Nobuyoshi Matsukuma

Shibuya, Tokyo. Yoichi and Michio are a pair of hoodlums who make their living as bookies at horse races. One day, Yoichi's companion commits a crime, which leads him to become a real yakuza. In this way Yoichi wishes to put an end to his hoodlum days, but on the other hand he has to leave his brother Michio behind...

Set in 1874 at the residence of an official of the Ministry of Education of Japan who was ordered with establishing a common national spoken language, this humorous drama focuses on how the national language used today was created.