Obscure Japanese Film #242Izumi AshikawaTsutomu ShimomotoYumeji TsukiokaYuji Odaka Akiko (Izumi Ashikawa) is the only child of her father (Tsutomu Shimomoto) and mother (Yumeji Tsukioka) and is approaching marriageable age. She has always regarded her academic father as cold and remote and seen little evidence of love between her parents, so she’s keen not to make a mistake in choosing her own husband. Pressured into going on an arranged date with the boorish Hasuike (Yuji Odaka), she’s far from impressed when he takes her to the cinema to see a grade-Z western, but as she begins seriously thinking about her options for the future, she finds herself looking back at the past... This Nikkatsu production was based on a novel of the same name by Torahiko Tamiya (1911-88) originally published as a serial in a women’s magazine the year before. His work is unavailable in English, but also provided the basis for the previously-reviewed Love is Lost (1956) and Stepbrothers (1957) among other films. Featuring some voiceover narration from Ashikawa’s character, the film unfolds in a sometimes confusing flashback structure and wanders off into some subplots of dubious relevance. However, despite these flaws, the film turns out to be a surprisingly serious and thoughtful story of a young woman finding out who her parents really are – and, by extension, who she really is. It’s also very nicely-handled by director Eisuke Takizawa, who elicits good performances all round and also made the recently-reviewed picture The Samurai of Edo. On a cultural note, there’s a scene in which Akiko visits a bar popular with students where they sing Russian folk songs in Japanese and all seem to know the words, an odd phenomenon also featured in the 1956 film Gyakukosen. Incidentally, although there’s a close-up of the poster for the film Hasuike takes Akiko to at the cinema, I was unable to identify it despite translating the text – was it such a low-budget piece of crap that it’s vanished without a trace or was it a fictional film that never existed in the first place? Inoru hito is sometimes translated (incorrectly in my view) as ‘The Praying Man’, which I don’t think was ever an official English title. While the standard translation of inoru is ‘pray’, it can also be interpreted less literally as ‘hope’, while hito is genderless and can be read as ‘person’ / ‘people’ / ‘human(s)’, etc. As there's a scene in which Akiko is shown in a praying posture, it seems likely that the title refers to her, and there’s certainly no male character it could relate to. A better English title, then, might be ‘One Who Prays.’ If you enjoy this blog, feel free to Buy Me a Coffee! Film at Amazon Prime Video Japan
Jan 24, 2026 • Subscribe
More like this
"Why do you pronounce ひと hito as しと shito?" #learnjapanese
Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2
まとめる
Bringing things together - How to Japanese - February 2024
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 3 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし)
At the end of Volume 2 of Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし) by Naekawa Sai, Hinako was forced to confront her best friend Miko’s secret –…
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 2 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし)
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 2 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし) is a freakin’ brillant volume of a manga and I really hope someone (cough/Yen Press/cough) licenses it so you…
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 1 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし)
Hinako’s family died in a tragic accident. Most of what she remembers is falling into the deep, deep ocean. So when, one day, she stops to look at…
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 5 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし)
You know, it sounds kinda cool to have a bunch of youkai fighting over you for your delicious blood but, as Hinako has found out, it’s not, really.…
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 9 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし)
When we left our principals in Volume 8, Miko had been maliciously outed to Hinako as a human-eating kitsune by Tsubaki. In Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi,…
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 6 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし)
Shiori confides to Miko how she met Hinako…and how it has ruined Hinako’s life. At last, the pieces of the puzzle that is Hinako begin to fall into…
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 7 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし)
In a moment of extraordinary timing, Yen Press has just announced that they have licensed this series as This Monster Wants To Eat Me, with Volume 1 headed…
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 8 ( 私を喰べたい、ひとでなし)
There is no way to review this volume without a few spoilers, so if you would like to skip them, please jump down to after the asterisks. Kitsune,…
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 4 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし)
Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 4 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし) was one of the skin-crawlingest creepy manga I have ever read. If you like youkai and supernatural creature-type creepies,…
やめる to stop VS とめる to stop
No post summary was provided.
