Osaka Elegy is an early sound film by Japanese film director Mizoguchi Kenji. It features elements of Mizoguchi's trademark style, such as lateral tracking shots, staging in depth, and long takes. The film is famous for its sensational portrayal of the moga or 'modern girl', who embodied the (imagined) impact of Western fashion, commodity culture, and urbanisation on gender roles in Japan. Osaka Elegy stars Yamada Isuzu as a telephone operator named Ayako, who becomes her boss's mistress to pay back her father's debts. Ayako reluctantly, though unapologetically, transforms into a materialistic moga, giving up her virtue for her family's sake. Media images of moga flourished in the 1920s as women became increasingly visible in white-collar and service jobs. However, by showing how Ayako is forced into delinquency by her boss, boyfriend, father, and brother, the film ironizes the moga's perceived threat to traditional family values and gender roles. While critical of the commodification of women's sexuality, Osaka Elegy links the moga to newfound forms of female independence, and the film's last shot shows Ayako walking boldly toward the camera after being expelled from home. Osaka Elegy showcases the ultra-modern spaces of glass-partitioned company offices, Ayako's posh apartment, and department store displays. The film's 'Kansai realism' – the use of landmarks and regional accents that identify the setting as Western Japan – is characteristic of Mizoguchi's early sound films.