Nikkatsu gave its "Roman porno" directors a great deal of artistic freedom in their films, as long as they met the official minimum quota of four nude or sex scenes per hour. In this environment, at the age of 44, Kumashiro was given his second chance to direct. Though his later films took full advantage of Nikkatsu's lenient policies by experimenting with cinematic time and space in an almost surreal manner, his first "Roman porno", "Wet Lips" ("Nureta Kuchibiru") (1972), was fairly simplistic. However, this story of a prostitute and her lover on the run after killing her pimp proved to be a major critical and box-office success, and established Kumashiro's directorial career. "Wet Lips" was also the first of Kumashiro's many films to use the word "Wet" ("nureta") in the title.