Manbei Kohayagawa (Nakamura Ganjirō II), the head of a small sake brewery outside Kyoto, has two daughters and a widowed daughter-in-law.

His daughter-in-law, Akiko (Setsuko Hara), and his younger daughter, Noriko (Yoko Tsukasa), live in Osaka.

The ailing Kohayagawa brewery is to be merged with a business rival's, while Noriko decides to go to Sapporo to seek out Teramoto.

Ozu added a scene at the end to accommodate Toho's star Yūko Mochizuki, who asked to be in the film, as well as his signature actor Chishū Ryū.

[3] Dennis Schwartz praised The End of Summer as a "deft blending of comedy and tragedy", writing that Manbei's "lively antics give the film a wonderfully playful tone.

"[6] In 2007, The Criterion Collection released the film as part of the DVD box set Eclipse Series 3: Late Ozu.