Noriko, a secretary in Tokyo, lives in Kamakura, Kanagawa with her extended Mamiya family, which includes her parents Shūkichi and Shige, her older brother Kōichi, a physician, his wife Fumiko, and their two young sons Minoru and Isamu.

Noriko's friends are divided into two groups—the married and the unmarried—who tease one another endlessly, with Aya Tamura being her close ally in the unmarried group.

Childhood friend Kenkichi Yabe, a doctor, widower, and father to a young daughter, arranges to have tea with Noriko and gives her a sheaf of wheat.

The sheaf is a gift from a brother who was killed during World War II and who had asked Yabe to deliver it to Noriko in case he did not return.

[2] In 2004, The Criterion Collection released a new, higher-definition digital transfer, with restored image and sound and new English subtitle translation.

In 2010, the BFI released a Region 2 Dual Format Edition (Blu-ray + DVD), this time in proper high definition.