Original subtitles

Produced by Society For The Promotion of Original Japanese Landscape Imagery

WARABI NO KOU ( TO THE BRACKEN FIELDS )

Based on the story by Kiyoko MURATA

Screenplay Hisashi WATANABE Photography Shoji UEDA Music Toshiro SARUYA

Production Design Iwao SAITO Lighting Hideaki YAMAKAWA

Sound Masato YANO Flm Editor Nobuo OGAWA

Etsuko ICHIHARA

Hitomi NAKAHARA

Reisen RI

Mina SHIMIZU

Ippei SOUDA Tetsuya SEGAWA

Chisako HARA Keiko HIDA

Tokie HIDARI Renji ISHIBASHI

Director Hideo ONCHI

Dear Granny...

A long frozen sky has finally started to thaw out...

and once again the sun is beginning to shine.

The snow that covered Mt. Nokobuse has begun to thaw,

and the snow left on the slopes... now looks exactly like a horse.

Spring is coming.

Dear Nui...

when the remaining snow shapes a horse...

the men can no longer delay going to the fields.

They'll begin to turn the fields.

While men work in the fields...

We women, have to sort the soy beans...

and separate the better ones.

We prepare them to make miso...

for miso is indispensable and must last the whole year.

This must be done before the sowing can begin.

Daemon is in charge of the men's labour...

since he is the village headman.

Since you are his wife...

you are in charge of the women's labour.

Ask Tera if you have any questions.

Using the tenant farmers' wives,

do just as I have shown you.

Dear Nui...

as I always say...

keep an eye on the shape of the clouds over Mt. Nokobuse... take note.

If a big cloud hangs over its top... for several days in early spring...

and then starts to break up from the direction of Mt. Kiritachi...

From this you can be sure...

the coming summer will be cold...

and the weather miserable.

These Oshibuse mountains give us a hard life.

Protect our crops as this old woman did.

Carefully watch the mountains... and the umberella clouds.

Dear Granny...

I, too, look up to the sky everyday but still see no such clouds.

Will summer be hot as usual then?

You know, Dear Granny...

what worries me most... isn't how to watch the mountains.

Last night at dinner...

you told Daemon to increase the number of horses.

You said one horse... with two strong men...

could easily cultivate 2000 sq. meters of land.

You also said it was possible...

for only one man... with a well trained horse...

to do more than 1,500 sq. meters.

When they're turning the fields they need 5 meals a day...

One woman cannot cook so much alone.

But if they work with horses, the usual 3 meals is enough.

Less time labouring... and fewer meals...

were better you told them.

You usually say nothing... about things like field work.

You leave such things to Daemon and your two sons.

But then...

last night Daemon and your sons, when you spoke,

were listening carefully.

A bird! A white bird! - A white bird!

You're right. Magnolia flowers fly just like birds.

They spread their wings and fly away.

Dear Granny...

Just like the birds... are you planning to fly away?

From time to time, Daemon, Isaku and even Tera...

hesitate to answer my questions. What is it they don't want to say?

Your two sons and other daughter-in-law... all seem to know.

Why do I, your son's other wife, not know?

We've been married half a year now.

People laugh that Daemon second wife... is just a girl.

All the while I've tried...

to learn all there is to know about the house.

Men don't say much keeping their thoughts to themselves.

Nor do they show their feelings.

When I'm around them they still make me nervous.

I feel more at ease with you, my mother-in-law...

than with my husband.

Nui dear... you have to be patient.

I'll be watching you how you do.

Dear Granny...

When someone faces a big change, their spirit begins to quiver.

Even the air around that person changes in response.

I sense that change in the air around you.

The vibration around you is very strong.

Dear Nui...

in our village, the rules...

handed down from the old days must be followed.

These rules are of two kinds.

One type is public and widely announced.

The other is hidden, and followed in the utmost secrecy.

No one could answer your so frequent questions.

They couldn't say because of this rule of secrecy.

But I think its time to tell you.

What I am going to tell you... when you go back to Tamijo village...

don't tell anyone.

Oshibuse is... divided into an upper, middle and lower village.

The elderly in all three are bound by...

a secret agreement.

After having worked for years and years in the fields...

the day after their 60th birthday... a dividing gate awaits them.

Since I reached that age this year...

that gate now looms just ahead of me.

So you have to pass through this gate.

What will you do then?

When the day arrives this spring...

I will have to leave with the others.

We will climb to where the Jindai river arises...

in the Warabino valley.

We will stay there.

In Warabino... a village headman's wife...

and an aged tenant farmer...

all become Warabi... equals without difference.

We all must follow the Warabi rules,

and live together as equals.

Still... I'll come visit you once or twice a day...

so that you won't be lonely.

Dear Nui...

no one from the village can come to Warabino.

No one is allowed.

Instead of you coming up...

we'll come down to the village.

