Manji on AllMovie

Based on a novel by Junichiro Tanizaki, this tongue-in-cheek melodrama by Japanese director Yasuzo Masumura tells the story of Sonoko (Kyoko Kishida), a housewife who becomes obsessed with another woman. Told in a series of flashbacks as she relates her tale to a novelist, the plot follows her entanglement with the young, beautiful Mitsuko (Ayako Wakao), who she meets at an art school for women. After convincing Mitsuko to pose nude for her they embark on an affair that leads to a number of double crosses and deceptions between the two women, Sonoko's husband (Eiji Funakoshi) and Mitsuko's fiancé (Yusuke Kawazu).