Women are rarely at the heart of the ethical and moral issues in the films of the late Akira Kurosawa. It was therefore a surprise to find that The Sea Watches, the script that the maestro had been working on at the time of his death in 1998, was about a group of prostitutes working in Tokyo in the mid-1800s.

It was his eldest son, Hisao Kurosawa, who approached director Kei Kumai about bringing Akira Kurosawa's vision - his 31st film and first love story - to the screen. He remembered the way his father praised his fellow director's ability to portray women. Kumai has won many awards for his explorations of social issues, often through the eyes of victims, and he accepted the offer as a way of paying his respects to someone who has had a large influence on his work.