In 1895, Nonaka Chiyoko prays for the safety of her husband Itaru who is attempting to climb Mt Fuji in midwinter. If he accomplishes what no one has done before, he would finally build an observatory on the mountain’s summit with the intention of staying there alone in the winter. He will be able to observe the weather in order to advance meteorological studies even though it may be at the cost of his own life. Burning with a conviction that the country cannot be changed if no commoner demonstrates it first, Itaru has the support of his parents and younger brother but Chiyoko is absolutely anxious. She is convinced that her husband will certainly die of such recklessness if she lets him go alone, and decides to climb Mt Fuji together with him. However, this is vehemently opposed by her mother-in-law Tomiko who berates her that her place is at home, and Chiyoko apparently reconsiders.
