Following the Second World War, the lives of various people in a poverty-stricken area of Tokyo are entertwined. Pachinko parlor girls, shoeshine boys, a maker of costume jewelry, and a streetcorner artist all struggle to make their livings and to find happiness in difficult surroundings.

• TOHO
• Setsuko Hara
• Toshirō Mifune
• Yōko Sugi
• Hisaya Morishige
• Murasaki Fujima
• Hiroshi Koizumi
• Nijiko Kiyokawa
• Kazuo Masubuchi