Love in Ginza

Hanjiro is a struggling painter that shares a tiny apartment in the back streets of Ginza with his jazz pianist friend who works at a bar. When he and his sweet heart, Hisako decide to get married, Hanjiro is faced with a tough decision. Needing to buy a ticket back home to tell his mother the good news, he compromises his creative principles for love and sells his portrait of Hisako. Hisako heads to the station to see him off, but gets hit by a car...

Directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara, Love in Ginza leans on a strong ensemble — Yūjirō Ishihara, Ruriko Asaoka, Chiemi Eri — 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 romance titles of 1962.