Mashiro no Oto

Following the passing of his grandfather, the famed shamisen player Matsugorou Sawamura, Setsu Sawamura leaves his little hometown. Matsugorou advised Setsu to give up the shamisen on his deathbed if he was just going to play in imitation of others rather than his own style. Setsu leaves his loved ones and travels to Tokyo in an effort to find inspiration in the big metropolis to develop his own distinctive playing style. Tokyo, however, confounds his expectations by obliterating all other sounds with the loud noise of its urban life. Setsu's wealthy and accomplished mother, Umeko, waltzes back into his life out of concern for her son and makes him enroll in Umezono Academy. He meets Shuri Maeda at the school, a young woman who is enamored with the Tsugaru shamisen and longs to play a song her grandmother had heard many years ago. Shuri founds a group dedicated to the shamisen and persuades Setsu to give the members shamisen lessons. Will Setsu be able to rediscover his love for the shamisen and find the distinctive sound he lacks as he gets more deeply involved with the club?