Ornamental Hairpin
Plot. A diverse group of people is staying at a remote spa, including grumpy professor Katada, who regularly scolds young husband Hiroyasu for not being strict enough with his wife, an old man with his two grandsons Taro and Jiro, and soldier Nanmura. When Nanmura steps on a kanzashi, a woman's ornamental hairpin, in a well, he has to extend his stay. After the owner of the hairpin, Emi, a former resident, is located, she returns to the spa to apologise. Together with Taro and Jiro, she supports Nanmura with his daily exercises to regain his health . Although Emi and Nanmura share an unspoken mutual affection, they both know that their time together is finite: Nanmura will have to return to the military service, while Emi, a geisha who has fled her patron, faces an uncertain future. Legacy. Film scholar Alexander Jacoby describes "Ornamental Hairpin" as one of Shimizu's "richest and most complex achievements" which "boasted outstanding performances from Kinuyo Tanaka and Chishū Ryū". The British Film Institute included the film in its list of the best Japanese films since 1925.