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The Garden of Words

Original title: Kotonoha no niwa
2013 · 46 min
Directed by Makoto Shinkai · Japan · Animation and Puppet Film
AnimationDramaRomance

Where to watch in the United States: Stream: HiDive · Free: Kanopy. Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDB; availability changes.

Cast

Miyu Irino Kana Hanazawa

Credits

Written by: Makoto Shinkai

Plot

Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches.

Sinekatalog’s take

Makoto Shinkai's short anime is a delicate story of a schoolboy and an older woman meeting in a rainy garden. Its detailed, glittering backgrounds are breathtaking, and its mood is wistful and tender.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

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Ratings

IMDb: 7.4 / 10 (61,762 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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