That's because... in Warabino there's no food.

We'll come down... and help with the work...

and receive a blessing of food.

Doesn't that mean... warabis become beggars?

Why continue to hand down... such an inhuman rule?

Dear Nui...

if an elder weakens in Warabino, they can't survive.

Those who are strong and tough live on...

while those who are weak are soon swept away.

At 60 they are filtered as though through a sieve.

That's why there's a barrier gate.

In Oshibuse every several years...

we are faced with poor crops due to bad weather.

The youth and children must be fed...

even if the crops fail.

That's why the rule was made.

But Dear Nui...

what worries me most about Warabino is not myself.

To have lived a good life to the ripe old age of 60...

makes me thankful.

My only worry is you, my young daughter-in-law.

Daemon... is 20 years older than you.

A lot is required of a headman's wife.

You have to get along with your brother-in-law Isaku and his wife Tera.

You have to bear a son and heir... and there's still more.

Your role in Maniwa has great importance.

I'm going to the mountains with the hope to survive.

I feel overwhelmed by the distress... of leaving you behind.

Dear Nui...

I'm worried about you.

Myself...

I feel like it's holding me back.

Dear Granny... you don't have to worry about me.

Tera knows everything about the house.

She's kind and I can depend on her.

Besides... you'll come to the village everyday.

So sometimes... I'll be able to ask you.

Your duties in Warabino... when will they end?

When will you come back?

At the end of autumn.

Before winter... hopefully, I'll come back.

I pray sincerely... for your good health, and safe return.

Don't you ever feel hungry?

Eat nothing and die soon... is that what you're thinking?

Start a fire and boil some water! We need some lunch.

Get to it!

If you want lunch... you start a fire and draw water.

This isn't the village...

it's far from human society.

Don't order us grannies around!

Umakichi...

We'll prepare lunch.

Go and bring wood for the fire.

Right.

Dear Nui

There was a little water left in the buckets.

The Warabi from last year had left water in them.

If a bucket drys out the wood shrinks and it will leak.

Last year's Warabi had left them wet...

as a last act of kindness.

If only we had sake... we'd have all we need.

The scenery here is beautiful. It isn't as bad here as I expected.

Umakichi...

the scenery is beautiful... but our houses are falling to pieces.

Tomorrow I'll start repairing them.

Better start tomorrow for sure.

In this ground we can grow potatoes... and Japanese radish.

We'll soon be filling our bellies.

Matsuya... for Warabi to grow vegetables is against the rules.

We're only allowed to eat... what they give us down in the village.

Today we are abandoned here...

tomorrow we have to beg our children for food.

My daughter-in-law will love it... seeing me have to beg.

Look whose coming here now, the granny who was unkind.

Warabis are no beggars.

We do a day's work for them... we earn a day's food for us.

Even we old folks don't take free meals.

We feed our mouths with our hands and our feet.

My goodness... you wives of lower and middle village headmen...

are both of you foolish and naive?

When food gets scarce... we won't be able to reach the village.

We won't even survive this summer!

Dear Nui...

I told only the men about the bones I saw by the mountain trail.

I couldn't tell the old women... That... would've scared them.

The men were shocked at first...

but then said they'd bury them in the morning.

They cannot gather the bones in the dark...

so they decided to wait until morning.

Our life working in the fields... would now begin.

Dear Granny...

Yajyuro Moriya's son... whom you delivered?

do you remember him?

Though named Kumakichi... a manly name, he caught a cold...

he wouldn't suckle... and began to wither.

He became so weak that he stopped crying.

Everyone thought... he would prefer death to his pain...

but he kept coming back to life.

He's dying now we'd think... only to open his eyes again.

Yajyuro...

asked Yamane's grandmother, a faith healer, to let him die in peace.

While she was praying that night...

Kumakichi... sighed and breathed out comfortably.

Then he passed away.

At the prayers... Daemon offered 3 cups of rice on Kumakichi's altar.

On the day of the funeral...

we brought food and sake with us...

to the Jouzai Temple.

Since parents who lose a child hold bad fortune...

they aren't supposed to come to the burial.

So Daemon and I...

brought people from the village to the cemetery.

Is that Warabino?

Yeah.

Is your mother awake?

Maybe she's standing on the hill side looking this way.

Then... as we stand here... do you think she can see us?

Likely just a line of people.

Can't she... make out our faces?

I don't think so.

Sometimes you sound like a child.

Dear Granny...

are you looking this way?

In the distance... can you recognize us?

Dear Granny...

as I see it... the cemetery is the edge of death...

while Warabino... is the edge of life.

It's too late for Kamakichi, but remember this, dear Nui...

if a baby falls ill...

on the grave stone of a recently deceased baby...

place a little milk.

I've seen some children get better... after doing that for them.

Dear Granny...

since Warabino is only 2 km. away...

