Postcard (2010) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Sadazo feared he would die in the Philippines deployment, so he asked Matsuyama to return the postcard to his wife Tomoko and tell her he received it before his death. This was his final message to her, a small act of connection meant to comfort her after he was gone, showing how wartime soldiers sought any way to maintain a link with their families despite the certainty of death.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Sadazo entrusted the postcard before the lottery even selected him for the Philippines, showing his premonition of death.

• sadazo
• postcard
• matsuyama
• death
• war
• final message

Sadazo's parents Yukichi and Chiyo pressured Tomoko not to abandon her obligations and urged her to marry their younger son Sanpei. Tomoko agreed hoping for stability amid the chaos of postwar Japan, feeling bound by traditional duty to the family that had lost both sons to the war.

Foreshadowing: The scene where Sadazo says goodbye to his family foreshadows how the war will continue to shape Tomoko's fate even after his death.

• tomoko
• sanpei
• marriage
• pressure
• obligation
• family

After Yukichi died from a heart condition, Chiyo was overwhelmed by despair and the cumulative loss of both her sons, Sadazo and Sanpei, to the war. She gave Tomoko money as a final act of protection, then hanged herself, unable to bear the weight of the family's destruction any longer.

Foreshadowing: The mounting losses throughout the film, Sadazo's death, Sanpei's death, Yukichi's death, created an inevitable momentum toward Chiyo's tragic decision.

• chiyo
• suicide
• money
• despair
• loss
• family

Matsuyama returned to Japan with the weight of Sadazo's dying request, the postcard and final message. After discovering his own wife had left him due to an affair with his father, he sought out Tomoko to fulfill his promise and confront his own loneliness, leading to their connection.

Foreshadowing: Matsuyama's agreement to deliver the postcard planted the seeds for his later visit to Tomoko's home.

• matsuyama
• tomoko
• return
• postcard
• promise
• reunion

After sharing their grief and discussing futures shaped by loss, both Tomoko and Matsuyama sought to escape Japan's painful memories. Matsuyama had saved 200,000 yen from selling his fishing boat and offered to share it, while Tomoko wanted a fresh start far from the war-torn homeland that had taken everything from her.

Foreshadowing: Their conversation about money and futures directly led to the decision to leave Japan together.

• brazil
• immigration
• new life
• escape
• start fresh

Overcome by grief and alcohol after burning the ashes of Sadazo and Sanpei, Tomoko impulsively set fire to the house, a final act of destruction meant to release herself from the past. The fire represented her desire to burn away all remnants of her painful history before starting anew.

Foreshadowing: The burning of the ashes served as the emotional trigger for this destructive act, releasing emotions she had suppressed for years.

• fire
• house
• destruction
• release
• grief
• ashes

After the house fire and Matsuyama rescuing Tomoko from the flames, their perspective shifted. Rather than fleeing to Brazil, they chose to stay in Japan and rebuild on the site of the former home, cultivating barley together. This decision represented choosing endurance and roots over escape.

Foreshadowing: The rescue moment marked a turning point where their relationship transformed from two people seeking escape to partners choosing to rebuild.

• japan
• barley
• staying
• rebuild
• roots
• choice

Sadazo was sent to the Philippines as part of a lottery assignment during the Pacific War. He was among a hundred overaged conscripts selected for deployment, a posting he feared would be fatal. He died there, and his death was later confirmed by a military official to his family in Japan.

Foreshadowing: His fear of the Philippines assignment and his postcard request to Matsuyama both foreshadowed his fate.

• sadazo
• philippines
• death
• deployment
• war

When Matsuyama returned to Japan after the war, he discovered his wife had run away after having an affair with his father. She was now working as a bar hostess in Osaka, a situation that deeply disturbed Matsuyama and symbolized how the war had corrupted even domestic life.

Foreshadowing: This betrayal adds to the film's theme of how war destroys not only lives on the battlefield but also families at home.

• matsuyama
• wife
• hostess
• osaka
• affair
• betrayal

The barley field where Tomoko and Matsuyama stand together at the end symbolizes resilience, renewal, and quiet hope after years of destruction. Rather than fleeing to Brazil, they choose to stay and cultivate the land, representing a stubborn act of endurance and connection to their roots despite all the loss.

Foreshadowing: The recurring theme of land and farming throughout the film, from Yukichi's farm work to the family's dependence on the land, builds toward this final image of renewal.

• barley
• field
• ending
• symbolism
• renewal
• hope
• endurance