Original subtitles

A Shisso Production

December 16, 1989

Good morning.

How's it going?

A DEDICATED LIFE

Can the tragedy of Okinawa...

be considered greaterthan those of Kyushu or Tokyo?

Honestly...

one tragedy is enough in itself.

It's true if you go to Okinawa,

you see the US Army base and barbed wire.

A rare sight in Japan. Okinawa is small, too.

But for us novelists,

is the tragedy in Okinawa more tragic than any others?

What you wrote about Okinawa is a collective experience.

Why not write about you and your family?

If you want to write a real tragedy,

you only need to focus on one small helpless tragedy.

It doesn't matter how well you write.

Just focus on one thing.

Why can't you write about one thing?

I always wanted to have my own theatrical troupe.

My grandfather was Dainoshin.

Grandfather Ichikawa Dainoshin.

Sometimes, some of us joined him on the stage.

They had their faces buried between his legs.

They were really into it, too.

Only he could have done it, just like his novels.

He knows what to do on stage.

Exactly what we expect to see from a striptease.

He moves just like a woman does.

He knows how to get people excited.

He does it with a touch of pathos.

He shows us what he can't teach by literally stripping himself bare.

I find it grotesque.

But that's why it's so wonderful.

New Year's Day, 1990

Mr. Haniya, here's to your health and your works to come.

Cheers.

Yutaka Haniya, Novelist

- I want a theatrical troupe.

I don't care what kind.

I'm looking for actors.

I need about ten.

Of course, I'm the lead.

We will start off in retirement homes, and then...

travel to my hometown.

I will be a star.

It's better if we have less of an audience.

I just want to form my theatrical troupe.

The Traveling Player's Hinterland Theater.

We only go to hospitals and nursing homes.

One person I really want is Tokue.

Especially you. That's right.

You will be wonderful.

I mean as a supporting cast. A very good part.

You know I'm the lead.

You can play a stepchild who gets bullied.

I play the mother who bullies you.

I wear a wig and bully you like hell.

You try to resist, but in the end, you die.

He definitely has a feminine side.

He is a man, but...

sometimes I think he is a woman.

I suppose he's joking,

but he tells me he wants to be my stepmother and bully me.

Everything we do will be a tragedy.

Everyone dies in the end. I mean everyone.

Let me introduce...

Mitsuharu Inoue of the Hinterland Theater house.

That's a hit.

All shows will be sold out.

And I will quit literature.

He's the first person who ever understood me.

I think so. I do.

His love... I mean...

I really feel his compassion.

Maybe I'm fooling myself.

I feel really lucky to have met someone like him.

You're wondering if you want to get married or not.

Whatever you choose, you will be disappointed.

What is disappointment?

Don't play dumb.

You're always disappointed.

He knows.

You're no good.

He doesn't work hard enough.

I do.

I work hard.

No, you don't. You write trash.

You're not willing to learn.

You must learn about the human soul.

- I understand what you're saying. - Prove it.

You don't know how hard I'm really struggling.

- You have to prove it. - I will.

- Express it. - I will.

I'll show you what a fool I really am.

All writers are fools.

Mr. Haniya always speaks the truth.

I mean without ego.

That's why he allows you to be here.

You shut up and listen.

You are no good. What's with you?

Talking nonsense.

Just get out of here.

- You are no good. - Just don't say anything.

You're really something.

Just not today.

You want me to say more?

You just get the hell out. I will expel you from the club.

I have no more patience.

I said get out!

No need to leave.

I said out!

Out!

His eyes are so penetrating.

His gaze is pure. He has a look that makes you feel...

he's gone through so much in search of something noble.

That's the kind of face he has.

I really believe in him.

Sometimes it hurts and sometimes I don't feel anything.

And today?

It hurts a little.

Inoue underwent surgery for cancer in August 1989.

We have to look out for the spread of cancer.

It looks the same as before. We'll see if it grows bigger.

If not, we'll just leave it.

Are there symptoms of the spread?

Not really.

I see.

May be jaundice, depending on where it's spreading.

So regular tests are the only way to detect the spread?

I see.

No fever or anything?

No.

Mitsuharu Inoue Autobiography

Born May 15th, 1926 Manchuria, China

I'm sixty-three years old.

My father was a craftsman, an Imari pot maker.

He was very skilled.

He traveled to China.

He got a job at a hotel...

to work on a mural.

He became very friendly with a Japanese girl and she had me.

But my father was a vagabond and didn't stick around.

My mother got sick of him and married someone else.

Father: Yukio Mother: Takako

Yukio was a fine craftsman.

He wandered all over Manchuria, and contact was lost.

At the age of four, Inoue was separated from his mother.

My father disappeared and my mother married another man.

So my sister and I came back to Japan.

In 1933, at age 7, Inoue returned to Japan.

He lived with his grandmother and his sister in Sasebo.

He didn't send any money.

Back then, there were a lot of tiny shops...

all the way along the Sasebo River.

My grandmother set up a tiny booth and sold pots.

I helped her at the shop.

We three survived selling pots at the Riverside Market.

That wasn't enough, so we had to move to Sakito.

There was a coal mine there.

My grandmother and I gotjobs.

In 1938, at age 12, Inoue and his family moved to Sakito.

Chikuho Fuji - Coal Slag Hill

Thank you so much.

I'll ask again later.

Thank you.

Let's say this is an entrance.

We dig this deep today, and tomorrow, this much.

Aweek later, we dig this far.

If it catches fire here,

all the paths get destroyed.

So they usually set up a door every thirty meters.

Just like a submarine. They need to stop the water if it gets hit.

So if it catches fire here, the doors are closed.

Everyone here is dead. These guys could be, too.

But the worst ones are these guys.

They can survive. They can run away.

Sometimes they get locked up here alive.

So they suffer terrible deaths.

They close the doors regardless.

It can't be helped.

They all die.

I've seen fingernails stuck to the door.

They tried to crawl their way out.

It sounds very dramatic, but it's true.

And accidents happen often and miners die.

The job I invented was...

to contact the souls of the dead.

What all the widows really want to hear...

is that their husbands died instantly without pain.

That they didn't suffer at all.

I tell them, "Oh, the gas got to me,

and I died right away."

