Studio Ghibli’s From Up on Poppy Hill is set in 1963.
The story takes place in Yokohama during the period of preparation for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Umi Matsuzaki and Shun Kazama become involved in efforts to preserve their school’s old clubhouse, the Latin Quarter, as the city modernizes.
The 1963 setting places the characters in a Japan experiencing rapid postwar economic growth and social change. The film’s restoration conflict therefore reflects more than a school renovation: it contrasts preservation of memory with large-scale redevelopment. The movie is based on a manga by Tetsurō Sayama and Chizuru Takahashi, and was directed by Gorō Miyazaki with a screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa.