on the other hand, "late spring", more than any other film ozu made, is suffused with the symbols of japanese tradition: the tea ceremony that opens the film, the temples at kamakura, the noh performance that noriko and shukichi witness, and the landscape and zen gardens of kyoto. sorensen argues that these images of historical landmarks "were intended to inspire awe and respect for the treasures of ancient japan in contrast to the impurity of the present." sorensen also claims that, to ozu’s audience, "the exaltation of japanese tradition and cultural and religious heritage must have brought remembrances of the good old days when japan was still winning her battles abroad and nationalism reached its peak." to scholars such as bordwell who assert that ozu was promoting with this film an ideology that could be called liberal, sorensen argues that contemporary reviews of the film "show that ozu (the director and his personal convictions) was considered inseparable from his films, and that he was considered a conservative purist."