Original subtitles

TOHO CO., LTD.

A KATSU PRODUCTIONS FILM

LIGHT SHADOW

Daizen!

The Yagyu clan has men

spread out over more than 60 states all over Japan.

Wherever you go,

you can never escape our clutches,

ever.

LONE WOLF AND CUB

BABY CART AT THE RIVER STYX

Produced by SHINTARO KATSU HISAHARU MATSUBARA

Screenplay by KAZUO KOIKE

Based on the Manga by KAZUO KOIKE GOSEKI KOJIMA

Cinematography by CHIKASHI MAKIURA Sound by TSUCHITARO HAYASHI

Lighting by HIROSHI MIMA Production Design by AKIRA NAITO

Starring

TOMISABURO WAKAYAMA

KAYO MATSUO MINORU OKI

AKIJI KOBAYASHI SHIN KISHIDA SHOGEN NITTA

IZUMI AYUKAWA MAKI MIZUHARA AKIHIRO TOMIKAWA

Directed by KENJI MISUMI

- Welcome, traveler. - Please stay with us.

Please stay with us.

- We have rooms. - Please come in.

Please stay at Sawai-Ya. We have a hot bath ready.

SAWAI-YA INN

You must be tired. Stay at Sawai-Ya.

- We have a hot bath ready for you. - Come in.

How cute!

Daigoro.

Are you staying the night? Thank you for choosing us.

Any other bags?

I will take this around back.

Please come in.

Please come upstairs.

You must be tired.

Let's wash your feet, young man.

O-Matsu.

Yes?

Idiot! Choose the customers better before you call them in.

Why put up a ronin beggar with a child?

We have empty rooms in the back.

I don't care if we have vacancies or not.

We're a first-class inn with a distinguished history

with noble samurai customers.

What if he dodges his bill or gets unruly and waves his sword about?

Welcome. Please come in.

We have rooms for you.

Please stay with us.

- We have a hot bath for you. - Please come in.

I'm very sorry, sir, but unfortunately...

- Head clerk. - Yes?

Keep this for me.

A fortune!

That's 500 ryo.

Yes, sir! I'll keep it for you, sir!

O-Matsu, what are you waiting for? Wash the feet of the young master.

Thank you. Oh, you're useless.

What an adorable young master!

Let me wipe your splendid feet.

We'll stay.

One.

Two.

Three.

Five.

Daigoro, you missed one.

One. Two. Three.

Oh, four!

Three.

Four.

Five.

Can I get out now?

I am Ozunu, the head ninja of the Kurokuwa clan.

I'm Sayaka of the Akashi-Yagyu.

Lord Retsudo of the Ura-Yagyu in Edo has an order for you.

I am here to deliver his message.

Clear the room, please.

No need! They're all sword mistresses of the Yagyu clan in Akashi.

So then...

What?

Cursed be Itto Ogami!

The duel resulted in Itto Ogami's victory.

Because of the promise made at the time, the Yagyu men in Edo cannot touch him.

Thus,

Lady Sayaka, you shall lead your Akashi-Yagyu sword mistresses

and make sure to defeat Itto Ogami.

Such is the order of Lord Retsudo.

We will defeat him!

Please remember never to be careless.

Your target used to be the Shogunate Executioner.

He is matchless when he wields his Suio-ryu Zanbato Horse-Slayer.

Quite a swordsman.

Ozunu, are you trying to insult the Akashi-Yagyu sword mistresses?

Of course not.

However, as he is formidable enough to defeat Lord Bizen and Master Kurando,

just in case of the unthinkable, we the Kurokuwa clan will...

Just in case?

Are these your men?

Yes.

Call the most skilled one.

Junai.

Try to escape to the garden.

What?

Go out to the garden.

We are ninja. It would take only one leap.

Show me if you can.

An amateur! Called himself a ninja?

Tell me where Itto Ogami is.

He will enter Akashi Territory the day after tomorrow.

Those who wish to hire Itto Ogami - Lone Wolf and Cub - for an assassination

put up Demon Way talismans on temples and shrines on major routes.

When Itto sees these talismans,

he will build cairns to indicate his whereabouts.

Cairns as in Dokan Ota's military tactics?