I can't sleep knowing you're so near.

In this rain... they won't be able to come down.

But if they can't come down... what'll they eat?

Granny Ren?

Granny Ren?

Granny dear...

Dear Nui...

the Warabi must follow two rules.

The first is to give up our names...

the second is to keep silent.

These are to be obeyed when we are in the village.

Granny dear...?

'Til last year... Granny looked after my children...

so I was free and my work was easy.

I know... you think of granny as your real mother.

But I couldn't.

I felt a wall between me and mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Now that wall is gone... I find I'm concerned about her.

It seems to me... we're finally beginning to understand each other.

Dear Nui...

this bridge seems to be the bridge between life and death.

In the morning, we head to the village as if reborn.

In the evening, we return to Warabino...

as if going to another world.

Grandma still has her hands and her feet.

She doesn't look like a Warabi.

She hasn't been staying in Warabino... long enough for that yet.

Will you become a Warabi?

When will you?

I think she'll become a Warabi next spring

If you become Warabi... will your feet disappear?

Oh... sure they will.

Won't you be able to come to the village?

She won't.

Then we cannot meet.

Come to the fields and pick her warabi.

Pick and then what?

Just eat it.

Dear Nui...

working with the village women... I try to work by myself.

To have to work with an old Warabi...

such young women... must find it depressing.

Tose seems to be so happy today.

Those with children... they are the lucky ones.

As I have no children, no one... ever waits for me.

What? If you have children and grandchildren...

you will cry more thinking of them.

The more loved-ones you have, the deeper your sorrow.

To be all on your own, is much easier.

That could be true. Maybe I am lucky.

Among the Warabi, you're the best suited.

One, two, three, four...

and we all let our hands go!

Dear Granny...

I'm taking your place...

and now watch the clouds forming over Mt. Nokobuse every morning.

It would appear this summer will be mild.

Dear Nui...

Unexpectedly I had a strange... meeting.

You...

You're Ren of the Maniwas, aren't you?

Indeed... I am Ren Maniwa.

At first I wasn't sure.

but your walk... the way you moved was so familiar.

So I decided to follow you.

And you are...?

Living so long apart from the world, I even forgot my age.

So how could I know you'd already turned 60?

Several times...

when I walked through the woods around Warabino I thought I saw you.

But I couldn't approach you...

as there were always... other people around.

Shika...

Oh my soul!

I am your Shika!

The image of you looking back again and again when you left...

is burnt into my memory.

They kicked me out of the house saying I was a lazy wife.

But I hesitated to return to my parents.

Instead I went to see you.

But I ordered you to go back to our parents.

No parents welcome a divorced daughter.

And because the crops failed that year...

it was absurd to hope... they'd accept me back home.

I looked for you all over the place.

I didn't think of dying.

All the same...

I didn't have much enthusiasm for life either.

So I decided it was best...

to live in the dense forest.

What about your child?

You were pregnant back then.

Isn't night in the mountains frightening?

For those who have nowhere to go...

the night is a gentle shelter.

I feel as if all around me...

the shadows... protect me at night.

Now my sister...

Shika... Shika!

Dear Nui...

it was just an excuse that she was a lazy wife.

She was kicked out in the last month of her pregnancy.

The wife of a third son shouldn't give birth first...

that's all, dear Nui.

The mountains... the rivers... all nature's blessings...

support those of us abandoned by society.

Whether you live...

or you die...

is all up to the individual in the end.

We Warabis are no different...

we must struggle to live.

Dear Nui...

Tome leaves before the rest of us... going ahead slowly on her own.

If we are to have anything to eat...

each must make it down to the village.

If your legs become too weak and weary, you'll starve on the way.

A caterpillar's crossing the bridge.

We have to go ahead. Watch your step carefully.

I'll be coming.

Dear Nui...

We are not without hands to hold out to her.

But we mustn't do that.

There'll be another and another.

Soon a second and then a third will suffer from weak legs.

That's what getting old means for all of us.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

They're working with the Kamiyas and Tazoes... the old ones.

It would be better...

if they weren't made to work so hard in this heat.

Take one.

Don't you want it?

Just this one is plenty for me.

Dear Nui...

women and washing seems to be something special.

Women, when they gather to do their washing...

are glad at heart... and smile while they work.

I wonder if through washing...

the tensions are released from one's soul?

It hurts! Ahh!

I washed my hair... and washed my clothes.

We have to make an effort to look pretty.

That's for sure... in Warabino, there're three shabby old men.

Shall we share them?

Before that could happen, we'd have to scrub 'em in the river.

Why do men when they grow older, also grow shabbier.

What's wrong?

You haven't started yet?

I've been trying to walk... over and over again...

but my good right foot, has also gone numb today.

Then, you aren't going today?

In the morning...

even the birds go down to the village to find food.

That's right. Tome, you should go, too.

