In the 1956 film *The Burmese Harp*, directed by Kon Ichikawa, **Mizushima does not return to Japan.** He chooses to remain in Burma to fulfill a spiritual and moral mission.
Specific details regarding his decision and the film's conclusion include:
* **The Transformation:** After being separated from his unit and witnessing the horrific sight of thousands of unburied Japanese corpses littering the Burmese landscape, Mizushima undergoes a profound spiritual awakening. He disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to steal food and travel safely, but eventually, the disguise becomes his reality.
* **The Parrots:** A central motif involves two parrots. Mizushima’s comrades at the prisoner-of-war camp train a parrot to say, *"Mizushima, let's go back to Japan together."* In response, Mizushima sends a different parrot back to them, which has been taught to say, *"No, I cannot go back."*
* **The Final Meeting:** Before his unit is repatriated, they see Mizushima outside the fence of their camp. He plays his harp for them one last time—a haunting, wordless goodbye—but he refuses to speak to them or cross the barrier to join them on the journey home.
* **The Letter:** As the soldiers are on the ship returning to Japan, their commander, Captain Inouye, reads a long letter Mizushima left for them. In the letter, he explains that he cannot leave while the bones of his countrymen remain scattered and neglected. He feels a divine calling to remain in Burma as a monk to bury the dead and pray for their souls.
* **The Final Shot:** The film ends with the contrast between the soldiers on the ship, looking toward a future in a rebuilt Japan, and a final image of Mizushima, dressed in his saffron robes, walking alone across the vast, desolate Burmese terrain to continue his task.