Original subtitles

Loose the arrows!

Gassan-Toda Castle was a famous impregnable castle.

But the three year-long relentless attacks by the Mori...

...finally made the castle fall in November, 1566 (Eiroku 9).

The Amago surrendered.

Motonari never indulged himself to the sensation of victories.

"Letter of Teachings for Three Sons" (Mori Museum) - In his letter, too,

Motonari wrote, "Remember that the Mori are hated by people in the provinces we conquered."

"I killed so many people,"

"Sooner or later, I must reap what I sowed. That makes me depressed."

"Nobody thinks favorably of the Mori people."

Motonari was a general who was able to reflect on his own life.

MORI MOTONARI

Final Episode: Live Well, Die Well

Screenplay by: Uchidate Makiko

Original Story by: Nagai Michiko

Music by: Watanabe Toshiyuki

Theme Song Performed by: NHK Symphony Orchestra Music Performed by: Concert Regnie

Title Calligraphy by: Mori Motonari Narration by: Hirano Keiko

CAST

Mori Motonari: Nakamura Hashinosuke

Mori Terumoto and Shojumaru: Morita Tsuyoshi

Lady Toshi: Otsuka Nene

Eno: Takahashi Yumiko

Kikkawa Motoharu: Matsushige Yutaka Kobayakawa Takakage: Megumi Toshiaki

Ko: Akimoto Naomi Sayo: Tanaka Hiroko

Princess Tama: Matsumoto Megumi Mimi: Nishina Fuki

Shishido Takaie: Kase Taishu Inoue Harutada: Namase Katsuhisa

Hirasa Nariari: Sato B-saku Physician: Sakai Toshiya

Lady Mii: Tomita Yasuko Mori Takamoto: Kamikawa Takaya

Fujino: Kaga Mariko Watanabe Suguru: Enoki Takaaki

Katsura Hirozumi: Kusakari Masao Shiji Hiroyoshi: Nakamura Baijaku

Ouchi Yoshioki: Hosokawa Toshiyuki Ouchi Yoshitaka: Kazama Toru

Hisa: Matsukane Yoneko

Kosanta: Nasa Kenji Tami: Hirano Keiko

Amago Haruhisa: Takashima Masahiro Hotate Naomasa: Harada Yoshio

Lady Sugi: Matsuzaka Keiko

Sue Harukata: Jinnai Takanori Inoue Motokane: Kataoka Tsurutaro

Kikkawa Okitsune: Kyomoto Masaki Mukunashi Kagekatsu: Funaki Kazuo

Aio Mototsuna: Nishijima Hidetoshi

Era Fusahide: Takaoka Kenji Amago Kunihisa: Shimizu Koji

Amago Tsunehisa: Ogata Ken

Tae: Miyamoto Nobuko

Produced by: Kida Yukinori

English Subtitles: Koala Fansubs

Directed by: Matsuoka Koji

He's so handsome.

Motonari, who got over a serious illness,

had another child with Sayo.

He was 71-years-old.

The following year, 1568 (Eiroku 11),

Takamoto's bereaved son, Terumoto, married Eno's daughter, Princess Tama.

In 1570 (Genki 1),

Terumoto went to battle in Izumo, to quell the Amago's rebellion.

Attack!

Attack!

Hip, hip, hurray!

Hip, hip, hurray!

Sire, I would like to congratulate you on your victory of this battle.

That was very good.

We're almost there, sire.

Yeah.

Well, Father must be getting old.

He should have crushed the Amago clan when he took Gassan-Toda Castle.

Right.

He showed mercy and saved them.

That's why we have to fight the Amago remenants now.

Great Lord showing mercy?

That makes me really worried.

No worry.

He's thick skinned. He'll live to be 100-years-old.

That's possible.

Hirasa-dono arrived.

Ah, Nariari. Come over here.

- I received news that Great Lord fell ill. - What?

He's not doing well this time.

Please go back to Yoshida immediately.

I, Takaie, will take care of the Amago remnants.

- Please go back. - I'm staying here, too.

Takakage, go back with Terumoto.

-Yes! - Sire.

On June 13, 1571 (Genki 2),

Motonari fell into a critical condition.

Father.

