The story is about a convict released from prison for an old murder who is thinking about returning to his ex-wife and his former life. If she puts a yellow handkerchief on the window, it would mean that she wants him back at home.
The Yellow Handkerchief is a 1977 Japanese film directed by Yoji Yamada. It was the winner of the first Best Picture award at the Japan Academy Prize. The film was inspired by the American song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," itself based on a column series written by journalist Pete Hamill for the New York Post in 1971.