Writing
Sidonie Perceval, an established French writer, is mourning her deceased husband. Invited to Japan for the reedition of her first book, she is welcomed by her local editor who takes her to Kyoto, the city of shrines and temples. As they travel together through the Japanese spring blossoms, she slowly opens up to him. But the ghost of her husband follows Sidonie: she will have to finally let go of the past to let herself love again.
Sarya lives between three worlds: Having fled from Turkey to Japan, her small family tries to maintain their Kurdish traditions. On the other hand, Sarya, who arrived when she was five, feels at home in Japan. But then, the family loses its refugee-status. Life becomes unpredictable and their days in Japan seem numbered. A haunting story about the balancing act of finding your place in the world.
Cicada is the story of Jumpei-- a man who loses sight of his progeny when he finds out he is infertile, but then is given the gift of clairvoyance and begins to see glimpses of the future. These glimpses lead him to a series of cicada shells, which become symbolic of his desire to shed his old self. Though his lineage ends with himself, Jumpei starts anew as a father-figure to his sister's young son.
Ryuji is a fisherman that has brought up his daughter Ryoko single-handedly. Ryoko and her childhood friend Kazuya have fallen in love. But when Kazuya dies in a tragic accident while diving for coral wood, Ryoko is overcome with grief and, emotionally destroyed, retreats into silent mourning.
A co-worker confronts Mamoru on his apparent apathy toward life, and this results in Mamoru leaving his job out of humiliation. Now alone and without work, just as it seems that things could not possibly get worse, parts of Mamoru's bicycle begin to disappear, one by one. In frustration, Mamoru leaves a note for the thief, begging him to just take the whole thing. The note left in response is signed God, leaving Mamoru only more confused. At last, when the only remaining piece of the bicycle is a lonely bell, Mamoru receives an envelope, containing addresses at which each piece of the bicycle might be retrieved.
