Ivan Who Came from the Sea is a children's story about Ivan, a dog left behind in an unfamiliar Japanese port town by a Soviet ship, and his relationship with old Isohei from the town. As a story of receiving a being who has crossed the sea, it presents foreignness, loneliness, and the growth of trust in a form accessible to young readers.

From the meeting of a dog left behind in a port town and an old man, trust begins to grow across borders.