Rokuheita Narumi is fascinated by oriental art and works as the director of the Saho Art Museum in Nara. His wife, Noriko, is unable to leave Tokyo, despite his wishes, and the two live separately. Feeling lonely and neglected by her husband, she immerses herself in the depraved life of the city and continues to have a loveless relationship with a doctor, Katsumori. One day, Narumi arrives in Tokyo and learns of Noriko's affair, but he cannot divorce her for the sake of their child, so he devotes himself to his work.
Cinematography
Tokyo neon vs. Nara stillness as emotional geography.
Acting
Mita's hollow elegance masks volcanic loneliness.
Direction
Kurahara's restraint makes every glance feel like screaming.
Director
Koreyoshi Kurahara
Kinya Kitaoji
Rokuheita Narumi
Yoshiko Mita
Noriko Narumi
Eiji Okada
Hachiro Ishimoto
Kyôko Kishida
Fusako Ishimoto
Mariko Kaga
Sanae Ishiwata
Shinsuke Ashida
Toichiro Miyake
Akira Nakao
Maki Katsumori
Toshiya Fujita
Tomio Murata
Tomoko Naraoka
Katsuko Naganuma
Kazuko Shirakawa
Toyoko
Sumie Sasaki
Rise Amano
Aoi Nakajima
Kazuyo
Yuko Kotegawa
Tae Ishimoto
Ryoko Tateishi
Shizuko Urakami
Ryuzo Tanaka
Hisaichi Amano
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kurahara was a key figure in Nikkatsu Studio's 1960s 'New Wave' before going mainstream; this late-career work channels that restless energy into bourgeois suffocation.
The title refers to a Buddhist temple bell—its silence structures the film. Narumi preserves artifacts of faith while his own rings hollow.
JP
