- A widow sends her only son away to receive a better education. Years later, she visits him, finding him a poor school teacher with a wife and son.
- In 1923, in the province of Shinshu, the widow and simple worker of a silk factory Tsune Nonomiya (O-Tsune) decides to send her only son to Tokyo for having a better education. Thirteen years later, she visits her son Ryosuke Nonomiya (Shinichi Himori), and finds that he is a poor and frustrated night-school teacher with a wife, Sugiko (Yoshiko Tsubouchi), and a baby boy.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Tsune is a widow who works in a silk factory. Her only child is Ryosuke. He is a good student whose teacher has encouraged him to continue on to middle school. He tell his mother that he knows she can't afford the tuition. His teacher comes by to congratulate Tsune on her decision to send him to school. An education is the only way to get ahead. He himself is leaving for Tokyo to pursue bigger opportunities.
When he leaves, she is angry at Ryosuke for lying to the teacher, but overnight, she has a change of heart. She tells him that she has figure out a way to send him to school.
13 years later, we see Ryosuke still working in the factory. She reveals that she is taking a trip to Tokyo to visit her son, whom she has not seen in many years.
When she arrives, she finds out that her son is living in a cheap apartment. He is not working in the government job that she thought he had; instead, he is working as night-school teacher, making little money. In addition, he hasn't told her that he is married, and that he has a baby. He shows his mother around Tokyo, borrowing money from a coworker and his boss in order to do so. They also go to visit his schoolteacher who, far from making a big success, is selling pork chops to eke out a living to support his wife and children.
Tsune has a confrontation with Ryosuke. He tell her that his education has been a waste, an that it is impossible to do better. Tsune is unwilling to let him quit on himself. She reveals to him that she sent him to school by selling her house and land. She has been living in a factory tenement. She doesn't mind as long as he makes something of himself. Sugiko, Ryosuke's wife, cries as she listens to them fight.
The next day, Sugiko suggests that Ryosuke take his mother out. She has sold her kimono, so he can have the money. But then, the neighbor's daughter is injured. They all rush to the hospital. While the child will be okay, her mother doesn't have the money to pay the doctor. Ryosuke gives her the money. His mother watches this act of charity. That night, she tells him that she is proud of him. The next day, he leaves to return home.
Ryosuke tells his wife that he has decided to go back to school to get certified to teach high school.
Back home, Tsune smiles as she tells her coworkers about how impressive Tokyo is. But when goes outside by herself, she does not appear to be at all happy.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content