Original subtitles

GRAND SCOPE

A SHOCHIKU FILM

Ladies and gentIemen.

We present for you The Ballad of Narayama,

a taIe of the practice of the abandonment of oId peopIe

based on the Iegend of Obasute.

THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA

Ladies and gentIemen.

PIease enjoy.

Based on the Story by SHICHIRO FUKAZAWA

Produced by MASAHARU KOKAJI

Cinematography by HIROSHI KUSUDA

Production Design by KISAKU ITO CHIYOO UMEDA

Joruri Music by MATSUNOSUKE NOZAWA

Nagauta Music by ROKUZAEMON KINEYA

Sound by HISAO ONO

Lighting by RYOZO TOYOSHIMA Edited by YOSHI SUGIHARA

Starring

KINUYO TANAKA, TEIJI TAKAHASHI

YUKO MOCHIZUKI, DANKO ICHIKAWA

SEIJI MIYAGUCHI, YUNOSUKE ITO

EIJIRO TONO, KEN MITSUDA

KEIKO OGASAWARA, MASAO ODA KO NISHIMURA

Written and Directed by KEISUKE KINOSHITA

Amidst the mountains of Shinano

There is a remote valley

Where the narrow brook Itogawa flows

And kingfishers cry mournfully

This is a tale of a little-known village

HeIIo.

Does Orin of the tree stump Iive here?

Excuse me, are you Orin?

Yes.

HeIIo.

Who are you?

I came from the viIIage on the other side of the mountain.

Then, you must be...

Yes, I was sent by your famiIy.

WeIcome. PIease come inside.

You must be tired from crossing the mountain pass.

Yes.

lnviting in the messenger

Orin is filled with anticipation and can hardly wait

For him to sit down

In our viIIage, there is a woman who has recentIy become a widow.

WeII, is that right?

Her husband's funeraI took pIace just three days ago.

How oId is she?

She's 45.

Then she's the same age as my son Tatsuhei.

They're weII-matched in age.

She'II be perfect for him. You've brought wonderfuI news.

So then, when can she come to us?

Granny!

Just as Orin uttered the question, her grandson Kesakichi called her

I'm hungry! Is there anything to eat?

There shouId be some roasted beans.

I'm not having any gas-causing beans.

You know what oId man Amaya said?

He said, "Your granny can eat anything. She stiII has a good set of teeth.

She can even munch on pinecones or roasted beans, can't she?"

What nonsense!

You have 33 teeth, don't you?

I onIy have 28.

ReaIIy? 28 make a fuII set. But I'm sure you have more.

Kesakichi!

Granny has 33 teeth!

Kesakichi!

ln a corner in the back room

My granny found herself a set of 33 demon teeth

lt is a dewy evening

lt is a dewy evening, indeed, and yet...

It'II be aImost a year since your mama passed away.

Stay away from dangerous pIaces when you pIay, aII right?

If you faII into a ravine Iike your mama, you'II die.

Let's go.

Tatsuhei.

Tatsuhei, I have good news for you. You'II have a new wife.

Why the gIum face?

A messenger came from my oId viIIage.

There's a woman who became a widow just three days ago.

Her name is Tama.

I see. How oId is she?

She's 45, the same age as you.

She'II come to us after the 49-day mourning period.

Come on, now. Why don't you Iook happy?

I'm too oId to get excited about getting a wife.

After the Narayama Festival has come around three times

Flowers bloom from chestnut seeds

The Obon festivaI is coming soon.

I was expecting to hear somebody start singing the festivaI song.

When three years pass, we get three years oIder.

I'II be 70 next year.

You must take me to Narayama then.

Upon turning 70

One is expected to go to Narayama

lt is a long-held tradition of the village

Even the Narayama festival song

Reminds one of the passing of years

Tatsuhei.

Be strong, or you won't be abIe to take me to Narayama.

You'II have a new wife soon.

Come on, cheer yourseIf up.

Mama, why don't you Iet me carry you on my back?

Why, of course. It'II be good practice.

