Setting: Osaka and Kyoto in 1938

Synopsis:
Every year, the four sisters of the MAKIOKA family gather in Kyoto to view cherry blossoms. TSURUKO, the eldest and heiress to their late father's fortune, is married to TATSUO who works at a bank. SACHIKO, the second, has a home in the suburbs of Osaka with her husband TEINOSUKE who works in a department store. The third, YUKIKO, and the fourth and youngest, TAEKO, live with SACHIKO, because they have trouble with TATSUO. It is a problem for TSURUKO who thinks, as the heiress, she is obliged to take care of her sisters. The trouble was caused five years earlier by TAEKO who eloped with OKUHATA, a jeweler's son. The resultant scandal was reported by a newspaper, but the girl's name was mistakenly reported as YUKIKO instead of TAEKO. TATSUO protested to the publisher, and the newspaper reported the story again mentioning TAEKO's name. As a result, TAEKO's protest fanned the scandal, and YUKIKO still blames him for making the newspaper mention TAEKO's name.
YUKIKO is a gentle, modest type, but she is determined to have her way. She receives many marriage proposals but refuses all of them. One day, SACHIKO sees her husband casually touching YUKIKO as he helps her to dress. SACHIKO feels uneasy. She thinks YUKIKO must get married as soon as possible. She arranges many meeting with would be grooms, but none satisfies the girl.
TAEKO becomes intimate with a caneraman, ITAKURA, who takes pictures of TAEKO's handmade dolls. Driven by jealousy, her old lover, OKUHATA, attacks the photographer and destroys his camera. TAEKO is not sure that ITAKURA's love is true, but later he falls ill and dies. TAEKO's sorrow is alleviated by the appearance of a true lover, a bartender named MIYOSHI. He is kind and sincere to her, although poor and unfit as a groom for a MAKIOKA lady. But TAEKO realizes she is really in love for the first time in her life, and makes up her mind to live with him no matter what hardships she may suffer.
TSURUKO is proud of the prestige of her family. Their late father was a millionaire, but his marine transport business eventually declined and he went deeply into debt. After the father's death, TSURUKO's husband sold the company to clear the debts, despite the opposition of the four sisters. TATSUO is a realistic-type, but when he is offered a transfer to a Tokyo office, he is in agony. TSURUKO refuses to leave Osaka, and the other sisters are afraid that TATSUO will sell their father's house too. The transfer means a promotion, and it is his chance. He cannot afford to lose it. Nevertherless, a move to Tokyo means disaster to TSURUKO who has never left her hometown of Osaka. After consideration, however, she agrees. TATSUO is overjoyed and thanks her.
YUKIKO finally finds a perfect groom; rich, handsom, noble and respectable. Her marriage is, in a way, hard for TEINOSUKE who secretly loves her. He feels as if he were robbed of his secret treasure.

Notes:
This is the third film based on the famous novel by the celebrated writer, TANIZAKI JUNICHIRO. He began to write in the 1970s and is known for his sensuously aesthetic style. He wrote this novel during World War II. "Okoto and Sasuke" (SHUNKINSHO), "Naomi" (CHIJIN NO AI), and "Odd Obsession" (KAGI), are a few of his many works which have been filmed.
This story parallels the activities of the MAKIOKA sisters with the seasonal change in Japan. The director, ICHIKAWA KON, creates a sumptuously beautiful world in which he depicts the prewar lifestyle of a wealthy Osaka family. ICHIKAWA made his first feature film in 1947, and since then his works have run the gamut, from comedies like "Mr. Poo" (PU-SAN) 1953, and documantaries like "Tokyo Olympiad" 1965, to serious dramas like "Harp of Buruma" (BIRUMA NO TATEGOTO) 1956 & 1985. "The Makioka Sisters" is his second film adaptation of a novel by TANIZAKI. The first is "Odd Obsession."