You going?

Yeah!

I have to go and eat.

Dear Nui...

Tome got up and left.

After a while, we did too.

Oh... I see her.

She's coming.

It's time to leave and head to the village.

Jingorou!

Stop dreaming!

Bring your rain-cape and hat.

Do it!

Dear Granny...

when will this rain ever stop?

It's been raining without stop for at least half a month.

Daemon sends Isaku to check the bridge every morning.

Soon... the upper bank will collapse.

Already this summer... it's unusually chilly.

Daemon plans to grow radish in case the harvest fails.

But in this heavy rain, he can't do anything.

Pretty soon the bridge... will wash away too.

You should eat this.

People, you know....

find their own, different ways to die.

It's like that.

You won't die just yet.

Some people take time...

and die very slowly.

But since...

both my legs have become weak...

I cannot take my own time.

As it stands...

I'd better hurry up and die.

Sister...

There's one truth...

I'd like to tell you.

After not eating for 5 whole days...

I realized something.

If you go on surviving on meager portions...

your hunger will never end.

But if you give up eating alltogether...

somehow you find that...

the hunger pangs...

fade completely away.

All this...

can you not see how I'm...

finally at peace?

The agony of starving... has completely left me now.

As long as I can remember...

all I knew was hunger.

But now finally...

I have... ended... it.

Dear Nui...

there was no grief... nor suffering...

She was the first Warabi...

that we saw off.

What's wrong?

It's starting... the baby... is going to come now.

So then... won't you go home?

No, there's no time.

As it's my third delivery... it shouldn't take long.

Tera!

Tera!

Tera isn't around. What will you do?

Don't worry. in the past... I did it alone.

What's that?

What are you doing,Seki? What can I do?

Be useful. Over here!

What do you see? Is it the baby's head?

I can see something smooth... not a head... the bottom... or shoulder?

It's upside down.

What do we do?

We've no choice.

You'll have to... draw it out... with your hands.

Grasp it anywhere you can...

somehow... pull the baby out.

It might die! - Just do it!

If this baby... doesn't come out now, it'll die anyway.

Better pull.

Its not crying!

Hold it upside down... and spank it.

Dear Granny...

Seki's labour we found, wasn't over. There was a twin.

But even by nightfall the second baby hadn't come.

Even with the help of the midwife...

the baby refused to come.

We tried everything but finally we asked Yamane's grandma to come.

Then it grew into a big issue.

The faith healer's saying some strange things.

She's saying the baby's stuck because of the ditch by the house?

Childbirth... is very mysterious.

Dear Granny...

Yamane's old grandma told us...

to clean the ditch by the house as quick as possible.

She said the baby was stuck...

because the ditch was clogged.

It was as Daemon had said, very strange.

Then Yamane's grandma told us...

to throw rice balls into the river.

First the ditch, now the river!

She emphasized they had to be made...

with polished rice and nothing else.

Dear Granny...

then the baby came.

But the baby was already dead.

Do babies go down the river on rice balls when they die?

Four children are too many for one family.

That's why the baby chose to return.

Yamane's old grandma told us that.

Dear Granny...

Somehow... I had a strange feeling... like I'd given birth.

Later on... the rain got even heavier.

Kosaku and Yonegi, our tenants came to see us.

The rain had flooded their land, causing the water to surge over it...

washing away the soil.

Dear Nui...

this unending rain... has washed away our food sources.

Did you know that straw can be eaten?

It's possible to eat it.

You roast it... grind it...

then dissolve that in water...

and mix in dried bracken fern powder.

A hundred was reduced to thirty.

All the rest starved to death.

Where did that happen?

Well... I don't know.

But in one family, only the father and son survived.

The father went to the neighbours and said to them...

"My son has fallen and his... days are numbered.”

"If together we were to kill him...

"we could all share his flesh.”

I have also heard that story.

My mother told me... when I was still just a young girl.

The neighbour being hungry, and greedy for meat...

had no hesitation in agreeing to the plan...

and killed the son.

And then... - Hey, it's my story!

Ah, right, right... let Jingorou tell the rest.

And then... the father, seeing him do it...

suddenly picked up an axe and raising it said...

"this is to avenge my son" and

killed the neighbour with a single swing.

Now he had the flesh of both dead men...

his son and his neighbour.

Preserving them in salt, he lived off them for a month.

When almost running out of meat...

he was arrested and sentenced... to death.

Do you know... how they discovered the murderer?

One night the father went out... for a walk in the rain.

A weak light glowed around him and moved with him as he walked.

Because of that...

if a man eats a man, it will definitely become known.

Never forget that.

No matter what... I must not die before Matsuya does.

Before Matsuya can eat you...

I will kill her... and I'll eat her myself.

Do you remember... doing things like that once?

Yes... I remember.

I too remember... doing things like that.

