Teiichi Futamura

Enoken's first film at Daiei.

In 1930s Tokyo, the energetic Enoken and his ragtag group of friends navigate a series of chaotic misadventures involving romance and poverty.

1930s Japanese comedy.

A comedic tale told in four parts, this film follows the antics of the pickpocket Kinta as he is pursued by a low ranking deputy named Kurakichi. The two get into all manner of peccadilloes and encounter a range of peculiar characters as their game of cat and mouse moves across the countryside in the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Based on a hit song by child star Hideko Hirai from 1929, this gem -- a real historical curiosity -- provides glimpses of 1930s popular culture through introducing the typical life of a bright, energetic young girl. It contains an early product placement (for Lion Toothpaste), educational content and newsreel footage of Japan’s first woman Olympic medalist, Kinue Hitomi.