Journey Into Solitude

A sixteen year old girl is bored with school. One day she leaves home. She leaves her mother nothing but a note. I am going on a journey, it says. Where she goes is the island of Shikoku. She sets out to walk the pilgrimage route there. She meets a great many people along the way. At one point she joins a troupe of travelling performers. She goes from town to town with them. A relationship begins between her and Masako, whom she meets in the troupe. Then she leaves the troupe. Before long she falls ill. An older man finds her and looks after her. That care brings her back to herself. Yoko Takahashi and Etsushi Takahashi appear in the ninety minute film, a Japanese production Kōichi Saitō finished in 1972.