Miss Oyu (1951) review

Bachelor Shinnosuke (Yūji Hori) is supposed to marry Shizu (Nobuko Otowa) but he's really in love with her sister Oyū (Kinuyo Tanaka) who can't wed because she's a widow and that goes against custom.  It's another one of those "Japan had some really backwards rules" movies, except unlike other pictures with a similar plot-line, it isn't very interesting or new, and I was never quite sure what Oyū's appeal is (is it because she's a musician? not a virgin?).  The entire thing is just so neatly wrapped up - sickness wipes out characters when the plot needs to move forward - for what's supposed to be a poignant ending ... except it only warranted a shrug from me.