By following the cairn trail,

the client will find Itto.

House Elder, sir!

A cairn!

This cairn represents a headquarters.

It means he will meet us here.

I am Ichirobei Hirano, the Edo Mansion Chamberlain of the Awa Domain.

Assassin Lone Wolf and Cub.

Not that I doubt you,

but can you show me proof you really are Lone Wolf and Cub?

This doesn't concern you.

Did that answer your question?

I hate to bother you, but...

Yes, sir.

500 ryo for an assassination.

Bring it.

Please count it.

I ask you to tell me all the secrets and reasons.

Our Awa Domain officially has an annual tribute of 257,000 koku,

but actually we are much more prosperous with a real income of almost 450, 000.

This is because we have a special product, a dye called Awa Indigo,

and we maintain a monopoly on it.

The annual income from it is 330,000 ryo,

which equals 200,000 koku, a huge source of income for us.

Naturally our domain is afraid

that the knowledge of indigo production might be smuggled out,

so we have established the Indigo Office to exercise strict control.

The Shogunate, however, is desperate to rebuild its finances

and has set its sight on our Awa Indigo profits.

So they sent their Oniwaban spies into our domain

and incited our indigo artisans

to demand better work conditions and wage increases

in a scheme to start an uprising.

If an uprising occurred,

it would be an excuse to ban our Awa Indigo sales.

Then the Shogunate would take over and rob us of our revenue.

This made us desperate.

We hunted down the Oniwaban spies hiding in our domain

and executed them along with the ringleaders of the planned uprising.

However,

because the punishment was too harsh,

the head of the indigo artisans feared for his life.

Thus Chuzaemon Makuya left our domain

and escaped into our neighboring Takamatsu Territory.

This was our huge blunder.

Takamatsu is a poor domain, and we have a cat-and-dog relationship.

They were all too eager to report this to the Shogunate

and provide sanctuary to Chuzaemon Makuya.

We held negotiations time and time again,

but they insisted they did not even know him.

Now the situation has escalated to what we have been most afraid of.

The Shogunate intends to take custody of Chuzaemon Makuya.

We have a report that they are sending the Shogunate Escort,

the three brothers - BenTenRai - to Takamatsu.

You may well know their reputation.

They say even the Yagyu men raise their hats

to the three Hidari brothers of Benma, Tenma and Kuruma.

All three are masters of Takenouchi-ryu Dagger Techniques.

Benma uses iron claws.

Tenma uses flying maces.

Kuruma uses what they call iron fists.

I hear they are extremely skilled and terrifying.

I also hear they have killed many, many people.

They are also called the Monks of Death.

If we allow the BenTenRai brothers to spirit away Chuzaemon Makuya,

the Shogunate will find out how to produce Awa Indigo.

It can lead to a grave situation, and our domain may fall.

Please kill Chuzaemon Makuya and save our Awa Domain.

Please, I beseech you.

BenTenRai are on a seafaring ship, the Eiraku Maru.

It will come into Akashi Harbor in two days in the early afternoon.

Please get on board.

The Eiraku Maru will leave the port at the sound of the sunrise bell.

Standing in the middle are two butterfly cedars

They fly in together

Side dish tonight is

Radish

Sliced

White in color

Daigoro!

And yet

Even if you fall in love

It won't bear fruit

So jealous

Why is it so?

Sayaka Yagyu at your service.

I'll fight you.

COLD NIGHT PRAYER

Daigoro.

Here we go.

Papa.

One more time.

I must defeat Itto Ogami to uphold the honor of the Akashi-Yagyu.

He is skilled enough to hold the post of Shogunate Executioner.

We can't defeat him with ordinary means.

Ozunu,

are you saying Itto Ogami's Suio-ryu Horse-Slayer surpasses the Yagyu warriors?

With due respect,

each and every one of your women have been defeated,

and I have only two men left.

We shall kidnap Itto's son, Daigoro.

We belong to the Yagyu clan. How can we employ a cowardly tactic?

He intends to defeat the Yagyu clan

and wishes to entrust his son with the revival of the Ogami clan.

If he loses his son,

even Itto would have difficulty focusing on his sword skills.

“Employ any means necessary to kill Itto Ogami.”

Such is the order from Lord Retsudo.

