A Hen in the Wind 1948

Set in the immediate aftermath of World War II, Tokyo is a city of rising prices and crowded rooms. Tokiko Amamiya, Kinuyo Tanaka, a 29-year-old mother to a four-year-old named Hiroshi, waits for her husband’s repatriation. She rents a room in a working-class district and keeps the family afloat mainly through dressmaking, with steady support from her longtime friend Akiko Chieko Murata. When Hiroshi falls ill and must be hospitalized, mounting medical bills push Tokiko toward a desperate choice: she prostitutes herself for one night at a quiet, out-of-the-way establishment. Akiko chastises her for the act, and Tokiko is consumed by shame and the sense that she had no other option.

Her husband Shuichi Amamiya, Shûji Sano, returns from the war and the couple is briefly reunited, yet the air is heavy with fear and unspoken worry. When Tokiko finally tells her husband the truth about Hiroshi’s illness and her night of prostitution, Shuichi’s anger erupts. He tracks down the establishment and, in a disturbing moment, encounters another young prostitute—21 years old—whose hardship mirrors Tokiko’s own. He learns that her father cannot work and her younger brother must stay in school, and the sight strengthens his resolve to help by finding the girl a proper job at his own workplace.

Back at work, Shuichi shares his struggle with Satake, Chishû Ryû, who pledges to help and urges forgiveness toward Tokiko. Satake counsels patience and understanding, but the husband remains torn, unable to fully let go of his hurt. When Tokiko returns home, she pleads for forgiveness and attempts to soothe the hurt with apologies, yet Shuichi, overwhelmed, treats her harshly, even violently, as he shoves her down a flight of stairs. The act is shocking, and as Tokiko crawls back to their room, she is left to face the consequences of both their actions.

Tokiko endures the pain and, through her perseverance, the couple confronts the fragility of their relationship. In the aftermath, Shuichi confesses that he too is at fault, and the pair confront their mistakes with raw honesty. The film closes on a fragile, hopeful note as they embrace and vow to start anew, leaning on each other for support, and vowing to leave the past behind.