Until We Meet Again

is a 1950 Japanese anti-war drama film directed by Tadashi Imai. It is based on Romain Rolland's novel Pierre et Luce. The film stars Eiji Okada in the role of Tajima Saburo opposite to Yoshiko Kuga as Ono Keiko. Plot Summary Tajima Saburo is a pacifist and amateur poet in World War II era Japan - a trait which causes conflict between him and his family. His eldest brother, Ichiro, was killed in the war leaving behind his pregnant wife, Masako, who now lives with the Tajima family. His other older brother, Jiro, has already followed suit to join the war much to Saburo's dismay. This leaves Saburo the black sheep of the family as Jiro and his father show their disappointment at his lack of patriotism. During one fateful bomb drill, Saburo spots a woman in the shelter, Ono Keiko, and protects her from the sounds of shelling from outside. Their hands briefly touch during this moment, and Keiko is forever imprinted on Saburo's mind. Once the shelter is cleared, Saburo loses track of Keiko and decides to head home, defeated. At home, Saburo attempts to avoid seeing Jiro and his father, resulting in him being berated for his filial disrespect. Fleeing upstairs to his bedroom to avoid further conflict, Jiro follows suit in the hopes he can convince Saburo to join the army voluntarily. His drunken attempts fail and more arguing ensues. The following morning Saburo meets with his school friends to discuss publishing a poetry book based on the posthumous works of their recently deceased acquaintance, Kawabe. It becomes Saburo's job to meet Kawabe's brother in Tokyo at Hakuyosha to discuss the details. There, Saburo approaches Hakuyosha and spots children playing as soldiers outside. Realizing the game they are playing, he begins to laugh and realizes none other than Keiko is nearby, laughing along with him. They recognize each other immediately. By coincidence, Keiko was helping out at the same business Kawabe's brother works at as an advertisement painter/designer. Together Saburo and Keiko sit by a small pond to discuss anything but the war, sharing caramel candies and an apple. Saburo is interested in Keiko's paintings, but she insists she only does it to earn a wage and that she doesn't actually feel as though she's good at it - though this doesn't seem to bother her, so long as she gets paid.