[1][2] It is based on the novel Wakai hito by Yōjirō Ishizaka, which appeared in serialised form between 1933 and 1937 in the literary journal Mita bungaku.

[3] In a Christian girls' school in northern Japan, popular young teacher Mr. Mazaki is impressed by pupil Keiko's artistic talent and unorthodox behaviour.

During a school excursion to Tokyo, Ms. Hashimoto's stepmother meets Mazaki and tells him that the family would like to see him as their son-in-law.

Ms. Hashimoto distances herself from Mazaki until she sees a doctor's certificate which negates Keiko's alleged condition.

[6] In her book on literary adaptions in Japanese cinema, Keiko I. McDonald, being rather critical of Toyoda's film, pointed out that it not only left the novel's human conflicts unsolved, but also completely omitted all political implications like Hashimoto's radical left-wing leanings, possibly owed to censorship issues.