Toshio hires Yasaka to work in his workshop. But then this old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio’s family life.

Noriko lost her mother Yoshie when she was only 10-years-old. Yoshie knew she would not be able to live long enough to see her children grow up and wrote birthday…

Ichiko bakes a cake for an end-of-year party with her friends. In the depths of winter, making mochi and curry keeps the people of Komori warm. Later, spring brings thoughts…

Fleeing heartbreak in the big city, Ichiko returns to Komori, her rural hometown. She battles summer’s rain and humidity, bakes her own bread, grows hothouse tomatoes and tills the fields….