From Up on Poppy Hill

**The Tale of Umi and Shun: A Journey to the Past and a Story of Love and Family**

On a quiet hill overlooking the Yokohama harbor, a young girl named Umi Matsuzaki performed a daily ritual. Each morning, she raised signal flags, a tribute to her father who had died at sea. It was 1963, a time of transformation in Japan as the country prepared for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Amidst this change, Umi, who lived with her siblings and grandmother in an old boarding house called “Kokuriko Manor,” found herself at the center of a story both deeply personal and intertwined with Japan’s own history.

One day at school, Umi met Shun Kazama, a spirited boy involved in a campaign to save an old, decrepit building on their school campus called the “Quartier Latin.” This building was a symbol of the students’ shared past, home to a variety of club rooms and memories. The school board planned to demolish it, viewing it as an outdated remnant in need of removal. But Shun, along with his friends, passionately fought to save it, representing a bridge to the past that should not be easily erased.

Umi, drawn by Shun’s commitment and charisma, joined the campaign. The two became close as they painted and cleaned the Quartier Latin together, transforming it from a cluttered space into a vibrant, welcoming hub. Through their shared efforts, Umi and Shun forged a friendship that quickly blossomed into something deeper. But just as feelings of love emerged, an unexpected discovery shook them both.

In a family album, Umi found an old photograph of her father alongside two other men. To her surprise, Shun recognized the photo—he had a copy of it, too. The possibility that they could be related haunted them, casting a shadow over their growing affection. Troubled and confused, they sought answers to uncover the truth of their shared past.

Their journey led them to Onodera Yoshio, the only surviving man from the photograph. He revealed a story steeped in sacrifice and love. Shun’s biological father, Hiroshi Tachibana, had been a friend and fellow sailor of Umi’s father, Yuichiro Sawamura. When Tachibana died in a tragic accident shortly after Shun’s birth, Yuichiro, who could not bear to see his friend’s son abandoned, adopted him into his family registry before eventually placing him with the Kazama family. Although Shun had lived a life filled with love, the truth of his origins remained hidden until that moment.

Relieved yet saddened by the revelations, Umi and Shun realized they were not siblings. The past, while painful, gave them clarity, and in their relief, they found a deeper connection rooted in both love and understanding.

**A Story of Change and Memory**

The story of Umi and Shun unfolds in a world both real and imagined. The setting is Yokohama, where buildings like the Quartier Latin echoed with memories of Japan’s past and the cultural resurgence of the 1960s. The preservation of the Quartier Latin, in many ways, paralleled Japan’s struggle to balance tradition with modernization as it prepared for the 1964 Olympics. Each corner of the Quartier Latin was filled with memories, much like the country itself, whose people were moving toward the future while still haunted by the memories of war.

Although the Quartier Latin does not exist in reality, it symbolizes a desire to preserve and honor memories rather than erase them. In the same way, Umi’s home, Kokuriko Manor, reflects the values of an earlier era—open to friends, family, and traditions that enrich daily life. The signal flags that Umi raises every morning become her way of remembering her father, who, like the old buildings, represents a history too valuable to be forgotten.

Through Umi’s morning ritual, we sense how deeply she honors her family’s past, even when it brings her pain. The emotional weight of her actions connects her not only to her father but to a collective memory of Japanese culture at a turning point.

**The Influence of the Past on the Present**

“From Up on Poppy Hill” invites us to reflect on how history, both personal and collective, shapes us. Goro Miyazaki, the director, draws from his own father’s experiences in 1963, when Hayao Miyazaki first became an animator. That year held a special significance for the elder Miyazaki, and he infused the screenplay with the innocence and determination he had felt as a young man eager to make his mark on the world. The film is, in a sense, a tribute to the generation that navigated the rapid modernization of Japan, striving to balance their ambitions with respect for the past.

**The Moral of the Tale**

At its heart, *From Up on Poppy Hill* teaches us that while change is inevitable, the past should not be discarded in the rush toward the future. Umi and Shun’s journey reminds us that family is more than blood; it is built through compassion, loyalty, and the courage to face difficult truths. Their efforts to save the Quartier Latin symbolize a belief in preserving the memories that connect us to who we are.

As the story ends, Umi and Shun stand together, not just as friends but as individuals who have faced their personal histories and chosen to honor them. Their love blossoms from a shared understanding of loss, memory, and the quiet strength that comes from acknowledging one’s roots.

In this tale, the old and the new coexist, reminding us that embracing our past gives us the foundation to step confidently into the future.