We've decided to downsize the editorial department.
Those who wish to stay on as full-time employees
should submit a request for transfer to the Sales Department by the end of next week.
Screw you.
Our company no longer has the power to publish books that don't sell.
Frankly speaking, the editorial staff is a burden.
Ishikawa Asahi
Nanami
Please give me strength.
Dad, can you say what month and day today is?
Next is say your birthday, huh?
Born on July 7, 1939, 79 years old,
Ishikawa Asahi. I haven't gone senile yet.
Then where did you go last Tuesday? What about Thursday?
You had the neighbors and police looking for you and caused a huge fuss, didn't you?
Next you're going to tell me to see a doctor for dementia. Isn't that right?
Nanami, there are some things that shouldn't be said even between parent and child.
Last month's phone bill was over 30,000 yen.
- I know nothing. - You're the only one who uses
the landline at home.
They say they can slow the progress with medication these days.
If you're going to get treatment, the sooner the better...Stop acting like a child!
If we don't find out for sure, how am I supposed to make plans for my future?
Huh?
Oh! Come to think of it, I think we had peaches.
Dad, you like peaches, don't you?
They're gone. Dad, did you eat the peaches that were in the fridge?
I don't remember.
Maybe I've gone senile.
Well, if you insist, I'll go shopping for you.
While I'm out for a walk.
At this time of night?!
They have peaches here. What about peaches?
Dementia has various symptoms such as
sudden change in emotion and wandering aimlessly.
Please try recording his behavior first.
Nanami-chan?
Fuko. What are you doing here at this time of night?
That's Grandpa, isn't it? What's he doing?
It's that suspected dementia.
How far is he planning to go to buy peaches...
He bought a ticket. Oh, Dad.
Hey, let's go see where Grandpa's going.
I've seen enough. Besides, I didn't bring any money.
I have money. I actually ran away from home.
Let's go, let's go!
What a night.
I was given a lay-off notice and my father is wandering around.
Even my niece ran away from home.
Saturday Night Fever? That's so outdated, if I do say so myself.
Hiroshima Bus Center
Why?
Nanami-chan!
Here. This is yours.
Fuko, this isn't a game...
Ever since she was a child, she makes a face like this when she feels cornered.
I've made up my mind. Do you have anything I can use for disguise?
I do, I do! That's why I love you, Nanami-chan.
- I know. - Here.
Let's go.
Thus began our family trip.
Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms 2018
Hiroshima
- We're like prowlers, huh? - Aren't we?
- Or rather, it's an adventure. - Or rather, it's time you called home.
No. You call for me.
Oh, you've softened up a bit since yesterday, young lady.
Hello. This is Nanami. Nagio?
Just as I thought. I figured she'd be at your place.
Here you go.
I had night duty last night. Toko had night duty too.
What can I do?
We're shorthanded at Pediatrics, and Toko's the head nurse too.
The cause? Well, it wasn't anything major.
Go ahead and worry some more.
We're in Hiroshima right now.
Oh yeah? You followed Dad and ended up in Hiroshima?
That's great.
Huh? That's odd.
Dad's family's from Ibaraki, right? Why did he go to Hiroshima?
Oh well, it's a good break. For both Fuko and you.
Sorry, but I have a conference now. I'll talk to you later.
W-w-w-wait...
- What did he say? - He said have a good break.
Is he stupid or what?
We gotta go!
Fuko.
Hirano... Hirano?
- Hirano Fujimi. That's my grandma. - Grandma?
My grandmother. Great-grandmother to you.
She was living with us in Tokyo, but she passed away when I was in grade school.
I remember now that her remains were divided between Tokyo and Hiroshima
according to her wishes.
So Nanami-chan's grandma was from Hiroshima?
I guess so.
He came to visit the grave, huh?
Aren't you glad? He isn't senile yet.
Why did he lie that he was going out to buy peaches?
Maybe he thought you'd oppose it.
That you wouldn't let an elderly man go on a trip to Hiroshima by himself.
Minami 23 years old
Minami...
Minami.
Are you Minami's friend?
Why didn't you...die?
A lot of graves around here
are for people who died on August 6, 1945.
August 6, 1945 Father
August 6, 1945 Mother
August 9, Atomic Bomb
August 14, Atomic Bomb
August 6, Atomic Bomb
...22, Atomic Bomb Disease
Atomic Bomb
Nanami-chan, isn't August 6...
"Next stop is in front of A-bomb Dome"
We sewed this 63 years ago.
Minami-san was a very dexterous and cheerful person.
A cheerful person?
