Although Japanese people are still uncomfortable discussing the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, director Akira Kurosawa uses the story of a grandmother's desire to perpetuate her memories of survival to overcome this reticence.

The film is set in Nagasaki 45 years later, during the summer of 1990, when the elderly Kane (played by 86-year old Sachiko Murase) hosts her grandchildren while their parents (her children) are visiting her long-lost brother, Sujijiro, who migrated to Hawaii in 1920. Sujijiro is ill and wants Grandma to visit him for the last time.

The Japanese teenagers--who barely speak English but wear t-shirts with American logos--are amused by Grandma's old-fashioned ways and disappointed that she is not interested in traveling to Hawaii, too. They are eager to see Nagasaki and are surprised to learn that their Grandpa had died there in the bombing. They learn that Grandma's unusual hair loss resulted from radiation exposure.

Kurosawa films their visit to the city with quiet sensitivity. At the school where Grandpa taught and died, they view the twisted, melted monkey bars that stand as a memorial to the children. A plaque indicates the date and time of the explosion: "1945 8.9 11:02."

They pause at a park with monuments sent by other countries--Portugal, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Poland, the Soviet Union, China, Brazil, among others. The children notice the absence of one from the United States. "America dropped the bomb," one of them explains.

As the kids splash water on a plaque that describes the thirst of the bomb's victims, Grandma remarks, "But nowadays for most people, Nagasaki happened once upon a time. As the years pass, peopleÉforget even the most dreadful things."

Memory is Grandma's antidote to amnesia. The children now realize that her reluctance to go to Hawaii is tied to the upcoming anniversary of Grandpa's death. "Neither we, nor our parents, know about war," one of the kids says. They criticize their parents for preferring to visit a rich American relative rather than considering Grandma's feelings.

Grandma replies that she wants them for the summer so that she can talk about her family, their history. She tells stories about her many brothers and sisters, blurring anecdotes with seeming fantasy. They observe Grandma's friend who comes for a visit, but the two women don't speak. She tells them of a brother who stayed in his room and drew pictures, "only pictures of eyes."

As the children inquire about the eyes, Grandma describes the terrible day: "Suddenly, the sky split into halves with a flash. A big eye peered through the crack. The big eye glared." With a surreal flashback, Kurosawa depicts the eye in the sky. "It's the most terrifying eye," says Grandma.

Goaded by the children, Grandma agrees to go to Hawaii, after the memorial to Grandpa. The children send a message to their parents, explaining the plan, but before it arrives, the parents return to Japan. They are pleased at the discovery of rich relatives and have hopes of benefiting from the contact.

But the parents now fear that the telegram, by revealing that Grandpa died at Nagasaki, will destroy the relationship with the Americans. The kids think it's strange that their parents "hide everything about Grandpa" and conclude that adults are too calculating.

A telegram from Hawaii intensifies the family dilemma. Clark (Richard Gere), the son of Grandma's American brother, is coming to Japan. Convinced that this visit will wreck their job prospects, the parents criticize the kids for sending the telegram. But Grandma defends them, insisting that it is good to confront the past. "They said they dropped it to stop war," she says, but "war is still killing peopleÉ.People do anything just to win war. Sooner or later it will destroy us all."

Clark is surprisingly humble. He regrets that no one informed him that Grandpa died at Nagasaki. Witnessing the war memorial, he recognizes the importance of remembering. He apologizes to Grandma for suggesting she visit Hawaii instead of paying homage to his uncle. Clark attends the memorial gathering on August 9, 1990.

The moment of reconciliation is interrupted by another telegram from Hawaii: Clark's father, Sujijiro, has died. After Clark leaves for home, a huge thunderstorm disrupts Grandma's peace. The dark clouds remind her of the day of destruction. She rushes into the storm, pursued by her family. As she presses forward against the tempestuous winds, "reliving that day," she is transformed into an almost mythic figure, showing the strength of human survival in face of cataclysm.

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