It may have been that he reached the limit of his physical strength after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in 1963 and having a full gastrectomy in 1972, but he left film industry after his final work, the 1974 film "Ranru no Hata" (Ragged Flags) depicting Shozo TANAKA, and made writing his main occupation.
1963年に脳出血、1972年に胃を全摘出するなどして体力の限界を感じたのか、田中正造を描いた1974年の『襤褸の旗』を最後に映画の製作から遠ざかり、以後は文筆業を主な仕事にする。