Oh Ren...!

Come in.

You caught them?

Is it possible...

to eat birds and animals and die in peace?

Well...

I didn't kill them. I did nothing.

Two birds... were fighting in the sky.

Then they flew into each other knocking each other out.

First one... then the other...

fell to the ground.

Not having been there... I can't say it's not so.

Let's share with the others.

If we show Matsuya, she will insist on having them all to herself.

Before that... we'll cut and cook 'em.

Now this... is what I call real food.

Are you happy, Ren?

To tell you the truth... I caught them for you.

Meat! Meat!

Meat! Meat!

We'll share it just now! We'll share it now!

Dear Nui...

we're old and really starving.

Maybe eating meat will keep us from reaching the Buddha-land...

maybe not... I won't know til I die.

But for now...

I'll close my eyes and go ahead.

I just want to live as long as I can.

That's how I feel.

Dear Granny...

the endless rain has finally stopped...

but summer is almost over.

By this time...

the grains of rice aught to be ripe and heavy.

But in the upper and the lower villages...

many plants bear few grains... or none.

This autum... we're facing a meager crop.

The upper village headman Tokube Okuyama...

advocates that we go now and ask...

our feudal lord to spare us rice... enough to survive.

Men too easily... loose their nerve.

but women aren't shaken... by the first little wind.

Its a true thing I'm telling you.

People think it's sad going off to Warabino...

But Nui... I'm looking forward to going.

Isaku or me...

which one of us will be the hardier...

we'll soon find out.

You'll compete with your husband?

That would be fun for me.

Is Granny coming back?

Well isn't she?

What did it mean ending the Warabis' labour?

If their work is done... doesn't it mean they're finished there?

If that's the case... shouldn't they come back soon?

She said she'd return in late autumn.

If their work is done... shouldn't that day come soon?

Last night I overheard you telling Isaku...

for them... life was too cruel.

I said nothing then because I shouldn't eavesdrop.

But I have to know what your words meant.

Have you no ears?

That subject... can only be discussed among the three village headmen.

It must not be talked of by others.

Dear Granny...

How come some men...

those among our village leaders in particular...

are so cold and somehow so vehement?

When will I and Daemon... really understand each other?

Will you come back?

Please Granny!

Please Granny!

Dear Nui...

what do you expect this old woman to tell you?

I, just like Daemon...

have no words to give you.

I know you're still too young...

to understand Daemon and come close to him.

But in time, you'll come to understand the ways of men's hearts.

The time will come when you will love Daemon more than me.

And you will realize that men... can be very dependable.

The end of Warabi labour... is scheduled... the first of next month.

Is Granny coming back?

She won't. - Why not?

She won't be back... until the end of autumn.

But why, if their labour will finish so early?

We're harvesting rice next month... and the Warabis could help us.

They won't last that long.

What do you mean?

With the crops severely damaged...

we are not sure of surviving autumn and winter.

We will know more early next month.

Wherever you look...

there isn't enough work for Warabis... not anywhere.

So then... call them here to the middle village.

Whom do you think we should save, the villagers or the Warabis.

Isn't it obvious?

That's the reason... Warabino exists.

Dear Granny...

I have no idea what to do.

It's still only the end of summer...

and you must wait two more months before you can return.

Will you be able to find... something to eat?

Nui dear...

do you think we old folks are going to die when summer ends?

We'll think of some way to keep ourselves going.

We must find... a way to live until winter.

What can we find to eat and live on?

There are... birds in the sky... and...

rabbits in the fields... and... fish in the river.

Are you saying the Warabi should survive by eating impure things?

Of course!

From the sky a little... the fields a little.... and the river a little.

Just a little of nature's blessings...

to keep alive... we Warabi for two or three months.

What gods of nature would be angry?

Let's eat birds, rabbits, and fish too!

We... don't even know how to catch birds.

I'll... teach you to catch rabbits.

Catching rabbits and fishes... Jing and Tome can do it.

With determination... you can learn to do anything.

If you men go hunting, I'll dig the ground.

I might find a mole, or cicada larvae... something at least!

So long as we can stay alive...

let's not look at rules and morals.

In Warabino we'll eat anything in order to stay alive!

Dear Nui...

Umakichi explained to me... that there are two kinds of birds.

Some fly in the sky and some run on the ground.

For us at our age...

killing birds in the sky is difficult.

That's why... he's showing us how to hunt ground birds.

I haven't learnt new things like this for ages.

I feel as excited as i did when I was a child.

Hurry up... or I'll leave you behind.

He sure is a hard one.

That he sure is.

I'll go set the rest... you two wait here.

At this rate... he might even become Warabino's headman.

If he survives the winter.

Ren!

I caught it! I caught it!

The crows are suffering too!

Even if they go to the village they won't find food like before.

They are all so skinny.

Jingorou come! Jingo... Please come!

