Two women, one debt, zero chill — 1960s Japanese melodrama hits different.
A touching drama about a love triangle between a young architect, Koroku, and two women, Ranko and Teruko. Ranko comes from a wealthy family and is offering to repay Koroku’s family debts in exchange for marriage, but Koroku is in love with his landlord’s daughter, Teruko. Things are further complicated when the wicked Tsugawa takes interest in both women, for his own marriage.
Acting
Ken Takakura's brooding restraint defines the entire era.
Production
Sumptuous studio-era sets that scream 1962 Toho glamour.
Director
Kunio Watanabe
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ken Takakura was only 31 here, already perfecting the stoic masculine suffering that made him Japan's biggest star for decades.
This exemplifies 'hahamono' (mother-centered dramas) adjacent themes — economic anxiety wrapped in romantic packaging was box office gold in postwar Japan.
JP