Great Lord.

Everybody is here.

- Father. - Great Lord.

Father.

Hell...

He's saying, "Hell."

What is he talking about?

He's going to heaven.

I...

...killed people in battles.

We live in a war-torn era.

You'd get killed if you didn't kill them.

Buddha will understand that, Father.

- Father. - Father.

- Stay with us! - Father.

I'm scared.

I'm scared...

- Father. - Father.

-Father. - Stay with us.

- Father. - Father.

Stay with us.

Great Lord.

It's been a while.

Oh, my.

The Mori have a lot more women now.

But nobody is as pretty as me.

Mii, and...

Mother.

Shut up.

Don't call me Mother. It sounds like Granny.

Tae-sama.

You must be Tae-sama.

Were you in hell?

Tae-sama.

Thank you so much for your help.

You're welcome.

- You look younger, Mother. - Hey.

Great Lord.

The time has come.

We've been waiting for you.

Shiji.

Hisa.

Weren't you...

...dead?

We died a long time ago.

Father.

Takamoto.

It's been a while.

Ah, Takamoto.

- You're looking great. - Looking great.

I'm glad to see you, Father.

- You're doing great, Terumoto. - Everyone.

We should enjoy this reunion. Let's go to the hall.

Let's go.

- Let's go. - Let's go.

Your Ladyship.

Great Lord.

Let's join them.

Hey, Tae.

Why aren't you surprised?

This can't be real.

It's O.K.

I'm glad to meet everyone.

Still...

Hey, Tae.

I've never seen them.

Who are those boys?

They're me.

- Tae. - Yes?

They're younger me.

Ah, Motonari.

I've grown old.

Well, you lived a long life of 75 years.

Well done.

Oh.

My father was cute, wasn't he?

True.

I'm glad you came over.

You are all good women.

They are so cute.

- Oh, my. - Come on.

Father already knew how to flirt as a child.

How sassy he was.

How true.

Motonari-dono is...

He's going to hell.

Well, well.

I've never seen a man like him, who maneuvered and conspired a lot.

Ouchi-dono, do you thinks so, too?

There you are, Motonari-dono.

You made us suffer a lot when we were alive.

You crushed my clan during my generation.

So I was apologizing to my father.

You really tore the Amago into pieces.

How persistent of you.

I am amazed.

I...

...am not surprised any more.

You must have come from the other world.

So you must already know.

Heaven or hell...

Which way am I going?

Well.

I know I'm going to hell.

But...

You're going to hell.

- Motonari-dono. - Yes.

How many battles did you fight?

Over 200.

How many people did you kill?

You're going to hell.

Take a moment to ask yourself.

You were infamous for your plotting.

Haruhisa-dono.

He learned that from your grandfather,

Amago Tsunehisa-dono.

The more schemes you use, the more chances of winning.

Even my grandfather didn't think he would go this far.

Motonari-dono, you used maneuvering to destroy...

...not only the Amago and the Ouchi...

...but also the Sue, the Kikkawa and the Takahashi.

All those prestigious clans in Chugoku were destroyed by you.

Maneuvering sounds better, but...

...what you did is deceptive scheming.

You will never go to heaven.

I know.

I just...

...wanted to ask.

Wait a minute.

Men's jealousy is worse than women's.

You are mad at Motonari, because you were destroyed by him.

Motonari did cruel things as a warlord.

But, as his mother, let me say only this.

Motonari was a fine son.

You can't tell if he's going to hell, from only the viewpoint of warlords.

Do you think so?

Hey.

Hey, Mii.

Do you think so?

He was a kind-hearted husband.

He was a fine husband.

Here we go.

Don't lose.

Break them.

Good.

- But... - But?

Am I going to hell?

No, you must be going to heaven.

Right, Your Ladyship.

Um... Yes.

He lost his parents as a child but survived through turbulent times.

How can he be sent to hell? Right, Hisa?

Yes.

Instead of human sacrifices, he buried a stone saying "A Million for One Heart".

He showed mercy even to lowly people.

When we holed up in the castle,

he let his people stay inside the castle.

Nobody else can do that.

I'm sure Buddha will call him over to heaven.

Hey.

- Hey, Tae. - Yes?