If I tell them they suffered, they wouldn't believe me.

My grandmothertook care of appointments, like a dentist.

"He's very busy this week. Can you come in on Friday?"

Reservations were required.

If my client's name is Fusako, I say...

"Fusako," I have to act like her husband.

"Oh, Fusako, I tried to escape...

but when I realized,

I was already dead."

You have to tell them they died right away.

That they didn't feel any pain.

You should also say...

"I was not a good husband, but I loved you so much."

That's important.

That's very important.

I was a very popular medium.

I was the only one who required appointments.

One day,

a Korean widow came.

I've written about it in my novel.

So I had to speak in Korean,

but I could only speak a little.

My Korean was so bad, she couldn't understand anything.

She got really upset...

and threw a bill at me and left.

She told me I was no good.

I thought I really blew it.

I thought I shouldn't do this anymore.

I told my grandmother not to take more reservations.

But she said "you're booked till Friday."

That was the last time I did it.

For me it was all fiction.

Medium and all that.

I didn't do it to make people unhappy.

Sure we made some money,

but I did it to make them feel better.

When the Korean widow came,

the fictional world I created was shattered.

You can say fiction is based on realism.

How do you handle the relationship...

between realism and your desire using your imagination?

That is the most difficult task.

What's at the base is realism.

My dentures are not working well, so you may not understand me.

The reason why old hags like us...

feel so alive at the age of 80...

is because of Mr. Inoue. Thank you so much.

Since I don't have any parents,

I told them you guys could act as my parents,

and they said OK.

My mother used to tell me that I had beautiful ears.

Mr. Inoue noticed my ears the first time I met him.

I thought he was very observant.

I've never told anyone...

or written about my ears,

but he noticed them right away.

The fact that he recognized my beauty at my age...

meant so much to me.

I used to think of myself as dull and ordinary.

I used to think I was no good.

But Mr. Inoue recognized and understood my beauty.

And he shared his feelings with everyone.

I felt so alive.

He gave me confidence.

Do you want to add anything?

That's good.

Sure?

That's really wonderful.

Anthem for the Chikuho Writing School by Mitsuharu Inoue

The public hall in the wilderness near Coal Slag Hill

The red sunset over Onga River

Our friend has a noodle shop in Tagawa

Lack of imagination and a pain in the heart

Dig it out with your coal picks

with pens and galley proofs

of the Chikuho Writing School

I thought he was 90% perfect, and I almost fell for him.

I had to restrain myself, and I still do.

Go ahead and read.

The faint perfume he was wearing attracted her to him.

As we all know, Ms. Nishimura is not a bad writer.

But she's making a complete fool out of herself.

She's taking it easy here.

The structure of the story is so compromised.

To write a novel is to resist easy solutions like this.

Anyone can come up with stuff like this.

You have to ask yourself 'is this usable? '

'Am I compromising? '

Self-questioning is the first process of writing novels.

Can you imagine what the readers have to go through...

if you write like this?

There are different degrees in liking someone,

but he is the most wonderful person I've ever met.

People say being adventurous is a privilege of youth,

but I really think it belongs to grown adults.

He is the most important person alive in my life.

Aging and death are inevitable fate.

We get scared, Ionely, and anxious.

But let us share the experience and help each other...

here at Iki Iki Retirement Home.

Please welcome Mitsuharu Inoue.

I met Mrs. Takahashi ten years ago...

when I started a literature group in Sasebo.

We also organized a group in Nagasaki and Hokkaido.

She was one of my first students.

My first pupil.

When he does this with anger,

he looks so tough and manly.

He is very attractive.

I like his voice.

I find it sexy, especially on the phone.

He has very smooth white skin, too.

I heard you had a child by him.

No, that's not true.

You didn't want to have his child?

Well, many of us thought we did.

I was struck by his yearning for motherhood.

I should say his desire for motherhood...

when he was very young.

He writes about it in his novels with such melancholy.

It's as if the ground is shaking with his desire.

The way he expresses it is so subtle that it stays with you.

He gives me a little kiss every time I see him.

Other women getjealous,

and he gives them one, too.

He's very kind.

Everyone goes crazy for him.

I mean all women.

He looks at us as women.

It doesn't matter what age.

He brings out the feminine side of us.

When you're down or longing to be loved,

he is an oasis of your heart.

He averages about 3.3.

3 out of 10 women.

That's right.

I think that's pretty good.

He doesn't choose. I'm impressed.

He excludes no one as long as she's female.

I've heard this song many times, but this is by far...

the most depressing I've ever heard.

I mean that as a compliment.

Usually there is a little hope, but her singing has none.

He always tells us...

"if you want to live life, you have to have fun...

and live everyday with vigor."

He is the one who gives me great vigor.

- But you suffered as well? - Certainly.

Can you talk more about that?

That's difficult.

I don't think I can.

That's very private.

I can't talk about that here.

You said you suffered very much. Is that why?

Yes, I think so.

It comes down to how one lived one's life.

I'm sure he suffered as much as I did.

I couldn't forgive him back then. I am a woman, too, you know.

He is the love of my life.

I guess I shouldn't say that.

Well, why not.

- You mean forever? - As long as I live.

Burakumin Liberation Literary Award Jury Meeting

Inoue and Noma have been long standing jurists forthe Award.

Hiroshi Noma, Novelist

Tetsu Hijikata, Novelist

What about Noma's opinion?

No, I agree with you.

The piece is too long.

But it would've been great without the first part.

We should make recommendations for both novels.

On January 2, 1991, Noma died of throat cancer.

Yesterday,

I was very shocked.

No, just kidding.

Psychologically?

I wasn't shocked, but I had to reschedule everything.

All my lectures and stuff.

Mr. Inoue, please come to number 6.

How are you doing?

Not much different, but I don't feel great.

This is today's,

and this is before.

The problem is here.

I see that the cancer is spreading to your liver.

What are my chances of survival?

The cancer might be spreading through the veins.

It really depends if it can be contained here.

I see.

Bring me some water.

I shouldn't drink anymore.

Even if my chance is fifty fifty,

I won't die right away.

I still have some time left.

I think I can do some work.

I won't write about how many shots I got, or what I thought about.

I will never write 'a journal on a death bed' kind of thing.

