is a 1960 Japanese

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Yasuzō Masumura. It is based on the story ''Gisho no toki'' by Japanese writer

Kenzaburō Ōe is a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues, i ...

Plot

For the fourth time in a row, Hikoichi has failed to pass the exams to enter a prestigious university. He lies to his mother, a shop owner and widow who hopes for a brighter future for her son, that he passed the exams, and walks around in a student's uniform, pretending to be a freshman. When student activist leader Soratani is arrested by the police, he mistakes Hikoichi for a fellow student and orders him to bring the news of his arrest to his

zengakuren Zengakuren is a league of university student associations founded in 1948 in Japan. The word is an abridgement of which literally means "All-Japan Federation of Student Self-Government Associations." Notable for organizing protests and marches, ...

comrades. Hikoichi, eager to be accepted by the activists as one of them, and trying to impress student Mutsuko, participates in a rally where many protestors are arrested. After his quick dismissal by the police, who realise that he is neither a student nor a political agitator, the activists suspect Hikoichi to be an informant.

Cast

Ayako Wakao is a Japanese actress who was one of the country's biggest stars of the 20th century. Biography Wakao began her career contracted to Daiei Studios in 1951 as part of the fifth "New Face" group. She has gone on to appear in over 100 feature films ...

as Mutsuko *

Jerry Fujio ; 26 June 1940 – 14 August 2021) was a Japanese singer, actor and ''tarento''. Born to a British mother and Japanese father in Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-admi ...

as Hikoichi * Jun Fujimaki as Yasuo Kida *

Eiji Funakoshi was a Japanese actor. He received the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actor and the Mainichi Film Concours for Best Actor for his performance in '' Fires on the Plain''. Biography Born Eijirō Funakoshi on 17 March 1923, in Tokyo, Eiji Funakoshi ...

as Kyosuke * Jūzō Itami as Soratani (credited Ichizo Itami) * Kaneko Iwasaki as Kinuko *

Hideo Takamatsu was a Japanese actor from Nankoku, Kōchi Prefecture. Takamatsu appeared in more than 120 films between 1948 and 2007. Profile In 1951, he signed his contract with Daiei film company. Two years later, Takamatsu made his film debut with ''Ikare ...

as Prosecutor *

Sachiko Murase was a Japanese actress. She appeared in about 90 films between 1927 and 1991. Selected filmography * (1930) * (1930) * (1931) * (1931-1932, part 1, 2) - Ayako Kirihara * (1932) - Mitsuko, reporter * (1932) * (1933) * (1933) * ''A Woman ...

as Hikoichi's mother *

Nobuo Nakamura was a Japanese actor, who made notable appearances in the films of Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps his most famous roles in the West were those of the callous deputy mayor in Kurosawa's ''Ikiru'' (1952), and the h ...

as Takagi

References

External links

* 1960 films 1960 drama films Japanese drama films Japanese black-and-white films Films directed by Yasuzo Masumura Films based on short fiction 1960s Japanese films 1960s Japanese-language films Films scored by Toshiro Mayuzumi {{1960s-Japan-film-stub