Makoto Shiina

A mother and her daughter move from the urban sprawl of Tokyo to the remote island of Ishigaki in the Ryukyu archipelago, and try to adapt to life there.

A five-part comedy and horror anthology

Wada, a salary man, is enlisted to venture off to China to investigate a potential Jade mine. After his arrival, Wada encounters a violent, yet sentimental, yakuza, who takes the liberty of joining his adventure through China. Led on their long and disastrous journey to the mine by Shen, the three men come across something even more magical and enticing.

A wordholic man, acting as the chief editor by a certain publishing company, is confined by the writer who wishes to publish.

Naran and his five brothers and sisters are returning to the family farm for summer. During the rest of the year, they must attend school in the city. Once they arrive, the family heads off to summer pastures for their horses and sheep. One day, Naran meets a lone minstrel and hears the tale of Sukh and his white horse who win the great Naadam horse race. Naran is deeply moved and swears that he will compete in the race with his own beloved white horse.

Tetsuo is a young man living in Tokyo, who falls in love with a deaf-mute factory girl. He has always felt jealous of his college-educated brother, but ultimately wins both the girl and his father's acceptance and support in a touching and refreshing way.

A film based on two short stories by Shiina Makoto. Tadon is the story of a cab-driver who spends his days listening to his passengers' conversations. Chikuwa is about a writer who faces a creativity bottleneck.