Hana no jitsugetsu

Shinjiro, the only son of Sakai Hospital, could not forget Mie, a geisha he had met at a munitions factory during the war. He refused to marry Yukiko, his father’s niece, whom the hospital director had arranged for him to wed, and eventually ran away from home to live alone in an apartment. However, following his father’s sudden death, Tsutsui, a newly rich man who had invested heavily in Sakai Hospital, was plotting to seize control of the hospital by taking advantage of the situation.

Directed by Seiji Hisamatsu, Hana no jitsugetsu leans on a strong ensemble — Isuzu Yamada, Ichirō Ryūzaki, Michiko Hoshi — 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 1949.