Good god, even Naruse is on YouTube?! I appreciate the info, John. Until recently, Chiba was considered by many to be the cause of Naruse's "decline" in the late 30s and 40s. While I haven't seen any films from this time-period myself, those who now have vehemently disagree, and they ususally name Hideko the Bus Conductress among them. (Takamine played a similar character in the underrated Lightning.)

Couple of notes I forgot to add earlier: Wife! Be Like a Rose! is based on a novel by Nakano Minoru called Two Women. And the film was released in the U.S. under the title of "Kimiko," the name of the lead character.