In the winter of 1945, Sakura the elephant gave birth to a baby elephant at Tokyo Fujimi Zoo under the watchful eye of the zookeeper Shota Tanabe. Around the same time, Shota's wife, Setsuko, also gave birth to a son. Hanako, the baby elephant, grows up while deepening her bonds with elementary school students who love zoos. However, as Japan enters the Pacific War, the military orders the animals in the zoos of five major cities to be killed.
武田鉄矢
as Shota Tanabe (Tokyo Fujimi Zoo Keeper)
山崎久美子
as Sachiko Kogure (Akimoto's fiancée/Pianist)
萩尾みどり
as Setsuko Tanabe (Shota's wife)
水谷麻里
as Mariko Kurita (Director Kurita's daughter)
大山のぶ代
as Momoyo (Shota's mother)
河原崎長一郎
as Hideo Hayakawa
三上寛
as Kikuo Yokoyama (Akimoto's sidecar driver/Army Sergeant)
ラサール石井
as Genji Oshima
三谷昇
as Kiyoshi Saito
神山繁
as Masahiro Murakami
名古屋章
as Shoichi Takahashi (Director of Tokyo Fujimi Zoo)
目黒祐樹
as Chief of Staff
