she is playing with all the children of Japan. Inspired by her, Watanabe realizes that it is not too late for him to do something significant. Like Toyo, he wants to make something, but is unsure what he can do within the city bureaucracy until he remembers the lobbying for a playground. He surprises everyone by returning to work after a long absence, and begins pushing for a playground despite concerns he is intruding on the jurisdiction of other departments. Watanabe dies, and at his wake, his former co-workers gather, after the opening of the playground, and try to figure out what caused such a dramatic change in his behavior. His transformation from listless bureaucrat to passionate advocate puzzles them. As the co-workers drink, they slowly realize that Watanabe must have known he was dying, even when his son denies this, as he was unaware of his father's condition. They also hear from a witness that in the last few moments in Watanabe's life, he sat on the swing at the park he built. As the snow fell, he sang "Gondola no Uta". The bureaucrats vow to live their lives with the same dedication and passion as he did. But back at work, they lack the courage of their newfound conviction. Cast Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe Shinichi Himori as Kimura Haruo Tanaka as Sakai Minoru Chiaki as Noguchi Bokuzen Hidari as Ohara Miki Odagiri as Toyo Odagiri, employee Kamatari Fujiwara as Sub-Section Chief Ōno Nobuo Nakamura as Deputy Mayor Yūnosuke Itō as Novelist Minosuke Yamada as Subordinate Clerk Saito Makoto Kobori as Kiichi Watanabe, Kanji's Brother Nobuo Kaneko as Mitsuo Watanabe, Kanji's son Atsushi Watanabe as Patient Noriko Honma as Housewife Themes Living Death is a major theme in the film, which leads to the protagonist Watanabe's quest to find the meaning of life. Initially, Watanabe looks to nightclubs and women to live life to the fullest, but winds up singing the 1915 song "Gondola no Uta" as an expression of loss. Professor Alexander Sesonske writes that in the nightclub scene, Watanabe realizes "pleasure is not life," and that a goal gives him new happiness, with the song "Happy Birthday to You" symbolizing his rebirth. Because Toyo is young, she has the best insight as to how to live, and is presented as the "unlikely savior" in Watanabe's "redemption." Author Donald Richie wrote that the title of the film,