Our Little Sister is a Japanese melodrama that tells the story of a family’s joys and sorrows. Sachi, Chika, and Yoshiro are three sisters living in their childhood home in the city of Kamakura. Fifteen years ago, their father left home for another woman and moved to a small town, and their mother also left, perhaps in protest.
Their lives are settled into an everyday routine until the news of their father’s passing changes everything. When the three sisters travel to his small town for the funeral, they are confronted with a new chapter of his life: their thirteen-year-old sister, Suzu, who now has no one to take her in. Sachi, the eldest sister, feels a sense of responsibility and asks Suzu to come live with them. The arrival of their younger sister brings joy and life to the large family home, but also stirs up conflicting emotions. Their mother, who lives far away but still visits frequently, scolds Sachi for bringing the ‘mistress’s’ daughter into the house, and their aunt considers Suzu’s presence a bad omen.
However, neither the mother nor the aunt realizes that the three sisters and Suzu are each other’s missing pieces, each reflecting a different chapter of their father’s life. This becomes clear through the questions they ask one another about him. Sachi, the eldest, is the epitome of the devoted Japanese woman, dedicating her life to her sisters so they wouldn’t feel the absence of their parents. Yet, even she is not immune to the criticism of her younger sisters, who accuse her of being ‘bossy.
Originally in Farsi. Translated into English.