The film is set in postwar Kamakura, where three generations of the boisterous Mamiya family live under the same roof. Setsuko Hara (who played the equivalent role is Ozu's similar Late Spring) is Noriko, at 28 years old just a little past the prime marrying age. While her grandparents fret and her parents and brother plot to find her a suitable spouse, Noriko, being of an impulsive and independent cast of mind, determines to make her own choice – to the disapproval of all.