go wrong? (Spoiler: everything.)
The story is centered around the devastating experiences of two villagers, Osaki Shuichi, and his cousin, Nishimiura Kinue, when they leave their hometown for the metropolis of Tokyo. They are in love with each other, but Kinue is expected to marry the lawyer Kanda Seiji. In consequence, Shukichi leaves for Tokyo, where he becomes tutor to the son of the rich Iwaki family. The heartbroken Kinue also makes her way to the capital, where she becomes a bar hostess.
Direction
Shimizu's floating camera captures Tokyo's anonymous energy
Cinematography
Locations shot on actual streets, documentary-like immediacy
Acting
Hiroko Kawasaki's tragic descent without melodramatic excess
Director
Hiroshi Shimizu
Mitsugu Fujii
Shûkichi Ôsaki
Hiroko Kawasaki
Kinue Nishimura
Michiko Kuwano
Tomone Iwaki
Isamu Yamaguchi
Matsumura, chauffeur
Hideo Fujino
Keinosuke Iwaki
Yoshiko Tsubouchi
Kayo
Shigeru Ogura
Muraki
Toshiaki Konoe
Yamashita
Reikichi Kawamura
Ôsaki's father
Mitsuko Yoshikawa
Ôsaki's mother
Tomio Aoki
Shigeru, Ôsaki's brother
Fumiko Katsuragi
Kanda's grandmother
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shimizu shot extensively on location in Asakusa's entertainment district, blending fiction with documentary footage of actual 1934 nightlife.
The 'moga' (modern girl) phenomenon Kinue embodies terrified conservative Japan—this film doesn't judge her, but the economy certainly does.
JP
