License to Live

Yutaka Yoshii wakes up in a hospital room after a ten-year coma. His family is nowhere to be found, and the man who caused his accident visits him and offers money. The encounter leaves him unsettled about what comes next.

Fujimori, his father's old loner friend, comes to collect Yutaka and drives him to the Yoshii family fish farm where he will live. The harsh adjustment to a remote life begins as he steps onto the farm grounds. The environment hints at a new, yet uneasy, chapter of his life.

Back at the farm, Yutaka is given a variety of odd jobs around the property. Although physically an adult, he behaves with childlike simplicity and struggles to adapt to the daily rhythms. The work tests his patience and resilience.

One of the darker episodes is when Fujimori forces Yutaka to visit a prostitute. The incident exposes the complex, troubling dynamic between caretaker and ward on the farm. It marks a low point in his early adjustment to life outside the hospital.

News of Yutaka's recovery draws his family to visit him one by one. His father learns about the divorce, his sister is engaged and may move to America, and his mother works in a cloth shop. The family members each bring a different attitude toward his situation.

The mother tells Yutaka that he should lead his own life, signaling a shift in the family's expectations. Her words encourage him to seek independence and rebuild something meaningful. The moment plants the seed for his future plans.

Motivated by his mother's advice, Yutaka plans to reopen the family pony farm on their plot and starts a small milk bar. He hopes these enterprises will help bring the family back together again. The endeavors symbolize a renewed pursuit of belonging.

The man who caused Yutaka's accident returns and is visibly envious of Yutaka's apparent 'success.' At night, he destroys most of the pony farm in front of Yutaka. The event forces a harsh reckoning with memory and happiness tied to the place.

Yutaka tries to defend the remaining farm but comes to understand it was a memory of happiness, not a permanent fixture. He realizes his task was to recreate a sense of family and belonging, not to preserve the farm itself. The moment marks a pivotal shift in his outlook.

Fujimori returns and the two decide to leave the farm to travel the country in search of a new life. Their journey represents a form of escape and a move toward broader horizons. Yutaka's maturity is evident in the choice to depart together.

During their travels, Yutaka is involved in a freak accident and dies. Fujimori remains beside him, carrying memories of the boy who sought family and meaning. The death closes the chapter on his fragile arc.

A funeral is held with family members present, and afterwards Fujimori leaves alone, carrying memories of Yutaka. The final image lingers on the cost of trying to rebuild a family through shared memory.