Nagi Notes

Yuri, a divorced architect, travels from Tokyo to the remote mountain village of Nagi to visit Yoriko, a sculptor and the single sister of her ex-husband. Yoriko asks Yuri if she would like to model for a new sculpture, and Yuri agrees. During the modelling sessions in the studio, an unexpected bond develops between the two women; they speak candidly about what unites them and what divides them. They are visited by Keita and Haruki, two local teenage boys who take art lessons from Yoriko. They try to understand the relationship between the two women.

In 1995, the renowned playwright Oriza Hirata wrote the play Tōkyō Notes. Director Kōji Fukada adapted the play and moved the setting from Tokyo to the village of Nagi. The result is a subtle and moving film not only about friendship, memories and art, but also about the question of how to find one’s place in Japanese society. Starring Shizuka Ishibashi and Takako Matsu in the lead roles.