Original subtitles

When the dancing circle is made

Be it small, as small as a pumpkin

A good and fair circle shall ye aim for

One akin to the moon at its fullest

SOMAUDO MONOGATARI THE WEALD

I'm not lonely.

There's no reason to be lonely.

I don't want to go. I don't like being away from home.

One I'm away, I want to hurry home.

I buy the things I need. That's all.

I don't like being bothered.

I don't like to bother about others, either.

I can just be myself.

My whole life has been centered on farming.

No time to play around with songs and such.

All I ever did was work.

Sometimes there was not even time to eat.

But still I feel best when I'm busy.

I have few chores to do at home.

...especially now I'm alone.

So on fine days I find myself walking to the fields.

Even though I've no work to do.

As long as my health permits I'd like to continue.

Being here makes me feel alive.

No-one wants an old woman. I'll just stay here.

Playing peek-a-boo?

No, hide-and-seek.

Hide-and-seek, eh?

I wonder how long I can walk up this slope.

Not much longer, I fear.

To be honest, it's lonely living alone.

It's good to be with your family.

I didn't think that when they were around,

Living alone is easy but it's lonely.

For starterts, there's no one to cook for.

No one eats my food.

I should persuade myself that it's for the best.

Just complaining if loneliness gets me nowhere.

I don't know the meaning of life.

I just live day to day.

I just...

...live my life without worrying about anything.

No point in worrying. Gets me nowhere.

It's good to be able to live like this.

But, in the future, I won't be able to continue.

I just live day to day.

Every day is important to me.

I'm satisfied to live each day peacefully.

The wind will blow. The future will come.

Without suffering there's no happiness.

Come again when I'm 18 again.

Being old is not at all entertaining.

Do you have to turn 18 again.

Certainly. I need to be reborn.

It makes me laugh.

Feels strange, doesn't it?

Have you finished filming?

Being happy or unhappy comes from within.

If you have billions...

and think it's insufficient, then you're poor.

For me, even a few pence make me feel rich.

He who's happy with a small portion is a rich man.

It's all within yourself.

If you're daunted by failure, you'll always be unhappy.

I believe that happiness comes from within.

The one who looks unhappy to others

may regard himself as being happy.

If a man's greedy and always complaining,

despite being rich and living a life of ease,

he's far worse off than me.

Happiness depends on your way of thinking.

I'm no prophet, but...

Don't forget this.

As long as I live...

As long as my life continues.

I don't mind dying once it's over.

No, you'll change your tune.

You'll want to be spared 'cos you'll miss it.

They'd be dancing in two and three circles.

You had to weave your way in and out.

I could barely get across the circles.

The dancers would rest when tired.

Most people would nap in the temple residence.

But the MC could never take a rest.

They had water sweetened with sugar for him

because he strained his throat.

The stage was festooned with red lanterns.

Everybody danced in summer kimono.

It was wonderful.

Be the circle small, as small as pumpkin

A good and fair circle shall ye aim for

A circle akin to the moon at its fullest

Hail the cicada who announces to the world

"I love you, how I love you!"

E'en the fireflies which fain to give voice

Do indeed burn bright their love

And you, you be the water spout

And I, I be the water within

Wherever you go

Forever I'll be with you

Now good folk, one and all 'Tis time to change

both song and dance

The next steps shall be

The Dance of Yatchon

You and I both are as drawstrings of a coat

Tied tightly together there at the bosom

A mist lays over the mountains so deep

For in the mountains a root is my pillow

The fallen leaves do my sleeping gown make

I'd like to go back...

Become a dealer again.

A big lumber dealer.

Wish I was 20 again. But that's impossible.

You believe in reincarnation?

Yes, I do, but I've no idea when I'll be reborn.

Hundreds, maybe even thousands of years later.

And I must be a good man.

I love the trees.

You said you hated them.

I pray. I really do.

I pray to be re-born.

Timber Auction

Nothing has ever made me happy.

So far, in this life, I've never found happiness.

It's true.

I wish I was younger. I know that's impossible.

I want to be 10 years younger.

Let's go back.

Let's go.

Why are we whispering?

The hills do offer up all manner of trees to be cut

Not willing to give up my love for you

I am as a withered flower after it blooms

Far more fitting than in bud or full bloom

This pine is from the temple grounds.

I'll carve a pounding basin for the villagers.

