# Our Little Sister (海街diary)
**Our Little Sister** (Japanese title: *海街diary*, *Umimachi Diary*) is a 2015 [Japanese family](https://www.edgepedia.org/japanese-family) drama directed, written, and edited by [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://www.edgepedia.org/hirokazu-kore-eda), adapted from Akimi Yoshida's manga of the same name. It follows three adult sisters living in Kamakura who invite their teenage half-sister Suzu to live with them after the death of their estranged father.[1](https://www.fujitv.co.jp/movie/01movie/20150000_08_M00.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 海街diary (*Umimachi Diary*), also translated as *Tales from a Seaside Town*[1](https://www.fujitv.co.jp/movie/01movie/20150000_08_M00.html) • [2](https://www.chelmsford-filmclub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Our-Little-Sister-CFC-film-note.pdf) |
| Director | Hirokazu Kore-eda, who also wrote the screenplay and edited the film[3](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/108319) |
| Source | Akimi Yoshida's manga, serialized in Shogakukan's *Monthly Flowers*; winner of the Manga Taishō 2013 and an Excellence Award at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival[1](https://www.fujitv.co.jp/movie/01movie/20150000_08_M00.html) • [4](https://eiga.com/movie/80446/) |
| Cast | Haruka Ayase (Sachi), Masami Nagasawa (Yoshino), Kaho (Chika), Suzu Hirose (Suzu)[3](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/108319) |
| Release | June 13, 2015 in Japan (Toho, Gaga); July 8, 2016 in the United States (Sony Pictures Classics)[5](https://thl.uh-oh.jp/355636/) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/our-little-sister/) |
| Cannes | Screened in Competition at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival; nominated for the Palme d'Or[7](https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/6712/) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3756788/awards/) |
| Critical scores | Metascore 75 from 31 critics; 93% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 120 reviews[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/our-little-sister/) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/our_little_sister) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Sachi, Yoshino, and Chika are three sisters in their twenties who share a large, old family house in the coastal town of Kamakura. Their father left home fifteen years earlier with another woman, and their mother later remarried and moved away; the grandmother who raised the three sisters has also died. News of the father's death reaches them, and at his funeral they meet Suzu, their shy junior-high-school half-sister, whose own mother has died and who has no comfortable place in her [stepfamily](https://www.edgepedia.org/stepfamily). Sachi invites her to live in Kamakura, and the four begin a new life together in the old house.[1](https://www.fujitv.co.jp/movie/01movie/20150000_08_M00.html) • [10](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/hai-jie-diary)
The sisters have distinct working lives: Sachi, the eldest at 29, is a nurse at the local hospital; Yoshino, 25, works at a bank and is promoted from teller to loan manager during the film; Chika, 21, works in a shoe shop. Suzu is 13 when she joins the household, which the sisters jokingly call an "adult dorm."[2](https://www.chelmsford-filmclub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Our-Little-Sister-CFC-film-note.pdf) • [7](https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/6712/)
## Production and adaptation
Kore-eda adapted Yoshida's long-running manga, which had been serialized in *Monthly Flowers* since 2006 and won the Manga Taishō 2013. The adaptation changes characters and story elements from the comic; in his Cannes festival statement, Kore-eda explained that he added conflict absent from the original, asking why none of the sisters bully their little half-sister in the graphic novel and noting that the story lacked elements such as Suzu running away from home after trouble with her older siblings.[4](https://eiga.com/movie/80446/) • [11](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/38012.pdf) • [12](https://eiga-square.jp/title/umimachi_diary)
Kore-eda also drew on research for the script, saying he interviewed women who were actual third or fourth sisters and reflected what he learned in the film.[13](https://www.waseda.jp/inst/weekly/features/specialissue-koreeda3/) The film was produced by [Fuji Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/fuji-television), Shogakukan, Toho, and Gaga, with production by FILM; music was composed by [Yoko Kanno](https://www.edgepedia.org/yoko-kanno), and cinematography was by Mikiya Takimoto, who had also shot Kore-eda's *[Like Father, Like Son](https://www.edgepedia.org/like-father-like-son)*.[1](https://www.fujitv.co.jp/movie/01movie/20150000_08_M00.html) • [11](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/38012.pdf)