Aren't they forcing themselves to sound brightly?

I didn't know you in your early days.

But, as long as I've known you,

you've always done your best in your position...

...and you never became arrogant.

It's likely that you're going to heaven.

But...

Motonari-dono schemed too many times.

He took an advantage of the Kobayakawa's infighting...

...and had Mukunashi kill some vassals.

He successfully took the Kobayakawa in.

Not only that. He took the Kikkawa in.

The Kikkawa head Okitsune was cornered, defied and killed by Motonari.

Even Senboshi was...

He didn't have to kill a child.

He used false letters to frame and kill Amago Kunihisa...

...to kill Era Fusahide.

Finally, he lured Sue Harukata out to Itsukushima and killed him.

Each time, he didn't soil his hands.

He kept scheming to take people's lives.

That's right.

But...

But we live in a war-torm era.

What else could I do to survive?

If I didn't do that,

I couldn't protect my family and vassals.

I...

I...

To protect precious ones,

I had no other choice!

As you claimed so,

you conquered Chugoku before I knew it.

Those who plan to invade other areas,

they all say they are trying to protect precious ones.

You're just saying self-serving justification.

You're a real villain.

Motonari.

Go to hell.

You are wrong.

You can't regard maneuvering as scheming.

My husband Motonari made the most use of his brains as a weapon.

He protected his family and vassals to the end.

You are mad at him and cannot forgive him,

simply because you're losers!

I'm feeling sorrow from the bottom of my heart.

Although he was my enemy,

he and I fought for life, racked our brains,

and were desperate against each other.

He and I lived with the same feelings. So I can�ft hate him.

We are losers.

We just didn't have luck in battle.

I don't hate you.

The Amago clan's hatred is deep!

At Gassan-Toda Castle,

Amago soldiers were forced to be starved to death.

Their agonies...

I, Amago Haruhisa,

won't forget.

I'm going to hell.

They say hell is the most dreadful place.

I don't want the Great Lord to experience it. That's too horrible.

Great Lord.

You have one way to go to heaven.

Use your specialty, maneuvering, to trick the King of Hell.

Trick the King of Hell?

Sounds good.

Hey, Fujino.

Why are you looking younger...

...than when you died?

Great Lord, Fujino remained unrequited when she was alive.

She's now a couple with Watanabe-dono in the other world.

The other world has a remedy for ugly women.

Hey.

What do you think?

Am I likely...

...to go to heaven?

I'll spank your hand, you know?

I, Watanabe Suguru,

devoted myself to martial arts in this world.

In the other world, I devote myself to sex.

Sex?

After all, martial arts are just the art of killing people.

Sex is the art of love.

That's not what I'm asking.

What do you think?

Can I go to heaven?

Hey.

Answer my question!

No! You've got a bad hand!

Oh, how can you...

Hirozumi.

Hotate-dono.

We came to build a ship.

A ship?

Right.

A ship for your journey, Great Lord.

My journey?

Your ship will be ready by sunrise, when the roosters cry.

Am I...

...dying at sunrise, when the roosters cry?

That's right.

Oh, Hotate-dono.

Where...

...does the ship go?

We'll build a fine one for you.

Hey, let's begin.

Hey.

Hotate-dono.

Hota...

Great Lord.

It's been a while.

Kosanta!

Thanks for working for the Great Lord, even after you died.

I, Kosana,

worked loyally for the Great Lord, simply because of you, Mii-sama.

Great Lord.

You must have noticed.

Sorry.

Great Lord.

I...

...married a woman in the other world.

My name is Tami.

I was working as a ninja in Iga.

I met Kosanta in the other world.

We're happily married.

- Give me the plan of the ship, Tami. - Yes.

This ship will be built to run through the ocean-like sky, right?

Buddha told you to build a ship,

because he's calling the Great Lord to heaven?

Actually, Buddha told us...

...to build a ship that also can go underground.

Oh...

When I heard the words from Buddha,

I thought, "As I feared, the Great Lord is going to hell."

Katsura-dono.

Katsura-dono.

How does Buddha screen the people going to hell...

...and the people going to heaven?

Everyone has done one or two mistakes...

...that makes him deserve to go to hell.

