Original subtitles

RELEASED BY TOHO CO.,JAPAN LTD.

A TOHO-MIFUNE PRODUCTION

Executive Producer TOMOYUKI TANAKA

OriginaI Story by YASUHIKO TAKIGUCHI

ScreenpIay by SHINOBU HASHIMOTO

Cinematography by KAZUO YAMADA

Music by TORU TAKEMITSU

Production Design by YOSHIRO MURAKI

Cast

TOSHIRO MIFUNE

YOKO TSUKASA GO KATO

SHIGERU KOYAMA, MASAO MISHIMA and ISAO YAMAGATA

TATSUYOSHI EHARA TATSUO MATSUMURA

TAKAMARU SASAKI JUN HAMAMURA

ETSUKO ICHIHARA MICHIKO OTSUKA

HISANO YAMAOKA TOMOKO NITTO

TATSUYA NAKADAI

Directed by MASAKI KOBAYASHI

SAMURAI REBELLION

Do you want to try, Tatewaki?

Isaburo Sasahara of the escort group has tested it.

That's enough for me.

I see.

I'II teII the chamberIain you both approve.

I'd rather see you two dueI than mereIy test swords.

There are rumors in our cIan.

The reason you don't fight

is because it wouId hurt the famiIy of the Ioser.

You both understand that, and so you avoid a dueI.

Be that as it may.

Perhaps protecting your famiIy name

rather than promoting your pride and rank

is the wisest way to get aIong in this worId.

SIicing straw dummies to test our Iord's sword.

What peacefuI times these are.

Now, now. Think of it as one of our duties.

Isaburo, you're too attentive to your superiors.

I'm used to it.

I married into my wife's famiIy and have been henpecked for 20 years.

Did anything unusuaI happen?

No, nothing at aII.

WouId you Iike to Iook at the November border record?

No, not if nothing unusuaI happened.

I'm returning to the castIe with Sasahara.

Making rice cakes in November

But there are no customers

They're waiting anxiousIy for the Inoko festivaI.

Inoko?

Does that mean the Suwa Shrine festivaI begins tomorrow too?

The god who came down in February and brought the rice harvest

departs tomorrow untiI his return next year.

Do you reaIIy beIieve that?

No, I was just -

The hearts of chiIdren are dociIe and precious.

They sing, beIieving it.

Perhaps you want a grandchiId?

Yes, as soon as I find a bride for Yogoro.

It isn't settIed yet?

No. My wife Suga is the probIem.

It must be someone she approves of.

I keep quiet,

but I'd Iike a nice wife for Yogoro.

Someone strong, Ioving and faithfuI.

Is that the steward's?

Yes, he just arrived. He's been waiting for you.

Making the steward wait.

You were probabIy idIy chatting away to Asano

about useIess things Iike martiaI arts again.

To have the steward honor us with a visit

has never happened in the Sasahara famiIy.

The truth is, Isaburo,

Lady Ichi has been dismissed from the castIe.

Lady Ichi?

Yes.

It has been decided

to have her marry Yogoro, your son.

Steward, why was Lady Ichi dismissed?

She incurred our Iord's dispIeasure.

But he's reIuctant to give her to any man.

You're one of our Iord's cavaIry escorts,

and given that your son is a fine man, he chose him.

I'II return for an answer in a few days.

But Sasahara,

it is our Iord's decision, so bear that in mind.

The steward is Ieaving!

Why shouId we accept Lady Ichi?

You shouId have refused at once.

What was it, of aII that happened,

that Ied our Iord to dismiss her?

In the first pIace, she -

I know.

The daughter of the keeper of the records -

Everyone knows that.

The reason she was dismissed after bearing our Iord's son, Kikuchiyo -

That's what I want to know.

- Mother, that's - - You be quiet.

Three men gather in a room and stiII have no idea what's going on.

How embarrassing.

It's Iike this.

After Lady Ichi bore her son Kikuchiyo,

she went to a spa to rest.

When she returned, she saw Lady Tama with our Iord.

The daughter of Gohei Yamagiwa, the man in charge of the castIe wardrobe,

was serving beside him.

Lady Ichi Iost her head on seeing this.

She sprang at Lady Tama,

sIapped her face, and dragged her by the hair.

Then she seized our Iord by his garments

and sIapped him repeatedIy.

A vain, wiId woman who wouId attack our Iord -

How can we accept her?

But, Mother...

I think we shouId gratefuIIy accept her without being difficuIt.

Bunzo!

No matter what you say, we must accept her.

It's an order from our Iord.

I'm afraid...

I don't feeI very enthusiastic about it.

Neither do I.

But if I refuse, there may be troubIe Iater.

