Two teenagers who shared a passion for rakugo take opposite paths after high school, revealing how a single passion can shape two very different lives.
At eighteen, two teenagers share the same dream: performing at Japan’s National High School Rakugo Championship.
After graduation, however, their lives begin to move in opposite directions.
Rintaro gives up university to pursue a career as a professional rakugo performer, repeatedly asking a renowned master to accept him as an apprentice while working part-time jobs to support his dream.
Soyokaze chooses another path. She enters university, studies international liberal arts, and dreams of working for an international organization. Rather than becoming a professional, she wants rakugo to remain a lifelong passion and hopes to share it across cultures.
Drawn to the same centuries-old art, they make different choices about how to live with what they love.
Following them from eighteen to twenty, the film explores how a single passion can shape two completely different lives, while quietly observing the families and mentors who support their journeys.
Masaaki Niiyama is a Tokyo-based documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on long-term observational storytelling. His films explore personal growth and changing values through intimate human stories. He is currently directing two feature documentaries: one following young rakugo performers and another exploring the future of education in Japan.