Seisaku's Wife

The beginning of the twentieth century, on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War. Okane, who married an old wealthy man to escape poverty, returns to her village when he dies. The village does not forgive her; she lives there shut out and talked about. Then she meets Seisaku, back from his military service. Seisaku is the young man the village is proud of; Okane is its shame. A relationship nobody approves of begins between them. When Seisaku is called back to the front, Okane does something irreversible to keep from losing him, and pays for it in prison. Yasuzō Masumura's film is as much a criticism of militarism as a love story; the pressure of the village and the demand of the state meet in the same place. Ayako Wakao plays Okane.