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ANATAE

By Yasuo FURUHATA

TOHO CO., LTD. - as SALES All rights, World

Drama - Completed 2012

A widower’s journey to the hometown of his late wife. He encounters strangers and their stories, guided by his wife’s true wishes.

- Year of production
- 2012
- Genres
- Drama
- Countries
- JAPAN
- Languages
- JAPANESE
- Duration
- 110 mn
- Director(s)
- Yasuo FURUHATA
- Writer(s)
- Takeshi AOSHIMA
- Cast
- Ken TAKAKURA, Yuko TANAKA, Koichi SATO, Tsuyoshi KUSANAGI, Kimiko YO, Haruka AYASE, Takahiro MIURA, Hideji OTAKI, Kyozo NAGATSUKA, Mieko HARADA, Tadanobu ASANO, Takeshi BEAT
- Producer(s)
- Yoshihiro SATO (Toho Co., Ltd.)
- Synopsis
- One day, a widower Eiji Kurashima (Ken Takakura) receives a letter from his late wife, Yoko (Yuko Tanaka). The letter contains a picture of a sparrow and her wish for him to “take her ashes to her hometown and bury her in the sea”.
  Just before turning 50, he had married Yoko who had visited Eiji’s workplace, a prison facility, as a singer for the inmates. Their late marriage did not include any children of their own but they had led a peaceful and happy married life. Thus, the letter comes as a surprise to Eiji who had thought the 15 years of living together had brought complete understanding of each other. Why had she not told him of her wishes when she was alive?
  To better understand her intent, Eiji decides to listen to her request. Jumping onto his RV, which the two had hoped to ride one day together for their trips around the country, Eiji heads south to Yoko’s hometown. The journey provides much company. He feels that strangers with their stories of family and marital troubles are long time friends. Memories of Yoko flashes back and enliven his heart. At arriving to her hometown, he follows her instructions and scatters her ashes to the sea. There he discovers what she had meant.