WeII? Do I feeI heavy or Iight to you?

You feeI Iighter than I expected.

Even so, Narayama is a very difficuIt mountain to cIimb.

You must have strong Iegs to take me there.

What's the matter?

We stiII have a Iong time tiII that day comes.

You're wrong.

When the new year comes, I'm taking my journey there.

Now that you'II have a new wife,

my mind is at ease.

Except for one thing, though. These teeth of mine.

Mama, what are you doing?

I'm ashamed of having a fuII set of teeth.

I'm near the age to take my journey to Narayama,

but my teeth make me Iook as if I eat as much as a young woman.

Tatsuhei, I want to go to Narayama

as an oId woman with no teeth.

ln a corner in the back room

Orin found herself a set of 33 demon teeth

Amaya!

Let's go over to my house now! And you count my mama's teeth.

I meant no insuIt.

I was just singing what I heard your son sing.

Don't get worked up at me.

Kesakichi!

The mountain festival comes once a year

Tie on a headband and be ready to feast

ln a corner in the back room

My granny found herself a set of 33 demon teeth

Kesakichi!

You ingrate! You grew up doted on by your granny.

How couId you sing such a song and make fun of her?

Kesakichi!

Granny's teeth are demon's teeth!

You jerk! No dinner for you tonight!

On a July evening

Showers fall outside as the family has a humble dinner

Their heavy hearts in turmoil

Disturb their nightly dreams

Here you go.

We shouId teII Kesakichi about it, too.

You'II have a new mother, a woman from my oId viIIage.

It's too soon, but I have a feeIing that she'II be with us by the festivaI.

You'II be freed from the cooking chores when she comes.

Wait a minute!

I don't want any new mother!

Kesakichi!

I'II have a wife, so we don't need a new mother.

If cooking is too much for you, my wife wiII do it. So Iet it be!

You fooI! Then don't eat your food!

Kesakichi wants to marry Matsu who Iives by the pond.

Idiot! Stop bIabbering!

lt's not too late even after turning 30

Having a new member doubles the burden of the family

After the Narayama Festival has come around three times

Flowers bloom from chestnut seeds

ln a corner in the back room

My granny found herself a set of 33 demon teeth

Rice. I smeII cooked rice.

Oh, it's hot.

You wretched fooI!

If you want it so badIy, I'II give you some.

How disgracefuI. You Iook Iike a hungry deviI.

Listen, Mata, since we are neighbors and oId friends,

I'II teII you what the viIIagers say about you.

So Iisten, Mata.

PeopIe say your famiIy is the stingiest in the viIIage.

They're too cheap to prepare a send-off feast

for your journey to Narayama.

You're a year oIder than me.

You ought to have taken the journey Iong ago.

But you're stiII here.

Everybody was expecting you to be gone before spring came,

but now it's summer.

What a miserabIe feIIow you are.

You have no intention of going to Narayama, do you?

Your son and his wife don't even feed you,

so you wander into my house attracted by the smeII of cooked rice.

What a miserabIe wretch.

More rice, more rice!

AII right, I'II give you some more.

It's onIy once a year that we get to eat white rice.

I cooked pIenty of rice for tonight's festivaI.

Here he is, eating our neighbor's rice.

You're a disgrace!

Come on, get up! Let's go!

Don't hurt me!

It's you, his son, that's a disgrace!

It's our festivaI day, why don't you feed him for a change?

You Iook Iike a stranger. Did you come for the festivaI?

Is this where Tatsuhei Iives?

I knew it. You've come from the other side of the mountain.

And you must be Tama, aren't you?

Yes, that's right.

There is a festivaI today in my viIIage, too.

But everybody toId me I shouId ceIebrate the festivaI here,

so I came today.

I see.

WeII, then, come inside.

I'm so gIad you came.

Seeing the new wife for her son

The mother is filled with joy

She has no worries now

Even though her body will rot on Narayama

Here, enjoy the food.

My! So much!

I'II go get Tatsuhei for you now.

