The Approach of Autumn

『秋立ちぬ』 
Aki Tachinu

Imported 35mm Print. An uncharacteristic departure from Naruse’s typical concentration on the lives of adults, The Approach of Autumn fixates on Hideo, a boy whose arrival in Ginza from the countryside formulates the beginnings of a forced adolescence, marked by his own exposures to city life and growing resentment about his single mother’s choices. Taken to live with his uncle’s family, Hideo is left to his own devices when his mother takes a job at a nearby ryokan, thereby neglecting her son. A friendship with a local girl brings Hideo to a deeper understanding of the broken state of postwar familial structures, as issues of abandonment, alienation, and self-worth accelerate his increasing disillusionment with the world at large.

Print courtesy of The Japan Foundation.

Dir. Mikio Naruse, 1960, 79 min., 35mm, b&w, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Kenzaburo Osawa, Nobuko Otowa, Kamatari Fujiwara.

Part of the John and Miyoko Davey Classic Film Series
Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us – Part I 
May 9—31, 2025

© 1960 Toho Co., Ltd.

Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us is co-organized by Japan Society, Metrograph and the Japan Foundation, New York.

Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us – Part I is generously supported by The John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund for Classic Japanese Film.

Japan Society’s 120th anniversary initiatives and related programs are generously supported by Champion Sponsor, MUFG Bank, Ltd.; Advocate Sponsor, Mizuho Americas; and Friend Sponsor, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas).

Japan Society programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Film programs are generously supported by ORIX Corporation USA, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Anime NYC and Yen Press. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and The John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund. Additional season support is provided by Ms. Miyoko U. Davey, The Globus Family, George P. Hirose, David Toberisky, Joseph Rajaratnam and Dharshini Iolanthe Sivakumaran, and Film Circle members.

Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the official Japanese airline sponsor of Japan Society Film Program. Housing assistance is provided by the Prince Kitano New York, the official hotel sponsor of Japan Society Film Program.