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 attempt. To instill hope in the young men, he asks them to pledge that they will reunite beneath the cherry blossoms once they return safely. Overwhelmed by sorrow for his students’ destinies, Masaaki dedicates the following three decades to creating a new variety of cherry blossoms capable of flourishing in any environment, as a tribute to his students.