Yogoro has said nothing,

but he wouIdn't be happy marrying a Iord's mistress who has borne a chiId.

Marrying unwiIIingIy and under pressure.

Different circumstances, but much Iike my own marriage into the Sasahara famiIy.

I don't want him to repeat my mistake.

Sasahara!

Isaburo, I didn't find you at your office.

They said you'd be at the border.

I'm gIad I found you.

I heard everything.

The steward and chamberIain are good judges.

AIert even in times of peace.

It's an honor that a member of our group has been chosen.

But, Isaburo...

as for the marriage and other matters,

I suggest you keep things quiet.

You'II probabIy receive a Iarger fief.

So be modest about it or the others wiII think you're showing off.

Understand?

Anyway, I congratuIate you.

A happy event.

What nerve.

He's not thinking of you or your famiIy.

OnIy outward appearance and infIuence matter with him.

WiII you draw on your secret principIes of swordpIay?

Push and you step back.

Push further, and you step back further.

But at the Iast moment,

you skiIIfuIIy switch from defense to offense.

Yet you never attack.

You wait untiI your opponent tires.

In other words, untiI he gives up.

Unworthy?

Yes.

We cannot accept our Iord's favored Iady.

There's no need to be so reserved.

It's happened before,

not just in the Aizu cIan, but in every cIan.

I'm weII aware of that,

but even so, I wish to decIine the honor.

DecIine?

Sasahara, that wiII not be aIIowed.

It is our Iord's personaI wish. You'd -

I mean no disrespect.

We are not worthy of such an honor.

You know our Iord's wish.

It's an order!

I wouId never disobey him, but if I may decIine...

What? To decIine is to defy the order!

No, I'd never do that.

It's just that we're unworthy of the honor.

Sasahara.

You refuse to agree to it?

It's not about agreeing or disagreeing.

We are unworthy of the honor.

What? You continue saying that?

Father,

I wish to accept the honor.

What?

Young men seem to be more understanding.

I don't know what use it is to think onIy of martiaI arts.

Isaburo Sasahara, you seem a bit too stubborn.

May you enjoy long life together

We'll all be at your side as long as you live

This is a day of celebration

Let our spirits celebrate this happiness

I am not very competent,

but I hope you wiII be good to me.

You may have been our Iord's Iady once,

but you have now married into the Sasahara famiIy.

Keep that in mind.

Suga, you needn't -

No. I must say it in order to keep discipIine in our home.

A woman who was dismissed after bearing a chiId.

Pampering her wouId spoiI her.

WeIcome back.

I'm sorry I didn't notice your return.

It's aII right.

Where's Nui?

Mother took her aIong for prayer at Shonenji TempIe.

Where's Father?

He came home about an hour ago, when his duties were done.

Ichi.

Mother may say things to offend you, but don't mind her.

No, she doesn't offend me.

She kindIy teaches me domestic duties. ************************************************* I don't beIieve it.

If things grow disagreeabIe and hard to bear,

think of Father.

Father?

Father finds

the way Mother thinks and taIks disagreeabIe.

But despite that,

he has borne everything for 20 years.

Ichi, is dinner ready?

Yes, right away.

A bottIe of sake tonight as weII.

WhiIe the cat's away.

You mustn't.

If she'd just change a IittIe, aII wouId be weII.

The worId never seems to go right.

""I wish to retire

and have Yogoro, my eIdest son, succeed me.

I humbIy hope that my request wiII be granted.''

Sasahara,

how are your son and his bride doing?

Very weII, I'm happy to say.

You made such a fuss about this in the beginning,

but now it's aII going very weII?

I'm very sorry.

It's too earIy to retire, I think,

but his son has married, so -

AII right.

We'II ask the steward to enquire of our Iord.

It won't take Iong to obtain his approvaI.

So Isaburo Sasahara's retiring at Iast?

I didn't reaIize it at the time,

but it's a great reIief.

At the same time, it's a IoneIy feeIing.

I wonder what I've done aII my Iife,

though it's not Iike me to do so.

Yogoro's marriage is a very happy one.

Perhaps Iife wiII be a IittIe better for our chiIdren.

At Ieast Yogoro's better off than me.

Fear often exceeds the perceived danger. So it was in your case.

Yogoro's wife.

She's a fine wife.

I thought she'd be Iike a cannon, ready to go off at any time.

But I was very wrong.

Suga's just the same as before,

but Ichi is aIways pIeasant and never taIks back.

I don't understand.

Why did she attack our Iord then?

Like yourseIf, I don't understand it either.

As I've said, your duties won't be difficuIt.

Check the weapons in the armory against the inventory Iist,

and have the men cIean them on appointed days.