Like what I thought about today, who visited me,

and how many shots I had,

what I managed to eat.

I don't have anything against that kind of writing.

Sometimes, they show the process of dying,

but I won't write it.

I'd rather write a short story or tell a lie.

This is my own opinion, but...

if one fourth of the liver stays functional,

you can survive the operation.

We have to take out half of it.

The remaining cancer might spread.

Am I right?

Right. We have to worry about the residual cancer.

We have to stop it from spreading.

OK. So you may not be able to take it out completely?

Right. I think in your case...

the operation will bring the best possible results.

You don't think it's dangerous to operate?

No, I don't.

I will be able to drink in a few months.

The remaining liver will stay functional. No problem.

Well, I'll have the operation, as you suggest.

Please take care of it.

The 9th is good for the patient.

Let's have a toast.

To my surgery.

How long has it been?

You drank plum wine a little bit yesterday.

A week, maybe?

He said he may not be able to remove it completely.

The remaining cancer will spread, he said.

Growing and spreading...

The doctor said it's possible.

If he can take some of it out,

it means you will live longer.

But how long? I don't know how long.

It's betterto take it out than leave it.

- More than two years? - At least two years.

That's that.

Even a month longer will do me good.

This doesn't really taste good.

Bring me unrefined sake.

I'll put my things here.

Just what you need right now.

From the spring to fall in 1978,

I was madly in love with him.

With my heart and soul.

I wanted to read all his novels,

I ordered the complete collection.

It came in one big box.

All the novelists want to use their privilege.

He asks his publisher to send his books to the fans.

They fall for it.

The publisher sent me the 14 volume collection.

I was so moved.

The traffic was awful.

You look good.

Jakucho Setouchi, Novelist

- My students copied a sutra. - I already have them here.

My students' work.

You can read them.

I'll put them under my bed.

You should line them up.

They're beautifully done.

I put yours in here.

I brought you some Viennese sweets.

No wine?

No, but these are good.

This is for your wife.

I'll take it home.

These are Kyoto sweets.

This room is really hot.

AC is not working too well.

Is it on?

Yes, but it doesn't work.

I get used to it, though.

It's really hot today.

I think he looks better than before. He gained some weight, too.

I didn't get shots today.

You did gain some weight.

I can tell because I haven't seen you in a while.

I knew you were coming today, so I shaved.

I was ready to die when they told me about the cancer spreading.

I asked the doctor if it's serious.

She was there, too.

He didn't say a word for a while.

I knew I was in trouble.

He said I will have a few years after the operation.

A year or two? Who knows?

Are we ready now?

There's nothing to worry about.

Thank you.

You can't come in.

July 23, 1990 Operation

The surgery lasted over eight hours.

850 grams of liver was removed.

I think I gained a few years.

How did you feel afterthe meal?

I guess I felt a little better than before the meal.

Did your stomach feel swollen?

- No. It was fine. - I see.

I gave him a laxative yesterday.

- Yes. It worked very well. - That's good.

Too much gas yesterday.

- It doesn't hurt anymore? - No.

Your breathing is OK after we took out the tube?

Show me your tongue.

- I think you're doing just fine. - Thank you very much.

I know you're busy.

I heard it went well.

- That's very good. - Thank you.

You're my teacher when it comes to cancer.

You have to teach me the do's and don't's.

I'm going to need advice.

You're full of energy.

You were in intensive care only for a day?

What did you do with the other drinks?

- We drank it. - Oh, I see.

You have beer?

Don't worry about me.

Don't mind me.

You're a sick man.

It makes me nervous when my guests don't drink alcohol.

You're a patient. You don't worry about your visitors.

This is not your classroom, and I'm not your student.

You even try to entertain your students.

A lot of energy wasted.

No more of that from now on.

It makes me nervous.

You drink all night for them.

From now on, you really have to take care of yourself.

You have to realize your body is not in the best condition.

I can see that myself when I take a bath.

My scar looks like a Russian flag.

Just like it, really.

A hammer and a sickle. Like that shape.

When a new nurse changed my bandage...

she told me how pretty my scar was.

No more drinking afterthe class.

- More drink? - No. I have to go.

You take care.

Thanks for coming.

You have to be careful.

- I'll see you off. - No need.

You're a patient and I'm a visitor.

You're a sick man. I'mjust visiting you.

- Just to the elevator. - No.

You really don't get it.

Patients don't need to entertain visitors.

I'm worried about your classes.

You go there and entertain students...

by drinking and eating while your body gets worse.

OK. I will stop.

It starts now. You won't do this when you teach.

- Thank you very much. - Take care.

I was really attracted to him.

For a while, I thought he was in love with me, too.

His pick up lines were really great.

He asked me if he could have a picture of me when I was young.

I chose a photo of me in a uniform from my high school days.

I was going to give it to him.

But he forgot he even asked.

Now that I think of it,

he must have told similar things to other women.

He told me not to write about what happened between us.

He also told me he couldn't write any letters to me.

I couldn't help myself from thinking he was selfish.

He said he was free to do whatever he wanted,

but I think he couldn't do anything without his wife.

I mean, he was free because he had an obedient wife.

Thank you very much.

It's so good.

It tastes like beer.

I dreamed of this moment.

I brought it to you in the hospital. You didn't eat it.

I was waiting for this moment.

Because it wasn't fresh.

Tasty.

It's very good.

I put it in a refrigerator before.

That couldn't have tasted this good.

I guess so.

Lecture: Humanity and Literature

Hello.

Each man has his own destiny. Each destiny leads to its own path.

A path that no one else but you yourself can lead.

Your own destiny.

That's where all literature really begins.

From that path, you create your own sense of art, ideology...

expression, and style of writing.

You have your own sense of who you are...

and who you are in reality.

It's like having another self inside you.

Renewing the relationship between you and another self...

is writing and thinking about literature.

But to change the relationship, something's got to change.

First you have to discover yourself and the other self inside.

Then, you need to find another self to change that relationship.

By 'discover', I mean 'create'. Otherwise, nothing changes.

If you can't change it, you destroy it.

After you destroy it, a new relationship will grow.

Thank you very much.

Please let us learn from him...

that cancer is no reason for despair.

If any of you have family members suffering from cancer,

please let them know that as I'm sure his story touched all of you.

