A wandering thief, a blind mother, and a flower hairpin that changes everything.
In early summer in Edo, Sanshirō, known for his beautiful singing, is a devoted son living in a tenement with his blind mother Okura. He works as a delivery boy for the caterer "Yaoyorozu." His brother, Chōjirō, who disliked being a plasterer, ran away from home and became a subordinate of the yakuza Yamashita no Gonsuke. On a delivery, Sanshirō catches a vagrant child, Erippē, stealing a flower hairpin from Ochiyo, the daughter of the wealthy merchant Narumiyaya Bunzaimon. Impressed by Sanshirō's character, Bunzaimon considers him as a potential son-in-law for Ochiyo, who admires Sanshirō.
Acting
Kōkichi Takada's devastating devotion as the singing son
Direction
Fukuda's cramped tenement compositions that suffocate with love
Costume
The flower hairpin as plot engine and class signifier
Director
Seiichi Fukuda
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Post-war Japanese cinema obsessively returned to Edo-period stories to process modern displacement. This 1956 release sits right in that melancholic tradition.
Director Seiichi Fukuda was primarily a screenwriter; this remains one of his few directorial credits. Chiemi Eri, who plays Erippē, was already a major enka singer at 19.
JP
