Ornamental Hairpin (1941)

In the heart of Tokyo, Emi Ota and her ally, Okiku, find respite in the tranquil ambience of a mountain inn, their visit brief yet memorable. Their departure back to the bustling city leaves behind an unexpected memento—an ornamental hairpin, nestled within the inn's public bath. Fate intertwines when Nanmura, a soldier taking a leave of absence, encounters the forgotten hairpin in a less than pleasant way. News of the incident reaches Emi, revealing that her lost trinket was the culprit behind Nanmura's injury. Motivated by a sense of responsibility, she retraces her steps back to the mountain inn with an apology in her heart. Meanwhile, the inn's long-term residents—a grouchy Professor, a pair of young lovebirds Mr. and Mrs. Hiroyasu, and a wise old man accompanied by his grandsons—find intrigue in the unfolding hairpin saga. As the two main characters converge, the inn's inhabitants look on with hopeful eyes, envisioning the spark of romance between Nanmura and Emi. After all, Nanmura himself finds a poetic charm in the unusual circumstance of a hairpin in a bath, igniting the possibility of a love story as unique as the incident itself.

Ornamental Hairpin is a drama movie featuring Kinuyo Tanaka and directed by Hiroshi Shimizu.

Ornamental Hairpin is currently streaming for free (ad-supported) on Plex and Plex Player and it's also available on Criterion Channel.