If you're having problems with your family,

you destroy the relationship to change it.

Now I want to introduce you to Mr. Inoue's wife,

who had to destroy her relationship so many times to come this far.

Please give her a hand.

See you.

This one is called 'The Story of Michio Kamizaki.'

He's a boy in grade school.

It's about a boy in the 6th grade who rapes a woman in her thirties.

He commits a several crimes,

he is a minor, so he can't get arrested.

It's his story.

People might be bothered about a rape by the 6th graders.

It's an unusual theme for Japanese literature.

If the author has a near death experience,

I can imagine him being gentler to the protagonist.

The author will not be able to condemn him so easily.

I don't think the author can be too harsh.

Sasebo - Atown where Mitsuharu Inoue spent his childhood

I haven't finished correcting the manuscript.

You brought it?

I did. I have to do it.

I have to send it out as soon as possible.

I have to do it now.

Can you fax them for me?

Please make sure all the pages are faxed.

Freedom is the most important concept in our lives.

To be free is not to expect anything from anyone.

In my novel, 'A Bold Life,'

the protagonists are men and women in their sixties.

One of them is an old woman...

who likes to go to a department store...

with a pair of scissors hidden in her bag.

A small one.

If she sees a beautiful dress on display,

she just cuts off the sleeves.

For her, it is a form of releasing stress.

She doesn't steal. She just cuts them.

I suppose that is a crime.

But she's not hurting anyone.

I think we can forgive her for it. That's what I think.

It's OK.

If your husband dies, and you're 65 or 70 years old,

why can't you be in love?

I say go for it.

Even if you're cheating. Just don't get caught.

Women especially have to be careful.

I'm no sexist, but they tell their best friends.

Then, the best friends tell otherfriends.

Then, everyone finds out.

You have to cheat elegantly...

and passionately.

When you grow older, you can do anything.

You have to change the relationship...

between you and the world.

You should do everything.

That's what it means to live life.

This year, we heard his song. May we yet again next year.

I don't know about next year.

I only have two years left.

The whisky tastes very good.

Maybe my cancer is growing.

That's possible, isn't it?

That means it's diminishing.

Nice try.

All you guys from Nagasaki didn't send me any letters.

You thought I was going to die.

No, you'll never die.

I wish they had told me I have three more years.

Not four years, but three. I would have been very happy.

Don't worry. You'll live at least three years.

I don't talk like this elsewhere.

How dare you ignore me at the hospital?

I don't usually say things like that.

I can talk like this in Sasebo.

I wrote 200 pages and sent them by fax.

It should be published soon.

- Which one? - The New Year issue of Gunzo.

You guys were thinking I was going to die soon.

I wanted to prove otherwise.

He always goes back to the hotel alone.

Seeing him like that made me feel Ionely.

I'm sure he felt that too.

We went to a couple of different bars.

He was staying at a hotel near the station.

I was staying somewhere else.

At the end of the night, it was just me and him.

It was a very quiet night and he was alone in the dark.

He said, "why don't you take your bag and come with me?"

I remember the look on his face.

I thought he asked me to spend the night.

I think he wanted to talk all night.

I remember that moment very well.

The whole scene.

It stayed in my mind.

A beautiful moment.

New Year's Day, 1991

Mr. Inoue has completely recovered, like the phoenix from its ashes.

May this year be full ofjoy. Everyone, happy year.

Cheers.

Since I don't have much time left,

I think I'll stop being soft.

I think we have to start from the very beginning.

There's no point gathering an empty headed bunch like you,

to teach and have fun for a few days a week.

Please make a note that our relationship is in danger.

I will cut you off.

So please take this seriously and work hard.

You might think I still teach, after all is said and done,

but don't even think that.

I can be friendly and charming,

but I can cut you off anytime.

I won't even pick up your calls.

I have rights to live my own life.

I mean, my remaining life.

This is my pillow.

Oh, I see.

For my hemorrhoids.

It hurts sometimes.

Many of his students...

were disillusioned and discouraged about life,

I think he really inspired them.

The students are very lucky to have him.

No one else does this.

He is passionate about teaching.

It took up a lot of his time.

Time he could have spent writing novels.

A lot of energy went into teaching,

so maybe one or two writers will come out of it.

Maybe that was his way of entrusting his art.

I don't want to force him to stop teaching.

He is very serious about it.

But I know he lost time and certainly risked his health.

This is the very common way of fortune telling.

Even if you're concerned about marriage,

it might tell you something about yourfinances.

I was born into the proscribed class, the Burakumin.

For thirty long years,

we suffered...

the burden of discrimination.

I was so inspired by him.

He asked us what we thought of the Emperor system.

I didn't even know what the word meant.

I was not even aware of social problems at all.

For me, Mr. Inoue's words were divine revelation.

He opened up a future for me.

This represents the past.

These three cards represent the present.

And this card is very important.

Your history, your life force.

I want to live by his words.

I can find meanings to move on.

I trust him that much.

The Gulf War

A Nun Goes on a Hunger Strike for Peace in the Middle East

Your complexion is better.

Really? I've been getting shots.

- You do look better. - Because I've been debating.

You told me you're all wrinkled, but that's not true.

That's a nice pair of socks you have.

You think so?

They're OK.

You're showing off, right?

Not at all.

It's just the way I held my leg.

He read my fortune with cards in an airplane.

He told me...

He told me that I have to get rid of everything.

So I came home and stopped writing a novel I was working on.

I met him at the right time.

I think my life did change back then.

So I'm really grateful.

His talent as a fortune teller comes...

from his ability to explain with conviction as a writer.

Everyone starts believing him.

Sometimes his fortune telling is a hoax.

He uses it to get girls.

He tells them...

"you will get a new boyfriend and that's me."

I don't do that.

This is where they start an operation.

We move on to 'The Temptation.'

Any comments from the author?

I got sick of reading it again.

The story reads like a popular novel.

It's been re-arranged like literature, but it's not.

A woman falls for a left wing activist with no charm.

The woman falls for him because she has no charm either.

You can make a comic book out of this.

The story is very simplistic...

and you just decorated it with big words.

I've criticized you before, but you continued writing.

I don't know his personal history,

but he is completely stuck with the remnant of...

his left wing philosophy.

