Kawashima. He is in his early 30s.

His interview room: Behind the subjects are two windows, and between the windows is a radiator. A potted plant is on both window sills.

His subjects:

• An old man, nearly bald, wearing a blue-gray sport coat and a gray shirt. He tells a story of his near-suicide at age 20—and a sudden rush of visual images—of his girlfriend and his mother.
• A middle-aged man with a thick head of hair. He wears a brown corduroy sport coat and yellow tie. He wears glasses. CHOOSES A MEMORY TUESDAY
• Mr. Bundo, a cheerful young man of 29 with expansive movements. He wears a black sweater. He has trouble remembering details of a childhood memory—before the age of one.
• An old man with a pockmarked face. He wars a gray sport coat and a sweater vest. He likes to talk about sex. But on Wednesday he talks about a woman who made him a perfect porridge when he was ill.
• Iseya, 21, an animated and rebellious young man with wild hair. He wears a big green winter coat and black leather pants.
• Mrs.Nashimura, a tiny old woman with round glasses, her hair drawn back. She wears a brown-gray sweater and she appears to be suffering from a dementia. On the desk in front of her she arranges leaves and seeds she found in the grass.

Sugie. He is in his late 30s.

His interview room: Behind the subjects is a blank blue-gray wall, a wooden chest on the right, and a sculpture on the chest.

His subjects:

• Kori Yone, a stocky older woman with a big grin. She wears a blue coat. CHOOSES A MEMORY ON TUESDAY.
• A middle-aged woman with long hair. She wears a dark blue sweater and a necklace. She talks about the joys and pain of having children.
• A middle-aged woman with curly hair and a black dress and a big pink flower on her shoulder. She was a prostitute.
• An old man, bald, wearing a gray sport coat, black shirt, and brown sweater. CHOOSES A MEMORY ON TUESDAY.

Mochizuki is 22. He is thin, quiet, reserved.

His interview room: Behind the subjects are two windows, and the window sills are bare. We can see tree branches through the windows.

Shiori, a young woman of 18, is assigned to work with him.

His subjects:

• Mrs. Kimiko, an old woman, small, gray-haired, cordial. CHOOSES A MEMORY ON WEDNESDAY—memory of dancing in a red dress as a child.
• A teenaged girl with long hair, a white sweater, and a blue and white wool scarf wrapped around her neck. CHOOSES A MEMORY ON TUESDAY—later revises that memory and chooses a different one on Thursday—about the touch of her cheek against her mother’s lap when she was three.
• An old woman wearing a lilac and purple kimono. She tells story of the Great Earthquake and making rice balls in a bamboo grove.
• Mr. Yamamoto, 50 years old, a thin middle-aged man wearing a blue suit and blue tie. He wears glasses.
• A young man with short hair and thick eyelashes. He wears a large gray sweatshirt. CHOOSES A MEMORY ON TUESDAY
• Mr. Watanabe, 70, with a white beard, thick glasses, and a blue-gray sport coat and sweater. He sits there and says, “Hmmm….” He can’t think of a memory. On Wednesday he begins to review 71 videotapes—of all the memories in his life.
• Young man in a dark suit who chooses his memory late on Wednesday night. He remembers the joy of flying.