メインコンテンツにスキップ

SEARCH
The People Brought Together by“BENTO”

Episode Synopsis

ID: DC281975
Documentary
2019
45 MINS
EN
On the coast of an inlet in western Ehime Prefecture is the town of Tawarazu. This small community with a population of 1,000 has many elderly residents. This town has a bento box shop called “Yumesakuya,” run by the 55-year-old Yumiko Utsunomiya. She also delivers meals, to help senior citizens who can’t shop for themselves. Koume, one of her elderly customers, says to Yumiko, “I’m as helpless as a baby. Don’t leave me alone, please.” Yumiko’s bento bring the lonely senior citizens comfort, and save their lives. What is it that drives Yumiko? “Putting a smile on people’s faces.” As Japan’s population ages, more and more senior citizens have no means to feed themselves. Tawarazu, which used to prosper from mandarin orange orchards, is no exception. At “Yumesakuya,” the town’s mothers work hard to save these shopping refugees. They deliver to the elderly who can’t walk to the store out of a spirit of charity. What would be a ten minute’s walk for a healthy person is impossibly far away for others. After the heavy rains of July 2018, “Yumesakuya” reopened as a mini-supermarket. This documentary portrays the plight of shopping refugees, and the powerful lives of the local mothers who stand up for them.

Preview Video