Edo no yubae

In the fourth year of Keio (1868), defeated retainers sought to restore the Tokugawa shogunate with the help of Enomoto Takeaki's navy. Honda Koroiku was one of them. He discreetly handed a departure note to his fiancée, Otosei, the daughter of Matsudaira Soebe, and left Edo. Otosei's cousin and Koroiku's friend, Domae Daikichi, was once a brave warrior of the shogunate army. However, he had since fallen into a life of debauchery in Yanagibashi and was rumored to be involved with a geisha named Orikki.

Directed by Noboru Nakamura, Edo no yubae leans on a strong ensemble — Ichikawa Danjūrō XI, Shōroku Onoe II, Chikage Awashima — 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 screen titles of 1954.