This clever tragicomedy is something like Japan's Last Laugh, about a hotel employee who is politely shown the door after thirty years of service. Hisaya Morishige plays Jihei Ikuno, loyal employee of the Hotel Kukimoto facing Ueno Station in Tokyo. When he attempts to bring what he perceives as out-moded management techniques up to modern times, he makes himself vulnerable to petty internecine politics that ultimately lead to the formation of the Ueno Station Purification League, and his ouster. The comings and goings of large groups of students, a hoteliers' convention, and Jihei's attempted love affair with a dormitory matron are all woven into the satire. Based on a novel by Masuji Ibuse, who wrote about the tragedies of common people with humor and pathos, this film's success spawned a decade-long, 24-film series, "In Front of the Station," three of which were directed by Toyoda.