{{Infobox film | name = Quill | image = Quillposter.jpg | caption = Official film poster | director = Yōichi Sai | producer = | writer = | starring = | music = Kuricorder Quartet | cinematography = Junichi Fujisawa | editing = Isao Kawase | distributor = Shochiku | released = | runtime = 100 minutes | country = Japan | language = Japanese | budget = | gross = $21 million<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=quill2012.htm |title=Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog |publisher=Box Office Mojo/Internet Movie Database |access-date=2013-12-23}}</ref> }} is a 2004 Japanese drama film about a guide dog, first released in Japan on 13 March 2004 and on DVD on 25 September 2004. It was also shown at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival in Canada on 17 September 2004. The film is directed by Yōichi Sai and adapted from the original novel by Ryohei Akimoto and Kengo Ishiguro, based on a true story. Prior to the release of this film, NHK produced a TV drama adaptation of the novel, which aired from June 16 to July 28, 2003. Plot One day in Tokyo, a yellow Labrador Retriever puppy is born among a litter of five. This puppy is unique, wherein he has a bird-shaped mark on his left side. Following a simple communication test, he is selected to become a guide dog; hence his first parting. After being picked up by dog trainer Satoru Tawada, the puppy is flown to Kyoto to live with Isamu and Mitsuko Nii - a married couple who are "puppy walkers", people who raise guide dogs for a year. There, the couple name him "Quill", after discovering the word in an English-Japanese dictionary. As soon as Quill reaches the age of one, he is handed back to Tawada to undergo guide dog training; this becomes his second parting. At first, Quill has difficulty learning the basic skills, but one day, while tending to another dog, Tawada notices that Quill is excellent in waiting - an important trait in a guide dog. During training, Quill is introduced to Mitsuru Watanabe, a blind journalist who has relied on a white cane since losing his eyesight. Watanabe, at first, is skeptical about using a guide dog, but after walking with Quill for the first time, he realizes that he can travel faster and safer with the dog. Watanabe then undergoes training to work with Quill; most