Kaoru Morimoto

The few residents left on the streets in Tokyo share their individual stories and come to understand the melancholy of saying goodbye.

Comedy about a 50-something movie director, his new bride, a classical dancer, and his adult son and daughter and their loves.

Based on Kaoru Morimoto oft performed 1945 play, a starring vehicle for famed actress Machiko Kyo as Kei an abused orphaned girl that eventually finds sanctuary with a wealthy family that trades goods with China and becomes a successful businesswoman. Masumura dilutes the originally intended pro-Japan propaganda elements for a more anti-war approach.

Set against the backdrop of an imperial victory in the civil war leading up to the Meiji Restoration, Fallen Blossoms tells the story of the sorrows of women in a geisha house in Kyoto by recounting the relationships of its inhabitants.

Set against the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, two Osaka families navigate the radical social shifts of the early Meiji Era. As the merchant class ascends to economic prominence, the former samurai class faces a steady decline in status and traditional structure.