Humanity and Paper Balloons
(Ninjô kami fûsen)

At the end of the 18th century, poor people live in the seedy parts of the Japanese capital. Each of them has a hidden story of his own. Matajuro is a ronin. To feed the family, his wife makes paper balloons day and night. In such parts, suicide isn’t unlikely, as people are unable to help each other. Matajuro tries to find a job but he gets humiliated and lies to his wife. As she becomes aware of the situation, she eventually resorts to killing her husband while he sleeps, before committing suicide herself.