Hachi no su no kodomotachi

The plight of ten war orphans from different cities in Japan. With nowhere to go, they rummage through train stations, discovering an existence through black market work for a one-legged tramp while avoiding being picked up by the police for loitering. Soon, however, they find a more inspiring role model in the figure of an unnamed soldier who has just been repatriated after the war. An orphan, the soldier also has no home to return to, so he embarks across the country with the children in tow in search of work before settling on the goal of taking them to the orphanage where he himself grew up.