Yes. She was always smiling and cheerful and kind.
Furuta...
Fuko?
It really happened, didn't it? The atomic bomb.
That aside, it's about time
you told me why you ran away from home.
Kindhearted Young Lady.
We had a parent-teacher-student meeting at school.
Dad decided on his own that I was going to be a doctor in the future.
I see. So the cause was Nagio, huh?
Are you doing the same thing as Mr. Frog?
I want to decide my own future.
Although I don't have any concrete dreams yet.
But being able to decide your own future
is a very self-indulgent thing, I realized.
On August 6, so many people
had their dream, their life, their everything taken away...
That's why you have to make sure you find your dream
and do your best... Right?
I'm sure Minami-san is happy.
Thank you very much.
Minami...
That's me.
And this is Hirano-san's junior, Furuta-san.
She's the one who sewed the dress with her, right?
That's right, that's right.
And next to her is Hirano Minami-san.
Uchikoshi...
Another house I don't know.
My colleague.
- Hello. - I heard you haven't submitted your request for
transfer to Sales Department yet.
Sorry, but I don't have time to talk right now.
Make sure you submit it tomorrow. The sooner you submit it,
the better your chance is of staying on as a full-time employee.
Try laying me off if you can, I say.
Are you planning to quit?
So what about the other answer?
The other answer?
Sorry, I forgot... It's not that I forgot about it, but
sorry, right now it's a little... I'll call back later.
- What lay off? -Oh...did I say that?
What other answer?
Thank you for everything.
- Fuko, you go follow Grandpa. - What about you?
I'm going to check out who that man is.
1955
Done!
Furuta-san, it suits you very well.
Thanks to your guidance, I was able to keep the cost down.
Don't mention it. All I did was ask my mother and helped you out.
Minami-san, let's make a matching dress for you too.
Bring in the pattern a little.
- Don't worry about me. - Why?
Look. It suits you well too.
Doesn't it? Uchikoshi-san.
I'm not sure... I don't much much about those things.
It's your mistake for asking Uchikoshi-san in the first place, Furuta-san.
Hey, what is that supposed to mean, Hirano-san?
Oh, Furuta-san.
- May I have this bamboo sheath? - Sure.
- Here. - Thank you.
- See you tomorrow. - Good night.
- What're you doin'! - I dunno, I dunno. I know nothin'!
Hey! Give it back! You be careful.
Ah, okaeri, Minami-chan.
Tadaima, Oba-chan.
- Tadaima. - Okaeri. Good job, Minami.
Oh boy, I'm starving.
Okaerinasai, Minami Nee-chan.
Tadaima, Kyoka-chan.
Oh my, your hair is a mess again.
Come here.
Oh, Furuta-san was happy that her dress was all done.
Is that right?
Oh no, Kyoka-chan. You got heat rash again.
It's because of the heat. My brother says to bear with it.
He's right.
Since the wind comes to a dead stop during the evening calm.
Look. You've turned into a beautiful lady.
Thank you very much.
I forgot to fetch the water!
Good bye.
Not again~.
She's a good girl, but a bit slow.
I wonder if she takes baths.
- It's good, isn't it? - Is it?
Oh no.
Hirano-san!
- Hirano-san! - Yes~!
Uchikoshi-san?
Hello.
I'm sorry. My mother's asleep in the house.
The usually healthy Hirano-san took a day off, so
we were all concerned.
I came to take a look as a representative.
My mother wasn't feeling well so I took her to the hospital.
But there's no need to worry.
The reason I took the day off was to fight the roof leak.
Roof leak is certainly a formidable foe.
Hirano-san, why are you collecting bamboo sheaths?
I was going to weave a pair of sandals.
I don't want the sole of my shoes to wear down going back and forth to work.
I see.
I have to be frugal and save money so that I can go see my younger brother,
who's in Ibaraki, with my mother.
I didn't know you had a younger brother, Hirano-san.
His name is Asahi-kun.
We had him evacuate to a relative's in Ibaraki when he was still a baby.
Now, he's their adopted son.
He entered high school this year.
We have to save as much as we can and pay back Asahi-kun's tuition to my aunt.
He's my one and only precious, precious brother.
Is it good?
Oh.
It's really good.
That's a specialty product of this area.
Being that you're from a farming family,
I bet you've never had anything like that.
No. It's good.
Hirano-san, you're a good cook.
You'll be a good wife when you marry.
Leave!
- Hurry up and leave! - I-I'm...sorry! Sorry for bothering you.
I'll see you at the office tomorrow.
He took the trouble to come all the way here.
