Yoshiro Kawazu

From 1928 to 1946, the lives of 12 young people and their school teacher in a poor Japanese village are profoundly affected by historical events and personal circumstances.

At the close of the war in Japan, a widowed mother makes every possible sacrifice to bring up her ungrateful son and daughter who are unimpressed with their poor standard of living at home. They gradually reject her in search of the material comforts that working as a maid cannot provide. The mother's despair becomes interminable.

A rural village elder plans an event on the return of a farmer's daughter from the city, unaware that she has become a Westernized burlesque artist.

A student at a woman's university takes a controversial action against the school's old-fashioned doctrines.

After finishing the course of junior high school, Kazuo comes up to Tokyo, leaving his mother alone in the unproductive northern district. He finds a job in a small laundry in downtown Tokyo and works hard till late at night. At a nearby restaurant a brother and sister are working, and Kazuo becomes friendly with the girl, Yoneko. Love blossoms between the two. However, Yoneko's brother objects to his sister marrying Kazuo.

Shunji Mitamura's wife died very early and left him a young son. Shunji's sister Hideko decided to fulfill her sisterly duty and moved to the main character to take care of the boy and the house. Time passes and Shunji marries Mieko Takamine. But since her father is often ill, she spends a lot of time in his dental clinic to do his work.

A satirical comedy set in Tokyo's new landmark food center in Yurakucho.

Based on the novel of the same name by Seichō Matsumoto.