Synopsis
Winter. A small snow-covered village in the Shinshu mountain range -- on the outskirts of this village is the house of Orin (nekko, or “the trunk house”).
Orin turned 69 this year, but her teeth are still strong and she still works vibrantly. However, Orin is approaching the winter of her Narayama-mairi, her voyage to Mt. Narayama. This is the law of the village. It dictates that in the winter of a villager’s seventieth year, he or she must go to Narayama to ensure the future of their poor village, and this is the strongest belief of the villagers with respect to the mountain god. However, this law is unbelievably cruel. Going to the mountain means going to one’s death, and though it means becoming a servant of the god, it is still tremendously painful for the son who accompanies them, who cares for his mother or father. When the time came for Orin’s husband Rihei to take his mother to Narayama, he succumbed to his pain and went missing.
Orin has not even the slightest fear about going to Narayama. She is more concerned about the fate of her widower son Tatsuhei. He has three children (Kesa, Tome, and Yuki), and a younger brother Risuke, who is reviled by the villagers as “the stinker”. They comprise the nekko family.
The night advances, and Tatsuhei, shivering, sets off tortured on his journey to Narayama. Tatsuhei climbs a hill, crosses a bridge, and takes the road of the Seven Valleys toward Narayama. He feels conflicted, but Orin, settled in her heart, utters not a word.
Narayama’s peak is bald, strewn with bones as white as snow and black crows flying about. The look of death has already been revealed on Orin’s face. Tatsuhei, despite the cold, is dripping with sweat as he clings to Orin, but Orin pushes Tatsuhei off.
When Tatsuya descends to the Seven Valleys, he notices that snow has started falling, and Tatsuya fiercely reverses course and climbs the mountain.
Mom! You're lucky, the snow has come on the day you came here. Orin silently nods.