The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

The film follows survivors of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami as they prepare for the beginning of cherry blossom season.^[4]

Walker's original intention was to film a documentary about the cherry blossom and that after the 2011 tsunami she initially reconsidered her decision to create a film of any nature. In an interview with Realscreen, Walker stated "My first thought was, ‘Gosh, I can’t do this now.’ But then my second thought was that actually, now is a more important time than ever to show our solidarity with the Japanese people." She did not plan on using the cherry blossom as a metaphor, but that "the film’s subjects picked up on it as an obvious metaphor anyway".^[5] Walker had concerns that she would find it difficult to conduct interviews as an outsider to the country, but "found people really wanted to tell their story. They would come across the post-apocalyptic looking landscape especially to find us."^[6]

Japanese people treat the cherry blossoms as a symbol of hope and beauty, and Japanese non-profit organizations that plant and encourage others to plant sakura trees were founded after the 2011 disaster.^[7][8]