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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Yasuzō Masumura was a Japanese film director. Biography Masumura was born in Kōfu, Yamanashi. After graduating from the law department at the University of Tokyo, he worked as an assistant director at the Daiei Film studio. He later returned to university t ...

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

Kenzaburō Ōe was 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 issue ...

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 A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

. 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 film ...

as Mutsuko * Jerry Fujio 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 , born , was a Japanese actor, screenwriter and film director. He directed eleven films (one short and ten features), all of which he wrote himself. He is the namesake of the Juzo Itami Award, founded in 2009 to honor his legacy. Early life I ...

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 stage and film actress. She appeared in about 90 films between 1927 and 1991, often under the direction of Hiroshi Shimizu and Keisuke Kinoshita, and received numerous awards for her stage and film performances. Biography Sachik ...

as Hikoichi's mother *

Nobuo Nakamura was a Japanese stage and film actor, who appeared in many films by Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse. Biography A graduate from Tokyo Kaisei Junior High School, Nakamura studied at the Kawabata School of Painting. After the rejecti ...

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 Japanese-language drama films {{1960s-Japan-film-stub