Umi wa Miteita (The Sea Watches) / The Sea Watches

Working in a brothel in the quaint little coastal town of Okabasho in the Japan of the 19th century, the young and innocent O-Shin finds herself falling for a samurai who visits her brothel. Her older sister, Kikuno, warns her about falling in love, although deep down she would like her sister to marry the samurai. Time passes, and O-Shin meets Ryosuke, a weary, troubled customer to whom she teaches the meaning and joys of life as their relationship develops into one of interdependence and respect. Kikuno yet again acvises her sister to pull himself together. When it looks as if there is no way out for the girl, a thunderous storm hits Okabasho and all of the villagers flee, leaving Kikuno and O-Shin stranded. The ocean, which had not expressed its anger until then, floods the streets and brothels of the town. But the tide carries all of the sisters' worries into the sea as they rediscover a long awaited calm.