For a somewhat contrary take on this film's feminist credentials, see Monica Viggiano's piece published on the Asian Cinema Blog:
I’ve seen the film several times and I am always struck by how well Naruse uses a simplistic melodramatic narrative style to blatantly comment on how modernity makes Japanese women from every walk of life lose their femininity. [Indeed, he] uses a simple soap operatic style to highlight why women should not have the same rights as men. […] According to Naruse, modernism may give women rights, but even if they have husbands, they will not have joy in their married lives.
— Monica Viggiano (Asian Cinema Blog)
Synopsis: What is the life of a Geisha like once her beauty has faded and she has retired? Kin has saved, and become a wealthy money-lender, spending her days coldly collecting debts. Even her best friends, fellow Geisha Tomi, Nobu, and Tamae, are now indebted to her. For all of them, the glamour of their young lives has passed; Tomi and Tamae have disappointing children. Kin has two former lovers who still pursue her; one she wants to see, and the other she doesn't. But even the one she remembers fondly, when he shows up, proves less than satisfactory.