This is a step backward.

It's written well and it's entertaining.

But that's it.

You should start from the beginning.

After the surgery,

my male and female hormones got unbalanced.

I can feel it right here.

It's true. Look.

It's true. He has a lump.

I have a lump here.

He has a piercing look that sees through you.

A look that makes your heart beat faster.

I got really desperate and...

told my doctor that I have a lump here.

When he flirted with someone in my presence,

I got so jealous.

He did that on purpose and,

I got so irritated with him.

Sometimes I got so irritated,

I couldn't sleep at night.

I felt so foolish. But I just couldn't help it.

I rarely get so stirred up like that.

In a way, it motivated me to write.

It gave me an incredible energy.

I really like him.

I don't know why.

This here...

is the second tunnel.

Here's the main one.

I worked there.

Sakito A Source of Inoue's Literary Works

There were a lot of coal mines around here.

The entire ground has caved in.

Near the second tunnel,

there was a Korean brothel.

There were two houses, large two story houses.

All the girls sit by the window.

Men line up in front of the house.

If he sees someone he likes, they go upstairs.

They all wore pretty skirts and had ribbons here.

Sometimes they danced.

On a payday at coal mines...

Payday is called 'ukesen.'

The first and the fifteenth were payday at the mines.

All the girls dress up, put on make-up, and...

walk around with bells.

On the 14th and the 29th, they danced around.

Tomorrow is a payday, so come and play with us.

Very dramatic, wasn't it?

It really was.

There's nothing here now.

You can't tell the railroad used to run here.

On this tiny island,

6,000 workers and their families used to live.

I'd like to ask about your first love.

I didn't go to high school.

Those who did had to go to Sasebo or Nagasaki.

So I ended up in the island trade school.

She was a year above me.

Inoue's First Love Tsuruyo Sai

I liked her very much.

After she graduated,

she had to go to work in Nagoya.

When she left for Nagoya,

I quit school and left for Osaka.

We left the island at the same time.

On the 15th and 30th of 'ukesen' day,

we made a promise to look up at the sky...

and think of each other. Then we parted.

I went to Osaka to go to school, but...

I found out I had to take an exam.

Since it made no difference where I studied,

I went back to Sakito and worked there while I studied.

On the day before 'ukesen,'

the Korean prostitutes marched around the town...

tempting us to go to the brothel the next day.

There she was at the end of the line.

She was supposed to be in Nagoya.

I was so stunned.

The next day, I gave my pay to my grandmother,

but kept some money.

I went to see her.

I didn't go to the brothel to have fun. I was only fifteen.

A woman around thirty came out,

and told me she was not there.

Then she asked me how much money I had.

She stuck her hand into my pocket,

and took the money.

Then she prepared a futon.

I slept with her. It all happened very fast.

And then...

I got really depressed,

like a girl whose virginity was unwillingly taken away.

I wasn't even sure if I actually slept with a woman.

I was confused and still am. Anyway, I left the brothel.

All the prostitutes were on the second floor,

laughing at me.

She was one of them.

She was laughing at me.

If she had come out and slept with me,

it would have made more sense.

But that was what happened.

That was my first love.

Rokufuen Retirement Home

Inoue's Grandmother's Relative

Who lived with Mr. Inoue back then?

His father, his grandmother, and his sister.

- So, four of them? - Yes.

They lived on this island.

- The father worked at the mines? - That's right.

Inoue's father, who went missing, according to his autobiography,

actually lived with them in Sakito.

"My father wandered around in China as if he was obsessed.

Then, he suddenly disappeared." - Mitsuharu Inoue Autobiography

Sakito High School Register

Name: Mitsuharu Inoue

Name: Yukio Relation to the student: Father

Nishisonogi, Nagasaki

Yourfather was in Sakito?

Inoue's Sister Tazuko Okashita

Yes. He was working in the office at the mines.

He did that and painted warning signs.

Father Yukio Inoue

So I was about to go to junior high.

Sakito is an island.

The mailman comes on a boat once a day.

We had to send in application forms.

My teacher asked me...

if I wanted to go to school.

I wanted to go to school in Nagasaki or Sasebo.

But a check didn't arrive by the application deadline.

I have forgiven him mostly.

I think he did what he could.

But that was one of the things I can't forgive.

He knew I was at an age to go tojunior high.

He could not have forgotten that.

So I didn't make it tojunior high.

Inoue's Classmate from Sasebo Grade School

I saw him at the exam of Sasebo Junior High.

According to his autobiography,

he claims he didn't even send an application.

Well, I did see him there.

Inoue's Classmate from Sakito Grade School

I heard he failed the exam.

He failed.

My grandmother went with him.

She was worried that he might commit suicide.

She couldn't take her eyes off him.

It was about an hour and a half boat ride back to Sakito.

She said she was really scared.

Then he went to the island trade school in Sakito.

He studied very hard there.

And passed the exam.

He used to cough blood and had nose bleeds often.

He was not in good shape.

Inoue passed the exam at the age of sixteen

I came up with a job to contact the spirits.

Inoue's Classmate from Sakito Grade School

- I heard it was a big success. - No, not at all.

At the mines, we were being watched by the company.

Sakito was an island.

We couldn't even run away.

No one could pull off schemes like that under the circumstances.

I read that he lost his virginity at the Korean brothel.

Did you know about this?

Yes. But I was very surprised.

He said the prostitutes marched around the town.

I didn't know about that.

Hello.

You know Inoue's story...

about Korean prostitutes marching around the town.

I've never heard that in real life.

Right?

Never seen it either.

Why would they march around the town before the payday?

How about his first love who appears in his autobiography?

Her name is Tsuruyo Sai.

Yes, I read it.

Do you know who she is?

I heard there was a Korean girl...

who was the top of the class. Two years senior.

There were a lot of Koreans working at the mines,

but I never heard of anyone who sold their daughter to the brothel.

That's probably a part of Inoue's fictional world.

There is no such thing as a perfect chronology.

Let's say we...

erase here...

and here.

This is summer and fall at age 21.

And this is the time line.

Erase here, too.

To describe everything from here to here is what we consider truth.

But we write what we choose to write.

Writing about this part, or here, or here, they're all true.

Let's call this A.

