Mansaku Itami

A poor rickshaw driver finds himself taking care of a young woman and her son after the woman's husband dies suddenly. (imdb)

A poor rickshaw driver becomes the surrogate parent of a boy whose father, a soldier, has been killed in the line of duty. (yahoo.com)

A samurai is charged by his master to investigate a rebellion.

The last film of director Itami took inspiration from Les Miserables. Transpiring during the Southwestern War of 1877 in Japan, which was the last civil war in the country, a criminal escapes prison only to be found by a monk. The criminal decides to turn a new leaf based on their conversation and goes on to become a town's mayor. He hears news of a mistaken arrest and identity. The revelation of truth is the start of a series of miseries. (imdb)

Date Mosui, a young samurai, one day gets a scolding from a nameless ronin that sets him thinking about what life is all about and his ways of living. His friend, Ando Kichinosuke, is alarmed at Mosui's despondency and invites him to his house as his little sister Tsuyu and he tries to cheer him up.