Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older.

• TOHO
• Hideko Takamine
• Masayuki Mori
• Reiko Dan
• Tatsuya Nakadai
• Daisuke Katō
• Ganjirō Nakamura II
• Eitarō Ozawa
• Keiko Awaji