Original subtitles

3 weeping willows...

4 tree peonies...

5 cherry blossom trees...

6 violets of a lovely shade...

7 southern star flowers...

Shut up, brat!

Sakon Honma, I presume?

What do you think you're doing, dressed like that?

I am the mother of the Izushi Domain accountant, Shingoro Matsunaga.

My name is Takajo.

On the 5th of February, near the castle in Izushi...

...you brutally struck down my son's wife, Yuki.

I shall never forget what you did!

So what?

I have searched for you for the past 4 months and 10 days.

It is by the grace of the gods that we meet at last.

I may lack great strength but I have vowed to avenge the death...

...of my daughter-in-law in place of my son Shingoro.

I am challenging you to a fair fight!

You're actually challenging me? Don't make me laugh.

I see... so you do have some training with the sword.

But tell me something... is that son of yours a coward?

If he wants to avenge his wife's death, why not come after me himself?

Well?

Be silent!

The assassin lives in two different worlds.

He has a "daytime face" as well as a "night time face".

He leads a quiet life, inconspicuously, in a corner of Edo.

Baian Fujieda has an acupuncture practice in Shinagawa Daimachi.

His good friend Hikojiro makes his living as a toothpick artisan...

... on the outskirts of Asakusa Shioiri Dote.

The motojime who refers assignments to such assassins is called "tsuru"...

... in this industry.

The assassin relies on his tsuru's word...

"this man cannot be allowed to live, for the sake of mankind"...

... and pours his soul into his work at the risk of his own life.

BAIAN THE ASSASSIN

BAIAN THE ASSASSIN - NEEDLE

ACUPUNCTURIST BAIAN FUJIEDA

Doctor, thank you so much! I'm leaving you something here.

Oh, thank you.

Doctor...

My breasts are swollen.

Can you really cure me if you only treat my back?

Keep your hands to yourself. Listen, the pressure points are on your back.

You'll be feeling a little better by morning. We're done here.

Oh, Doctor, you're so heartless!

Heartless?

I'm just an acupuncturist. I can't cure that kind of ailment!

All right, we're done for today! Hurry up, now! Put this on!

Doctor, where are you going?

I'll take a bath, and have some sake.

Oh, wait, you mean you're going on a date with someone?

You guessed it. Pretty sharp of you! - Where are you going?

To take a leak. - Really, now!

Are you going out, Dr. Baian? - Well, Motojime...

Doctor, if you're not in a hurry, may I talk to you for a minute?

It's an assignment, isn't it, Motojime? - What's the matter?

You look so reluctant...

Well, my daytime job has been so busy lately.

I was thinking I might leave for a vacation to Hakone tomorrow.

I see.

The thing is, there's a job I'd like no one else...

...but you to take on, and it's urgent.

The fact that I've been chosen for this means that...

Yes. It's a very complicated, delicate matter.

I have half of the money right now for you...

Sorry.

No matter how much money you offer, I don't like doing urgent jobs.

Please find someone else. - But that just wouldn't do...

Can you hear me out?

No, once I've heard you discuss the details, I won't be able to get out of it.

And the mountains of Hakone will be out of my reach again.

Please don't hold this against me.

The restaurant Izutsu in the Hashiba area of Asakusa...

... is a long-time haunt of Baian's.

O- Mon, who serves him at Izutsu, and Baian...

... have an intimate relationship, which they keep secret.

Hakone?

Sounds good, doesn't it?

Soaking in a hot spring for 3 or 4 days...

Could you scratch my back?

...feasting on fine food to our heart's content... a little lower...

So you're going to take me with you?

People shouldn't spend every minute of their lives working...

I'm so happy.

O-Mon, the kind of man I am...

I only see you when I want to see you, and sleep with you when I desire you.

And yet, you've never once made any unreasonable demands of me.

That makes me feel so guilty... that I've been such a cruel...

...selfish man to you.

That's not true...

Doctor?

Doctor!

What is it?

Doctor, I need you to come with me.

What's the matter?

Just come with me. Hurry! Please...

Doctor...

Doctor!

Who is this woman?

In the past, her elder brother was a valued patron of ours.

Bring me a cloth and boil some water!

And some sake. I've got to cleanse this wound.

Send someone to a surgeon named Touan Horimoto in Omotecho, Kitahonjou.

Have him come right away. - All right.

Thank you.

