This Old Road -KONOMICHI- (2019) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

The film traces Hakushu and Yamada's difficult artistic partnership, linking personal loss and political compromise to songs that preserve their shared memories.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

The Affair and Its Cost

Hakushu becomes involved with Toshiko despite Akiko's warning. His arrest brings Akiko and Tekkan to his aid, and Toshiko later leaves her marriage to be with him before disappearing.

Key Events

• Memorial Concert — Yamada conducts a memorial performance of This Old Road. Characters: Kosaku Yamada Location: Memorial concert
• A Question About the Past — A young admirer asks why Yamada never composed for Hakushu after his death. Characters: Kosaku Yamada Location: Memorial concert
• Yamada Refuses to Explain — Yamada declines to discuss the past, hinting at a difficult partnership. Characters: Kosaku Yamada Location: Memorial concert
• Hakushu Meets Toshiko — Hakushu becomes involved with his married neighbor Toshiko. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Toshiko Location: Unspecified
• Akiko Issues a Warning — Akiko urges Hakushu to end the affair; he says he wants to help Toshiko. Characters: Akiko Yosano, Hakushu Kitaharai Location: Unspecified
• Arrest for Adultery — Hakushu is arrested because of the affair. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai Location: Unspecified
• Release Secured — Akiko and Tekkan help secure Hakushu's release. Characters: Akiko Yosano, Tekkan Yosano, Hakushu Kitaharai Location: Unspecified
• Toshiko Leaves Her Marriage — Toshiko leaves her marriage and begins a new life with Hakushu. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Toshiko Location: Unspecified

A New Poetic Direction

After personal upheaval and another marriage, Hakushu turns increasingly toward children and ordinary people. Miekichi supports his work and helps establish Red Bird.

Key Events

• Toshiko Disappears — Toshiko disappears, leaving Hakushu devastated. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Toshiko Location: Unspecified
• A New Marriage — Hakushu marries again as his personal life continues to change. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai Location: Unspecified
• Poetry Turns to Ordinary Lives — Hakushu's poetry increasingly turns toward children and ordinary people. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai Location: Unspecified
• Red Bird Is Established — With Miekichi's support, Hakushu establishes the children's magazine Red Bird. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Miekichi Suzuki Location: Unspecified

From Quarrel to Collaboration

Miekichi introduces Hakushu to Yamada, but their first meeting ends in a violent quarrel. Following a devastating earthquake, Yamada returns with a new understanding of the musical rhythm in Hakushu's poetry, and they reconcile.

Key Events

• A Meeting with Yamada — Miekichi introduces Hakushu and Yamada to explore poetry with music. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Miekichi Suzuki, Kosaku Yamada Location: Unspecified
• The First Quarrel — Hakushu rejects Yamada's music, and their meeting ends in a violent quarrel. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Kosaku Yamada Location: Unspecified
• Yamada Returns After the Earthquake — After a devastating earthquake, Yamada returns and explains the rhythm in Hakushu's poetry. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Kosaku Yamada Location: Unspecified
• The Poncirus Collaboration — The two reconcile and collaborate on The Flower of the Poncirus. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Kosaku Yamada Location: Unspecified
• A Song Reaches Radio — Their collaboration is broadcast during a radio station's opening. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Kosaku Yamada Location: Radio station

Songs Under Pressure

Their songs gain admiration, including This Old Road, as militarism spreads. Both men accept patriotic commissions while recognizing what they are compromising.

Key Events

• This Old Road Succeeds — This Old Road follows as another widely admired success. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Kosaku Yamada Location: Unspecified
• Pressure for Patriotic Songs — Both men accept patriotic commissions as militarism spreads, aware of the artistic cost. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Kosaku Yamada Location: Unspecified

A Promise and a Memory

Blind from illness, Hakushu meets Yamada and promises to create free, beautiful songs when censorship ends. Hakushu dies before that future, and Yamada remembers him through This Old Road.

Key Events

• Hakushu Loses His Sight — Illness leaves Hakushu blind. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai Location: Unspecified
• A Promise for Free Songs — Yamada visits Hakushu, and they promise to make free, beautiful songs after censorship ends. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai, Kosaku Yamada Location: Unspecified
• Hakushu Dies — Hakushu dies before the promised future arrives. Characters: Hakushu Kitaharai Location: Unspecified
• Yamada Remembers — Yamada reflects on Hakushu and their shared artistic journey. Characters: Kosaku Yamada Location: Memorial concert

Story Breakdown

• Memorial Frame — A present-day performance prompts questions about Yamada's history with Hakushu.
  • Concert Performance — Yamada conducts This Old Road at a memorial concert.
  • Past Withheld — Yamada declines to explain why he stopped composing for Hakushu after his death.
• Toshiko Affair — Hakushu's relationship with Toshiko brings personal and legal consequences.
  • Akiko's Warning — Akiko urges Hakushu to end the affair, while he says he wants to help Toshiko.
  • Arrest and Release — Hakushu is arrested for adultery, and Akiko and Tekkan help secure his release.
• Loss and Renewal — The relationship with Toshiko ends in painful separation as Hakushu's life and poetry continue to change.
  • Toshiko Disappears — After leaving her marriage to be with Hakushu, Toshiko disappears and leaves him devastated.
  • Poetry Turns — Hakushu marries again and increasingly writes about children and ordinary people.
• Red Bird Network — Miekichi supports Hakushu's writing for children and creates a path to collaboration with Yamada.
  • Magazine Founded — With Miekichi's support, Hakushu establishes Red Bird and writes nursery verses.
  • Yamada Introduced — Miekichi brings Hakushu and Yamada together to explore poetry and music.
• Artistic Reconciliation — A quarrel over music gives way to a shared understanding of the musical quality in Hakushu's poems.
  • Violent Quarrel — Hakushu believes his poems are complete and rejects Yamada's Western-influenced music.
  • Earthquake Return — After the devastating earthquake, Yamada returns and explains the rhythm already present in Hakushu's poetry.
• Songs Find Listeners — The reconciled artists collaborate on works that become widely admired.
  • Poncirus Collaboration — Hakushu and Yamada work together on The Flower of the Poncirus.
  • Radio and Success — The song is broadcast at a radio station opening, and This Old Road becomes another major success.
• Censorship and Compromise — Militarism pressures both artists to make patriotic songs despite their awareness of what is lost.
  • Patriotic Commissions — Hakushu accepts military commissions to support his family, and Yamada also compromises.
  • Artistic Cost — Both men understand that their commissions come at a cost to their artistic freedom.
• Final Promise — Illness and death end the artists' hope of making free songs together.
  • Blindness and Visit — Hakushu becomes blind from illness, and Yamada visits him.
  • Promise and Remembrance — They promise to create free, beautiful songs after censorship ends; after Hakushu dies, Yamada remembers him through This Old Road.

Directed by

Kiyoshi Sasabe

Key Cast

• Nao Omori — Hakushu Kitaharai
• Ryohei Kurosawa — Kosaku Yamada
• Shihori Kanjiya
• Wakana Matsumoto — Toshiko
• Fujiko Kojima