Ozu didn't use dissolves to transition to new scenes. Instead he used what are called his "pillow shots" or "intermediate spaces" as transitions between scenes. These are "still life or neutral images in films that serve as visual and emotional resting points." The opening of the film, for example, has five shots of the port town of Onomichithe bay, schoolchildren, a passing train $-$ before revealing the grandparents packing. What could someone assert that the function that these shots serves?