Based on a novel by one of Japan's foremost women novelists, this is a study of aging and family relationships worthy of Ozu. Hisaya Morishige portrays the aged patriarch of the Tachibana family who lives with his son and daughter-in-law. Following the death of his wife, Tachibana becomes increasingly senile, acting eccentrically and sometimes violently, and repulsing all around him. The daughter-in-law, Akiko, is saddled with looking after this cantankerous old man, and perhaps having him committed to an institution; Hideko Takamine brilliantly portrays her mixed emotions of love and revulsion. Her moment of truth comes when, following him out into the rain, she finds him contemplating a new spring blossom like a little child. The literal meaning of the Japanese title is "a man of ecstasy"; ironically, the popularity of the novel brought it into common usage to mean senility.