The End of Summer

Manbei Kohayagawa runs a small sake brewery near Kyoto and maintains a tight-knit household. His two daughters, Noriko and Fumiko, live with him, while Akiko, his daughter-in-law, helps at the gallery with her young son Minoru. The family is under pressure to arrange suitable marriages for the women.

Manbei asks his brother-in-law Kitagawa to find a suitable husband for Akiko. Kitagawa arranges a meeting with Isomura Ei'ichiro, a widower, at a bar, and Isomura seems eager. Akiko feels hesitant about the arrangement.

Manbei also seeks a match for Noriko with Teramoto, who is moving to Sapporo to take a position as an assistant professor. Noriko remains reticent and does not openly reveal her feelings. The prospect of Teramoto's departure complicates the matchmaking plan.

During the summer, Manbei repeatedly slips away to visit his former mistress, Tsune Sasaki. Tsune's Westernized daughter Yuriko's possible paternity casts a shadow over the family. The visits complicate the household's dynamics and fuel underlying tensions.

Fumiko discovers Manbei's visits and confronts him about the affair. He denies the rumors and refuses to confirm anything. The tension reveals how rumors and secrets strain the family.

The Kohayagawa family gathers for a memorial service at Arashiyama to honor their late mother. The day brings quiet reminiscences but also unspoken tensions about loyalty, love, and the future. The service underscores the fragility of their harmony.

On the day of the memorial, Manbei quarrels with Fumiko over Tsune and collapses from a heart attack; he survives the episode and awakens the next day feeling renewed. The incident casts a pall over the family's gathering and foreshadows the looming changes. The brush with death jolts everyone into a harsher awareness of mortality and duty.

Akiko asks Noriko about another matchmaking session; Noriko admits she had some fun but still longs for Teramoto. The revelation shifts the emotional balance within the family, revealing private desires beneath the outward harmony. Akiko's concern deepens over how the matches will actually work out.

A secret journey to Osaka with Tsune marks a turning point: Manbei accompanies Tsune on the trip and soon suffers a second heart attack and dies. Tsune informs his daughters of the loss, sealing the fate of the ailing Kohayagawa brewery as rivals loom.

With Manbei gone, the family learns that Kohayagawa brewery is to be merged with a rival. The revelation accelerates change for the household, testing loyalties and tradition. The sisters and Akiko must navigate the new, uncertain future without their patriarch.

Noriko resolves to travel to Sapporo to pursue Teramoto, choosing love over the prior arrangements. Her journey signals a personal break from tradition as family expectations press in from every side. The move also demonstrates the new paths that generations will take beyond Kyoto.

The family comes together one last time as Manbei's body is cremated. They reflect on a life defined by family ties, unspoken desires, and the weight of tradition, while facing the looming changes to their world. The ceremony closes a chapter even as the future remains uncertain.