Sunny house

On the outskirts of Tokyo, a family of Mitsu Nakahara lives in one of the small huts surrounded by barracks and tin pens. Mitsu's husband died in the war, and she was left alone with four children and works as a day laborer. The eldest daughter Haruko, who is already nineteen years old, works in a clothing store, the second daughter Natsuko works in a restaurant, a schoolboy Akio is studying carpentry, and even the youngest Fuyuko helps her mother by working as a nanny in a neighboring house. Nearby lives a widowed electrician Tokuji Yamada with two boys - Norio and Tatsuo. He has a widowed daughter, Sakiko, who, along with a small child, ran away from home, as she is going through hard times. At Haruko's suggestion, Mitsu and Tokuji get married, and it would seem that happiness smiles on their new family, but it turned out to be short-lived…

Directed by Tsuneo Tabata, Sunny house leans on a strong ensemble — Yukiko Todoroki, Hitomi Nozoe, Shinichi Himori — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1954.