Toki wa Tachidomaranai (2014)

Saigo Ryusuke, who was born and raised in a coastal town in Tohoku, becomes the manager of the branch office of a local credit union. He builds a modest house on a small hill overlooking the sea and lives happily with his beautiful wife Asako, mother Nami and daughter Chiaki who works at the city hall. On one of Ryusuke’s days off work, the Saigos head to the house of Chiaki’s boyfriend Hamaguchi Shuichi for the first meeting between both sets of parents. The Hamaguchis have been fishermen for generations. There is Shuichi’s taciturn father Katsumi, mother Masayo, grandfather Kichiya, grandmother Iku and younger brother Mitsuhiko. Chiaki, who dreams of being active in national politics someday in the future, has given this condition in her marriage to Shuichi. Ryusuke and his wife have mixed feelings about their daughter’s marriage to a fisherman’s family, but it is also the same with the Hamaguchis. However, Chiaki and Shuichi are firm in their decision to marry and both families consent to their children’s marriage. At a dinner party, Ryusuke and Katsumi both realize that they are junior high school classmates. However, five days later on 11 March 2011, an earthquake and tsunami strikes eastern Japan and the destinies of the two families are drastically changed. The tsunami claims the lives of Masayo, Iku and Shuichi. The Hamaguchis also lose both house and boat. On the other hand, the Saigos escape harm because their house is on high ground. Chiaki is swamped with work to the extent that she has no interlude to feel sad over the loss of her fiance. Wanting to be of help to the Hamaguchis, Ryusuke and Asako make an offer to them to stay in their house. However, on the night of the visit of Katsumi, Kichiya and Mitsuhiko to the Saigos, havoc ensues.