In 1939, he wrote the first draft of the script for "The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice" but shelved it due to extensive changes insisted on by military censors. The first film Ozu made on his return was the critically and commercially successful "Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family", released in 1941. He followed this with "Chichi Ariki" ("There Was a Father", 1942), which explored the strong bonds of affection between a father and son despite years of separation.