The Cruel Sea

Directed by Tadashi Imai

It is 1921 and a town has a newspaper which prints urgent bulletins as required. The Washington-based CITES treaty, in which Japan participates, puts a limit on the number of warships any country can possess. As a result, Japan has to decommission a ship to its makers' disappointment. An institute of technology's laboratory designs a new ship. Due to less ships, sailors have to retire and are also disappointed. The laboratory's manager and an admiral are visiting a patient at a hospital and meet coincidentally. The former has a daughter who worries about her father's workload. She asks him to accompany her to a concert. Father has little time, but is convinced for her sake. He is inspired for a ship's design at the performance. The film is inspired by the life of Jo Hiraga.