Japan Dignity

[Machine Translation] Twenty-two-year-old Miyako lives with her father, a Tsugaru lacquerware artisan, and her eccentric younger brother, a day trader. Her mother left her father out of love for their poverty-stricken lifestyle and his selfishness. Miyako worked as a cashier at a supermarket and also helped her family's business, Tsugaru-nuri, but she finally quits the supermarket because of her introverted nature and extreme shyness, as well as the complaints she gets from people. For a while, he enjoyed a fulfilling life of unemployment, but eventually decided to enter the world of Tsugaru-nuri in earnest. Tsugaru-nuri is a process of painting and polishing that is repeated about fifty times. Miyako's love for this one-person, painstakingly handcrafted work suited her, and she began to put a lot of effort into her daily work. While working under her father, Miyako gradually improved her skills, and on the advice of her younger brother, she decided to participate in a crafts exhibition in the Netherlands. This is a story of father-daughter bonding and family spun through Aomori's Tsugaru-nuri.

22歳の美也子は津軽塗職人の父と、デイトレーダーをしている風変わりな弟との三人暮らし。母は、貧乏暮らしと父の身勝手さに愛想を尽かして出て行った。美也子はスーパーのレジ係の傍ら、家業である津軽塗を手伝っていたが、元来の内向的な性格と極度の人見知りに加え、クレーマーに苛まれてとうとうスーパーを辞める。しばらくの間、充実した無職ライフを謳歌していたが、やがて、津軽塗の世界に本格的に入ることを決めた。五十回ほども塗りと研ぎを繰り返す津軽塗。一人でこつこつと行う手仕事は美也子の性に合っていて、その毎日に張りを与え始める。父のもとで下積みをしながら、美也子は少しずつ腕を上げていき、弟の勧めで、オランダで開催される工芸品展に打って出ることに。青森の津軽塗を通して紡ぐ、父娘の絆と家族の物語。