Jingorou...! If you don't find food, you won't eat.

Wasting time with Chiya, you'll end up starving.

You'll both end up hungry.

Matsuya...

you too may need Jingorou's back... to carry you someday soon.

No one can live entirely on their own.

Dear Granny...

Daemon told me strictly... not to give any food to beggars.

If their number increases... day by day our stocks will go down...

til there isn't enough for us let alone our tenants.

All the same... I feel sorry for the ones with children.

Dear Granny...

In a year like this... without your guidance, I fell completely helpless.

My words can't express it.

Please return before winter, dear Granny.

Promise me that.

These are... horse chestnuts.

Soak them in water, and make dumplings.

These are... 'Akebi'. ( Edible wild fruit. )

Let Jingorou eat them.

These are... the wild vines.

As they're tasty... I'll eat them.

Hey Chiya... what shall we do with the acorns?

Parch them and let Jingorou have them.

Then, how about these Kaya nuts? ( Japanese Yew nuts. )

Let Jingorou have them too.

Jingorou is such a lucky fellow. He's a real treasure!

If Jingorou gets them all, I'd feel sorry for the others.

Won't you leave some for Umakichi?

I'll give nothing to Uma. He's dirty and he smells bad.

This is all we have today.

Chiya scavenged all these... expecially for you.

Jingorou come! Jing-ya.

Come here!

Not that way. Overlooking the village.

Go that way.

He has a hard time of it, poor Jin!

Oh Jin! Come here!

Jin-o... isn't... your husband.

Chiya...

your husband is Tasaku and he's already dead.

In this world...

there is no man whose name you can call.

I don't know any Tasaku.. My husband is Jin.

All right.

Chiya has gone senile.

We'll just have to accept the fact.

Jingo... you have become Chiya's husband.

Out here away from the world...

no one will object.

Take Chiya as your second wife.

Oh I see.

Then I'll marry Chiya.

I think tenderly of her as she's always calling me.

What a rare and touching story that would make!

If only there were someone to tell.

You can tell anyone you like here.

There are no more human beings here.

All of us have turned into Warabis... who just look human.

Chiya's not alone... Jin's too has gone senile.

Chiya just let out...

her last breath.

Well at last...

your Warabi duties... are finally over.

Now you are free from work.

You can truly rest now.

Dear Nui...

The other night... I had a dream.

Grandma!

Who is it?

It's Choutarou.

Grandma... remember me?

Choutarou...

how could I forget?

Such a tragedy you were born dead.

We could do so little, but my husband, Buemon...

gave you a name...

before we buried you.

All this time... I've floated in space until reaching this age.

It's so nice of you to have come to see me... my dear grandson.

Today I want... to tell you something. - Of course.

Say anything you want.

My... longed for return to life... soon, will come to fruition.

Good for you. Where will you be born?

Curiously... by a twist of fate to Daemon once again.

You mean... Nui's become pregnant?

Just so.

But...

in a year like this one...

it would be hard to survive.

Day and night, Nui thinks seriously...

of miscarrying her baby.

If she does...

my earnest wish will burst like a bubble.

Grandma, please tell Nui.

My dear Choutarou...

if you're sure to be born again...

you should wait for your next chance.

Nui is young, it'll surely happen before long.

I cannot do that!

Oh... Tell me all about it then.

To be born, there's an order.

What order?

First... she'll next bear a daughter...

Only then will my turn come again.

If the first girl is miscarried...

Nui must then... conceive a girl again.

Therefore... I'd loose my chance to come into the world.

And then... Daemon... would have no successor.

Oh my, what a mystery!

I'll die and then be born again to my daughter-in-law?

I know it sounds strange to you.

But... when you're still in this world, its only natural.

When you're back in the spirit world,

it will all become clear to you.

Granny... after I'm born as the head of the Maniwas,

I'll devote myself to making the district prosper.

How admirable!

You must work hard too as my younger sister.

Oh... sure I will.

So Granny... convince Nui to keep her first baby... please.

Dear Nui...

have your baby.

When will it be born?

Probably next April.

Like Yasaku's wife...

should I jump holding a stone?

I can still do it now?

Those who have lost their babies...

will hate to see a newborn.

The headman incurs people's enmity...

especially in a year like this.

No!

But then... soon my belly will get too big.

The whole village...

must aspire with one will, or we won't survive the winter.

I've been careful not to dress or eat...

in any way different from the tenants' wives.

It was your mother who taught me.

All those efforts will come to nothing... if I have this baby.

This baby... have it.

It's my child.

And if a boy...

he'll take over the house of Maniwa.

We became Warabis and left their world...

so that... our children and grandchildren wouldn't starve.

But I hear that many houses...

are even running out of millet.

If we all starve, coming here will have been in vain.

We starve here...

and they starve in the village.

If our grandchildren are to eat... we should catch something for them.

