Inamura no Hi (1989)
稲むらの火
Tells the real story about the 1854 Nankai earthquake and subsequent tsunami. 5 samurai villagemen tried to warn villages to evacuate after seeing the tsunami in the distance and it fell mostly on deaf ears. They then set fire to threshed rice in order to have the villagers run up to the fields in order to put out the fire thinking the whole crop is on fire. The plan worked and almost every village member ran up as the rice crops were their only livelihood. The tsunami came and the whole villages below were destroyed thus saving the villagers from death.
Synopsis
Tells the real story about the 1854 Nankai earthquake and subsequent tsunami. 5 samurai villagemen tried to warn villages to evacuate after seeing the tsunami in the distance and it fell mostly on deaf ears. They then set fire to threshed rice in order to have the villagers run up to the fields in order to put out the fire thinking the whole crop is on fire. The plan worked and almost every village member ran up as the rice crops were their only livelihood. The tsunami came and the whole villages below were destroyed thus saving the villagers from death.