The Garden of Words (Japanese: 言の葉の庭, Hepburn: Kotonoha no Niwa) is a 2013 Japanese anime drama film written, directed and edited by Makoto Shinkai, animated by CoMix Wave Films and distributed by Toho. It stars Miyu Irino and Kana Hanazawa, and features music by Daisuke Kashiwa instead of Tenmon, who had composed the music for many of Shinkai's previous films. The theme song, "Rain", was originally written and performed by Senri Oe in 1988, but was remade for the film and was sung by Motohiro Hata. The film was made into a manga, with illustrations by Midori Motohashi, and later novelized by Shinkai, both in the same year as the film.

The film focuses on Takao Akizuki, an aspiring 15-year-old shoemaker, and Yukari Yukino, a mysterious 27-year-old woman he keeps meeting at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden on rainy mornings. While Takao is skipping his morning class to design shoes, Yukari is avoiding work due to personal problems in her professional life. Yukari tells Takao nothing about herself, including her name, while Takao opens up to her, sharing his passion for shoes by offering to make a pair for her. When Takao learns Yukari's identity, emotions come to a head as both learn that they have been teaching each other "how to walk". Shinkai wrote the story as a tale of "lonely sadness", based on the meaning of the traditional Japanese word for "love", and uses shoes as a metaphor for life. The story's motifs include rain, Man'yōshū poetry, and the Japanese garden. The age difference between the two main characters and their character traits demonstrate how awkwardly and disjointedly people mature, where even adults sometimes feel no more mature than teenagers, according to Shinkai.

The Garden of Words premiered at the Gold Coast Film Festival in Australia on April 28, 2013, and had its general release on May 31, 2013, in Japan. For the Japanese premiere, the film was screened with an animated short called Dareka no Manazashi (だれかのまなざし; lit. 'Someone's Gaze'), also directed by Shinkai. The Garden of Words had an unusual release schedule since it was released digitally on iTunes the same day as the Japanese theatrical premiere, and its DVD and Blu-ray were released while the film was still in theaters, on June 21. The film has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America, Anime Limited in the UK, and Madman Entertainment in Australia. It was released on Crunchyroll on December 3, 2025. The film performed well in theaters for an extended period of time and was hosted at many local and international film events. It ranked highly on iTunes Store during 2013 and was selected as the Year's Best Animation in iTunes' Best of 2013. It won the 2013 Kobe Theatrical Film Award and awards at the Fantasia International Film Festival and the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film. Online reviews were generally favorable with universal praise of the art, though opinions were mixed regarding the story's length, plot and emotional climax.

The Garden of Words opens at the start of the rainy season in Tokyo with Takao Akizuki (秋月 孝雄, Akizuki Takao), a 15-year-old student and aspiring shoemaker, opting to skip his first class and sketch shoe designs in the garden at Shinjuku Gyoen. There, he encounters Yukari Yukino (雪野 百香里, Yukino Yukari), a 27-year-old woman who is skipping work. Yukari bids him farewell with a tanka (a form of Japanese poetry), leaving Takao puzzled as to its origin and meaning. The two continue to encounter each other and socialize in the park on rainy mornings, but never formally introduce themselves. Takao decides to make a pair of shoes in her size. With the end of the rainy season, he stops visiting the park and focuses on his work.

鳴神の 少し響みて
Narukami no sukoshi toyomite
さし曇り
Sashi kumori
雨も降らぬか
Ame mo furanu ka
君を留めむ
Kimi wo todomemu
[A faint clap of thunder
Clouded skies
Perhaps rain comes
If so, will you stay here with me?]

Following summer break, Takao returns to school and spots Yukari, discovering that she is a literature teacher and had been the target of gossip and bullying. To avoid further confrontation, Yukari opted to avoid work and retreat to the park, hoping she would learn to overcome her fears. However, she quits her job and leaves the school. That afternoon, Takao meets Yukari at the park and greets her by reciting the 2,514th poem from the Man'yōshū Japanese poetry collection, the correct response to her tanka, which he found in a classic Japanese literature textbook. After getting soaked by a sudden thunderstorm, both head to Yukari's apartment and spend the afternoon together. When Takao confesses his love, Yukari is moved, but reminds him that she is a teacher and that she is moving back to her hometown on Shikoku. After Takao excuses himself, Yukari realizes her mistake and runs after him. Still upset, Takao angrily takes back what he had said and criticizes her for being so secretive and never opening up to him. Yukari embraces him and the two cry while she explains that their time together in the park had saved her.

鳴神の 少し響みて
Narukami no sukoshi toyomite
降らずとも
Furazu tomo
吾は留まらむ
Ware wa todomaramu
妹し留めば
Imoshi todomeba
[A faint clap of thunder
Even if rain comes not
I will stay here
Together with you]

The credits show Takao barely passing his final exams, but still working towards his goals, while Yukari moves back to Shikoku and resumes her teaching career. In a post-credits scene, Takao revisits the park that winter, reads a letter from Yukari, places her finished shoes on the bench, then vows that he will find her after he has made progress with his career.