Even if you can catch them...

who'll deliver them?

We're no longer allowed to even go to the village.

I'll take them at night...

and leave them at their doors.

All those traps... are you going to set them all alone?

If I set ten... only one or two will be full.

Even this isn't enough.

Tomezou please! Tomezou!

Has he lost his mind?

Usually he's so gentle and quiet.

Uma...

You're hard at work.

They're not for my children...

nor even my grandchildren.

They're for myself.

Ren...

If I should die before you...

then these are for you.

You're strong-minded and still in good health.

You should eat them...

so that... you live longer than the rest.

Back in the village...

you were always good to me.

While still in this world...

I want to repay... your kindness.

How many traps did he take?

Twenty three, or maybe twenty-four.

With Tomezo's legs, he won't be back before dark.

On a game path after sun down...

you can't see a thing.

Jingo...!

Let's go find him.

Greed's turned his brain... our Tome.

Doing it for his children and grandchildren is so sad!

Did you find him?

He was dead.

Oh no.

Crossing the river he must've sliipped in the dark...

hit his head on a rock... and died.

It's a lie!

It can't be! It can't be so!

Jin... we should get some sleep.

Tomorrow...

we'll go and carry his body back.

Now our bodies must rest.

Sister...

there are four ridges.

If we're determined... we can cross them.

And reach the other side of the mountains.

It's better on the other side.

The wind is milder...

and it doesn't snow as heavily.

That's where I live.

Even the birds and animals...

winter on... the other side of the mountains.

Sister...

you'll have enough food there.

I'll carry you on my back.

I'll feed you birds!

There's venison... to eat.

And your body will be warm.

If we leave now...

we can be there by dusk.

I have some 'Gumi' wine... ( Gumi = sour wild cherry. )

If you drink some... it'll perk you up. ( Gumi = sour wild cherry. )

So let's go. Let's go!

I'll carry you on my back.

I can only take your heart's kindness.

Before any Warabis see you... hurry back home.

Why...

Why... won't you come with me?

You...

Are you afraid of your own sister?

Is it because I'm a mountain woman, you won't come?

Such a long time...

has it changed us so much... we two sisters?

Dear Shika...

I'm supposed to live here... and nowhere else.

They've thrown you away.

Let me pick you up.

We're away from the world...

no one will blame us.

As for the Warabis...

the villagers don't give a damn...

whether you live or die!

Since last summer...

there've been changes in the mountains.

Women from the villages started to come.

Very likely...

they were kicked out by their husbands like me.

I even saw...

one with her unweaned baby at her breast.

All of them...

go deep into the mountains...

and hide themselves... somehow.

But I'm sure...

somehow they've all survived.

Sister...

Sister...

the mountains... will welcome you and support you.

You have the rest of your life...

to live there.

I cannot.

Some of you chose to renounce our world.

We Warabis chose to live in it.

Until recently, we lived in that world.

Warabino is a natural extension of it.

Now that I have found my sister...

I have no more regrets.

Shika dear...

go back to the mountains before the snow flies.

And...

take good care of yourself...

live in the arms of the mountains.

This will be our last meeting.

My sister!

Go back now!

Hurry back to your home! Hurry back!

Matsuya, you sound so pained.

Your laboured breathing...

it's the way I always know... where you've gotten to.

I can depend on it.

My, my...

you say that...

now that Chiya's gone... do you want me as your next wife?

Even loosing your sight, you're still trying to win a woman.

Jingorou, you're a lucky fellow.

Losing your sight... you don't have to see what miserable old women we are.

Back in the village, your voice was always... so sweet and gentle.

It was lovely as a pretty red yew berry.

Matsuya has a sharp voice.

like the 'gamazumi' fruit. ( Linden fruit )

Each one of you is like a different tree fruit.

I'm like... 'gamazumi'... you say? ( Lit: toad-like )

That's right.

Unlike it's unbecoming name, it's small red berry is like a ruby.

Oh, that's what you meant.

It truly is a very pretty berry.

Dear Granny...

the snow has started to fall.

You said you'd return by the end of autumn.

What happened to your promise?

Come back... as soon as possible... dear Granny.

Give her up.

She's your mother, Daemon!

How can you give up on her?

At any rate... let's go to the border with Warabino.

It's too late... she's already dead.

If she wasn't... she would've returned a long time ago.

Usually... Warabis come back at the end of autumn...

about the time... the first snow falls on Mt. Nokobuse.

Too late... by two weeks already.

All eight of them... would die at the same time?

Wouldn't one or two have survived?

I can't imagine they'd all be dead. - No...

Their labour visits were closed early this year.

Their food would have finished.

By now...

they've likely all passed away.

Finally... free from hunger and cold...

resting in peace.

Dear Nui...

since the first snow fell... about 10 days ago...

we're now covered in deep snow.

