Mampuku

Osaka, 1938. Fuku-chan, a high school graduate and the youngest of three sisters, lives with her mother, Suzu, and eldest sister, Saki. To support her family after her father's early death, Fuku-chan starts working as a hotel telephone operator. The first call she takes is from Mampei, the man who will become her husband. Together, they are destined to create the invention of the century.

Fuku-chan's mother, Suzu, suddenly collapses, complaining of a stomachache. The middle sister, Katsuko, suspects she's faking it, while a panicking Saki exclaims, "This is no time for marriage!" Too worried to focus, Fuku-chan mistakenly connects a call from Mampei to a foreign guest—a major blunder. An upset Fuku-chan returns home to a surprising sight.

Fuku-chan and Katsuko are confronting Suzu, who is secretly eating canned tuna despite her stomachache. Saki explains that their mother's reason for lying is that she does not want to be alone with Fuku-chan. While Fuku-chan is shocked to learn that she is the cause of the problem, Mampei, who is struggling to run his business, is approached by a man named Kajitani.

Fuku-chan is delighted that Suzu finally approves of Saki's marriage. Wanting to do something special for the wedding, she visits a place recommended by her best friend, Toshiko. There, she meets Mampei, who develops slide projectors. With his help, Fuku-chan plans something truly special.

Three years have passed since Saki's wedding. Fuku-chan has become accustomed to her front desk job. One day, she helps out at a party held by the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As she is helping a man dry his pants, which he inadvertently got wet, he asks her if she is Miss Imai. Confused, she takes a closer look at his face... He is Mampei, who has now become a successful businessman.

Fuku-chan visits Saki, who has caught a cold. On her way home, she runs into Mampei, and they decide to have ramen noodles together. They realize during their conversation that Fuku-chan had answered Mampei's call three years ago when she was working as a telephone operator. Fuku-chan is flustered while Mampei believes it must be fate.

Mampei confesses his feelings to Fuku-chan, surprising both her and himself. He then tells her to forget what he just said and leaves. Fuku-chan is confused, while Suzu, unaware of the situation, suggests setting up a matchmaking date. When Fuku-chan arrives at her workplace at the hotel, she hears a voice calling out to her. Turning around, she sees Mampei with a troubled look on his face.

Fuku-chan and Mampei are on their first date. When Fuku-chan returns home, happy about the enjoyable time she had, Suzu is waiting for her. Having figured out what had happened, she opposes her daughter's relationship with Mampei, a mere businessman. She refuses to listen to Fuku-chan and insists that she should marry someone who works for a large company. Then, they learn that Saki has collapsed.

Fuku-chan and Suzu rush to the hospital upon learning that Saki has collapsed. Saki is diagnosed with tuberculosis, leaving the family stunned. Mampei visits the hotel to ask Fuku-chan out on a date, but when he learns of the situation, he seeks a way to help. He finds a hospital specializing in tuberculosis and goes to inform Fuku-chan, only to be told by Suzu to stay out of her daughter's life.

Saki's condition improves slightly after entering the hospital Mampei found. Fuku-chan has not been seeing Mampei but is hopeful that her sister will recover so they can reunite. Her brother-in-law, Tadahiko, an artist, paints a beautiful picture of cherry blossoms for Saki, stating that although it is spring, she cannot go outside. Thanks to her family's support, Saki shows signs of recovery.

Fuku-chan, Suzu, and Katsuko are devastated upon learning that Saki only has a short time left to live. Saki had begged her husband, Shinichi, not to tell the rest of the family. Meanwhile, something happens at the hotel. Fuku-chan's coworker, Megumi, suddenly gets approached by two men, but she is not experienced in romantic relationships.

Fuku-chan had not seen Mampei in some time. One day, she visits Saki's husband, Shinichi. Grateful to Mampei for introducing him to a good hospital, he asks Fuku-chan how she truly feels. His words encourage Fuku-chan, and she decides to visit Mampei's office. However, the military police suddenly barge in.

Fuku-chan witnesses Mampei being detained by the military police. According to Kajitani, his business partner, he is suspected of illegally selling military supplies. Shocked, Fuku-chan seeks advice from her friends, Toshiko and Hana, but neither of them is able to help her.

Fuku-chan is struggling to find a way to save Mampei, who has been arrested for illegally selling military supplies. Worried, her coworker Megumi asks Maki, a dentist, and Noro, a kitchen staff member at the hotel, to check on Fuku-chan. Fuku-chan and her friends, Toshi-chan and Hana-chan, are about to storm into the military police HQ.

Fuku-chan storms into the military police building in the rain and nearly gets arrested, but Toshiko, Hana, Megumi, Maki, and Noro save her. Fuku-chan and her friends arrive home drenched, and Suzu is shocked when she hears what has happened.

Fuku-chan remains worried about saving Mampei, who has been arrested by the military police. One day, Fuku-chan hears from Megumi that Mitamura, the chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a prominent figure in the economic world, will be attending a meeting at the hotel, so she goes to ask him to save Mampei. Sera, who had previously refused to help them, is also there.

Wanting to see Fuku-chan again, Mampei endures harsh questioning by the military police. Fuku-chan tries her best to save him. Sera gains the police's cooperation and investigates the case, with the suspect becoming more and more evident. Chairman Mitamura decides to meet with a certain important person who is well known to the military police.

Mampei is finally released thanks to Fuku-chan's efforts. He is exhausted from the intense questioning, and Fuku-chan visits him daily to bring him a lunchbox. Although they have both come to terms with their feelings, Suzu, who still opposes their marriage, remains a barrier in their path.

In the spring of 1944, a year into their marriage, Fuku-chan and Mampei find daily life increasingly difficult despite heroic war headlines. With food being scarce, Fuku-chan does her best to prepare delicious meals for an appreciative Mampei. One day, Fuku-chan reunites with her coworker Megumi after a long time.

In the summer of 1944. The war situation in Japan gradually worsens. Katsuko takes her four children and evacuates to Tadahiko's hometown in the countryside. Fuku-chan and Mampei recommend evacuating, but Suzu refuses to leave, insisting she must stay to protect her house. As the year begins, an air raid hits Tennoji, a short distance from Osaka. Soon after, a fighter aircraft flies over Osaka.

March 1945. Fuku-chan, Mampei, and Suzu evacuate from Osaka, where danger is imminent, to Kamigori in Hyogo Prefecture. Mampei's cousin, Yae, accommodates them at the annex of her house, an old-fashioned dwelling with a sunken hearth. When Mampei discovers that there is no electricity, he goes to ask their neighbors to share a specific item with him.

It has been a month since Fuku-chan and her family evacuated to Kamigori. Fuku-chan and Suzu work in the kitchen, while Mampei feels restless with nothing to do, despite both of them telling him to rest so he can recover. Mampei goes for a walk and notices children catching fish in the river. He joins them, and as he is holding the net, he begins to think of a more efficient method to catch fish.

In the spring of 1945. Mampei has become accustomed to life in the shelter and starts to recover when a red letter arrives. The war in Japan is hopeless. Fuku-chan hears that all soldiers sent to the front would not return alive. Mampei steels himself, but wakes up with a severe stomachache the next morning. He is diagnosed with peritonitis and faces an even chance of recovery with treatment.

Mampei wakes up thanks to Fuku-chan's diligent care and Suzu's 100-prayer ritual. He has passed the critical phase. He enlists in the army a few days later, but is sent back the same day after failing an aptitude test. Mampei feels ashamed and frustrated, so Fuku-chan takes him out for a walk. Suddenly, an American fighter aircraft approaches.