An old man lives in a room that resembles a pile of stacked up wooden blocks surrounded by water. He drops his pipe in the submerged lower floor. When he dives to pick it up, he encounters memories of his family carved in each room. The precious memories of the people he used to know, including his absent wife and daughter, are depicted with a gentle touch, making this a fine and moving piece of work. The theme of global warming is also hidden just below the surface.

I would like to express my appreciation to the staff and other people involved, who made great efforts to create this work. Various things that happened during production and things that became clear only after the project was completed are swirling around my head. But now, I think I have to keep moving on. Anyway, I feel very honored to receive this award.

This work has already received awards in several animation festivals both in Japan and other countries. What is the reason for this? I can think of a lot of reasons, such as the delicate and nostalgic visual world and a story that conveys directly what it wants to say without dialog or explanations, in a global environmental setting. However, the presentation itself is not original or radical. The work is in no way flamboyant. But the warmth of the artist’s regard for human beings and his thoughts touch the audience. With animation presentations having recently become diversified, it is the aspirations and aims of the creator that have become the focal points. Parameters such as artistic quality, experimental aspects, ability to entertain, and popular appeal will differ from one creator to another, but this work has a universality and a richness that will fascinate a viewer regardless of age or nationality. This universality gives a precise indication of the new possibilities of short animation, a genre that is not yet popular in Japan and, the choice of the short animation form is one significant form of expression.