Muddy River

In Osaka, 1956, Shigeo, a child living with his parents Shinpei Itakura and Sadako Itakura in a small diner near the river mouth, meets a boy named Kichi. Kichi lives on a houseboat moored across from the diner, and his sister Ginako is 11. Neither Kichi nor Ginako attends school. Rumors swirl that their mother entertains customers on the boat for a living, but Shigeo doesn’t fully understand.

One day, when Kichi and Ginako visit the diner, rumors spread that Kichi is promoting the houseboat’s services, upsetting Shinpei. This makes Kichi and Ginako feel dejected, as the townspeople whisper about the boat and its occupants, casting a shadow over their simple presence in the neighborhood.

Later, Shigeo is told that one of Shinpei’s “acquaintances” is on their deathbed and wishes to see Shinpei and his children in Kyoto. The visitor turns out to be Shinpei’s ex-wife, Masako Yagi. Both parents bear guilt, and Sadako tearfully apologizes to Shinpei’s ex-wife, a moment that deepens the tangled feelings and unresolved history between the grown-ups and the children who circle their lives.

When Shigeo visits the boat, neither Kichi nor Ginako is there, and he is summoned to the back room by Shoko Matsumoto. Shigeo feels unsettled in Shoko’s presence, a stark contrast to the warmth he might expect from a mother, and this encounter lingers as a uneasy memory he struggles to classify.

On the day of the festival, Shigeo and Kichi receive pocket money from Sadako to go out, but they lose it on the way home, a small misstep that hints at the fragility of their sheltered world. That night, Shigeo returns to the boat, where Kichi reveals a treasure trove of crabs. He initiates a cruel game of burning crabs in oil, and one crab escapes into the back room. Peering through a small window, Shigeo witnesses Shoko Matsumoto in an intimate embrace with a tattooed man. The moment unsettles him deeply, and he leaves without speaking to Kichi, brushing past Ginako on his way out.

The following day, as the boat begins to drift away from the shore, Shigeo spots its movement and rushes out, calling for Kichi. But despite his urgency, he cannot quite reach them, and the vessel continues to glide away, leaving him standing at the edge of the water and the river’s memory of what he saw.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:58