Women of the Night (夜の女たち, Yoru no onna-tachi) is a 1948 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi starring Kinuyo Tanaka.

Although Fusako's self-centered brother-in-law supports the family to a great extent, he complains that vaccinations are unnecessary and overpriced, and he is not willing to pay for them.

A representative from a "purity association" visits the hospital, but her condescending manner alienates the prostitutes, who rhetorically ask her how Japanese society proposes to feed them if they can no longer resort to sex work.

During a medical exam, the prison doctors inform Natsuko that she is pregnant with Kuriyama's baby and that she has contracted syphilis herself.

Having learned from the prison doctors that her baby will die unless she receives treatment for her syphilis, Natsuko desperately tries and fails to find another wealthy lover.

While walking outside, Fusako sees a rival group of prostitutes beating up Kumiko (who has been soliciting clients on their turf) in the ruins of a bombed-out Christian church.

Censor Harry Slott of the Civil Information and Education Section (CIE) Motion Picture Office endorsed the film's subject of women who resort to prostitution, and several health and welfare organisations announced their support for the production.

[6] Contemporary reactions to Mizoguchi's film were mixed, ranging from condemnation for being sensational to praise for its realistic depiction of women struggling to survive in post-war Japan.

[7] Reviewers, including Le Fanu, Donald Richie,[8] and Dudley and Paul Andrew[9] also drew comparisons between Mizoguchi's film and Italian neorealism.