He must be a very nice person.
That was a close call. He almost found out that we washed everything
and you were asleep naked.
I almost got mistaken for Marilyn Monroe.
Ah~. This is heaven.
The people in this town are unnatural.
No one talks about that.
It's because to this day, they can't make any sense of it.
The only thing they know is people think they should have died.
That they're surviving in spite of that.
And the scariest thing is
the fact that you've turned into someone
who deserves to be thought that way.
Uchikoshi-san?
Hirano-san, will you choose for me?
Choose what?
I'd like to give a present to someone I like.
How pretty!
What the heck. Is this your first time here?
So, what is your budget?
There's been a policy change. Money is no object.
Uchikoshi-san, what about this?
Actually, it can be a little more expensive.
When she rejects you and refuses to accept the gift, you can wipe your tears with it.
That's none of your concern.
- Excuse me. - Bye then.
Wait a minute. Excuse me~!
♬｢Because the moon is so blue｣
♬｢Let us take the long way home｣
Let's go home since the crows are crowing!
Wait up, Hirano-san!
Uchikoshi-san, do you still need something?
It's this.
I asked my grandma in the province to weave it for me.
For me?
I love it! Thank you.
And this too.
My token of appreciation for the treat the other day.
Don't return it, okay?
That handkerchief, don't return it, okay?
Thank you. I'm delighted.
Water...
Please...give me water...
Hirano-san?
Sorry.
About what?
I'm sorry.
That day, August 6.
The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
I was exposed to the radiation while doing volunteer labor service.
I don't know how many people I left there to die.
Telling my friend who got buried under a wall that I was going to get help,
I never returned.
Many bodies were floating in the river, and
charred bodies were lying around everywhere.
At the first aid station, human beings with swollen face and swollen body
were lined up on the floor.
One of them was my mother.
She had suffered burns on her left arm.
Kasumi Nee-chan! Midori!
I tried to look for my sisters and my father.
People with skin that had peeled off and hanging off both arms
approached me saying, "Please give me water."
I got scared and ran away again.
On the 7th day, I finally ran into Kasumi Nee-chan.
I found out that my father was at his workplace when the bomb was dropped and had died.
My younger sister was also burned by the intense heat of the atomic bomb
and had disappeared without even a trace of bone.
While searching for water, food and medicine,
I found myself stepping over dead bodies without batting an eye.
I didn't like it when
I stepped on a body sometimes and the burned skin easily peeled off.
I calmly looked for a body that hadn't started decomposing yet and stole its shoes and wore them.
It's been 10 years since that time.
At times when I feel happy, when I think something is beautiful,
all the things from those happy days come rushing back to mind, and
I'm dragged back to that day I lost everything.
This is not the world for you to live in.
Someone keeps on tormenting me.
There was a dead body here too.
Here.
The place where I belong is here.
Okaeri...
Tadaima.
What happened? Minami.
You're covered in mud.
I fell.
Go to bed.
I'm sorry. I won't do it anymore.
Uchikoshi-san.
Is it all right for me to be in this world?
I'm...
I'm a surviving victim of the atomic bomb.
Can I tell you what happened from the time the bomb was dropped until now?
I've been keeping it a secret all this time.
I've been pretending that I forgot.
But I can't pretend that it didn't happen.
Can I tell you about it?
If I tell you, perhaps I'll find out why
I didn't die and was left on this side.
That's what I thought it was.
I have an aunt who lived here and
she died from the atomic bomb too.
Hirano-san?
What is this~...
Hirano-san, thank you for being alive.
After that, I continued to grow weaker, and I took a day off the following day.
Hirano-san
Yes.
How are you feeling?
What the heck. You're really clumsy with your hands, aren't you?
Uchikoshi-san called me "omae" (familiar form of "you").
This is hard to make, you know.
- Please make yourself at home. - Thank you.
You don't need to see me off. Just stay in bed and rest.
Thanks for coming.
♬｢Because the moon is so blue｣
♬｢Let us take the long way home｣
♬｢Even if after today｣
♬｢We can no longer meet｣
That was the last time I was able to stand on my feet.
That man who came yesterday looked a lot like your father.
Then will he go bald like him too?
I had some porridge in the morning.
By afternoon, I could no longer swallow.
Sensei,
do I have the atomic bomb disease?
Let me inject some nutrients.
It was 2 months after the bombing
that Kasumi Nee-chan collapsed.
With purple spots all over her body.
How cruel.
10 years had passed so I thought I was safe.
That night, I vomited black blood and could no longer talk.
It's Furuta.