We don't really know what Buddha thinks.

As for Great Lord,

he not only smashed enemies by maneuvering

but he also was a trouble-making head for vassals.

He's timid.

Instead of going after rulership,

he was only engrossed in having a life he's worthy of.

- He was cautious. - But...

Quite a few of his vassals wanted to utilize their power...

...and try to rule this country.

He couldn't even persuade them.

What did he do instead?

He killed them all.

He killed me...

...and his younger brother, Mototsuna-dono.

He killed Watanabe-dono...

...and Inoue-dono.

He got rid of all the nuisances from the Mori clan.

The Mori clan has a bloody history.

Going to hell isn't enough for the Great Lord.

As a warlord,

my father is the best that I know of.

But...

...he did something unforgiveable for a human being.

Takamoto.

You're too cold-hearted.

To protect the Mori, he rose when he was 59-years-old.

During the Battle at Itsukushima,

he fought bravely against the Sue army four times bigger.

And he brought victory to the Mori.

Age 59 is when everybody wants to protect their life.

- Such a fine warlord... - Buddha will never forgive...

...people who violated basic human values!

Buddha won't forgive them.

A person, who killed people with scheming,

must atone for what he has done.

Takamoto.

People, who schemed too much,

will not be forgiven by Buddha.

Takamoto is right.

I...

...have been deceiving people.

Even if I win, nobody praises me.

How sad.

Even my child...

Even my precious child...

I'm...

I'm all done...

My father Motonari is the best warlord in Western Japan.

I'm absolutely no match for him.

Right, I couldn't beat him at all.

The Mori have marvelous solidarity.

I said I hated Motonari-dono, but...

...I think I was just being jealous.

If I established a strong solidarity in the Amago,

the clan would have been safe.

That's what fate is.

Well.

If this abundant land of Izumo will be brightened by someone else,

that would be great.

Izumo is the land of gods.

It's a treasure for all Japanese.

Tsunehisa, Kunihisa, I...

...and all Amago people lived more than full lives and died.

I lived in the same period as Motonari-dono...

...and fought him.

I'm proud of that.

Thanks for your words.

I thank you for my father.

It got quite late.

I saw every one again...

...and realized something.

We all lived in the same decades, didn't we?

We laughed, got mad, and cried.

That's how we all lived.

Shiji.

Yes.

If...

...I were born again...

...I wouldn't kill anyone.

I wouldn't pick on anyone nor scheme against anyone.

I would cherish people who live in the same decades.

I want to have an ordinary life with them.

But...

...your way of living, Great Lord, was splendid.

Several hundred years later,

people will get to enjoy their lives, I think.

That's all thanks to their forerunners...

...who lived hard and built the foundations.

Good job,

Great Lord.

Day will break soon.

I'm...

...feeling good now.

Motonari.

Great Lord.

I...

...had more than a full life in this world.

I...

...don't care where I'm going, heaven or hell.

I'll leave it to Buddha. That's how I feel.

Great Lord.

You're almost winning, you know?

You had more than a full life. You don't care where you're going.

Those who reached that level can go to heaven.

Don't you think so?

Great Lord.

I think so, too.

With Sugi-sama and Mii-sama,

you get to ascend to heaven.

Tae.

Sugi-sama.

Mii.

You three...

...supported me until now.

Thank you.

I...

...was a small droplet.

Then, I became a bamboo leaf...

...and was pushed by the flow.

I was washed away and almost drowned.

I was helped by...

...you, Sugi-sama.

Thank you.

Mii.

I often ran on horseback with you...

...across our lands covered with mountain mist.

Thank you.

I learned how to dream about the future.

You taught me how, Tae.

Thank you.

Great Lord.

Your ship is ready.

It's ready.

I had...

...a great life.

Thank you.

Father!!

Grandpa!!

Father...

I'm sorry.

Great Lord.

You lived well...

...and died well.

You...

...said this all the time.

"One can die well only after living well."

You lived greatly...

...and died greatly.

Congratulations.

In June 14, 1571 (Genki 2),

Mori Motonari died at age 75, at Koriyama Castle in Yoshida.

The End

Historical Information Provided by: Mori Museum and Izumo Grand Shrine