The four movies mentioned that played at the cinema when Miki attended, The Town of Men, The Morning Mist in Tone, The Storm of the North Sea, and The Devil in Edo, do not exist in real life.
The biggest box office hit director Yoshitarô Nomura ever had in his native Japan was Zerbrechliches Schicksal (1974), one of eight films he made based on the work of crime novelist Seichô Matsumoto. It was the most highly-regarded of Nomura's films by Japanese critics, took second place in Kinema Jumpo magazine's 1975's poll of critics, and was ranked 27th in the magazine's list of best films of the 20th century. The film also earned the top prize at the Moscow International Film Festival.
Yoshitarô Nomura's first jobs were working on two of Akira Kurosawa's films -Shûbun (Skandal (1950)) as assistant director, and chief assistant director for Hakuchi (Der Idiot (1951)). He adapted novels by Agatha Christie and other authors for the screen. After retiring from directing in 1985, he continued to work as a movie and TV producer, as well as mentoring other Japanese directors.