contemporary debates in Japan about the "après-guerre" generation with its apparent rise in delinquency and crime. Despite being one of Akira Kurosawa's most critically renowned postwar films, Stray Dog was not always held in such high regard by the director himself. Kurosawa initially said that he thought little of the film, calling it "too technical" and also remarking that it contains "all that technique and not one real thought in it." His attitude had changed by 1982, when he wrote in his autobiography that "no shooting ever went as smoothly," and that "the excellent pace of the shooting and the good feeling of the crew can be sensed in the finished film." However, Kurosawa was rankled when someone from the ASPCA accused him of infecting a dog with rabies for the movie's opening shot of a canine panting in the heat. He had to write a letter to American occupation officials denying the allegation, and he later said that he never felt "a stronger sense of regret over Japan's losing the war." Stray Dog was mostly shot at a studio rented by Toho with more than thirty sets built. Ishirō Honda, who would go on to direct several monster movies such as Godzilla and Mothra, served as Kurosawa's chief assistant, shooting second unit footage for the 10-minute long sequence of Murakami roaming through Tokyo, and often doubled for Toshiro Mifune in waist shots. Kurosawa later praised Honda for helping him capture the atmosphere of post-World War II Tokyo. The film marks the first appearances of Minoru Chiaki, Noriko Honma and Isao Kimura in a Kurosawa film. Chiaki would go on to appear in ten more movies by the director, Honma played the medium in Rashomon and Kimura played the youngest of the seven samurai in Seven Samurai. The baseball game scene was shot at the actual Korakuen Stadium. The film was also the debut of then sixteen-year old Keiko Awaji, who plays Harumi Namiki, a dancer and the girlfriend of Yusa, the villain of the film. She was chosen over other actresses because of her mean looks. Kurosawa described her as being too spoiled and that she could not cry on cue, and never cast her again in another movie of his. Awaji would later regret her unprofessionalism during filming. Kurosawa became so close with his cast and crew during filming that he remarked later it was difficult for him