Thank you for coming at such a late hour.

Thank you for coming at such a late hour. IZUTSU

IZUTSU

Please, this way. IZUTSU

All right, then.

She's lost so much blood.

I'm impressed that someone her age held on this long.

Any hope of recovery?

4 or 5 days at the most...

I stitched her sword-wound but since the blow fractured her sternum...

Her sternum?

But what a courageous woman...

Such a pity!

Now then, Doctor, have some food and some sake before you go.

O-Mon?

This way.

Yosuke...

That woman... would you mind telling me about her?

Yes, Doctor.

Her name is Lady Takajo.

Her elder brother, the Shogun's Retainer...

...Lord Ukyo Nakane, used to be a customer of ours.

That was 30 years ago...

30 years?

Yes.

She married a man named Matsunaga, a retainer of the Izushi Domain in Tajima.

This tragedy came about when she attempted a revenge killing...

...but fell victim to her opponent instead.

Revenge killing?

Yes.

So you've come to?

I apologize for causing you so much trouble.

Not at all.

Has the master told you about me?

Yes.

He told me that you're skilled with the needle.

Yes.

But unfortunately, I wasn't able to be of much help to you.

All I can do is alleviate your pain somewhat...

No...

I have heard that the needle generates vitality in one's body.

For someone like myself, who has lost all vitality...

...nothing can be done...

I lost a lot of blood.

I could have just succumbed right there in the road.

But I thought if I had any chance at all of surviving this...

...then I'd rather die after finishing what I'd started.

So I prevailed upon the owner of this shop, an old friend of my brother's...

...and asked him to take me in.

But I no longer have the will to live.

I have caused so much trouble for the master here...

...and for all of you... so much trouble.

Lady Takajo, what kind of vengeance are you seeking, exactly?

Will you tell me all about the tragedy that you suffered back home?

Dr. Baian...

My husband passed away 3 years ago.

My son, Shingoro, who serves as an accountant, had just been married.

I wanted for nothing... I was just enjoying my old age.

And then tragedy struck, without any warning, so suddenly...

It happened 4 months ago, on February 5th. It was mid-afternoon...

My daughter-in-law Yuki was walking near the castle...

...when she had the misfortune to run into a notorious scoundrel of...

...a samurai named Sakon Honma, as he arrived on horseback.

Look out!

Goddamn you, woman! How dare you thwart me!

I find it hard to believe a man in your position would do such a thing.

To recklessly run down a child near the castle is an offence...

...that would surely not go unpunished by the Lord.

What did you say?

Woman, do you know who you're talking to?

I know who you are. I believe your name is Sakon Honma.

Insolent woman! I won't have it!

It happened in broad daylight.

Many people were outraged by his display of violence...

...and they brought the matter before the magistrates.

Yet instead of executing him...

...the domain leaders allowed him to escape to Edo.

But why... why would they allow such an injustice?

Yes, well...

Sakon Honma comes from a family worth only 300 koku.

Although he is a man of insignificant rank...

... his grandfather is rumoured to be...

... the illegitimate son of the Lord's grandfather.

Everyone in the domain treads softly because they fear him.

So the proverb, "When you are powerless it is better not to resist"...

...holds true even for the warrior class?

Yes, apparently so.

It is a shameful thing.

But my son Shingoro was summoned by the Chief Retainer who ordered...

...him to swallow the loss if he wished to preserve the Matsunaga clan.

You must go after Sakon Honma and strike him down to avenge Yuki's death...

...and carry out your duty as a warrior.

Mother...

What you say is absolutely true but if I were to take such action...

...then the demise of the Matsunaga clan would be certain.

It does not matter.

As long as you uphold your honour as a warrior...

...I am sure our ancestors will forgive you.

No...

It means the end of our clan, which has prospered since the days of the Seiwa Genji.

That is a decision I cannot make on my own.

I believe it would be wiser to bear the unbearable,

to endure the unendurable...

You're so spineless!

I don't remember raising you to be such a coward!

Mother!

Would that not be too cruel a fate for my daughter-in-law?

Yuki herself was born into a warrior family.

Because of her pride as one of the warrior class, she was killed senselessly.

And now that her own husband has lost his will to avenge her...

...how can her soul ever find rest?

Madam, I feel your pain.

What Sakon Honma has done is unforgivable.

It must have been fate that brought us together.

What did you say?

Dr. Baian...

