Synopsis

In the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, many family businesses have been handed down over generations, maintaining long-standing traditions. One of these is the Busshi, a sculptor of Buddha statues for temples. Toki Tadasuke is a Busshi whose family business has been handed down over the course of 800 years. The daily work of a Busshi is entirely devoted to carving Buddhas.
On March 11, 2011, spring is approaching, and the sounds of Tadasuke's hammer echoed throughout his workshop under sunshine that softened the chill of winter.

There was also the sound of a radio. The traditional Japanese enka music it had been playing was suddenly switched to a news bulletin. The announcer's voice concealed the tragedy in her message as she struggled to sound calm.
At 2:46 p.m., the massive Great East Japan Earthquake had struck the eastern half of Japan. Hearing the announcer report “a seismic intensity of seven,” Tadasuke halts his work and turns his attention to the bulletin. He recalls that his only daughter Naoko had been staying in Higashi-matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, near the earthquake's epicenter.
Just two days before, Naoko had told Tadasuke, who was her master and teacher as well as her father, of her intention to marry.
With a disappointed look, Tadasuke took a Japanese sword into his hand. His countenance remained grim at the absence of the man who will become her husband during such an important announcement. However, hearing from Naoko that the man said he understands the Toki family's circumstances and is even willing to take his wife's name, Tadasuke grudgingly accepts the news, provided that she will go to see his family and bring him back to Tadasuke for further discussion.

Naoko had left a letter on her departure. In it she writes that she had decorated the alcove with the nadeshikoflowers that her mother loved so while she was alive.
Months pass. Spring departs, and summer arrives. There is still no word from Naoko. And Tadasuke has no idea where she has gone. He continues carving his Buddha statues as he conceals his uneasiness. He even starts to see illusions of Naoko.
One day, when he sees that the nadeshiko flowers have withered, Tadasuke sets out to search for Naoko, knowing little of where he is about to go. In his hand he holds a statue of the kannon Goddess of Mercy that he has carved.
After numerous bus and train rides, he finally reaches “NOBIRU” in Higashi-matsushima. The area is scarred with the ravages of the tsunami.

Tadasuke travels about various places, learning nothing, but there is one he doesn't even consider visiting. As the bewildered Tadasuke continues his aimless wandering, he is called out by a man. This is the man to whom Naoko had promised her future.
Tadasuke hears from the man about Naoko's last days. Far from blaming him, Tadasuke leaves him with kind words, then drags his ponderous limbs to the coast.
Dusk is setting in along the shore. The white crest of the waves makes a rueful sound. This is the ocean... These are the waves that took his beloved daughter Naoko's life, thinks Tadasuke to himself as he is overtaken by sadness.
Then, appearing before Tadasuke's eyes is a vision of Naoko, as if she were waiting for her father to arrive. Tadasuke hurriedly runs after his vision.
Yet she is not there. Was it a hallucination? With this thought, he sees a lone nadeshiko flower in the sand, fluttering in the breeze. Tadasuke stands the statue he had been holding near the flower, and he prays intently.

The deaths from the disaster total over 15,000. Even today there are many who have not been found.