A poignant story about a young couple, Setsu and Chozo, who are torn apart to save Setsu's father's restaurant.

"My mother is Japanese, a drifting diva of Tokyo" After the death of her father Reika goes to Japan to visit her mother, but can't find her, so she starts performing at a cabaret in Yokohama. Her mother, already settled, found about Reika's whereabouts, but won't acknowledge her daughter for fear of loosing her current status.

Jidai-geki by Kiyoshi Saeki

In 19th-century Japan, a young swordsmith is determined to make the best sword possible after an inferior one he made indirectly led to the death of his guardian.

A self-absorbed young actor humiliates an elderly Noh performer, who then commits suicide. His act of cruelty compels his father to disown him, leading the once promising actor to a life on the streets. But his desire to win back the respect of his father and the affection of the dead actor's daughter pushes him toward a more noble existence. Naruse employed a delicately structured mise-en-scene in this family melodrama, which evokes the work of Josef von Sternberg.