No Regrets for Our Youth
Encyclopedia
is a 1946 film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa
. It is based on the Takigawa incident
of 1933.
The film stars Setsuko Hara
, Susumu Fujita
, and Denjirō Ōkōchi
. Fujita's character was inspired by the real-life Hotsumi Ozaki
, who assisted the famous Soviet spy Richard Sorge
and so became the only Japanese citizen to suffer the death penalty for treason during World War Two.
The film is in black-and-white
and runs 110 minutes.
Noge disappears following an anti-militarist student protest. His disappearance is the result of being arrested and he spends four years in jail. By the time Itokawa (now a prosecutor for the government) tells Yukie about Noge's whereabouts he has already been out of jail for a year. He also tells her that he is a changed man, that he is no longer how Yukie remembered him.
Itokawa brings Noge over to the Yagihara residence. During dinner, Professor Yagihara mentions that Noge wouldn't have gotten out unless the government was convinced that Noge had "converted" from his radical ways. Noge confirms this and says that Itokawa vouched for him and had even found him a job in the army.
After realizing that Noge has changed from his days at the University, Yukie gets up from the dinner table and runs to lock herself in her room. Yukie's mother eventually tells her that Itokawa and Noge are leaving. At first Yukie is reluctant to see them out, however once Yukie's mother tells her that Noge is leaving for China she decides to see Noge one last time to say goodbye.
After Noge's departure, Yukie begins to pack for Tokyo and after a conversation her father reluctantly lets her go. For three years in Tokyo, Yukie works menial jobs to get by. One day she runs into Itokawa and is told that Noge is in Tokyo. She goes to Noge's offices, but is scared of what will happen. Yukie is shown outside of the offices several times but eventually Noge notices her. They spend several years together and get married during this time.
Yukie knows that Noge is involved in illegal activities , but he refuses to tell her what they are. Noge is arrested on the night before his plans were to go into effect. Yukie is interrogated, but she proffers no information. Yukie is treated badly during the interrogations but Itokawa is eventually able to free her. Yukie's parents take the train into Tokyo where Yukie's father meets up with Itokawa. Yukie's father thanks him for what he has done and informs Itokawa that he intends to represent Noge in court. Itokawa mournfully responds that Noge died the night before. Yukie is crushed. She brings his ashes to his parents, and tells them she is his wife. They reject her, believing that she has come to mock them because their son was convicted of being a spy. She stays with his parents, who are scorned and harassed in their village, and works the rice fields with them. She tries to convince them of her sincerity and that their son was a good man. The work in the rice fields is hard on her, but she is determined to prove her mettle, even to the point of working when she has a severe fever.
The night that they finally finish planting all of the fields, the neighbors sneak in and destroy their rice fields. When Yukie mourns the vandalism, Noge's parents finally accept her and their son is redeemed in their eyes. At the end of the war, Professor Yagihara is reinstated and Noge is honored for his anti-war efforts. Yukie returns to Takikawa to visit her parents. Yukie's mother tells her that she can stay since she has achieved her goal because Noge's parents are no longer ashamed of him. However, Yukie now feels more comfortable planting rice than playing the piano, so she goes back to work on the farm.
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
. It is based on the Takigawa incident
Takigawa incident
The Kyoto University Incident, or Takigawa Incident, began in October 1932 when Kyoto Imperial University Faculty of Law Professor Takigawa Yukitori lectured on the need for the judiciary to understand the social roots of deviance when considering individuals who are before them...
of 1933.
The film stars Setsuko Hara
Setsuko Hara
is a Japanese actress who appeared in six of Yasujirō Ozu's films, most notably as Noriko in the 'Noriko Trilogy': Late Spring , Early Summer and Tokyo Story . Her other films for Ozu were Tokyo Twilight , Late Autumn and finally The End of Summer in 1961.She was born 会田 昌江 Masae Aida in...
, Susumu Fujita
Susumu Fujita
was a Japanese film and television actor. He played the lead role in Akira Kurosawa's first feature, Sanshiro Sugata, and appeared other Kurosawa film including The Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail and The Hidden Fortress . Later, he was a supporting actor in Ishirō Honda's Mothra vs...
, and Denjirō Ōkōchi
Denjirō Ōkōchi
was a Japanese film actor most famous for starring roles in jidaigeki directed by such masters as Akira Kurosawa, Daisuke Itō, Sadao Yamanaka, Teinosuke Kinugasa, Hiroshi Inagaki and Masahiro Makino. His real name was Masuo Ōbe...
