There is a large cherry tree called "The Gray-Blossomed Cherry Tree" in a village on the upper reaches of the Neo River. It is estimated to be over 1.300 years old and has been declared a natural monument by the government. The people of Neo say it was planted by Emperor Keitai (507-531 AD). Many stories about the cherry tree are presented to us with a gentle guitar accompaniment and a narration that is sometimes hauntingly enchanting. The great tree, steeped in over a thousand years of history and legend, has blossomed every spring, and every spring people have admired its beauty, their thoughts drifting away like fragile petals carried by the spring breeze. The filmmaker herself, Sumiko Haneda, was once lost in thought while sitting beneath the blossoms of this tree. The film is like a visual prose poem in which Haneda has a quiet conversation with the tree about life and death. She begins the conversation by introducing herself to the tree, but it, of course, does not respond. Thus, the conversation is actually a reminiscence delivered in a slightly measured style. By questioning where it comes from and where it is going, Haneda captures the transient nature of our lives. The film is an exquisite work, depicting a dreamlike world that remains part of our current reality. Image: ©Kanatasha Inc.