Tose, add some Mayumi leaves to give it body.

Don't worry the rabbit meat I've already added... will be enough.

Tose, there is no rabbit meat.

Take a good look at it.

You're right... there's only water in here.

What happened to Matsuya?

I can't hear any breathing.

Matsuya, dear.

She was... a wicked old woman... but she died well.

The gamazumi berry...

has breathed her last.

Umakichi... you just ate.

You should rest awhile.

What is it?

Hey Uma!

Are you going... to catch birds now?

I going to catch rabbits.

You don't have to go today.

I'm starving.

Just now... you had some gruel.

All the same... I'm still hungry.

I'm starving to death.

I want to eat rabbits...

or birds...

anything damn thing!

Lost your mind... Umakichi?

Keep it together!

Uma... you are the mainstay for all of us! Uma!

Uma! Uma!

We must first send off Jingorou and Tose,

a blind man and a senile woman.

We cannot die before them.

Be strong!

Uma!

Ren...

I want to eat you, too.

Are you mad?

I'll have you... in my stomach I'll eat you, and we'll die together.

I haven't got any meat left on me.

I don't need your meat. I'll eat your bones.

Ren, you are so dear to me.

In that world...

I lost you to Buemon of Maniwa...

but that tie has now been severed.

Let us now... leave here together.

Leave for where?

To the next world...

the two of us together.

Umayo...

In the sky I see a white lotus... it's falling down.

Where's Jingorou?

Last night... he said jokingly that he was going to see Chiya.

Did he mean her forest grave?

Could it be... he went after Chiya's spirit?

Jin-yo!

Jingorou! Jin-yo!

Ren... are you preparinq for death?

The buckets will dry out and leak... if no water's left in them.

Don't just watch, give me a hand.

Nui...

Granny... I've come for you. I'll carry you on my back.

I'm taking you home... just as I promised.

Dear Nui...

this old lady deceived you.

Come. Let's go back. Let's go home.

Dear Nui...

you cried like a small child when I left you...

so I just couldn't tell you that I would never... return.

I convinced Daemon, Isaku and Tera not to tell you.

Shamefully... I lied... saying I would return in autumn.

I lied... knowingly.

Dear Nui...

honestly...

from Warbino... there is no way to go back.

So... let's go back?

Can't you hear me?

Here... please let me carry you back.

Hurry back home.

You live... in the human world, while I...

live in the warabi world.

Nui dear... go home and fulfill your duty as a Maniwa wife.

Bear a child... work the paddy fields.

And look toward the hill of Warabino... anytime you need me.

Before long, spring will arrive.

When the first buds of bracken push up...

in the fuzz on their spiral buds...

you will see my gray hair.

Before the season turns to spring...

I will become spirit...

and watch over you all.

Ren...

are you cold?

I really am.

In that case...

I'll put my warm arms... around you.

A broken down old granny...

like this one...

aren't I unpleasant to hold?

Even an old granny is a woman... and so is pleasant.

Your appearance... may have changed...

as you've grown old.

Still you're petite and slender...

my affection is still the same.

Until your very last breath...

your nature... will never change.

Dear Uma...

Even on the threshold of the next world...

would you try to seduce a woman?

Sure I would.

And... I'll pledqe to you...

that you and I... will be married in the next world.

The image of you...

planting rice as a young girl...

even now... is clear in my mind.

If we pledge here in Warabino...

to get married in the next life...

you're bound to me... to be my wife there.

You're certainly are tenacious!

But Uma...

now I feel...

that the next life...

is not far off.

It's very near.

I can feel it...

almost as if I could touch it.

I feel it in my bones.

Dear Ren...

are you sleepy?

If so... go to sleep.

I too...

will soon... fall asleep.

Tose! Don't you feel light?

I really do.

Finally there's nothing more I have to do.

Now I feel light, light... as if I've become a cloud.

I was trapped in such a small shell for so long...

all cold and joyless.

That's so!

I feel much better this way.

Uma... I'll go first.

Be sure to find me later.

Ren, here I have to leave you.

Not to the village?

Not me... I'll go to the graveyard... and wait for my husband to come next year.

That's good. I'll leave and head to the village.

That's also good.

Could you do me a favour?

You'll find my grandson in the graveyard. His name's Choutarou.

Tell him to wait peacefully... till his time comes.

I promise I'll tell him.

Ren... aren't we so very light? - For sure!

I feel so light as if I could fly like a bird.

Dear Nui...

I still have something left to do in Oshibuse.

I am still attached... and need to live here once more.

If the land were fertile I'd have no regrets.

Because the land is suffering so...

I simply cannot abandon it.

That's why... I must take a human life again.

And to our village... return once again.

Original English Subtitles by Maki Takemitsu.

Subs extensively rewritten and re-timed by salmond.

Translation help by Keiko Mima.