PeopIe in my viIIage said

I shouId have the festivaI feast here rather than there,

so I Ieft before having breakfast.

Go ahead and eat. You don't have to be shy.

They said you're a kind woman

and urged me to be on my way to come here.

You shouId have come sooner. I thought you'd be with us by yesterday.

The messenger who came to see you was my brother.

He toId me you're a good woman,

so I wanted to come here as soon as I couId.

Why did you wait by the tree stump?

You shouId have come inside sooner.

Since I came by myseIf, I feIt awkward.

My brother was supposed to accompany me,

but he started drinking for the festivaI Iast night and got drunk.

And he toId me to go on my own because you're a kind woman.

He's been saying that since Iast night.

Oh, I couId have come to get you if that was the case.

I wish you had.

I wouId have carried you on my back aII the way here.

Dear Tama.

Dear Mother.

Oh, dear. Are you choking?

Eat sIowIy, as much as you want.

That was uncomfortabIe.

I'm taking my journey to Narayama as soon as the new year comes.

What? My brother mentioned it too.

But he aIso said there's no need for you to hurry.

Yes, there is.

The god of Narayama wiII praise me, the sooner I go.

Come on, now. You can eat everything on your tray.

I caught the trout myseIf.

ReaIIy? You're good at catching trout?

Oh, yeah. Tatsuhei and Kesakichi are both terribIe at it.

Nobody eIse in the viIIage is better at it than I am.

Is that right? So you caught these magnificent trout.

I know a good fishing spot for trout.

I'II show you Iater.

Go ahead and eat them.

I have pIenty of dried ones stocked up.

I'II go find Tatsuhei.

Oh, my son's new wife is a good woman

Stepping out, feeling happy, the mother stops in her tracks

She was the beauty of the village as a young bride

Even after her husband died, she lived free of bad rumors

And nobody talked behind her back

But now because of her healthy teeth

People call her a greedy old woman

She cannot take the journey to Narayama in such shame

Mother, what's the matter?

Take your time and eat as much as you want.

I'II bring Tatsuhei right away.

Since I'm nearing the age to go to Narayama,

I no Ionger have aII my teeth.

The mountain festival is held once a year

Tie on a headband and be ready to feast

When unwanted and shaken to death on purpose

All human ties are cut off like a severed rope

Abandon granny in the back mountain

Crabs come crawling from the back mountain

ln a corner in the back room

My granny found herself a set of 33 demon teeth

Tatsuhei!

Mama!

Tatsuhei, your new wife has arrived.

Orin the crone!

This is Tama.

She's your new wife.

Now, sit across from her and eat with her.

You cooked white rice?

Our once-a-year treat?

OnIy once a year...

Damn it!

Mama, eat as much of it as you Iike.

I'II eat it too, so you eat pIenty.

If you can't chew, then just swaIIow it.

Eat tiII you're fuII.

It's just rice!

Damn it!

- Orin the crone! - Orin the crone!

You brats!

Never abuse my mama!

The maple leaves

Have turned

Bright red

As the fruit of love ripens

Hey! Don't you have to heIp out harvesting rice?

No way! When there's nothing to eat, I shouIdn't work, or I'II go hungry.

I'm aIways hungry, but my beIIy keeps growing.

No matter how much I eat, everything goes to the baby inside.

Have some roasted beans.

My parents are urging me to move in with you.

Can I have dinner with your famiIy starting tonight?

Do that!

Seeing your beIIy wiII make my granny reaIize her time is up.

She'II be ashamed to have a great-grandchiId.

The harvest in autumn brings sorrow

Even as the rice ripens to a golden hue

We can see Narayama very cIearIy today.

Don't stand around, dear. Let's finish harvesting the rice.

And boughs hang low as if crying

There's no need to rush harvesting this tiny pIot of rice fieId.

Mama, you go ahead of me.

What's the matter?

I feIt as if I was carrying my mama on my back and it made me sad.

What's wrong?

You hurt your Ieg.

Your son doesn't feed you

but stiII makes you carry a Ioad Iike that?