Then A+B+C...

is also the truth. But this is "fiction."

Because we made a choice to write about it.

This is the truth here. And here, too.

Let's call R+X.

So all the things you don't want to write about...

is R+X.

Then there is A+B+C.

These two formulas combined is what we call life.

But we never use both of these formulas.

Human beings have things they don't want to share with others.

This is the truth,

but what we choose to tell from the truth is fiction.

We can only choose a fraction of the truth.

That's why there's no such thing as a perfect chronology.

The cancer has spread into both of my lungs.

I went through various tests just now and...

we're waiting for the results.

I might need to be hospitalized,

and go through surgery.

After that, chemotherapy.

I intend to do my best to stay alive.

Please finish your meal two hours prior to the test.

Why not do it right away before it spreads?

It won't spread that fast.

There's no doubt.

There's some here under the lung.

It spread to the left side, too.

The biggest one is here on the left.

There are a lot of them.

I have to be honest and tell you that...

no surgery can prevent it from spreading.

I can't guarantee that...

a surgery can help you live longer at this point.

It is case by case.

I thought I had to have an operation.

So if you can tell me what you think is the best,

that would help me make my decision.

Inoue decides against surgery

He continues a traditional anti-cancer drug treatment.

He wouldn't drop dead just like that.

Our family is a little different from others.

I guess it's probably my fault.

People tell my wife "good luck after your husband is gone."

"Are you going to re-marry?"

They asked me that.

People talk.

Ikeko Ikeda

Beauty of Home published in the April 1954 issue

Inoue said he is a quarter Korean.

He told me he is half or quarter Korean.

That means his grandfather or grandmother was Korean.

I believe he's a quarter Korean...

if that's what he said.

We always gossiped about it.

He always kept it mysterious.

Okochiyama, Saga

Origin of Imari-style Ceramics

My grandfather was the Kabuki great, Dainoshin.

You think Dainoshin Ichikawa existed?

I have no idea.

I'm pretty sure Inoue has no relation to the Ichikawa Family.

Never heard of it.

Grandfather Dainoshin Ichikawa doesn't exist.

Excuse me.

I was told that his grandmother...

used to work as "damikou."

I heard that too.

"Damikou" Imari Ceramic colorist

I heard a lot of rumors.

I heard that she fell in love,

and had an illegitimate child.

That was the rumor.

- The child was Yukio? - Right.

The grandmother worked as a colorist in Imari,

fell in love with someone, and had Yukio.

He told me his real name is Yukio Kanegae.

He told me he was adopted by the Inoue family.

He is a descendant of Ri Sampei. That's what he said.

Sampei was a Korean craftsman who came to Japan...

and made a name for himself for Arita Ceramics.

Later he changed his name to Kanegae.

Have you heard that Yukio was a descendant of Ri Sampei?

Yes, I have. That's how I remember it.

I believe Yukio was a relative.

Yukio was the best craftsman in the Hizen area.

No one could draw as well as he did.

I remember him spending all his spare time...

working on erotic drawings.

I still remember one of his wonderful drawings...

of a lady having sex with a dog.

I particularly remember the joyful look of the dog.

She loves sake.

The front one is my grandmother's.

The one wrapped with wire.

- The biggest one on the left? - That's right.

It says Takashima, not Nakashima.

Saku Takashima.

- It says eighty nine? - Right.

- Her name is not Saka, but Saku. - I thought her name was Saka.

Here's Saka.

The relatives of Saka

Grandmother Saka

What's her husband's name?

- I don't know. - Me neither.

Never seen him.

She changed her name to Inoue.

I didn't know about it.

We started calling her Granma Inoue.

How come you don't remember her husband's name?

They separated right away.

We don't remember him.

My father's name was Yukio Inoue.

I'm looking for his father's register.

- Your grandfather? - Yes.

I would like to take a look.

Please fill this out. Do you know his address?

No. They all passed away so long ago.

- Yourfather's place of birth? - I don't know.

- Any information about that? - Not at all.

- How about his name? - I don't have any information.

We don't have a lot of family members.

Your grandmother's name?

I think Saku or Saka.

Yes, Saku.

I see a sister named Saku.

The old register may not be reliable.

First Daughter: Saku Third Son: Yukio

It says here brother and sister.

They were registered as brother and sister.

- Brother and sister? - That's right.

- Your father and Saka? - Brother and sister.

Grandmother Saka and father Yukio were registered as siblings.

I think Saka was abandoned by her lover.

That's why she was determined...

to raise Inoue to be a strong manly man.

- She was vengeful? - Yes.

She poured cold water on his penis when they took a bath.

And she prayed and prayed.

Inoue had no idea why she was doing that.

- Does it hurt at all? - No.

I just feel a little chilly.

- You can go home now. - Thank you.

- Take care. - Thanks.

It's warm, so I don't need the long underwear.

I hope you'll take this.

We're sincerely hoping for your recovery.

I won't refuse. Thank you.

To live or not to live.

If I thought I wouldn't live, I would lose all the energy.

Either way, I won't go away quietly. I'm serious.

Can you imagine what it's like?

- It's not easy. - Don't worry.

It's very difficult.

What can you do?

I'm thinking...

no matter what you say, it won't help me anyway.

I can't help thinking that.

You have a lot of energy.

No, I don't.

Can't you joke around anymore?

My doctor's name is also Inoue.

He asked me if I hurt anywhere, so I said no.

He asked me if I was sure.

So I said my feelings hurt.

Then he smirked.

I just don't want to die.

There is no revelation or sense of enlightenment.

I just want to live longer. That's all.

During this period, Inoue produced many pieces, as if he was obsessed.

Japan lost the war.

I wanted to go to Tokyo University.

But I had two choices. Either start my life all over again...

or become a revolutionary. I chose the latter.

I was the first one to launch a Communist party in Japan.

I was nineteen years old.

I was a Secretary General of the new Communist party.

Then, a real Communist member came and...

asked where we got permission to form the party.

I said "do you need permission to start a party?" He laughed at me.

I was under the impression that he was more interested in writing.

New Japanese Literature was the largest left wing publication.

It was the April 1949 issue.

His four pages long poem 'Song of Dolphin' got published.

He was so excited.

We were in a small room with a view of the bay.

