Early on the morning that his wife has just breathed her last, a father (Ryu Chishu) stands at the edge of a wide-open garden, looking out at the sea over the rooftops of the clustered houses. He has slipped away from his house, where his children and relatives are gathered, having hurriedly arrived from Tokyo and Osaka. His daughter-in-law (Hara Setsuko) comes running out and stops beside him. In this scene situated near the end of Tokyo monogatari (Tokyo Story, 1953), what could the widowed Ryu be thinking? Saying that everyone is waiting, Hara invites him back to the house. Then, out of the blue, the father-in-law mentions that this day, on which his wife's last rites are about to be held, looks like it is going to be hot. Behind them, in fact, stretches a perfectly clear sky. What kind of symbol should one read in this reference to the weather? Is Ryu trying to say that unlike what one would expect, this is the start of a particularly hot day? Or is he saying that, as always, this day is going to be a hot one? We can infer from the scene that what we see undoubtedly signals the beginning of another hot day. As usual, it is one of Ozu's sunny mornings. Donald Richie correctly points out that the reference in this scene to weather conditions is by no means uncommon.