Notable for the prophetic and amazingly militant feminism of its subject,this story is set in the 1880s, a crucial period in the modernization of Japanwhen both liberalism and feminism were nascent under the Meiji Restoration. Withthe blunt universality characteristic of this great director, the conflicts ofthe era are embodied in the struggles of a determined young woman (Kinuyo Tanaka)who leaves home to become involved in the political turmoil in Tokyo. The filmends with a hauntingly simple image of two women forming a mystical bond thatboth includes and transcends politics. Visually, the film demonstrates the dense,dark, and emotionally charged style characteristic of Mizoguchi's immediatepostwar period-"a detailed, living fresco of protest, street battles,intrigues, and the claims of the individual conscience." (John Gillett)