That's about aII.

It's harder to get aIong with our superiors and feIIow vassaIs.

I don't say to aIways yieId to them, but at times, they're unreasonabIe.

If you get angry at them every time, you won't Iast.

Pardon me.

Rice cakes?

They Iook good.

Yes. Enjoy.

Wait, Ichi.

I'm going to retire soon.

Yogoro wiII become the head of our famiIy,

and you're his wife.

You needn't hoId back for the oId woman.

Take over the househoId duties. Understand?

Even so, she is my mother,

and I wiII treat her as such.

Excuse me.

That's enough about your duties, Yogoro.

How about some rice cakes?

But I don't understand.

WeII...

it's aImost beyond beIief

that she'd grasp her Iord by his cIothing.

It was hard for me to beIieve too,

so I asked her the other day.

Her face became very sad

as she toId me the story.

I was 1 9 when I went to serve my Iord.

It was the year before Iast.

Ichi.

ActuaIIy,

there is a reason the steward has come to see me.

You have found favor in our Iord's eyes

and are to serve him.

Accept the honor gratefuIIy.

The sudden news must have surprised you.

I was more angry than surprised.

Angry?

A man over 50 was infatuated with me.

I feIt as if a hairy worm were crawIing over me.

I shuddered.

And then?

Our Iord does not do this just to satisfy a whim.

Daimyo must have heirs

or their houses wiII be aboIished.

The onIy heir to our Iord right now

is young Lord Masamoto.

ShouId anything happen...

Even so, Miss Ichi,

not just anyone can become our Iord's mistress,

for her son may one day

become our Iord's heir.

She must be beautifuI and kind Iike you.

I am afraid

I must decIine the position.

You are referring to Sannojo Kasai, your fiancé?

Kasai?

Yes.

Our parents arranged our engagement.

Then if Sannojo agrees,

you wiII gratefuIIy agree to serve our Iord?

What do you say?

I couIdn't imagine Sannojo doing it.

But he bowed to our Iord's wishes

and gave you up?

Yes.

So you had no choice?

I stiII did not wish to go.

So I withheId my answer.

Don't bother me!

Leave now!

No.

I wiII not Ieave untiI I see Sannojo.

You said you wouId serve our Iord if Sannojo agreed.

He has cIearIy agreed to it.

As summoned,

Hyoemon Shiomi's daughter Ichi is here in answer to your wishes.

It was Iike dragging a pure siIk kimono through the mud.

Then I thought -

No, it was more Iike a prayer. I made up my mind.

I wouId bear him sons.

Many, many sons.

Then other girIs need never know my misery. It wouId end with me.

It was Iike a prayer.

My thoughts were reaIIy Iike a prayer.

With this prayer,

I bore Kikuchiyo a year Iater.

Then I went to a spa for postnataI rest

at my Iord's orders.

When l returned to the castle -

Ichi, this is Lady Tama.

Be friends with her.

It wasn't jeaIousy!

On the face of his new young mistress,

there was not even a trace of humiIity.

I hated her for it.

She was proud as a peacock - gIad to be a mistress.

Beast!

Beast!

Thanks to his dispIeasure toward you,

I have become a happy man.

I couId never have found a better wife.

Beginning tonight,

I wiII forget my son.

What?

Our Iord means nothing to me.

But...

I have been so worried about the son I bore.

So worried.

Beginning now...

I wiII forget about him too.

I wiII forget him.

Yogoro,

be good to Ichi.

You're a Iucky man.

There's no other wife Iike her.

A coupIe without chiIdren Iacks binding ties.

You've made me wait nearIy two years,

but at Iast.

A boy wouId have been better.

We mustn't ask for too much.

And what's her name?

Yogoro and I racked our poor brains over this

and named her Tomi.

Post-horse messenger!

Ryuzo Komiya here from Edo on an urgent mission!

What?

Young Lord Masamoto died of iIIness?

Yes!

He was resting from a coId he caught on the 1 2th.

But his condition grew worse.

At 2:00 in the morning,

he passed away.

It's a Iucky thing.

What?

It's the death of the heir.

But the Matsudaira house wiII not be aboIished.

There is young Lord Kikuchiyo, the son of Shiomi's daughter.

But Sasahara,

Lord Kikuchiyo has become our Iord's heir.

So Ichi is birth mother to the heir.

If she remains the wife of a vassaI,

there wouId be much taIk.

You say this is our Iord's wish?

Yes.

And our chamberIain here and the Edo chamberIain agree.

PIease consider it before formaI orders come.

The best thing is for Yogoro to submit a request to our Iord

and say he wiII send Ichi back to the castIe.

Has Yogoro been toId aIready?

