Yôkô the Cherry Blossom

In 1940, Masaaki Takaoka serves as an instructor in the agricultural department at a youth training center. Despite Japan’s impending defeat, all of Masaaki’s pupils are conscripted in a desperate, final effort. To instill some hope in the young men, he asks them to vow that they will reunite beneath the cherry blossoms once they return safely. Overcome with sorrow for his students’ destinies, Masaaki dedicates the following three decades of his life to creating a new variety of cherry blossoms that can flourish in any environment, as a tribute to his students.