Bridging the narrative signatures of his past films and the stylistic refinement of forthcoming ones, Naruse's Ginza Cosmetics signaled the beginning of a comeback for the director who later mused that he finally "seemed to have relaxed" after years of films he considered lackluster. The film follows Ginza bar hostess Yukiko (Tanaka Kinuyo), a single mother and maternal figure to the younger hostesses. Refusing the postwar cynicism that has made the women self-denying and the men self-pitying, Yukiko holds onto the possibility of love and financial stability despite scant assurance from her surroundings that such a future might emerge. – Kelley Dong