I've been at him since the day before yesterday,

but he refuses.

NaturaIIy.

They have a baby daughter, Tomi.

WeII, I don't bIame him.

EmotionaIIy it is intoIerabIe.

The chamberIain and steward know that.

But you know very weII...

that we can't have aII our wishes granted in this worId.

So...

you're teIIing me to make Yogoro agree to it?

I'm asking you to submit a voIuntary request

rather than making us order her back.

You must see the difference.

What's the matter, Ichi?

You're paIe. Are you sick?

Group Head Kotani came over in the afternoon.

I feeI...

more resentfuI than gratefuI...

for your consideration.

I'm sorry, Ichi.

I didn't mean to hide it.

But I couIdn't bring myseIf to teII you.

Brother.

Father is caIIing you.

What are the men taIking about?

I'm not sure.

Acting as if some crisis has occurred

and hiding it from me.

TeII them to taIk at night after they dine!

Ichi, I must teII you something.

Come into the room.

First, Father's words.

He says he's retired, so I am the famiIy head,

and I am to do what I think is right.

However, he aIso says

you're too important to us to send away.

That we must take the best possibIe care of you.

Mother doesn't seem to know anything about this yet.

I must teII her sooner or Iater.

Don't worry.

No matter what anyone says,

I wiII not send you back to the castIe.

For Tomi's sake too.

It may be our Iord's wish, but he is being too seIfish.

Ichi is not a doII. She is a Iiving being.

Yes, you're right.

You're young. And I don't bIame you.

But you can't reason with a crying chiId nor with your Iord, as they say.

Isaburo, what's your opinion?

I have none.

Yogoro is head of the Sasahara famiIy now.

It's aII up to him.

But I wouId Iike to say one thing.

What is it?

When we accepted Lady Ichi into our house,

it was Steward Takahashi that came.

I'd Iike him to come again now

and expIain in his words why we must return her.

If onIy he couId!

But it wouId attract too much attention.

These are our Iord's orders, Isaburo!

WeII, I want my Iord to expIain his orders to me.

When his son's mother proves inconvenient,

he forces her to marry a vassaI.

Inconvenienced once again, he demands her return.

This is crueI and unreasonabIe.

He has no understanding of human emotions.

No understanding of human emotions?

Kotani-san,

our famiIy didn't accept Ichi particuIarIy gratefuIIy.

Nor did Ichi herseIf know Yogoro or the Sasahara famiIy.

She was none too happy about it either.

But the reason they are getting aIong

is because they're kind to each other and care for each other.

I understand aII that cIearIy enough.

But Isaburo,

if you continue to be so stubborn,

who knows what might happen to your famiIy.

I don't care.

I wiII not return Ichi, even if the heavens rain fire!

What?

Even if the heavens rain fire... and bIood?

Wait, Yogoro.

Watch your Ianguage!

Kotani-san, I think this is enough for today.

l beg you.

You should understand, Mother, being a woman yourself.

If you were in her pIace, what wouId you do?

WouId you give up Tomi and return to the castIe?

Enough!

WouId you ruin our famiIy because you've Iost your head over a woman?

In this case -

In this case, it may be unavoidabIe.

Brother!

You truIy don't care if you ruin our famiIy?

- I am. - What?

Bunzo, if you were me, wouId you return Ichi?

Of course I wouId! You're too attached to her, brother!

Restrain yourseIf, Bunzo.

Yogoro's the head of the famiIy.

Right or wrong, it's aII up to him.

Be patient.

Don't Iose hope.

If you Iove Yogoro and Tomi,

be prepared to defy such senseIess conventions, however hard it may be.

I beIieve that, if worst comes to worst, you are a wife worth protecting,

even if that means ruining our famiIy.

I am not worthy of it.

But this won't be the end of it.

I gave her the message.

She wiII be here soon.

Over here, sister.

We've heard aII about what has happened.

We reIatives and the Sasahara famiIy have discussed what to do.

We've spoken to Yogoro and know exactIy how he feeIs.

Thus we have come to the concIusion that the rest is up to you.

We'd Iike to know how you feeI about it.

Do you want to stay with Yogoro,

even if it means ruining the Sasahara famiIy?

Answer us, Ichi!

I wouId Iike to stay.

Even if you ruin the famiIy?

Yes.

Ichi.

Your father, Hyoemon Shiomi, has asked our Iord

that you be sent back to the castIe as soon as possibIe.

I'm sure you're aware of that.

Not onIy that.

He Iies in wait when Yogoro traveIs to and from the castIe

to pIead with him to send you back.

He's done this severaI times.

Father is Father. I am me.

I wouId rather die than return.

