The entire film was shot mostly in sequence and was finished in about four weeks.
The entire set was built at a 75 degree angle, making the housing structure look dilapidated and in disrepair.
This is the first appearance in a film by Akira Kurosawa of the director's favorite leading lady, Kyôko Kagawa. The two collaborated on five films, including his last, Madadayo (1993).
The gambler's second line during the final song is "Jigoku no sata mo, kane shidai" (Money buys your fate in hell), an ironic Buddhist proverb about the power of money in the world.
The rhythmic chant "Kon-kon-kon chikusho" is a parody of "kon-chiki-chin," which is itself an imitation of the rhythmic Shinto *gion-bayashi* festival music ("chikusho" is an expletive often translated "Damn it!").
Akira Kurosawa: [weather] In Kurosawa's films, heavy wind is usually used to convey the atmosphere of emotional chaos and disorder, which is why the wind is heard all throughout the film. After the plot's climax, there's a long rainy scene with a somber mood.