This film was deemed lost for more than forty years, but it was rediscovered by its director, Teinosuke Kinugasa, in a rice cans in 1971.
Director Teinosuke Kinugasa was so underfunded, that even his stars (some of them rather big names), had to assist in painting the sets, as well as making the props and pushing them.
When this film was made, most Japanese cinemas would show only domestic films, while others would show only foreign films. Because this film was quite different from the standard domestic film being made at the time, it was shown in cinemas specializing in foreign films. It was a big hit with the critics who proclaimed it a masterpiece, but not so much with the audience. The film "disappeared" from theaters after it's short "preview screening" release.
The film was shot in one month (May 1926). A considerably long production period for a standard Japanese film at the time. Director Teinosuke Kinugasa claims that this was due to the lack of proper funding for the project, because of which he couldn't afford accommodations for his actors, which led to them sleeping on the set or in the front office.
Teinosuke Kinugasa had only eight small lights to work with, so he arranged the walls of his small studio to be painted in a silver color, in order to make them reflect additional illumination.