We could see the ships.

A very picturesque view.

I read it aloud to him many times.

He listened to me and I remember he was very nervous.

I was touched and he was in tears.

That was the first and last time...

I thought of him as very pure.

I thought that he might focus more on writing.

I told him to decide whether he works for the Party or...

studies to become a novelist. I told him it's cowardice not to choose.

We got into a fight.

I hit him, too. It was a perfect chance to get back at him.

I joined the party for revolution.

He was in charge of Kyushu district,

but it didn't mean that he worked everyday.

It is so indicated in his biography, but...

He was sort of an errand boy for the Communist Party.

All he did was show up at the committee a few times a month.

I was in charge of payroll for the Party members.

To my knowledge,

I don't think he was ever seriously involved.

How can we expect a revolution if everyone has to get paid?

I made my point at the meeting.

Everyone talked back at me like bureaucrats.

They told me I'm the only one complaining.

No payroll, no revolution.

No travel expense, then no more trip.

So I wrote 'The Chapter Unwritten.'

I wrote that the Communist Party wasn't capable of revolution.

Inoue's literary career began by criticizing the Communist Party.

When he wrote 'The Chapter Unwritten,'

I'm sure he knew that he would face expulsion and he wanted it.

No one had written anything like it.

He also knew that his criticism of the Party would launch his career...

I was expelled.

I was the first to form the Party, but also the first to be expelled.

I think he was full of lies and contradictions sometimes.

Yet we stuck together and worked hard.

In that sense, I couldn't have lived without him...

during that period of my life.

It's a very precious time in my life.

Please leave it alone.

I got the CT scan results.

No hope?

- What's this? - The lungs.

A cross section.

This white spot is the problem.

But there's no sign of pleurisy.

Just in the lungs.

What's going to happen to that spot?

Well, the smaller, the better.

- It can get bigger or smaller? - Yes.

You think it could be smaller?

Yes. The treatment takes a while to see the results.

We need two months to see the result.

I checked a blood protein count and it's no worse than before.

- Need to build up strength. - That's right.

The lesions have gotten bigger.

I must say I'm a little concerned.

Compared to the last scan, it has gotten slightly bigger.

This is the cross section of his lungs.

You can see a cavity here...

and others where the arrows are.

Six all together.

A very expensive medicine from China.

It's called 851. It was developed in January 1985.

Long time no see.

Inoue's stage play 'Tomorrow'

Excuse me.

Tazuko discovered that her cousin is still alive and decides to visit.

I'm Tazuko.

Inoue's mother's brother Jitsuro Nakahashi

- She had a tough life. - Yes, I think so.

Can you tell us how Takako and Yukio met?

They were both working in Kurume.

I think he liked her first...

and wanted to marry her.

I think they loved each other in the beginning.

Inoue's essay says he was born over there.

In Manchuria.

I was born in Manchuria.

According to his autobiography, he was born in Manchuria.

That's a lie.

That's a part of his fiction. His imaginary world.

Birth Place - Fukuoka, Kurume, 1259 Nishimachi,

Father: Yukio, Mother: Taka, First Son: Mitsuharu

She was very quiet and didn't say much.

As a mother, I couldn't forgive her for abandoning her children.

I don't know why she couldn't be more patient.

I still feel that way.

- For abandoning the children? - Yes.

When ourfather wasn't around,

my brother and I studied our mother in the drawing.

Ourfather drew it.

Inoue used to tell me,

"How nice that you have your mother and your parents together."

He was a tough kid, but not when it came to that.

His grandfather said he would take him to his mother...

when he grew up.

He was looking forward to that trip.

It was his mother after all.

So I dressed him forthe trip.

She wasn't exactly happy to see him.

She remarried and had three children.

So Mitsuharu told his sister not to go see her.

He was turned away at the door.

He told his sister, "Don't bother to go see her. There's no point."

My brother told me it's better to imagine our mother...

than go see her in person.

When I went to Fukuoka on a school trip,

I tried to find my mother, but failed.

I lied to my grandmother and told her I saw her.

Then she started crying.

Mitsuharu Inoue commented in the March 1970 issue of Bungei.

I thought I might get killed during the war.

I wanted to meet the woman who brought me into this world.

I think I get on his nerves sometimes.

Because I also abandoned my child around the same age.

He was four years old, too.

So he thinks of me that way when he sees me.

When I saw my daughter again, he got really upset.

He told me I should have abandoned her completely.

I'm too sentimental and I don't qualify as a novelist.

He was really mad.

He was in tears.

I wasn't mad at you.

Like I said before,

I rarely tell people that...

I was abandoned at four.

When my mother saw me,

she got on her knees and apologized to me.

That was enough for me,

so I told her at the time that I didn't care about it anymore.

- You're lying. - No, it's true.

We didn't talk about it too much.

You think he's lying?

Even if he said he didn't care,

I don't believe he was able to suppress his emotions like that.

I really did say it.

She didn't have to apologize.

I never saw her again after the war.

Mother Takako died at age 75.

Mitsuharu's books were by her death bed.

I thought he saw her when she got sick.

Did he?

As far as I can remember, he did go and see her.

I think he went to her funeral, too.

That's what I thought, but I'm not positive.

- You're looking well. - I'm not well at all.

You gained weight.

- She got some souvenirs. - Pickles?

You gained weight?

- I guess I did. - Yes, I think so.

I think I look more sick with a robe.

You look sick as you are.

I'm expecting a doctor soon.

I think a robe is better.

- Should I bring it? - Yes, please.

The film is rolling, too. You shouldn't dress like an old hag.

Just bring whatever.

So the medicine is working.

That's nice.

It's not nice.

This is a Nicole. He says it's too heavy.

Where did I get this? Did you give it to me?

- I bought it with those slippers. - Right.

- That looks wonderful. - You bought this?

I got it when you were in the hospital.

Looks good.

Don't make the knot too tight.

You're not used to wearing a robe.

I never wear it.

You look good. You look very bourgeois.

You're being silly.

I haven't seen him in a while.

But I think he's doing really well.

May I see your tongue?

- Does it hurt? - No.

But I've been constipated for a few days now.

My feet get swollen sometimes. Not right now.

I understand.

Your pulse is better than I expected.

Is that right?

