Based on a book by Ozaki Koyo about a yakuza's honor, duty and loyalty. Hishakaku asks his woman, Otoyo, a former geisha, to move to Tokyo, where they are taken in by Boss Kokin. Due to his obligation to Kokin, he is involved with a gang war and is arrested. When he is released from jail, everything has changed and Otoyo unwittingly causes him the greatest heartache a man could know.

Jinsei Gekijo: HishaKaku is the film whose success really ignited and had a major impact on the Ninkyo Eiga boom which reached a peak of popularity in the mid-1960s. Needless to say, it also made TSURUTA Koji and TAKAKURA Ken two superstars of Toei Studio, though it's the charming SAKUMA Yoshiko who impresses me most. While many Toei Ninkyo Eiga seem a bit formulaic, this film, however, is refreshing.
I won't hesitate to recommend it to all Yakuza Film Fans:)

The Film is based on Ozaki Shiro's series of novels "Jinsei Gekijo", The series have several other film adaptations, notably Tomu Uchida's 1936 and 1968 versions, both of which considered as masterpieces, other well-regarded adaptations include Kato Tai's version (available here) and Fukasaku Kenji's 1983 version). See here for more details.