He is seen as spoiled and pampered while growing up with a deep-seated fear of his father. In rebellion against him, he picks up art, abandons it, and then joins the resistance against the Showa government.
While running from the tokko (special police), he hides out in a sleazy bar where he meets a mysterious, melancholic, embittered woman. He has an affair with her; and tired of constantly running and never succeeding at anything he does, he asks her to commit double suicide with him. However, he survives while the woman dies, leading him into a more depressed state.