In 1897, actor, director, producer and theatre company leader Kawakami Otojiro set off on a tour of the USA with his wife Sadayakko and theatre company members, but in a foreign country where he could not speak the language, he had to struggle against a succession of adversities, including lawyers absconding with the proceeds and actors going on strike. One day, however, Otojiro arrives in Boston on his arduous tour and sees a packed house for a performance of The Merchant of Venice by the famous British actor Henry Irving. In just one night of rehearsals, they concoct a Japanese version of The Merchant of Venice, and perform the play to a foreign audience with bullshit dialogue and a reckless performance that can be cut short by "Sucharaka poko poko" when they get stuck on a word.

Mie’s father died during the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. One day, she finds a bundle of unsent New Year’s cards, which languished there for 28 years. To find out why the cards were never sent, Mie tracks down Haruhiko Sakacho. Haruhiko played on the same high school baseball team with her father. Mie eventually gathers together her father's former teammates to play in the Masters Koshien (a senior league baseball tournament). Mie also uncovers a truth about her father and the baseball team.

A recently widowed writer whose wife died in a bus crash comes to terms with his grief—or lack of it—in caring for the children of a working man who also lost his wife in the same accident.