Following the "Manchurian Incident" (this occurred in 1931), Japan invades Manchuria on the false premise of securing the incident after a bombing (arranged by the Japanese military). Students at Kyoto University protest the invasion (a combination of Kurosawa's re-staging and newsreel footage). The teacher who has influenced the students, Professor Yagihara (Denjiro Okochi) is dismissed by the University's board for his leftist views. His daughter Yukie (Setsuko Hara), and aspiring pianist is being courted by two students, Noge (Susumu Fujita) one of the more ardent protesters, and Itokawa (Akitake Kôno), who is more conventional in his thinking.
The two students vie for Yukie's attention, but is becomes clear that, of the two, she is more attracted to the more passionate Noge. For practical reasons, that may seem a poor choice, for Noge soon disappears, his whereabouts unknown, but the truth is he has been arrested and thrown in jail for his part in the student protests. Yukie, however, never knows this until Itokawa tells her a year after his release from prison. It has been five years since she has seen him. The next time they are in the same room together, it is at a dinner at her father's house, organized by Itokawa, who has become a government prosecutor and who arranged for Noge's early release after vouching for his character...and something else.
The dinner does not go well. Professor Yagihara mentions that Noge would not have been released (even on Itokawa's say-so) if he hadn't renounced his earlier activity, and Noge admits that, yes, he has changed from his student days. He is no longer the fiery radical that he once was. Yukie is upset hearing this, and runs to her room, feeling the man she has loved has betrayed his principles. She only comes out again when Madame Yagihara tells her the two men are leaving and that Noge is travelling to China.
Yukie decides to move to Tokyo, where she makes a living doing menial jobs. Running into Itokawa, she hears that Noge has now moved to Tokyo and she goes to confront him, and they begin an affair that culminates in marriage. But, Noge is circumspect with her about his outside activities apart from work, and things come to a head when he is arrested by the Japanese government for spying. Yukie, herself, is arrested and interrogated but Itokawa intervenes and has her freed. Professor Yagihara travels to Tokyo to represent Noge in court, but he arrives too late; Noge has died in prison, and when Yukie is presented his ashes, she is determined to bring them to his parents.
Her reception there is not welcoming. Noge's parents, who are poor farmers, are elderly and are being shunned by their community for Noge's actions as a spy. They suspect Yukie of harboring the same prejudices, but are only convinced of her good intentions when she volunteers to plant their rice, which the father is unwilling to do, fearing a backlash from the community.
Indeed, once they've completed the back-breaking work of planting, the village , under the cover of night, destroy their work. But Yukie is defiant, determined to save the family and prove her worth to her husband's memory, his family and the community at large. It is only then that Yukie is accepted by Noge's parents, and when she is visited by Itokawa, she tells him that she will not go back to Kyoto. Her home is there, and she sends him away, telling him to never come back.
"Sacrifices must be made in the struggle for freedom." No Regrets for Our Youth was Kurosawa's first film made completely after the second world war, with Japan under occupation by the United States. At this point, he had a bit freer reign over his subject matter than he did while being watched by the Imperial powers. He could give vent to some political talk (but not too much), and his his simple love story of devotion to higher truths and uncomplicated dedication to uncompromised decency holds true to his earlier "Sanshiro" films, but in a way far more relatable to his audience than stories about martial arts masters. No regrets speaks to every person in its desire to live with no regrets and the basic theme of it haunts: "No regrets for my life. No regrets for anything."
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