Only Yesterday
Movie, 1991, The '90s, Set in Yamagata and memories of 1966
Only Yesterday is #6 of 25 in release order and #6 of 25 in chronological order in the Studio Ghibli.
The story
In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.
Only Yesterday recap
Only Yesterday (1991) follows Taeko Okajima, a 27-year-old Tokyo office worker on a farm holiday in Yamagata, who keeps remembering herself at ten. Isao Takahata wrote and directed this adaptation of the manga by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone, a surprise hit with adult audiences. In 1982, Taeko (Miki Imai) boards the night train to help with the safflower harvest, and scenes from 1966 come back to her: her first unripe pineapple, a schoolyard crush, the arithmetic of fractions she could not grasp, puberty, and the day her father slapped her. Toshio (Toshirō Yanagiba), a cousin of her brother-in-law who gave up an office job to farm organically, meets her at the station and drives her around. Talking with him, Taeko begins to see how her younger self shaped the adult she became.
Only Yesterday ending explained
Only Yesterday ends with Taeko on the train back to Tokyo after the family suggests she marry Toshio. A crowd of her classmates from 1966 appears around her, and her ten-year-old self urges her back. She gets off at the next station and returns to Toshio, who drives her back to the farm as her ten-year-old self looks on, smiling. A 2021 live-action sequel follows Taeko at 64.
Post-credits scenes
No. Only Yesterday has no post-credits scene; the ending plays out under the closing song and credits.
Where to watch Only Yesterday
Only Yesterday is streaming on HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 100%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Kiki's Delivery Service, before Porco Rosso.
- Chronological order: after Kiki's Delivery Service, before Porco Rosso.
Cast
- Miki Imai as Taeko Okajima (voice)
- Yoko Honna as Taeko Okajima as a Fifth Grader (voice)
- Toshiro Yanagiba as Toshio (voice)
- Yorie Yamashita as Nanako Okajima (voice)
- Yuki Minowa as Yaeko Okajima (voice)
- Masahiro Ito as Taeko's Father (voice)
- Michie Terada as Taeko's Mother (voice)
- Chie Kitagawa as Taeko's Grandmother (voice)
- Mayumi Izuka as Tsuneko Tani (voice)
- Mei Oshitani as Aiko (voice)
- Megumi Komine as Toko (voice)
- Sachiyo Takizawa as Rie (voice)
Directed by Isao Takahata.