Rest assured... I give you my word!

Do you really mean that?

Doctor...

I'm through.

Doctor, don't you think we should notify Lady Takajo's family?

No. If we did, we'd be going against Lady Takajo's wishes.

After being so severely wounded, she chose to put all her trust in you.

I'm sure she had a good reason for that.

The next morning, Baian set off for Matsuchiyama Shoten in Asakusa...

... where Sakon Honma lived.

Sakon was being sheltered by Ichigaku Hattori...

... the Edo Retainer of the Izushi Domain.

Hey, blind man. Who said you could come here?

Please forgive me. I heard the sound of the water and...

Could you spare me a drink of water, please?

Water? - Yes.

Get it yourself!

Thank you very much.

You've got something on your line.

So? I have no desire to catch anything.

That's just sour grapes.

You've had a few good pulls on that rod and yet you seem to be in another world.

What were you thinking about?

Well, you see, I had another bad dream last night.

The one when you fall in a lake of blood? - Hey.

You'd better not say anymore.

I think you're a little rundown.

Yes. I've been thinking that my number may be up soon.

Well, maybe it is.

Baian, what did you want to talk to me about?

What? Oh, no, I just dropped by today to visit.

Listen, do you want to go for some shamo?

Isn't this really about a job you want me to do?

We won't get paid a thing for this one.

That sounds pretty interesting.

Why don't you just give me the story, at least?

The thing is, it's a painfully sad story, this one...

We can cook shamo at my place. - Your place, Hiko?

Come on, let's go.

Now that took me by surprise, she came all the way...

...from Tajima to get revenge here in Edo?

And it was for her daughter-in-law.

She wanted to get retribution for her daughter-in-law...

...so she attacked that scoundrel Honma.

Baian...

So you took on this assassination of your own accord?

Was that wrong?

No, no...

I've never taken on a job without going through a motojime...

...just based on my own feelings about the target.

No, wait, actually, I'm surprised at myself for feeling this way in the first place.

If I'd been in your shoes, I might have felt the same way.

So this Sakon Honma fellow... what do you think?

He's much more formidable than I thought.

You can feel the murderous intent he emits just being around him.

If we're not extra careful, we could end up getting killed instead.

I see, so he's that menacing, is he?

According to the neighbourhood gossip...

...in just the last month, there've been 2 incidents of street killings.

Street killings?

The victims of the slashings were a streetwalker and a beggar.

Both of them were felled with a single blow.

You think this Honma was responsible?

Most likely.

I'd like to help you take care of him, Baian.

But the thing is, we have no time to lose.

We have to do it by tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night?

We have to do it while Lady Takajo's still alive,

or it won't be much of a parting gift.

Will you still help me?

I'll go out tonight and get a good look at that scoundrel's face.

Chief Retainer! I might say the same of our Lord.

Leaving me hanging like this... it's unacceptable!

Does he know who I am to him?

And if he does, then he should give me the rank I deserve in Edo...

...and my own residence!

Lord Honma, it's not that I don't understand your reasoning.

But unless you show at least some signs of remorse...

Remorse? - That's right.

Remember, you are currently on probation.

You have committed numerous atrocities in your homeland.

Until now, our Lord...

...has chosen to look the other way, because of his relationship to you.

But by causing havoc right here in Edo,

not only our Lord but the rest of us too,

will reach the end of our patience.

The end of your patience?

I'd like to see you snap.

Lord Honma! - Chief Retainer.

Why don't you be the first to cut it?

The string of your so-called sack of patience? Come on.

Come on...

Come on...

How dare you!

Samurai...

Where are you headed? Have some fun with me, won't you?

I won't charge you much.

Damn.

Don't you have any better women in this place?

What?

What the hell?

Bring me sake! Bring some sake to me!

What is it?

Why are you crying?

A woman's happiness is a mysterious thing, isn't it?

What do you mean?

Lady Takajo's so far away from home...

...and she's all alone.

Well, that can't be helped. Everybody dies all alone.

No. I don't want that.

If you die, Dr. Baian, then I'll die too.

You have beautiful children. Don't say foolish things like that.

You're life itself to me, so when I go, I'm leaving you behind.

Then maybe it doesn't mean you're happy, just because you're alive.

She's a very strong lady.

She has such a strong heart.

It must be the effects of the medicine you gave her.

Even so, she won't last more than another 24 hours.