I want to live 24 or 25 hours longer.

I don't want this disease to get to me.

Judging from your pulse, you're fighting a good fight.

But your stomach is not doing that well.

But your pulse is good.

Much betterthan you told me.

- I see. - Really.

What do you want to do?

I can mail this later if you want.

Your hands and feet might get hot.

I see.

This will help intestines.

- This one from Brazil? - Right.

- This is a brand new. - How much?

It's a souvenir.

What did your doctor say?

He doesn't want to tell me anything.

That's true.

He doesn't even ask me if I changed my medicine.

So I have to figure out myself what to take.

If the cancer has spread from your liver to your lungs,

it's really a case of terminal cancer.

But I think you got out of that stage.

Dr. Nishi told me that this medicine works miracles.

He said he can call it a miracle?

I think he's alright.

Here is my card.

Return to the roots of healing: Passionate Dr. Red Beard

I must say I'm relieved.

Your pulse is good. This is a good sign.

You can call it a miracle.

The pulse usually doesn't get better...

if your lungs and liver are not functioning.

If your doctor doesn't want to say anything,

no need to ask his opinions. Just think about getting better.

Thank you.

He's not convincing at all.

It's just all words.

Doctor Red Beard lacks credibility.

There is a difference between...

expressing yourself and expressing what you're supposed to express.

Unless you're able to fill the gap, your words are not convincing.

How can I be sure of my progress?

No difference from my doctor who doesn't tell me anything.

There is no such thing as a miracle.

The problem is the dark spot here on his heart.

As you can see, it's getting bigger.

It looks swollen and probably is cancerous.

If water collects around the heart like this,

it's very important.

Important?

It can be life threatening.

There's a cancer here and the possibility of hemorrhage.

Acute hemorrhage can put undue stress on the heart,

so his condition could change drastically.

It can be more dangerous than spread inside the lungs.

The cancer has grown twice as big in the lungs,

and I'm sorry to say that the cancer is spreading fast.

One year might be difficult.

- Six months? - It's hard to say.

- You think three to four months? - Perhaps.

You dream often?

I can't tell if it's a dream or not.

The other day, I dreamt the novel of the century.

It was so great that I thought being sick was all worth it.

I thought I could just write it down.

I wasn't even sure if it was a dream anymore.

When I woke up in the morning, I was still excited about it,

but I was thinking it was no good at all by noon.

Then I came up with another idea,

and I think this one is pretty good.

I don't want to talk about it too much since I might lose interest.

It would be my last novel, if I were dying.

But then again, I may not die.

Possible.

Well, who knows?

It's a fifty fifty chance.

I keep thinking I want to live longer and longer.

I need more time.

Since people around me are very encouraging,

I feel like I have to hold on.

Excuse me.

I brought a lot of guests.

You're right on time today.

Please sit down.

Use those cushion.

I got frustrated, so I shaved my head.

But my hair grew back, and I wanted to shave again.

I kept my little beard here.

People told me I looked good.

I looked at myself in the mirror, and I didn't look good at all.

I looked like an old gangster,

so I shaved my beard.

I'll do it myself.

You don't trust me.

It's not that.

But you mess up sometimes.

The other day, we both tried to open this with a wrench.

It's good we didn't force it.

You have to push the air out first.

- No air, right? - No.

I'll do it.

Here you go.

That's it.

Sometimes blood clogs up in the tube,

so you put anti-coagulant in it.

After all these years,

I finally realized that Inoue conceals certain truth.

In orderto protect that truth,

he must tell lies.

That's how I feel.

He once told me that...

he couldn't have lived without lying.

His grandmother used to call him Mitchan the liar.

Mitchan the liar grew up and became a novelist.

He chose a profession in which he can lie any way he wants.

I think he made the best choice for himself.

You can write any kind of fiction.

That's what novelists do.

Being a novelist allowed him to make the most of himself.

It made him the happiest man.

Once you write it, then your fiction comes to an existence.

No one will know.

So enjoy the lies. Why not?

That's what I call genius.

An absolute genius. Inoue is as genius as novelists can be.

New Year's Day, 1992

Thanks for coming. You look really great.

You got younger since your husband passed away.

I'mjoking, but it must have been very difficult for you.

It can't be helped.

He was a good person and lived a long life.

But I want you to live a long life.

So cheers.

It's good. Haven't had a beer in a while.

It's a very mysterious disease.

It grows for a while and it stops.

I know I'm not getting any better.

But I do know that since I take all kinds of medicine,

something must be working.

I think my cancer cells are overwhelmed by them.

Your sweater has a nice color. Just like your wife's sweater.

Common medical knowledge is that...

you have a 10% chance of survival.

That sounds pretty good to me.

I was very good with exams.

So I can be the one out of ten.

I may come out of this all right.

I can be the one of ten.

Goodbye.

See you.

- It's too cold. - Yes, I'm going.

Good luck.

I can't go unless you leave.

Bye.

I think I'll go upstairs and lie down.

Thank you. You can have some of these.

We have beers too.

Yes, we have cold ones.

I'll lie down.

The hot water bottle still warm?

May 30, 1992, 2:58 AM, Inoue died at age 66.

Inoue Mitsuharu.

We've been friends for a long time.

I met you in spring of 1965.

I was 42 and you were 38.

We were different in age, but both had the same birthday of May 15th.

I keep thinking about the fateful day we met.

The doctor told me that it was a miracle that you were still alive.

That's because you wanted to live.

You wanted to live longer and continue writing.

I wish I could replace you...

since I always felt I could die at any moment without hesitation.

When I was in my 40s, I was convinced foolishly that...

a friendship between men and women could not exist without sex.

But you and I...

shared a long and precious friendship that proved otherwise.

Sometimes I think it was my destiny to become a nun,

so that I can pray for you.

But I don't really want you to listen to my prayers.

I want you to become a strong evil spirit,

and lurk in our world...

to accuse the human race of discrimination,

denounce the irrationality of the world...

and indict the decline of literature.

Complete the last chapter you have yet to finish in this world...

and let us hear it loud and clear from now on end.

May your spirit remain with us always.

Director / Cinematographer Kazuo Hara

Producer Sachiko Kobayashi

Editor Jun Nabeshima

Music Takashi Sekiguchi