A widower remarries. His daughters panic. Japanese domestic chaos ensues.
Twenty-year-old Yoshiko (Setsuko Hara) and her younger sister Asako (Yōko Yaguchi) struggle to accept changes in their home during the preparations of their widowed father's wedding to his chosen bride, Maki Tsuneko (Sadako Sawamura), who's anxious about her conduct as the bride.
Acting
Setsuko Hara's restrained heartbreak—eyes that speak volumes.
Writing
Shimazu's understated script lets silence wound.
Director
Yasujirō Shimazu
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Setsuko Hara was only 20 here, already mastering the 'eternal virgin' persona Ozu would later immortalize.
Pre-war Japan's ie family system meant Tsuneko's arrival literally restructured these women's social positions—a tension Western viewers might miss.
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