We can use it to make rice cakes at festivals.

This tree belongs in the temple forever.

This pine watched over so many festivals.

Be the circle small, as small as a pumpkin

A good and fair circle shall ye aim for

A circle akin to the moon at its fullest

Everyone seems to think they'll live forever.

They're greedy enough. But think carefully...

Few Japanese live to reach 100 years.

And Japan is famous for its longevity.

But folks in their 70's and 80's have limited time left.

There's no need for all this grabbing.

I wish at my funeral

...that my friends will say

"He was a good man."

Then pray for me. Now that's true happiness.

Don't want'em saying "Glad that bugger's dead!"

I'm serious.

They say that to be reincarnated as a human

is more difficult than distinguishing one single

grain of rice from the Yellow River sand.

I've been given life as a man.

So if I devoted myself just to earning...

and trying to make ever more money,

People would question why I was ever born a man.

Only humans can ever become Buddhas.

Animals, such as dogs, can never attain that.

Be the circle small, as small as a pumpkin

A good and fair circle, shall ye aim for

A circle akin to the moon at its fullest

Hail to the cicada who announces to the world

"I love you, how I love you!"

E'en the fireflies which fain to give voice

Do indeed burn bright their love

And you, you be the water spout

And I, I be the water within

Wherever you go

Forever I'll be with you

How I longed to dance to my heart's content

And my elders did give me 5 years of grace

I prefer the flower that has withered

Far more than the bud or the flower in bloom

Alone how hard it is to continue

And now I must take of my rest

Are you asleep? Don't fall asleep.

My love for my husband?

What a question!

Good question!

Gotta say something.

To be with her is to know love.

This is embarrassing.

Don't sit there.

No.

You'll get covered in shavings.

We cried, how we cried. I spent days sobbing.

I wondered why it happened to us.

We cried for days.

But, as I explained to you before,

the death of my son made us realize...

the sorrow and pain of others.

Just after his death,

we were too sad to think in that way.

Only those who've lost a child can understand.

My son's life was snuffed out so suddenly,

And now I have only...

good memories of his 16 years of life.

I recall the good times.

When you have a child,

you wish it to grow strong and healthy.

We really did take good care of him.

Then, just as he entered high school,

we were suddenly deprived of him.

We have no way to express our sadness.

It is beyond description.

In a city he wouldn't have had a motorbike.

He was unlucky to be from a rural area.

Even we thought so.

We also tried to console ourselves

by accepting that it was his fate.

But my wife was devastated.

We have a video tape of my daughter's wedding.

We never watch it because he's in it.

Maybe after a couple of decades have passed...

It would be too painful to look at it now.

Like the mountains, eh?

I prefer the flower that has withered

Far more than the bud or the flower in bloom

I grow weary of life and of song

Needs be that I must take my rest

What am I to her...?

As we age, we depend on each other.

It wasn't that way when we were younger.

Since our children left to begin their lives

we're more dependent on each other.

If one of us should die first,

the other must reconsider how to live.

While we're together, we continue like this.

I want a long, healthy life.

We're not sure what causes her disease.

It began with a tremor in her leg.

The doctor says it's Parkinson's Disease.

Since it's her right leg that's most affected,

that's what had to be fixed first.

The technique is to drill a hole in the skull,

and put a needle down into the brain.

Using a laser they cut out the affected area.

That destroys the rogue cells.

The doctor said that will stop her tremors.

I asked if we could expect 100% success.

He couldn't guarantee it.

If the needle going into the brain

were to hit healthy cells

she could end up like a vegetable.

It was a risky operation.

We had no choice. We had to gamble.

After the operation, she couldn't move at all.

Because of the loss of brain cells.

There are no unneeded cells in the brain.

The ones she lost had their tasks to do.

She ended up bed-ridden.

After three days of being in bed,

she slowly began her rehabilitation.

First, was the act of turning over.

Then, getting out of bed.

Next, putting on her shoes.

She couldn't manage one of those walkers.

She had to try walking without any aids.

I followed her with a chair.

Actually, I'm stronger. Plus he's 14 years older.

I never expected this to happen to us.

I mean, I got ill and he took care of me.

We never dreamed of that.

My hobby is to write haiku poems.

I can do it here at home,

or anywhere else, for that matter.

Wherever I am, even when I'm alone.

I'd need and opponent to play chess.

Eating a persimmon I vividly recall

memories of my late father

A good looking man, eh?

