Women of Tokyo

Based on a novel by Ayako Miura.

When a gifted Japanese craftsmen dies, his three daughters are summoned to decide who will take over the family ribbon business in this family drama. Only one daughter cares to carry on her father's work, but she is met with resistance from her stepmother. One sister cares nothing for the artisan tradition, while the other is an icy opportunist whose only love is for money. It is the daughter who cares the most for her father's work who wanders away in a symbolic journey of self discovery.

Takamura, a poet and sculptor, marries a budding artist named Chieko who dreams of becoming an oil painter. When a series of hardships befall her family, she finds herself unable to confide in her husband, and the pain she carries within begins to weigh heavily on her sanity...

Epic saga of an idealistic land-owning family dealing with militarism, war, social change and economic reform.

Yoshie Nogami, a factory worker by day, works as a bar hostess at night. She begins a passionate affair with one of her regulars, but his changing demeanor and constant demands for money lead Yoshie down a dark path.

The Ueki family may not be wealthy, but smiles are never in short supply. The father is awarded prize money for 25 years of service to his workplace, but has it stolen on the way home from the ceremony...

In this Japanese drama, a dry goods merchant's daughter is surprised to discover that she has a twin sister. In rural Japan it was thought that twins bring bad luck, so the sister was abandoned at birth. Later her parents tell her that her sister was kidnapped. The woman doesn't believe this and when she eventually meets her twin, both women are involved in love affairs. The merchant's daughter is seeing an educated fellow. Trouble ensues when she begins suspecting that he may be more interested in her sister.

Tane, the lady proprietor of an inn for amorous couples, lives there with her three children. When her eldest daughter loses her fiancé due to the fact her mother is a mistress, her despair drives her to become a cabaret hostess.

Before a young woman can be sold to a geisha, she becomes pregnant.

A young prosecutor named Takao falls in love with Yoriko, only to discover that her husband is the target of his investigation into a major corruption scandal. Torn between professional duty and their forbidden affair, the couple finds themselves trapped by societal expectations and legal consequences.

Yuji, a budding writer, meets and starts falling in love with his best friend’s girlfriend, Natsuko. The attraction is mutual but due to the circumstances, they try to not act on their attraction. However, as time goes by, they realise that, perhaps, they cannot be without each other. Will the forbidden love affair move forward and can they finally be with each other?

1953 Japanese movie

The film adaptation of Yuzo Yamamoto's novel tells the story of the difficult fate of a single mother in pre-war Japan.

1962 Japanese movie