Late Spring
Noriko is 27 years old and is still living with her father Somiya, a widower. Noriko just recovered from an illness she developed in the war, and now the important question pops up: when will Noriko start thinking about marriage? Everybody who is important in her life tries to talk her into it: her father, her aunt, a girlfriend. But Noriko doesn't want to get married, she seems extremely happy with her life. She wants to stay with her father to take care of him. After all, she knows best of his manners and peculiarities. But Noriko's aunt doesn't want to give up. She arranges a partner for her and thinks of a plan that will convince Noriko her father can be left alone.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Late Spring (1949) showcases precise plot construction, characteristic of Yasujirō Ozu's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 14-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 48 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Noriko and her father Shukichi live in peaceful domestic harmony. She types his academic papers, they share meals, and she tends their home with contentment, showing no desire for marriage despite being 27.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Aunt Masa seriously proposes a marriage match for Noriko with a suitable man. Noriko resists, claiming she wants to stay with her father. The comfortable status quo is threatened by external social pressure.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Professor Shukichi decides he must lie to Noriko, telling her he plans to remarry his secretary Miwa. This deception is meant to free Noriko from obligation. He actively chooses to push his daughter toward independence, even at emotional cost., moving from reaction to action.
At 53 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 49% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat Noriko discovers her father's supposed relationship with Miwa. She sees them together and believes he truly intends to remarry. This "false defeat" devastates her but paradoxically frees her from her sense of obligation to stay., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 79 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, In a devastating conversation at the beach, Noriko confesses to a friend that she feels "dirty" and cannot imagine marriage. She breaks down emotionally, revealing the death of her idealized relationship with her father and her innocent belief that things could stay the same forever., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 86 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. The wedding preparations and ceremony unfold. Noriko prepares to leave. Father and daughter share final moments together. The marriage happens off-screen in Ozu's typical style. Noriko departs for her new life, and Shukichi is left alone., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Late Spring's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 14 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Late Spring against these established plot points, we can identify how Yasujirō Ozu utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Late Spring within the comedy genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Noriko and her father Shukichi live in peaceful domestic harmony. She types his academic papers, they share meals, and she tends their home with contentment, showing no desire for marriage despite being 27.
Theme
Aunt Masa visits and tells Noriko: "You must get married. It's the natural order of things." This conversation introduces the film's central theme about duty, change, and accepting life's inevitable progressions.
Worldbuilding
We see Noriko's daily life: working for her professor father, attending a Noh play with him, socializing with friends who discuss marriage prospects, and maintaining their comfortable household routine. Her devotion to her father seems complete.
Disruption
Aunt Masa seriously proposes a marriage match for Noriko with a suitable man. Noriko resists, claiming she wants to stay with her father. The comfortable status quo is threatened by external social pressure.
Resistance
Noriko debates marriage with friends and family. She visits Kyoto with her father, strengthening their bond. She witnesses her friend's marriage dissolving and recoils. She actively resists the idea of leaving her father, finding reasons to refuse.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Professor Shukichi decides he must lie to Noriko, telling her he plans to remarry his secretary Miwa. This deception is meant to free Noriko from obligation. He actively chooses to push his daughter toward independence, even at emotional cost.
Mirror World
Noriko interacts more deeply with Hattori, the proposed suitor. He represents the thematic alternative: a new life, marriage, natural progression. The relationship subplot carries the question of whether she can accept change.
Premise
Noriko navigates between two worlds: her protective life with father and the possibility of marriage. She observes other marriages, attends social gatherings, and gradually confronts what leaving would mean. The tension between duty to father and duty to self builds.
Midpoint
Noriko discovers her father's supposed relationship with Miwa. She sees them together and believes he truly intends to remarry. This "false defeat" devastates her but paradoxically frees her from her sense of obligation to stay.
Opposition
Noriko's resistance crumbles as she faces her father's apparent new life. She becomes angry, hurt, and disoriented. The pressure from family intensifies. She must confront her selfishness in wanting to keep things unchanged. Her internal opposition to marriage weakens.
Collapse
In a devastating conversation at the beach, Noriko confesses to a friend that she feels "dirty" and cannot imagine marriage. She breaks down emotionally, revealing the death of her idealized relationship with her father and her innocent belief that things could stay the same forever.
Crisis
Noriko sits in the darkness of her emotional collapse, processing the loss of her old life. She recognizes she must accept change, that her father will go on without her, and that resisting the natural order causes pain.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
The wedding preparations and ceremony unfold. Noriko prepares to leave. Father and daughter share final moments together. The marriage happens off-screen in Ozu's typical style. Noriko departs for her new life, and Shukichi is left alone.
Transformation
Shukichi sits alone in his empty house, peeling an apple in silence. The transformation is bittersweet: Noriko has moved into adulthood and marriage, but the cost is profound loneliness. He nods slowly, accepting this as the natural order he helped create.