Sixty-four-year old Mano, retired after serving 40 years as a firefighter, is a lonely old man. His wife has been admitted to a psychiatric ward, his son is separated from his wife and addicted to gambling, and several of his friends have fallen from grace by courting young students. His only joy is growing chrysanthemums and receiving the national first prize in the chrysanthemum competition with his flowers. But unfortunately, the people who surround him are all in dire straits. Among them are Mano′s worst rivals Kurose and Miharu. Kurose is the country′s top chrysanthemum cultivator but has a life that is far from bliss as a man without a family. And Miharu′s whole family commits suicide when the patriarch′s business fails. So through Mano′s efforts to beat Kurose, he comes to realize the importance of family. Mano begins to overcome his own ′inferiority complex′ that permeated post-war Japan, and uses his new hope to recover his family. Now Mano is tranformed into a man of nature who teaches love instead of competition by means of chrysanthemums. In the end, the image of Mano smiling at the chrysanthemums reflects that of a wise old man who has grasped the meaning of life. (Kim Ji-Seok)