This movie is packed with symbolism, and although there is some sort of meaning behind it all, it was to me, a film that simply lacked structure. The story is told in an unclear and roundabout way, which makes it hard to follow and understand.

There were numbers of dull scenes, due to the long duration of the clips. This style of filming is very common in old movies, but it would have been a lot easier to watch with more variations in the shots. There isn’t a clear conflict in the movie either. We know that there is some sort if inner conflict that the characters are each battling on their own, but it’s not clear what. The only time their emotions reached me, was in the final scenes of the movie with the last client.
There is also little to no character development. Shinichiro said he was going to quit prostitution, but never really did. Tatsuru never resolved the conflict with his family, and was unreadable throughout the whole movie.
So did they find what they were looking for at the end? No one knows.