Child of the Streets (街の子)

This picture is shown as it was made, in the spirit of its time.

Some expressions may now seem unsuitable.

A Social Instruction Drama Child of the Streets

Tokyo Cinema Company, 1924, 51 minutes

Starring Shizue Oikawa Approved for children’s viewing

A Social Instruction Drama Child of the Streets

A Tokyo Cinema Company Production

Director — Ryōha Hatanaka Photography — Shigeru Shirai

Girl, Okyō — Shizue Natsukawa Delinquent boy, Senkichi — Tsutomu Kojima

Pickpocket boss, Kinpei — Yoshio Kosugi Married woman, Oroku — Toyoko Takahashi

Beggar boy, Kan’ichi — Daigo Natsukawa Housemaid, Teruko — Hisako Isshiki

Dr. Minoru Yamada — Hiroshi Okumura Master of the house — Ranshō Izawa

It is human beings — it is society — that destroy

the holy souls given at birth. Sin conceives sin,

and evil gives birth to evil. Wherever people exist,

wherever society exists, there is no place that is not a rushing torrent

of sin and wickedness. Thus many pitiful souls,

gasping and suffering, hasten vainly along the one road

from life to death, and go blindly

along the one road from light into darkness. And yet…

Man can lift the soul from darkness, save it from sin, and give new it strength.

As the earth nourishes all living things, so love alone is the fountain of life.

Through the smoky mist, the morning sun shone upon the earth...

Dawn in the great city. Sleeping souls stirred,

each driven by the mighty will to live — for good or for evil.

And there our story begins: Child of the Streets .

Senkichi, a wayward boy of the streets.

“He did it! It was that boy!!”

Kinpei, king of thieves — a pickpocket chief who makes tools of wayward boys.

“Chan, forgive the girl upstairs. She is weeping…”

“Don’t say such foolish things…”

“Don’t make that girl work for money. I’ll earn it myself…”

“Fool! I would suffer myself before I let you earn.

You shall grow up fine and grand — like a nobleman!”

“Did you not see the girl flee this way?”

“Is this what you want?”

“I am asking you whether you saw the girl…!”

“I don’t know anything about the girl…!”

“How long have you been here?”

Poor Okyō tells the story of her life…

“My father and mother died in the great earthquake.

Not knowing he was evil, I was taken in by him .

Then he made me his tool, and told me to do wicked things — day after day…”

“I’ll show you a fine trick. Join us — and we shall earn good money!”

For the first time in his life, Senkichi came to know human kindness…

Alone in the world, Okyō and Senkichi went on together.

But weary feet and hungry bellies could carry them no farther.

“This purse is mine.”

“You’re lying…!”

“Do not beat the child. He meant to return the money — I stopped him.”