PIease teII the chamberIains and steward how I feeI

in whatever words you think wiII best heIp my case.

If we couId do that, we wouIdn't be here Iike this!

We ask you again, Ichi!

Your desire to stay with Yogoro is finaI?

The famiIy doesn't matter?

Not onIy the Sasahara famiIy,

but we the reIatives wiII be jeopardized as weII.

You stiII don't care?

It cannot be heIped.

I see.

There's no use trying to convince a woman Iike this.

You shouId give up, Suga.

Yogoro's to bIame too.

It's your misfortune that a woman Iike her has favored you.

Yogoro, you needn't hoId back anymore.

You two go ahead and ruin your famiIy!

We must prepare for our invoIvement as weII!

CompIeteIy impervious to reason. No wonder you attacked our Iord!

Ichi, I'm sorry.

Return.

Return to the castIe.

FooI!

Why do you say that now?

What's the Sasahara famiIy to you?

What are your reIatives' troubIes to you?

Yogoro,

have you decided you want to keep your position?

Listen to me.

My father-in-Iaw was impressed with my swordsmanship.

As head of the Sasahara, he asked me to marry into the famiIy.

But otherwise I have no taIents.

In other words, I'm a worthIess, good-for-nothing man.

So in order to prove myseIf, for these past 20 years

I have fought to preserve our good name and sociaI standing.

So why am I so obstinate now?

The crueI injustice invoIved, for one thing.

But your beautifuI Iove for each other

has touched me most of aII.

There's never been a shred of Iove in my married Iife!

And now you do this!

Promise me, Yogoro,

that you'II never Iet Ichi go!

You too.

No matter what happens, never Ieave him!

Promise me, both of you!

My husband's with the chamberIain?

Yes, and he's waiting for you to come.

I saw him in the castIe.

He said he'd be at the chamberIain's residence

and that you must come at once.

The chamberIain wishes to see you both. He has some questions for you.

But what about Tomi?

You needn't worry. It won't take Iong.

I wiII accompany you.

My brother's waiting.

Make yourseIf cIear, as you did with our reIatives.

Sister!

If you Iose heart now, what wiII it mean for my brother?

Even if it is the chamberIain,

show him how determined you both are to keep your resoIve.

Hurry!

Sister.

Father, where did you go today?

To see Tatewaki.

Anything new at the castIe?

No, nothing yet.

At this rate, perhaps -

I hope nothing happens.

Why is Tomi crying Iike that? Where's Ichi?

- She went out. - Out?

To the chamberIain's residence, at about 2:00.

What? The chamberIain's residence?

Mother.

Where's Ichi? What happened to Ichi?

Where's Bunzo?

Bunzo, where's Ichi?

What's happened to Ichi?

Mother wouIdn't say anything.

But Sahei and Nui say you took her to the chamberIain's residence.

I'm asking you about Ichi!

As a matter of fact -

Bunzo,

you tricked her.

How many times must we teII you, Ichi?

We had no choice.

No matter how many times I'm toId,

I do not understand.

What?

My husband, chiId and father must be worried about me.

I'm going home.

Wait, Ichi!

If she doesn't agree to our requests

and stiII insists on going home, then she may do so.

Provided that

she's wiIIing to have Yogoro Sasahara and his father, Isaburo,

commit seppuku.

Ichi, take my advice

and return to the castIe.

If you go back to the castIe obedientIy without making a fuss,

the chamberIain is wiIIing to overIook everything.

But if you insist on returning home,

not onIy wiII Yogoro, but aIso his father, Isaburo,

be ordered to commit seppuku

for Iax supervision of their home.

HonorabIe Lady Ichi, pIease return to the castIe.

You say you're the wife of footman Bansaku Kariya?

Yes.

My name is Kiku.

The chamberIain's orders? What orders?

He said to come here every morning and evening

to breast-feed your daughter Tomi.

I want no charity. Go home!

But...

if I go home without -

Say no more! Go home!

- But - - Do as I say!

Wait!

FooI.

Tomi, you fooI.

How can you be so happy at a strange woman's breast?

Tomi, you fooI.

Yogoro.

Starting tomorrow, do not report to the castIe for duty!

I've aIready prepared myseIf for that.

How's Yogoro?

He hasn't reported for duty since these events.

But he did request time off due to iIIness.

And Tomi?

The chamberIain ordered

the wife of footman Bansaku Kariya to come and feed her twice a day.

She's heaIthy and reIiabIe. A good, soIid woman.

Then everything's aII over?

Yes.

CertainIy since Ichi has returned to the castIe.

In the end, we had no choice but to have it this way.

We just took a roundabout path.

Defying the cIan gets us nowhere.

Isaburo,

do you reaIIy mean that?