24 hours?

Sounds like O-Mon has you all figured out, Baian.

You mean that I'm an assassin?

I doubt it. O-Mon's not perceptive enough to have guessed that.

But she's a sweet girl.

She's praying for Lady Takajo, so that she might live even a minute longer.

I'm sure Lady Takajo can sense that.

Thanks for treating me.

By the way, Momotaro, did you get a good look at that Red Demon's face?

It certainly was Demon's Island. I even witnessed a street killing.

Another one?

It was a sweet-looking street prostitute.

He leaves his lodgings at 6 every night and heads to a brothel in Urayagura.

He always takes the same route.

Good, if we have that much information, it'll be easier to plan this out.

So we're doing this tonight?

Yes.

Excuse me, samurai...

This is the seal of Sakon Honma.

Th...

Thank... you...

I'm afraid she's gone.

Doctor?

What in the world was it that you did for Lady Takajo?

Doctor?

I didn't do anything for her.

It's just that...

I never had what you could call a real mother.

So whenever I see someone that age...

...it makes me want to play the part of the devoted son to them.

And it also seems as if Lady Takajo didn't have the son she deserved.

So fate somehow arranged for my feelings and her feelings to become one.

I'm so glad Lady Takajo wasn't a young woman!

What are you talking about?

I just got a little jealous again.

CLOSED TODAY

Have you improved?

Yes. Lately I've been able to anticipate more.

Maybe you could sacrifice one of your pieces?

Are you joking? Do you think I can afford to do that?

Excuse me.

Oh, Motojime, I'm taking a break from both my daytime and night time jobs today

Yes, I know.

I only dropped by today to thank you. I won't take up much of your time.

Thank me? - Baian.

I'm going to get some snacks for our sake.

That's right, I'm starving. Thanks. - Don't mention it, it's nothing.

Please, come in.

Pardon me.

Have some sake.

Thank you.

I will.

So what's going on, Motojime?

I don't remember doing anything you need to thank me for.

Surely you're joking, Doctor.

Really, you caught me by surprise, Dr. Baian.

I had no idea you had such a good grasp of the situation.

Truly, I underestimated you.

I thank you for carrying out the assassination.

I'm impressed that you were able to discern who your target was.

Despite the fact that I had told you nothing.

This is for you.

Really, Doctor...

You assassinate your target without a word, you take me by surprise...

...you make me a happy man... you do things in such a classy way!

Motojime, isn't 150 ryo a bit too much? - No, not at all.

Please, just take it all.

All right.

Doctor, as I have a foot-carriage waiting for me outside...

Right. - I will be taking my leave now.

Good day, Doctor.

Well! Scallops and goby fish with eggs!

Now that looks like a feast!

What's going on, Baian? - Huh?

You've been smirking to yourself.

Oh, well...

This has never happened to me before.

I beg your pardon.

I am Han-Emon. As you can see...

... I have accepted the gracious invitation to join you.

Oh, yes! Han-Emon. Please, come in. Come closer! Now, then...

Excuse me.

I beg your pardon.

Truly, thanks to you we were able to rid this house of its "evil spirits".

Our Lord couldn't be happier!

Now, then, have some sake.

I humbly accept.

Ah! Well done, well done!

No need to hold back tonight. Sit back and enjoy yourself to the utmost!

Good evening.

Ah, there they are.

Now, then, Han-Emon, feel free to relax.

Please, have some sake.

I accept.

By the way, Baian, where are you planning to bury Lady Takajo?

The master at Izutsu told me he'd never hand her remains over to her son.

Ah, that's the spirit!

Still, we can't send them back to her own family, either.

Hey...

Why don't we do this?

This is your share, Hiko.

Why don't we use the rest of the money to build her a fine tombstone?

I like that.

That's a good idea, Baian.

See? Sometimes even I come up with good ideas, don't I?

I'm no match for you, Baian.

Hey, I know!

Why don't we pick out our own tombstones, too?

Now that's a great idea. - Our graves could be hidden by dandelions.

Let's go on a journey to find a good place. - Good idea!

And visit a hot spring to soak in while we're at it.

But who's going to look after our graves?

But don't you think it's great, Hiko...

...to be alive?

Huh?

BAIAN THE ASSASSIN Preview

Here I come!

Have you been arranging to kill scores of people in that indecisive manner?

From now on, I owe you nothing.

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