- Hello. - Thank you.
Everyone came to visit me.
Why is it so dim in here?
Mom, is it afternoon now? Or is it night?
There was someone who quietly held my hand.
Thank you, Uchikoshi-san.
Is that you, Asahi? Hurry.
Asahi-kun? You came to see me?
I'm sorry. That your onee-chan's eyes have gone blind.
Are you happy?
10 years have passed, but is the person who dropped the bomb
saying "All right! I killed another one,"
and reflecting properly?
- Minami! Minami! - Hirano-san!
- Minami! - Minami! Don't go!
- Minami! - Come back!
I got this as Minami-san's keepsake at her funeral.
This is the first time I heard about Minami-san.
Today is the first time I talked about her too.
Twice in one day even.
Immediately before my grandmother died, she said to me,
"Why didn't you die?"
Those words hit me quite hard.
I wondered if I was that bad of a girl.
It's the atomic bomb. That was because of the atomic bomb.
Nanami-san, please find it in your heart
to forgive Mrs. Hirano.
Oh please stop that, Uchikoshi-san. I didn't mean...
I...
Here.
I'm sorry. Your precious keepsake...
Minami-san will be glad
that she got to wipe her niece's tears.
Nanami here. How's it going there?
He visited a few more houses after that too.
Looks like he had reservations made too.
Grandpa's too well-prepared.
Say, Fuko. What food is Hiroshima famous for?
So that's how it happened. Grandpa was sent away to be adopted because of the war.
And that's why his last name is Ishikawa and his relatives are in Ibaraki.
It was last month that Uchikoshi-san got the telephone call.
He said, "I'm going around asking about my sister who died 63 years ago."
"If you don't mind, will you tell me about her?"
But why did he wait until now?
So Nanami-chan, what are you doing tomorrow?
I'm going to stay in Hiroshima one more day. Fuko, you go back to Tokyo.
No way. I'm staying with you.
No. You have school, don't you?
I'm taking the day off. I got the okay from Dad too.
From Nagio? When?
I apologized to him earlier on the phone.
That I was sorry for acting like I knew it all.
Wow, you've grown up.
Dad told me.
When Dad's mother passed away early,
he said it was Nanami-chan who was still in grade school who did all the cooking and cleaning
and even took care of my dad who was still little.
Nagio said that?
You always give priority to people around you and leave your own matters for later.
You've been taking care of me all this time.
So I can't leave you here by yourself.
My, it's amazing how both you and Nagio have grown up so much.
It's good, isn't it?
I'm going to bed.
It was my dream to publish books.
I devoted myself to making books at my long-cherished editorial department.
But the other day, we were notified of the downsizing of the editorial department, and
I was pressed to choose between transferring to Sales or getting laid off.
It's hard to be a freelancer when you're past 40, right?
I don't have enough insurance, pension, or savings for retirement.
To top it off, there's Dad's suspected dementia.
- And your niece ran away from home. - There's more.
The other answer that you overheard the other day...
I got a proposal of marriage from a colleague.
He's divorced with a child.
He's not a bad guy, and at that time I was happy.
- But to be honest, I can't decide. - Why?
When I was 7, my mother passed away.
Tadaima.
Mom?
Mom! Mom.
Mom. Wake up, Mom.
When I was 11, my grandma passed away too.
Who are you...
Are you Minami's friend?
Who's Minami? I'm Nanami.
Why...
didn't you die?
At the funeral, I heard my relatives from Ibaraki
wondering if it wasn't because of the atomic bomb.
Atomic bomb.
I didn't really understand, but
I wondered if I didn't have long to live too.
If that was the case, I was going to root for other people's happiness
and learn to be satisfied watching that.
I thought happiness was something that was far away
and not for me to have.
I think it was around here. Minami-san and Grandma's house.
Nothing's left, huh?
Peaches?
Did you go senile on me? You said you wanted peaches.
It was so obvious.
Since when did you know?
From the beginning.
It's probably this tree.
Which means from here...
Oh, it must be there.
The barracks Mom and Minami Nee-chan was living in 63 years ago
was here.
Here...
The place where I first met Kyoka
was also here.
1957
Excuse me.
How have you been, Mom?
You arrived sooner than I expected, Asahi.
Kyoka-chan, did you show him the way here?
Yes. He looked like he was lost.
Is that right? Anyway, come on in.
When do you start college?
The day after tomorrow. The entrance ceremony is the day after tomorrow.
Apples are 3 for 45 yen.
Oranges are 3 for 24 yen. Then...
They're so expensive. I wonder what they taste like.
