Tetsuzō (Ken Ogata) is an unsuccessful ukiyo-e painter who lives with his daughter Ōei (Yūko Tanaka) in poverty over a Geta (footwear) shop owned by Ōyaku (Nobuko Otowa), the older wife of the aspirant writer Sashichi (Toshiyuki Nishida) who is a childhood friend of Tetsuzō.