I came to make sure of your thoughts on this matter.

And now,

I hope you'II forget everything. Give it up at once.

To be honest,

the cIan's treatment of your famiIy

and your attitude in response have weighed on my mind.

Weighed on your mind?

It's Iike your swordpIay.

Pushed, you step back. Pushed again, you retreat further.

But it's not Iike you to give up.

The cIan didn't ask for her formaIIy.

It was more Iike force.

In fact, it was more Iike kidnapping. They took a vassaI's wife.

If the shogunate officiaIs in Edo hear of it, or even the daimyo,

it may prove a fataI mistake for the Matsudaira.

I can't imagine things wiII end Iike this.

That you'II aIIow them to end here.

I reaIIy don't think so.

You're saying I must formaIIy ask the castIe to take her back?

That is aII we can do.

It's for the sake of the Sasahara famiIy.

They've committed an outrage!

Yet I must ask them to take her back?

We're asking you.

And I do understand how you feeI.

I was quite afraid you'd storm the chamberIain's residence.

It was wise of you to hoId back.

The chamberIain and steward are impressed by your restraint.

So if you send them your request -

I refuse!

I don't remember sending her back to the castIe.

Yogoro.

It's aII over now.

Why don't you do as he says?

That's ridicuIous, Father!

Never!

Think of Ichi.

She suppressed her tears,

Ieft everything behind, and quietIy returned to the castIe.

If I were to think of Ichi, how couId I possibIy give up on her?

Yogoro,

that's Iike caIIing a doctor for the dead.

What did you say?

Now, now, Yogoro.

Yogoro's young yet.

Isaburo, taIk to him untiI he understands.

It's aII for the sake of your famiIy.

It's not onIy for my famiIy,

but for yours too, and the rest of our kin.

In any case, pIease go for now.

Yogoro wiII be hard to convince, but I'II taIk to him.

Give me a few days.

Yogoro wiII report today and say he wishes to return her?

Yes.

That's wonderfuI.

Thank you for your troubIe.

AII has turned out weII in the end.

Now we can Iook forward to the Suwa Shrine festivaI tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the Inoko festivaI?

Since it wouId have come to this anyway,

how dare they cause aII that fuss!

Yogoro was wrong, but Isaburo was insoIent as weII.

Yes.

He's aIways henpecked by his wife.

And defying cIan orders Iike that -

I must say he seems Iike a different man.

It's settIed now, so we needn't criticize him.

His conduct has been admirabIe.

It caIIs for a sIight increase in his fief.

Yogoro Sasahara of the escort group has arrived!

I'm gIad you've reported for duty.

We heard you were sick. Are you weII now?

Yes, compIeteIy weII.

And so?

Taking into consideration my father's wishes, I have decided.

PIease accept this.

That's good of you. Thank you.

FooI!

What's gotten into you?

"Petition.

lchi, the wife of my eldest son Yogoro,

was unlawfully kidnapped and forced to return to the castle.

This is the cruelest form of tyranny.

lt runs counter to the laws of humanity

and cannot be condoned by the heavens.

We hereby appeal for her immediate return.

lf our petition is refused,

this shameless act of tyranny

on the part of Masakata Matsudaira, lord of the Aizu domain,

and his retainers

shall be made known throughout Japan's 60 provinces.

November 1 8th, 1 727, 2.:00.

lsaburo Sasahara, Aizu clansman. "

A word of caution.

Someone may use my father's name or my own

to submit a request to return Ichi to the castIe.

But it wiII not be from us. It wiII be a faIse request.

PIease keep that in mind.

Excuse me.

Thank you for coming every day.

With the Inoko festivaI starting tomorrow, you must be busy.

Master.

We're just airing the house out a bit.

But -

The mats?

It's a custom at times Iike these.

So our feet won't sIip in the bIood.

Tomi's been waiting for you.

Let her drink her fiII.

This may be the Iast time.

WiII you do me a favor?

WiII you cook the rice after you feed Tomi?

I dismissed aII our servants.

I aIso sent Suga and Bunzo away so we'd have a IittIe more room.

Just cook the rice.

We'II make the rice baIIs ourseIves.

Can't fight on an empty stomach.

Excuse me!

Excuse me!

Orders from our Iord!

Accept obedientIy!

I said orders from our Iord!

WiII you not obey?

It's too Iate for orders now!

Now, now, Yogoro.

Let's hear what the orders are.

Orders!

Isaburo and Yogoro Sasahara,

for your insoIent conduct and defiance toward our Iord,

you are ordered to commit seppuku.

Seppuku?

It is gracious of our Iord to permit it.

I thought men wouId come arrest us

and then either hang or crucify us.

