François Truffaut was so taken with the film that he recommended it to the Cinematheque; this was the first Japanese film awarded that honor.
In the dance hall scene, Frank and his partner are mimicking part of the dance from Picnic (1955), released the year before.
The soundtrack has both brass and Hawaiian guitar, an unusual combination that works well. It may have been inspired by the popular American film From Here to Eternity (1953), released a few years prior.
This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #295.
This film has a 100% rating based on 6 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.