Asia is One (アジアはひとつ, NDU, 1973)
The Nippon Documentarist Union explore the destructive legacies of imperialism and exploitation through the stories of migrant workers in the Okinawan islands.
Storytellers (うたうひと, Ryusuke Hamaguchi & Ko Sakai, 2013)
Ageing residents of the Tohoku region keep the folktales of ancient Japan alive in Hamaguchi & Sakai’s strangely comforting documentary
Kaze no aru michi / 風のある道 / (‘Windy Road’, 1959)
Obscure Japanese Film #240Izumi Ashikawa Naoko (Izumi Ashikawa) is a young woman still living at home with her father (Shiro Osaka), mother (Toshiko Yamane) and younger sister Chikako (Mayumi Shimizu). Her older…
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Sleeping Beauty (1959) Upon re-watching Sleeping Beauty recently I was fascinated to realise that the three fairies are pretty much the main characters :) Obviously they’re not the…
A Song I Remember ひとつの歌 Dir: Kyoshi Sugita (2012)
A Song I Remember ひとつの歌 「Hitotsu no Uta」 Release Date: October 13th, 2012 Duration: 102 mins. Director: Kyoshi Sugita Writer: Kyoshi Sugita (Script), Starring: Takenori Kaneko, Yuri…
Street of Love and Hope (愛と希望の街, Nagisa Oshima, 1959)
A young man’s pigeon selling scam eventually ruins his cross-class friendship with a wealthy young woman in Oshima’s biting sociopolitical drama
[Translyrics] Madoka Magica: Eternal ED “Hikari Furu” (ひかりふる) by Kalafina
Back when Kalafina disbanded, I wrote a series of tribute posts, and opened up an opportunity for people to request my translyrics of any Kalafina song. For whatever…
~koto ni suru ～ことにする - Meaning in Japanese
The meaning of ~koto ni suru ～ことにする in Japanese. Examples and grammar.
~koto ni naru ～ことになる - Meaning in Japanese
The meaning of ~koto ni naru ～ことになる in Japanese. Examples and grammar.
~koto wo suru ～ことをする - Meaning in Japanese
What is ~koto wo suru ～ことをする, ~koto ga dekiru ～ことができる in Japanese? Examples and grammar.
Krazytoons: “Christmas Daze” (1959)
Part of the "Tune Cartoon" series produced by Rowl Greenhalgh Productions in Australia for Television in the late 50s.
Akemi Tanaka 1959 - 2021
In sad news this week we learned of the passing of Akemi Tanaka. She died of cancer on Monday 7th June 2021. Many anime fans will remember A...
In Her Room (ひとりぼっちじゃない, Chihiro Ito, 2022)
A shy dentist’s sense of reality is undermined by his relationship with a mysterious woman living in an indoor forest in Chihiro Ito’s ethereal drama.
When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty (朝がくるとむなしくなる, Yuho Ishibashi, 2022)
A young woman wrestles with a sense of failure and inadequacy after leaving the corporate world in Yuho Ishibashi’s zeitgeisty indie drama.
