An Inn in Tokyo

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An Inn in Tokyo (Tokyo no yado) is a 1935 Japanese silent drama directed by Yasujirō Ozu. It is Ozu’s last surviving silent film. The screenplay is credited to “Without Money,” but was actually written by Ozu with Masao Arata and Tadao Ikeda when Ozu was short of money.

Plot
Kihachi, a poor father, travels around Tokyo’s industrial flats with his two young sons, Zenko and Masako, looking for work. They can’t find jobs, so the boys catch stray dogs for rewards. Zenko spends some money on an officer’s cap, and the brothers quarrel, losing the family’s funds. With no money for both a meal and a bed, they settle for a meal. At a cafe, they meet Kihachi’s old friend Otsune, who helps by finding Kihachi a job and letting the family rent a room there.

Kihachi meets Otaka, a poor woman with a sick daughter named Kimiko. Otaka can’t pay hospital bills. When Kihachi can’t borrow money from Otsune, he steals and has his sons deliver the money to Otaka. Otsune scolds him for hiding his troubles. He leaves the boys in Otsune’s care and goes to the police to turn himself in.

Details
- Release date: November 21, 1935
- Running time: 80 minutes
- Country: Japan
- Language: Silent with Japanese intertitles
- Production company: Shochiku