We wiII braveIy commit seppuku.

Father.

However,

we want something before we kiII ourseIves.

Bring us three heads!

What?

Those of Lord Masakata Matsudaira, ruIer of the Aizu domain,

ChamberIain Yanase,

and Steward Takahashi.

Bring me the heads of the viIIains who took my son's wife!

You!

Vassal Tatewaki Asano in charge of boundary gates has arrived!

Tatewaki, I caIIed you for nothing other than this.

Prepare at once to kiII Isaburo and Yogoro Sasahara.

I hear you are

Isaburo's onIy equaI as a swordsman.

If you think he's too much for you,

take four or five strong men with you.

This is a strange request.

What?

The Sasaharas have defied cIan orders.

Are they not now criminaIs in the eyes of our cIan?

Yes.

Then it's the superintendent's duty to arrest them.

I'm in charge of border gates.

In other words,

my duty is to keep track of those Ieaving or entering our Iand.

Since when have I become a superintendent?

This is no time to discuss jurisdiction.

You're wrong.

The troubIe began in an attempt to adhere to daimyo ruIes

stating that the mother of our Iord's heir

must not remain a vassaI's wife.

We must foIIow the ruIes.

If you order me to kiII them,

pIease promote me to superintendent here and now

and obtain our Iord's promise to increase my fief to 500 koku,

according to cIan ruIes.

Tatewaki.

You've gone too far. Why be so formaI now?

Never mind. Go!

We must gather men, use force and kiII them.

Get ready.

A fooIish idea.

What?

Isaburo's a swordsman without peer.

You'II onIy make more troubIe by sending men.

In order to settIe matters quietIy,

send Lady Ichi back to the Sasahara famiIy for now, and then Iater -

What? Don't taIk nonsense!

But ChamberIain,

resort to vioIence and you'II have mountains of dead and wounded men.

CoId, isn't it?

What time is it?

Past 9:00, I think.

Eat in moderation. That shouId be enough for you.

Someone's coming.

From the footsteps, he's aIone.

It's Bunzo.

Don't just stand there. Come around here!

Father!

Don't taIk.

I know what you want to say.

Now, come in.

Father!

Come in, Bunzo.

Father!

Is it nice and cozy at Kenmotsu's pIace?

Have a drink.

Listen to the festivaI drums.

Father!

I know what you want to say.

You were pressed by our reIatives at Kenmotsu's pIace

to come here as their messenger and say,

""We've defied our Iord Iong enough.

Now obey cIan orders with good grace.''

Father.

Have a drink.

Bunzo, don't hate us.

Not onIy you and Mother wiII be punished, but our kin too,

for being reIated to such reckIess men.

Father.

But remember:

Each must Iive his own Iife.

As for what happened,

I don't bIame you and Suga for what you did,

nor do I bear you any grudge.

Each must Iive his own Iife.

Have a drink and then go back.

And teII everyone this for me:

I, Isaburo Sasahara, in aII my Iife

have never feIt more aIive than I do now.

Prepare for our lord's entrance!

Haven't you taken care of Sasahara yet?

What are you doing?

A mere cIansman has defied me and the entire cIan.

What if other cIans hear of this, Sanzaemon?

Gather some men and take care of it yourseIf.

Before dawn.

- Yes, but - - What?

The chamberIain's intervention wouId aggravate matters.

PIease aIIow me.

You'II go, Geki?

Father, the drum from the Suwa Shrine has stopped.

It's Iate. They're probabIy done for the night.

Two years ago today, we were asked to accept Ichi.

I remember it too.

Outside the castIe, it was the Inoko festivaI, when the harvest god Ieft.

Inside the castIe, it was the day before the Suwa Shrine festivaI.

Father.

I may seem unmanIy -

What is it?

For some reason, I am more worried...

about Ichi's future than Tomi's.

That's as it shouId be.

It's not unmanIy at aII.

Your feeIings for each other gave me new Iife.

But Yogoro,

don't be too worried about Ichi.

We wiII die here,

but she is the mother of our Iord's heir.

No one can torture her,

and no one wiII endanger her Iife.

But Father, aren't they Iate in coming?

I meant to ask for permission to enter,

but the gate was open, so I came in.

Forgive me.

I wiII now convey our Iord's orders.

We have heard of the order to commit seppuku.

No.

He changed his orders.

Isaburo and Yogoro Sasahara,

for your insoIence and attitude toward our Iord,

you wiII be confined at Enshoji TempIe outside the castIe.

A very Iight punishment compared to seppuku.

Why the sudden change?

Lady Ichi, the mother of our Iord's heir,

was once a famiIy member here.

She pIeaded with our Iord to save your Iives.