Muteki no Hito
A manga about an undefeated online mahjong player known as 'M' who plays in live game to prove he isn't a cheater. Continue reading →
Muteki no Hito
As one of the most popular games in Japan, the tile based game mahjong has inspired a number of manga over the decades- like Fukumoto Nobuyuki’s long-running hit…
Kyou mo Hitotsu Yane no Shita, Volume 1 (今日もひとつ屋根の下)
Starting in 2020, Yuri manga artist Inui Ayu began an autobiographical comic essay column in the pages of Monthly Comic Yuri Hime. For almost two years, she had…
Hitorimi Desu 60-sai Lesbian Single Seikatsu (ひとりみです: 60歳レズビアンノシングルセイカツ) , 1-3
Hitorimi Desu 60-sai Lesbian Single Seikatsu (ひとりみです: 60歳レズビアンノシングルセイカツ). is the newest project from Morishima Akiko-sensei. This chapter-by-chapter series looks at the lives of senior lesbians who are single.…
New Moomin 33/52 - Pappa All Alone (ひとりぽっちのパパ) (1972) (English subtitles)
Pappa is feeling underappreciated. Moomin and Mamma did not tell him about a fire, and his idea to take them on vacation for a day conflicts with Moomin's…
いる vs ある #learnjapanese
Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2
![Featured image for Kokou No Hito [ Review ]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220117/1642455514.29426.56989.jpg)
Kokou No Hito [ Review ]
Some of the best stories of all time are in my opinion personal journeys where we can witness the growth of a person and see how they change…
How to Japanese Podcast – Episode 48 – The 1,000-yen Haircut and まとめる
On the podcast this month, I continued the conversation about value in Japan, specifically looking at the 1,000-yen men’s haircut, which I think is one of the worst…
My Blood & Bones in a Flowing Galaxy (砕け散るところを見せてあげる, SABU, 2020)
A young man’s attempt to protect a bullied schoolmate leads him into infinite darkness but eventually also to the light in SABU’s poetic teen drama
Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone (おらおらでひとりいぐも, Shuichi Okita, 2020)
An older woman living alone is plagued by three strange sprites forcing her to confront the reality of her life in Shuichi Okita’s surreal meditation on loneliness and…
Tetsuwan Atom (1959 live-action) – Episode 06
In this episode, Atom storms the island base of the ZZZ Gang, attempting to rescue Michelle and her father Professor Leon. Get it from Nyaa or Mega.
My Father’s Tracks (僕と彼女とラリーと, Renpei Tsukamoto, 2021)
A struggling actor rediscovers his sense of purpose on returning to his home town in the wake of his father’s death in Rempei Tsukamoto’s heartwarming drama
Sumikkogurashi: Good To Be In The Corner (映画 すみっコぐらし とびだす絵本とひみつのコ, Mankyu, 2019)
The adorably neurotic San-X characters head off on a series of fairytale adventures to help a lost duckling figure out where they belong in a charming animated feature
People Who Talk to Plushies Are Kind (ぬいぐるみとしゃべる人はやさしい, Yurina Kaneko, 2023)
A collection of sensitive uni students pour out their worries to cuddly toys to avoid burdening others with their fears in Yurina Kaneko’s charmingly empathetic drama.
甘える
Brute forcing difficult words - How to Japanese - January 2023
Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru, Volume 1 (君としらない夏になる)
Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru, Volume 1 (君としらない夏になる), subtitled in English “Throw away the suit together,” is one of my favorite reads currently in Comic Yuri Hime…
Ie ga Sukina Hito: Ida Chiaki
I am one of the people in the title of this book—I am a person who loves my house. Well, it’s an apartment, but a quirk of my…
Senjo no Hito: Komiya Lisa Marina
Torch is out here knocking it out of the park again! I know I’ve said it before, but I must say it again: there is maybe no other…
The Makioka Sisters / 細雪 / Sasameyuki (‘Light Snowfall’, 1959)
Obscure Japanese Film #148 Junko Kano and Fujiko Yamamoto Junichiro Tanizaki’s novel Sasameyuki is widely recognised as a classic of Japa...
Good Morning (お早よう, Yasujiro Ozu, 1959)
Frustrated by adult hypocrisy, two little boys go on a pleasantries strike to force their parents to buy a TV in Yasujiro Ozu’s charming family drama.
Halloween Special Review: The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) review
Nakagawa succeeds in delivering an unforgettable finale that, due to its hallucinatory feel, mesmerises the spectator with its haunting imagery.
![Featured image for Alone Again in Fukushima ナオト、いまもひとりっきり Dir: Mayu Nakamura (2021) [Yamagata International Film Festival 2021]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20211018/1634536955.23457.49872.jpg)
Alone Again in Fukushima ナオト、いまもひとりっきり Dir: Mayu Nakamura (2021) [Yamagata International Film Festival 2021]
Alone Again in Fukushima sees director Mayu Nakamura visit an interesting samaritan who remained behind to look after abandoned animals. Alone Again in Fukushima ナオト、いまもひとりっきり Dir: Mayu Nakamura…
Will I Be Single Forever? (ずっと独身でいるつもり？, Momoko Fukuda, 2021)
A series of young women find themselves contemplating the meaning of a modern marriage in Momoko Fukuda’s empathetic social drama