Footsteps

The film is adapted from the novel of the same name published by Japanese writer Kiyoshi Shigematsu in 2009. Shortly after Kenichi's daughter Miki was born, his wife Tomoko suddenly died of illness, leaving Kenichi and Miki to depend on each other. His wife's parents persuaded him to remarry and wanted to raise his granddaughter Miki with him, but Kenichi decided to take care of his daughter on his own. From nursery school to primary school graduation, what is captured in the changing seasons is the struggle of a single father and the footprints left by his daughter in her growth. Although in the past ten years, there have been women in Kenichi's life who are willing to become Miki's mother, his feelings for his deceased wife have prevented Kenichi from making a decision. This is a touching story about the heart-warming exchanges between "the people left behind" and the kind people surrounding the father and daughter.