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Based on a novel by Iwai Shimako, Jiyuu Renai (a.k.a. Bluestockings) is the story of a love triangle between a man and two beautiful women. Masato Harada (Kamikaze Taxi, Bounce Ko Gals) directed the film, which is set during the days of Japan’s male-dominated Taisho Era (1912-1926), when it was difficult for women to have both love and a career. Yuichiro (Toyokawa Etsushi of Angel Dust and Undo) is the son of a wealthy merchant family, who’s happily married to Akiko (Hasegawa Kyoko of Three…Extremes). When Akiko’s friend Kiyoko (Kimura Yoshino of Ichigo no Kakera) gets divorced, Akiko decides to help her find a job in Yuichiro’s company. Akiko even lends Kiyoko her kimono for the interview. But upon seeing Kiyoko, Yuichiro is immediately smitten…

The Kaishinmaru is a hospital ship which goes around to islands without hospitals in the Seto Inland Sea to provide medical services. The doctors and staff live communally on this ship which has facilities like a hospital as it circles theislands. One day, a lone doctor is supposed to come to the Kashinmaru. His name is Sezaki Kota. He is a young freelance general physician who hails from Hokkaido. The nurses Togami Mako and Misaki Noboru; physician Uchimura Aoi; clerical officer Hiuchi Akira who is also Aoi’s husband; ship’s captain and chef Kaito Takeshi; and the rest of the staff prepare Kota’s welcome party. However, Kota arrives much later than the appointed time. He comes across Mako who has just taken a bath and is mistaken for a prowler. She sends him a flying kick. The next day, Kota re-introduces himself to the staff and immediately gets to work. This time, the Kaishinmaru visits Chitosejima. In the morning, Kota examines the island’s residents that have gathered. However, Mako is half-outraged by Kota’s irresponsible attitude such as a recommendation to a patient who cannot get relief from a stomachache to drink carbonated drinks. In the afternoon, Kota goes out with Mako for house calls. It appears that there will be a festival on the island tomorrow and they see a man practising on drums. On the way back from the house calls, Kota notices a woman, Murakami Mizuki, crying in front of a tombstone and he is captivated by her beauty. Mizuki is the daughter of Michinori who runs a shipbuilding business on this island. She and her father are at odds. Learning that Mizuki wants to protect the house filled with memories of her late mother and opposes her father’s intention to discontinue the business and sell the house, Kota decides that he will marry her and be Michinori’s successor. And so, he announces out of the blue to the Kaishinmaru staff that he is getting off the ship tomorrow … … Kota has a terrible weakness when it comes to beautiful women. He would fall in love with a woman he meets on each island he visits, declare that he is going to live with her and make every effort to solve the problem she has. However, various people would get drawn into this fuss. In the end, he would be dumped by the woman. Then, he would tearfully go on to the next island and fall in love with another woman and the same thing would happen over and over again … …