Who directed Studio Ghibli’s 1991 film Only Yesterday?

Isao Takahata directed Studio Ghibli’s 1991 film Only Yesterday.

The film follows Taeko Okajima, a 27-year-old office worker from Tokyo who travels to the countryside to help with the safflower harvest. During the journey and her stay, memories of her fifth-grade self return, prompting her to reconsider her adult choices and priorities.

Only Yesterday was adapted from a manga by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone. Takahata’s film moves between Taeko’s childhood in 1966 and her adult life, using the contrast to examine family, school, work, romance, and changing ideas of happiness.

The movie was notable for treating an adult woman’s memories and everyday emotional life with unusual seriousness for an animated feature. It was released in Japan in 1991 but did not receive a North American theatrical release until 2016. That delay is sometimes why viewers incorrectly associate its international debut with a much later production date.