Koto: The Ancient City (1980) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language

1980 · 125 mins · Japanese

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Directed by

Kon Ichikawa

Starring

Takeshi Katô, Fujio Tokita, Keiko Kishi, Tomokazu Miura, Nobuyuki Ishida, Jun Hamamura

Chieko (Momoe Yamaguchi) grew up as the sole child of a dry‑goods store couple. In middle school she discovers they are not her biological parents. Her mother claims Chieko was taken as a baby while sleeping beneath a cherry tree in Gion, Kyoto, a story Chieko doubts. Though she is close to her adoptive parents, she confides only in her childhood friend Shinichi.