"A Hen in the Wind"?


I just watched the 1948 film "A Hen in the Wind," directed and co-written by
Yasujiro Ozu. I'm guessing the title is a reference to a Japanese proverb or
traditional metaphor. Does anyone recognize it? Does anyone know what it
means? (I don't speak or read Japanese, but
[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hen_in_the_Wind) has the following
translation in Japanese characters: **風の中の牝鶏【めんどり】**.)




It doesn't seem to be based on a proverb or expression. (Maybe there's a hint
that the husband is a "weathercock" (cock in the wind) -- opportunistic,
unprincipled ... .)

The first thing the heroin Tokiko did was to sell her wardrobe one by one --
she had to pluck her feathers like a hen. Then she had to be plucky and strong
in the cold wind.

As the following comment says, the title may refer to the women in general at
the time. I suppose that when the movie came out, the meaning of the title was
obvious to the general public.

<http://ameblo.jp/jahyon2002/entry-10937011475.html>

>   11. タイトルの意味 -- おっしゃる通り、風の中の牝鶏はヒロインの事であり、 不本意な形で自立を余儀無くされた女性全般なのでしょうね。
>