WiII you gratefuIIy accept our Iord's new orders?

No.

No, he's wrong!

As Yogoro Sasahara's wife,

I appeaIed through the chief maid, Yoshino, to my Iord

to save my father and husband.

It was not as the heir's mother.

I am...

I am stiII the wife of Yogoro Sasahara.

To teII you the truth, what Lady Ichi says is correct.

But our Iord received me in his audience.

If she appeaIs to save you

as the heir's mother, not as Yogoro's wife,

he promised to change his orders from seppuku to confinement.

I don't understand what this is aII about.

Neither do I.

Steward,

it seems we don't understand what you just toId us.

It's very simpIe.

If you two admit that Ichi is no Ionger a famiIy member

and that she has been returned,

our Iord wiII Iisten to her pIea for a Iighter punishment.

WiII you acknowIedge her return and Iive,

or refuse and fight it out?

Which wiII it be?

In that case, we ask for no mercy.

We are prepared for the worst.

Then there is no aIternative?

None.

It's aII of you who cannot be pardoned,

who are hoIding Yogoro's wife as prisoner

and stiII insist on doing so.

PIease return her at once!

AII right.

You've made yourseIves very cIear.

I'II ask Lady Ichi now.

Lady Ichi,

wiII you save the Iives of these men?

Or wiII you Iet their pursuers come and kiII them?

Lady Ichi, the Sasaharas are men.

Their pride wiII not Iet them back down.

But your position is different.

You have aIready returned to serve our Iord.

If you teII them

that you sever your ties with them once and for aII,

then aII wiII be weII!

Is that cIear?

If you do, their Iives wiII be saved.

We need not ask them to return you.

And even though they petition for your return,

it can be disregarded as Iong as you sever your ties with them.

Wait!

Don't move!

Don't move.

If you do, unexpected accidents may occur.

Lady Ichi,

wiII you sever your ties with them and save their Iives?

Or wiII you Iet them die as traitors?

What wiII your answer be?

Lady Ichi,

does your siIence mean you wiII do as I say?

Am I correct?

No.

I -

What wiII you do then?

KiII them!

Father.

Yogoro!

Father...

Tomi,

bid your father and mother fareweII.

Have a good Iook at them.

They are your father and mother.

Let us who are stiII aIive Iisten to them.

Let's Iisten to what they want us to do.

No, I know without being toId.

I know how they feIt about their pIight and their death.

They want us to teII the worId of our cIan's crueIty!

Very weII. I understand.

We promise to do that for you.

We'II toppIe the Aizu cIan from its pedestaI!

First, Tomi and I wiII go to Edo together

and see the shogunate eIders.

We'II Ieave immediateIy for Edo.

Isaburo Sasahara of the escort group...

where are you going?

Tomi and I are going to Edo.

If this is for the cIan, show me your pass.

If it's private business, show me the cIan ticket.

I have neither.

Then I'm afraid I cannot Iet you pass.

We must go to Edo though we have no permit.

You mean to pass from this domain

without having either?

Yes.

To carry out my duty

and uphoId my honor as a samurai,

I must forbid it.

If you insist on breaking our Iaw and passing through this gate,

I must stop you at the risk of my Iife.

That can't be heIped.

She is very quiet.

I'd Iike to put her in the house away from the wind.

But men we disIike are in there.

Venomous men.

I fed her before dawn. I don't think she's hungry.

But I'II give the poor thing a IittIe more.

Before feeding babies rice,

we're supposed to wait 1 00 days after birth...

when enough teeth have come in.

But I'II do it now.

Tomi, here.

AII the famiIy members are supposed to ceIebrate this day together

with red bean rice and Iive fish.

That's impossibIe now. We'II make do with this.

You be quiet now, Tomi.

Don't cry even if I don't return.

In that case,

he wiII become your foster father and raise you.

WeII, then.

Lose this dueI. Let me remain.

It's better that way.

What?

Isaburo,

Iose to me.

For Tomi's sake.

No.

No matter how strong you are, how perfect your defense,

I'II defeat you and go to Edo with Tomi.

Then...

I wiII win.

Without faiI.

I wiII win without faiI.

Tatewaki!

Three peopIe heIped you.

Yogoro, Ichi and Tomi.

I had no chance of winning.

Hurry.

Take Tomi with you to Edo.

Tatewaki!

We can't go to Edo anymore!

We can't go to Edo anymore.

No one wiII ever know the story of your father and mother now

Tomi, it can't be heIped.

But Iet me say one word.

Just one word.

When you grow up,

become a woman just Iike your mother.

And marry a man

just Iike your father.

Be sure to do that.

Marry a man just Iike your father.

THE END