. Fujita's character was inspired by the real-life Hotsumi Ozaki
Hotsumi Ozaki
was a Japanese journalist working for the Asahi Shinbun newspaper, communist, spy, and an advisor to Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe. The only Japanese person to be hanged for treason by the Japanese government during World War II, Ozaki is well known as an informant of the spy Richard Sorge...
, who assisted the famous Soviet spy Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge was a German communist and spy who worked for the Soviet Union. He has gained great fame among espionage enthusiasts for his intelligence gathering during World War II. He worked as a journalist in both Germany and Japan, where he was imprisoned for spying and eventually hanged....
and so became the only Japanese citizen to suffer the death penalty for treason during World War Two.
The film is in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
and runs 110 minutes.
Plot
The film begins in 1933. Students at the University at Takikawa protest against the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Prominent professor Yagihara (Denjiro Okochi) is relieved of his post because of his leftist views against fascism. The professor's daughter Yukie (Setsuko Hara) is courted by two of her father's students: Ryukichi Noge (Susumu Fujita) and Itokawa (Akitake Kôno). Itokawa is safe and sensible while Noge is fiery. Yukie is eventually drawn toward Noge.Noge disappears following an anti-militarist student protest. His disappearance is the result of being arrested and he spends four years in jail. By the time Itokawa (now a prosecutor for the government) tells Yukie about Noge's whereabouts he has already been out of jail for a year. He also tells her that he is a changed man, that he is no longer how Yukie remembered him.
Itokawa brings Noge over to the Yagihara residence. During dinner, Professor Yagihara mentions that Noge wouldn't have gotten out unless the government was convinced that Noge had "converted" from his radical ways. Noge confirms this and says that Itokawa vouched for him and had even found him a job in the army.
After realizing that Noge has changed from his days at the University, Yukie gets up from the dinner table and runs to lock herself in her room. Yukie's mother eventually tells her that Itokawa and Noge are leaving. At first Yukie is reluctant to see them out, however once Yukie's mother tells her that Noge is leaving for China she decides to see Noge one last time to say goodbye.
After Noge's departure, Yukie begins to pack for Tokyo and after a conversation her father reluctantly lets her go. For three years in Tokyo, Yukie works menial jobs to get by. One day she runs into Itokawa and is told that Noge is in Tokyo. She goes to Noge's offices, but is scared of what will happen. Yukie is shown outside of the offices several times but eventually Noge notices her. They spend several years together and get married during this time.
Yukie knows that Noge is involved in illegal activities , but he refuses to tell her what they are. Noge is arrested on the night before his plans were to go into effect. Yukie is interrogated, but she proffers no information. Yukie is treated badly during the interrogations but Itokawa is eventually able to free her. Yukie's parents take the train into Tokyo where Yukie's father meets up with Itokawa. Yukie's father thanks him for what he has done and informs Itokawa that he intends to represent Noge in court. Itokawa mournfully responds that Noge died the night before. Yukie is crushed. She brings his ashes to his parents, and tells them she is his wife. They reject her, believing that she has come to mock them because their son was convicted of being a spy. She stays with his parents, who are scorned and harassed in their village, and works the rice fields with them. She tries to convince them of her sincerity and that their son was a good man. The work in the rice fields is hard on her, but she is determined to prove her mettle, even to the point of working when she has a severe fever.
The night that they finally finish planting all of the fields, the neighbors sneak in and destroy their rice fields. When Yukie mourns the vandalism, Noge's parents finally accept her and their son is redeemed in their eyes. At the end of the war, Professor Yagihara is reinstated and Noge is honored for his anti-war efforts. Yukie returns to Takikawa to visit her parents. Yukie's mother tells her that she can stay since she has achieved her goal because Noge's parents are no longer ashamed of him. However, Yukie now feels more comfortable planting rice than playing the piano, so she goes back to work on the farm.
External links
- No Regrets for Our Youth at Allmovie
- No Regrets for Our Youth overview at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- No Regrets for Our Youth at the Japanese Movie DatabaseJapanese Movie DatabaseThe , commonly referred to as JMDB, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database, but lists only those films originally released in Japan. The site was started in 1997, and contains movies from Meiji...