A Gentle Breeze in the Village

A Gentle Breeze in the Village, also known as Tennen Kokekkō (天然コケッコー), is a Japanese slice of life manga series written and illustrated by Fusako Kuramochi. It was serialized in the magazine Chorus from 1994 to 2000.

The manga won the 20th Kodansha Manga Award in 1996.

It was made into a movie in 2007, directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita and starring Kaho. It was released on July 24, 2007.

Plot summary
One of six students in a combined primary and junior high school, Soyo Migita (Kaho) is the most senior pupil. For her, school is a joyful experience with an extended family of loving little brothers and sisters, but her days as the tallest and oldest student are soon to be over.

Hiromi Osawa (Masaki Okada), a cool boy from Tokyo, arrives in the village. Attracted to him, Soyo tries to ignore the feelings that begin to occupy her heart and mind. However, she soon surrenders to her passion and learns to act upon her newfound emotions.

Main characters

 * Soyo Migita (右田 そよ)
 * Hiromi Oosawa (大沢 広海)
 * A boy who came from Tokyo and became Soyo's first classmate. He later becomes her boyfriend. He has a very good sense of fashion.


 * Atsuko Yamabe (山辺 篤子)
 * One grade younger than Soyo and her best friend. She wants to be a manga illustrator. She uses Hiromi as a model for the male character in her story.


 * Ibuki Taura (田浦 伊吹)
 * One grade younger than Soyo and her best friend. His house is a store.


 * Itoko Migita (右田 以東子)
 * Mother of Soyo.

Film
The film was shown at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival during the Contemporary World Cinema programme. It was later shown at the 28th Yokohama Film Festival.

Tennen Kokekkō was ranked as the 2007 Asahi Best Ten Film Festival Number 1, 2007 Japan Movie Best Ten Number 2, and as the 2007 Yokohama Film Festival Japan Movie Best Ten Number 2. Kaho has won two new actress awards from this film, including the Best New Actress award.

Cast

 * Kaho as Soyo Migita
 * Masaki Okada as Hiromi Osawa
 * Erisa Yanagi as Ibuki Taura
 * Shoko Fujimura as Atsuko Yamabe
 * Yui Natsukawa as Itoko Migita
 * Kōichi Satō as Atsuko's Father

Staff

 * Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita
 * Filming: Tatsuto Kondō
 * Music: Rei Harakami
 * Theme song: "Kotoba wa Sankaku Kokoro wa Shikaku" by Kururi

Filming location

 * Shimane Prefecture