The film's length is listed as 126 minutes by Fuji TV and eiga.com, and as 128 minutes by WOWOW and the Cannes festival dossier.[1](https://www.fujitv.co.jp/movie/01movie/20150000_08_M00.html) • [4](https://eiga.com/movie/80446/) • [3](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/108319) • [11](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/38012.pdf)
## Setting and style
The story is told largely from Suzu's point of view, with Kamakura's four seasons woven through the imagery: summer ocean light, autumn foliage, a tunnel of cherry blossoms, rain-season hydrangeas, and summer fireworks. Critics noted the film's episodic structure, reflecting its origin in monthly manga installments, and its visual control, including deep-focus compositions that reviewers compared to the style of Yasujiro Ozu.[3](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/108319) • [2](https://www.chelmsford-filmclub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Our-Little-Sister-CFC-film-note.pdf)
## Reception and awards
The film competed for the [Palme d'Or](https://www.edgepedia.org/palme-dor) at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3756788/awards/) At the 2016 Awards of the Japanese Academy it won Best Film, and Kore-eda won Best Director, with additional top awards for cinematography and lighting; the film also received 5 wins and 13 nominations at the Japanese Academy overall.[12](https://eiga-square.jp/title/umimachi_diary) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/our-little-sister/) [Suzu Hirose](https://www.edgepedia.org/suzu-hirose) won the Hochi Film Award for Best New Talent in 2015 and the Kinema Junpo Best New Actress Award, while Kore-eda was named Best Japanese Director by Kinema Junpo readers.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3756788/awards/) • [14](https://www.gaga.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/history-e.pdf)
Critical response was broadly favorable. The film holds a Metascore of 75 based on 31 reviews, classified as "generally favorable," and a 93% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, whose critics consensus describes it as using "the story of one fractured family to offer universal -- and deeply moving -- observations on the human condition."[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/our-little-sister/) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/our_little_sister) Peter Bradshaw of *The Guardian* called it quiet, understated, and gentle, presented with "wonderful freshness and clarity."[15](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3756788/criticreviews/)
## Home media and availability
Blu-ray and DVD editions were released in Japan on December 16, 2015.[16](https://umimachi.gaga.ne.jp/news/) In Japan the film is currently available on subscription services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, U-NEXT, and FOD.[10](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/hai-jie-diary)
## References
1. [海街diary – フジテレビムービー](https://www.fujitv.co.jp/movie/01movie/20150000_08_M00.html)
2. [Our Little Sister film note, Chelmsford Film Club](https://www.chelmsford-filmclub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Our-Little-Sister-CFC-film-note.pdf)
3. [海街diary – WOWOWオンライン](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/108319)
4. [海街diary – 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/80446/)
5. [映画『海街diary』是枝裕和監督 Interview – TOKYO HEADLINE](https://thl.uh-oh.jp/355636/)
6. [Our Little Sister – Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/our-little-sister/)
7. [Our Little Sister – Independent Cinema Office](https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/6712/)
8. [Our Little Sister (2015) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3756788/awards/)
9. [Our Little Sister – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/our_little_sister)
10. [海街diary – JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/hai-jie-diary)
11. [Our Little Sister – A Film by Kore-eda Hirokazu, Cannes Film Festival dossier](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/38012.pdf)
12. [海街diary – 映画スクエア](https://eiga-square.jp/title/umimachi_diary)
13. [「誰も知らない“是枝先生”」インタビュー – 早稲田ウィークリー](https://www.waseda.jp/inst/weekly/features/specialissue-koreeda3/)
14. [Gaga Corporation history (English)](https://www.gaga.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/history-e.pdf)
15. [Our Little Sister (2015) – Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3756788/criticreviews/)
16. [映画『海街diary』公式サイト ニュース](https://umimachi.gaga.ne.jp/news/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2015 to 2019 › Drama films 2015 and 2016 › Released in 2015*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license