You have to figure out the cost, not the taste.
Then forget apples and let's make them melons.
Asahi, don't try to talk in a weird Hiroshima dialect.
You're making me laugh.
Really, Mom?
6 years later
Seamstress Wanted! Live-in Possible
Kyoka-chan.
Asahi-san. How are you?
My brother got married, so
I thought I should become independent too.
But Kyoka-chan, I worry about you living alone
since you're so naive.
Me too.
That's right. Why don't you just...
come live with us?
We have a sewing machine here, and Mom would appreciate having you around too, and
I, too, would uh...
I'm...not really sure.
Good night.
Are you planning to marry a surviving victim of the atomic bomb?
Mom... Mom, that's not a good way to look at it.
Why did you choose a college in Hiroshima?
Why are you still here?
Why can't I die?
Mom.
Asahi, I
I don't want to see the people I know die from the atomic bomb anymore.
Where's your son! Where is he!
He...he went on a round of New Year's calls for the company...
What's the matter? Are you drunk?
There's a rumor that Osera Construction where your son works
became the government's agent and they're gonna tear down
our homes...the barracks around here.
Hey, what's going on, huh!
I hear he's calling this area A-bomb slum.
How dare you look down on us like that!
That's right, that's right.
I know nothing, I know nothing. There's got to be some kind of a mistake.
The well-educated college graduate says
"Don't blame everything on the atomic bomb"?
Your son's a spy.
That's why he came back to a place like this!
- You're wrong, you're wrong. - The spy should get outta here!
Get outta here, spy!
- We refuse to be evicted! - We absolutely refuse!
The reason Asahi-san...!
Asahi-san came back was
for the revival of Hiroshima!
As if you're all that. You just got taken in by his fast talk!
I can tell.
Asahi-san
contemplated if there was something he could do for Hiroshima
and came back.
Spy? Think about it.
What is there to spy?
His mother was here
and his sister was here.
That's why he came back.
He considered this his hometown. That's why he came back!
Please. Think about it.
Can you destroy or crush
or call your hometown A-bomb slum?
Can you?
Who's the one who started this?
It was Sei-chan.
It was him, it was him.
Are you all right?
Kyoka-chan.
7 years later
Asahi-san, you're getting transferred?
To Headquarters in Tokyo, I was told.
Congratulations. That's a promotion.
So I'm thinking of taking Mom with me.
- Is that right? - If she's going to worry about her son anyway,
she figured it's better from nearby than from afar and agreed to it.
And when I told her I was going to take my wife with me too,
she agreed to that as well.
Is that right?
But the wife...
Oh boy...
Maybe I'll decide on the first person to appear before me
in the next 3 seconds.
No one came, huh?
You're really dense, aren't you?
I knew, but I said it on purpose.
Then...?
I'm not much good at anything, but please treat me kindly.
Me too. Please treat me kindly.
The cow...
Kyoka-san...
- My grandma's pretty cool. - Isn't she?
Grandpa, why did come to Hiroshima secretly?
It's because it was stuck here all this time.
Minami-san, Grandma, Mom...they were all surviving victims of the atom bomb, weren't they?
Yes. That's right.
Don't you regret getting married?
No, I don't. Why would I?
But how did Mom feel?
How did Grandma feel?
They ended up having to send their loved ones off.
They ended up dying, leaving their loved ones behind.
If it was me, I might regret it.
Nanami-chan.
Neither Grandma nor Mom told me
anything about Hiroshima.
Mom and Kyoka thought of
you and your brother's name together.
Nanami is written seven waves, right?
Yes.
Hiroshima is a beautiful city that has 7 rivers flowing from north to south.
7 rivers. Hence, 7 waves (Nanami).
In Hiroshima, which is sandwiched between mountains and the sea,
there's a period of time when the wind stops suddenly.
It's the calm (nagi).
Written with the characters for "nagi" and to live, Nagio.
Kyoka and Mom named you both thinking about Hiroshima.
It's not that they were trying to hide it from you.
They were thinking about telling you and bringing you here some day.
Even if...
they ran out of time to live.
Shall we get going?
Since I bought the peaches too.
Be happy, Nanami.
I have a feeling that you resemble Minami Nee-chan.
If you don't become happy, Minami Nee-chan will be sad.
Hello. Thanks for calling.
Good timing.
Proposal?!
Can you come meet my father on your next day off?
I'll call you again later.
I'm so happy for you, Nanami-chan.
- What's he like? - I'm not sure.
Maybe I'll come see you too on the next day off.
- Sure, come on over. - All right!
Let's go.