is a 1956 film by Yasujirō Ozu about a married salaryman (Ryō Ikebe) who escapes the monotony of married life and his work at a fire brick manufacturing company by beginning an affair with a fellow office worker (Keiko Kishi). The film also deals with the hardships of the salaryman lifestyle. "I wanted," Ozu said, "to portray what you might call the pathos of the white-collar life." With a runtime of 144 minutes, Early Spring is Ozu's longest surviving film, and his penultimate shot in black and white. Plot Office worker Shoji Sugiyama (Ryō Ikebe) wakes and goes about his morning routine, attended by his wife, Masako (Chikage Awashima), before commuting to his job in the Tokyo office of a fire brick manufacturing company. During a hiking trip with office friends, Shoji spends time alone with a fellow worker, a typist nicknamed "Goldfish" for her large eyes (Keiko Kishi). After the trip Goldfish makes advances to Shoji and the two begin an affair. Masako suspects something is amiss but is reluctant to confront her husband. After Shoji fails to mark the anniversary of their son's death, he and Masako become progressively estranged. Their friends, too, suspect something is transpiring between Shoji and Goldfish. They confront Goldfish, advising her not to come between a married couple. Aggrieved, Goldfish visits Shoji late in the night. Masako, convinced that her suspicions have foundation, demands that Shoji tell her the truth about his relationship with Goldfish. Shoji still lies about it, and the next morning Masako leaves the marital home to stay with her mother. Shoji relocates to his company's office in the provincial town of Mitsuishi (now part of Bizen). Masako eventually travels to Mitsuishi and the couple is reunited. They promise to forget their past troubles and strive for marital happiness. Cast Chikage Awashima as Masako Sugiyama Ryō Ikebe as Shoji Sugiyama Keiko Kishi as Chiyo Kaneko (Goldfish) Teiji Takahashi as Taizo Aoki Chishū Ryū as Kiichi Onodera So Yamamura as Yutaka Kawai Haruko Sugimura as Tamako Takako Fujino as Terumi Aoki Masami Taura as Koichi Kitagawa Kumeko Urabe as Shige Kitagawa Kuniko Miyake as Yukiko Kawai Daisuke Katō as Sakamoto Kōji Mitsui as Hirayama Eijirô Tôno as Tokichi Hattori Fujio Suga as Tanabe Haruo Tanaka as Nomura Chieko Nakakita as Sakae Tominaga Nobuo Nakamura as Arakawa Seiji Miyaguchi as Tamako's Husband Production After the release of Tokyo Story, Ozu was called