"By day Ogata Shingo, an elderly Tokyo businessman, is troubled by small failures of memory. At night he associates the distant rumble he hears from the nearby mountain with the sounds of death. In between are the complex relationships that were once the foundations of Shingo's life: his trying wife; his philandering son; and his beautiful daughter-in-law, who inspires in him both pity and the stirrings of desire. Out of this translucent web of attachments,...

Follows the long and winding route of a sweet-natured bus driver. He is nicknamed Mr. Thank You for his constant exclamation to pedestrians who kindly step out of his way. His route travels from rural Izu to Tokyo. Along the way, romance, comedy and tragedy threatens his passengers.

Translated selections from literary writings of the last 80 years reflects strongly the social, political and cultural Japanese background