The Lion Dance

Yuya Kita, a boy born and raised in Osaka, is left in the care of Matsujiro Kita, an artisan who crafts traditional Japanese lion masks using the unique papier mache and lacquer techniques of the Kagawa area. Yuya's mother is a nurse, and the two of them were living together after her divorce, but in order to save enough money to send her son to a private junior high school, she changes her shift over to the emergency ward, which pays a higher wage, and sends Yuya to live at her parents' house for the time being. Matsujiro tells Yuya, 'The lion in your dreams wants you to make it dance. If you make the lion dance, it will make your wish come true.'