Plot
Rhapsody in August is a tale of three generations and their responses to the atomic bombing of Japan. Kane is an elderly woman whose husband was killed in the bombing of Nagasaki. Next, come her two children and their spouses, all of whom grew up in postwar Japan, as well as their Nisei cousin Clark (played by Richard Gere) who grew up in America. Finally, there are Kane's four grandchildren, who were born after the Japanese economic miracle and provide most of the dialogue in the film.
Kane's grandchildren come to visit her at her rural home on Kyūshū one summer while their parents visit a man who may or may not be Kane's brother in Hawaii. Like most children, they are bored out of their minds, find her cooking to be disgusting, and escape to the urban environment of Nagasaki the first chance they get. While in Nagasaki the children visit the spot where their grandfather was killed in 1945 and become aware of the atomic bombing for the first time in their lives. They slowly come to have more respect for their grandmother and also grow to question the United States for dropping the Bomb.
In the meantime they receive a telegram from their American cousins, who turn out to be rich and offer the parents a job managing their pineapple fields in Hawaii. Matters are complicated when, in their response, the grandchildren mention the attack, which infuriates their parents. To smooth things over, one of the Japanese-Americans (Clark) travels to Japan to be with Kane for the anniversary. While there, Kane and the grandchildren reconcile with Clark over the bombing.
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