He was a hard worker.

He was 78 when he died.

No, 79.

I'll be 79 next year.

I want him to have a long life.

If we sleep in separate rooms,

I'd not notice if he stopped breathing.

Silly! I prefer to sleep in a bed.

She likes us to sleep together.

I hear him when he goes to the bathroom.

I wait for him to return quietly to bed.

Sí.

I'm always praying for his good health.

Even though he's near 80.

It always worries me.

You never used to worry.

Typical of O-type blood.

She's younger than I am.

She expected to outlive me, to care for me.

But she fell ill first and now worries that I'll die.

I know it's just natural. That's our fate.

Yes, that's right.

But I didn't want to cause you trouble.

Making you take care of me.

Big close-sup.

It's quite embarrassing.

I wouldn't mind if I was pretty.

I wish I were younger.

I was handsome then.

He's not bashful, is he?

He really was handsome.

My scented love took a citrus bath

What does it mean?

You should know.

The easiest of all poems to understand.

She took a citrus bath and I noticed the fragrance.

I always need an explanation.

Good poem, eh?

I've got nothing more to say.

That's much too close.

I must look happy.

I was born in 1930. My blood type is A.

I didn't check it myself. The doctor said so.

Enough filming. Don't torment an old man.

I'd rather be dead.

Don't say that.

I can't do anything for myself.

There's no need to do anything.

Your son does everything for you.

Don't waste expensive film on me.

You'll run out when you really need it.

You never listen to me.

You always say I'm inflexible.

But I'm flexible.

No, you aren't.

It's time for me to die.

Are you sure? I think not.

I'm prepared to die.

Prepared?

Yes.

So you're ready to up and die?

There's no need to prepare for death.

Just grab it.

Can you see me?

Can you see me through the lens?

I wonder why I didn't stay single like you.

He wonders why he ever got married.

But that's only because you married.

I imagine you had some good times, though.

But I wouldn't know for sure.

It's like picking peas.

You start by grabbing all the good ones.

By the time you get to the last one...

I'm just a left-over, aren't I?

About ten days ago...

My bird ate some bugs and he died.

When I went upstairs, I found him dead.

All living things are fated to die.

Living an ordinary life,

just like everyone else, was the happiest way.

That's the only way...

I had a tough life.

My mother had it worse than me.

I was there. I saw it all.

Her life was difficult.

She could recall the past in great detail.

But the present escaped her.

My sister-in-law kindly took care of her.

She lived with them for two years.

Otherwise I couldn't have worked in the mountains.

I couldn't be with her.

Then she died two years later, in January.

Two years after she'd left my root

Always on about wanting to come back here.

Then she'd recite the address in great detail.

And say she wanted to return home.

If you didn't watch her, she'd slip away.

Not that she could get far.

It was harder for me to bid mother farewell,

than it was when my father died.

I've had tough times but that was the saddest.

I didn't want her to go away.

But, realistically, it was impractical

for me to be there for her all the time.

Not being with her made it all the worse.

After her death I felt there

might have been other ways to cope.

A man's life is miserable.

I really think it is.

She never cried in front of us kids.

Always very dignified.

She fed us even when she went without.

So that's why I...

...I never married. So I could stay with her.

That's why I never ever got married.

I wonder which was better.

I sacrificed my life for my mother.

No one needs to, though that's what I did.

If I could've made a woman happy...

But I couldn't, so I broke up with my lady friend.

She cried.

I never even touched her. Not even holding hands.

Our relationship was pure.

And I never ever saw her again.

I had her photos and lots of letters.

But I threw them all away.

Will you stop that.

Don't film so many close-ups.

I don't know what to do when you do that.

Life's like the weather.

The days are either rainy, windy or fine.

Life is just the same.

I wish only the best for everyone.

There's the sun out now.

My favorite season, spring, is here.

I get happy.

How about you?

Don't you get all sprightly in the spring?

I wish that I could be reborn again...

Just to see my girlfriend again.

Every man lend you back and let us heave-ho!

C'mon lads! Give it all you've got

Dragging the logs is hard work, that it is

A man's thoughts do turn to love

Be it the love for a geisha

But such an affair is an expensive one

Let's haul on the log one more time

But who's not pulling his weight?

Dirigida por Naomi Kawase

Producida por Kumie

English subtitles by Stuart J. Walton