"late spring" was released in japan on september 19, 1949. basing his research upon files kept on the film by the allied censorship, sorensen notes: "generally speaking, [the film] was hailed with enthusiasm by japanese critics when it opened at theaters." the publication "shin yukan", in its review of september 20, emphasized the scenes that take place in kyoto, describing them as embodying "the calm japanese atmosphere" of the entire work. both "shin yukan" and another publication, "tokyo shinbun" (in its review of september 26), considered the film beautiful and the former called it a "masterpiece." there were, however, some cavils: the critic of "asahi shinbun" (september 23) complained that "the tempo is not the feeling of the present period" and the reviewer from "hochi shinbun" (september 21) warned that ozu should choose more progressive themes, or else he would "coagulate."