Daigoro.

Welcome, Itto Ogami.

Stop.

You play dirty, Yagyu.

What's your plan for my son?

This fight is already settled.

Throw away your Dotanuki sword.

What say you, Itto Ogami?

I refuse.

This well is bottomless.

If I let go of this rope, this boy will die.

Why don't you kill him if you want to?

But for what?

Have you and your Kurokuwa clan fallen so low as to serve under the Yagyu clan?

What about yourself, with your wife killed and you wandering like a stray dog?

My son and I walk the Demon Way in Hell, so we're not ordinary humans.

We're resolved to descend to Hell through the Six Realms and Four Lives.

If I am to lose everything here,

I must accept the destiny of the Demon Way.

Then I shall ask you.

Why did you hurry over here when you realized your son was in danger?

Isn't it because you have the heart of a father and hope to save your son?

Who would allow everything to take its own course?

I shall do my best

and then wait for destiny.

Daigoro.

Your mother should be waiting for you at the River Styx.

Are you ready?

Papa.

Daigoro.

Yeah? She squeezed you inside?

Yep. She had a really tight entrance.

Papa.

Excuse me! The passengers who came on board at Akashi,

I'm collecting your fare.

Brother.

Damn thugs hired by the Awa Domain.

Brother!

You saw what happened.

We had to kill them.

We were the victims of their attack.

We will report to the maritime warden at Takamatsu Kitadomari.

Don't worry about it.

Yes, sir.

Take care of the bodies. You can throw them into the sea.

Yes?

Yes, sir.

He has a child.

Damn BenTenRai bastards.

I'm not staying with these scary guys.

Move us into your crew's quarters.

Who knows what will happen if we stay with them.

What if we get involved?

Damn shit.

No way I'll let you assholes get to Takamatsu.

I, Sanji, accepted this big job for 200 ryo.

I gotta roast them or say good-bye to the remaining 100 ryo.

Just wait.

I'm sorry to bother you, but would you throw back my knife?

HAN STATE SOY SAUCE AKASHI-YA

It's oil.

Oil disguised as soy sauce.

This must be another attempt by the Awa Domain.

Lucky for me, they're drinking sake.

They scared me. I thought for a moment they saw through my plan.

I'll show those bastards.

They're like birds trapped in a cage. I'll roast them alive.

Fire!

Fire!

We are used to this kind of thing.

You have a child. You can't to anything.

However, if you survive this one-in-a-million chance,

we'll leave you with these words.

We will enter Takamatsu and take custody of our charge.

From Hiketa, we'll go through the Oura Dunes to Kitadomari.

The Shogunate's ship will take us to Edo.

Be sure to stay away from this route.

We are escorts. We don't bother those who don't attack us.

We show no mercy, however, to those who interfere.

Remember that.

Even to one who used to be the Shogunate Executioner.

We've heard about Lone Wolf and Cub.

Not much of an assassin if he can't escape this.

Run!

Get away!

- Fire! - Fire!

- Somebody! - Help!

Daigoro!

Hold on for a moment.

How dare you!

Daigoro.

We don't have fire.

We'll all die if we don't warm ourselves.

You mean you want to save me?

You're saving us too.

Three people are warmer than two.

Brother, will the Awa Domain attack us?

Dunes as far as the eye can see.

I don't see any shadow of a person, and I sense no one.

They'll come for sure.

If this man, Chuzaemon Makuya, is brought to Edo,

the Awa Domain will suffer a loss of 200,000 koku in revenue.

They'll sacrifice their lives to take him.

Don't let your guard down.

Kill Makuya!

Kill Chuzaemon!

I knew you'd come.

You escaped the fire. Impressive.

You managed to save your life, yet you're here to throw it away now?

Here I come.

To think you'd throw your sword...

My neck...

My own neck...

It sounds like it's wailing.

My neck was sliced open diagonally.

The cut wails like a cold winter wind.

They call it mogari-bue, “the whistle of a fallen tiger.”

I've always wished to kill someone, just once,

and create such a fine cut as to sing this tune.

Now I'm hearing it from my own neck.

What a laugh.

Come on!

Come out.

Assassin Lone Wolf and Cub.

At your service.

THE END