A group of rank-and-file soldiers are jailed for crimes against humanity, themselves victims of a nation refusing to bear its burdens as a whole.

After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labour chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts and moves with his newlywed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.

Five longtime friends get back together, but are disappointed to find that their bonds are not as strong as they once were.

Two detectives begin a stakeout based on the slim chance of catching a murderer whom they suspect will try to reunite with an old flame.

A coming-of-age story portrayed as the loss of all youthful illusions. Sixteen-year-old Yoichi dreams of becoming a sailor. His parents are fishmongers, and Yoichi lives together with them and his four siblings in cramped living conditions. His beloved younger sister is given to a wealthy, childless uncle; his best friend moves away; the girl he fell in love with from afar is with someone else: little by little, Yoichi loses all the people that are important to him.

After surviving the double suicide pact she made with her lover, a woman gives birth to their child.

1953 Japanese movie

While performing in Kanazawa, the renowned water-trick artist Taki no Shiraito falls deeply in love with a young student, Murakoshi Kinya. Determined to see him succeed, she endures years of financial hardship and social scorn to secretly fund his legal education in Tokyo.