This was released (sourced from what remains of the film in a 14-minute fragment off of a 35mm print) on the Criterion Blu-ray disc for Good Morning (1959).
The idea for the film came from Ozu's wish to provide a prominent role for the child actor Tomio Aoki, who had made his debut in Ozu's previous film, The Life of an Office Worker (1929). Someone (not Ozu) then suggested that they adapt the famous short story, "The Ransom of Red Chief," by the American author O. Henry. After the film came out, audiences were so taken by the antics of Aoki that they nicknamed him "Tokkan kozô" (literally, "a rushing boy") after the title of this movie. Aoki later appeared in many of Ozu's films of the 1930s, and in the postwar period remained a prolific actor until his death in 2004 at age 80.
The script for this film was written when Yasujirô Ozu went to a local beer hall with his three screenwriting collaborators and got drunk on German beer, thanks to an advance provided by Shochiku studio head Shirô Kido. The resulting short film was completed in only three days.