In post-War Japan, a boy from a noodle store-owning family befriends a neighboring boy living in poverty.

Two boys, whose parents ply their trade by the mouth of a muddy river in Osaka, become close friends. The two families' "businesses" are in fact dining and prostitution. When Nobou, the restauranteur's son, loses his pocket money during the Tenjin Festival, Kiichi, the prostitute's boy, invites him home, and he learns the truth.—L.H. Wong <[email protected]>