A MATTER OF SHARING

Shinji Kuma

Elderly married couple Hideo and Kiyoko Haruyama live in Tokyo. They have refurbished their home to become a share house, inhabited by a mixed bunch of residents of differing ages, professions and nationalities. The inhabitants help each other out and occasionally have differences of opinion. Landlady Kiyoko puts on dinners and always lends an ear to the problems of her tenants. To them, she is like a mother. However, one day, after a sudden accident, she is hospitalized. Hideo is forced to fill in for his wife and take over her role. In comparison to the outgoing Kiyoko, who is like a mother to the residents, Hideo is something of a reclusive curmudgeon. The tenants find it difficult to relate to Hideo, who is also alienated from his son, Takashi. Amidst this, Hideo receives a phone call from hostess Miho’s workplace. “A matter of sharing” traces the story of an elderly man at odds with those around him, who, by coming into contact with people from various backgrounds, begins to learn the importance of caring.