Notes of an Itinerant Performer

Yaeko Mizutani has been a performer on the road …. well, forever. Her feet are blistered, the troupe is broke, their only venue is the street, so when a kindly tea merchant agrees to her being his guest until the troupe catches up, she agrees; actually, money changes hands between the merchant and the troupe manager, unbeknownst to her. No sooner do they arrive at his home than the rumors start to fly, and the merchant’s daughter snubs her. Then the merchant dies, and his son, Ken Uehara comes home from college. He’s ready to take over the failing business, but Miss Mizutani says she’ll manage the house and the family for him while he gets his degree.Miss Mizutani gives the most humble and iron-willed performance I have ever seen. It’s a peculiarly Japanese movie, with everyone looking out for themselves, except her; it’s a story worthy of Sholem Aleichem.