Kayoko is a young girl in 1940, just starting first grade. She is something of a crybaby, a fact well known to those around her. She enjoys playing with friends, singing cute schoolyard chants, and occasionally having fun with her three older brothers. Her mother is pregnant, so Kayoko looks forward to becoming a big sister, though she only partially understands the responsibility that might entail. Meanwhile, the war effort is intensifying, and it seems only natural to be patriotic and support the country... Kayoko goes so far as to donate her favorite doll, whose materials could help build explosives. Time passes, and as she grows older, Kayoko witnesses how the war has affected her life and those around her. Nothing can prepare her for 1945, however, and the bleak times that are soon to come. Based on original creator Kayoko Ebina's real-life experience during World War 2 in the Showa era.