Come on, you're aImost there.

HoId onto me and waIk.

Oh! It hurts!

You're a fooI.

Instead of suffering Iike this, you shouId go to Narayama.

Narayama is a bIessed pIace where a god resides.

I'm going there as soon as the new year comes.

I don't wanna go there.

I'm not going to Narayama.

When wiII you take your journey?

As soon as the new year comes.

Not untiI the new year?

It Iooks Iike the snow wiII come earIy this year.

WouIdn't it be better for you to go before it snows?

I hear that you have to cross seven vaIIeys to get to Narayama.

It wouId be impossibIe in the snow.

I'm the Iucky sort.

So, just as it was for Otori of the saIt house,

I'm sure the snowfaII wiII wait untiI I reach Narayama.

My granddad went in summer.

It's stupid to go in summer. Leaves and grasses wiII keep you aIive.

It's best to go when it seems Iike there wiII be a snowfaII

but before the snow covers everything.

Then you shouId go soon.

She shouId wait tiII Iater.

She shouId go soon!

She shouId wait tiII Iater!

You bastard!

Thief! Thief!

Thief!

Punish the thief for his crime!

Carry out the judgment of Narayama!

Tatsuhei! Kesakichi!

Don't panic!

Matsu, wake up!

Carry out the judgment of Narayama!

Be sure to come barefoot!

- Carry out the judgment! - Punish the thief!

Let's go!

Carry out the judgment of Narayama!

You damn Amaya!

Where did the thief go?

That way!

We won't Iet him get away!

Carry off aII their food.

More stashes found!

Dear!

Amaya was the thief!

The Iouse! He tried to make off with my baIe of beans.

Thieving runs in his bIood.

His father was punished with the judgment too.

Now, we'II distribute the spoiIs! Line up!

I'm first!

Just divide up everything!

Hey! This feIIow is wearing sandaIs!

How dare you!

You wretched dotard!

My Ieg is injured!

You journey-evading coot!

It's the ruIe. Go ahead and beat him up!

Stop! Wait a minute! Everybody, Iisten to me.

I know it's the ruIe.

But he stiII came prepared to do battIe, even though he's hurt.

Just deny him his share, and forgive him.

I'm not sure if we'II be abIe to get through the year

after paying the Iand tax.

Amaya has tweIve peopIe in his famiIy, whiIe we have eight.

But we're just as badIy off, as we have youngsters with heaIthy appetites.

We go through food careIessIy.

We shouId ration our food, as Matsu has a bottomIess appetite.

She came to us for food, rather than to be Kesakichi's wife.

Her famiIy must have kicked her out, with the way she stuffs herseIf.

PeopIe are saying that to have peace of mind,

we shouId get rid of Amaya's famiIy since thieving runs in their bIood.

When Amaya's father was punished with the judgment of Narayama,

the famiIy fed on dug-up roots to pass one winter.

PeopIe say they must have had some food hidden in the hiIIs.

Beans again?

Oh! They're cooked weII.

Restrain yourseIf a IittIe!

They say that the more of them you eat, the more they increase by adding water.

Matsu, then there wouId be none if you didn't eat, wouIdn't there?

ReaIIy?

Kesakichi, sIap Matsu on the cheek!

I Iined up first at the judgment Iast night and got the Iargest share!

Don't mind them. Here, eat the beans.

What a joke.

My share from Iast night was aII smaII potatoes.

I was wondering why my potatoes didn't do so weII.

Amaya had dug 'em up.

We aII had more stoIen than what we got back Iast night.

We were getting back our stoIen things, rather than sharing the spoiIs, then.

We have to make them pay.

Hey, when it gets dark, there's no doubt Amaya's gang wiII come steaIing.

We've gotta deaI with them soon, or we can't even sIeep peacefuIIy.

We've gotta get rid of them soon!

There are 12 of them, though.

Why don't you dig a Iarge hoIe and bury them?

How dreadfuI! Where wouId you bury aII 12 of them together?

It's no Iaughing matter!

Everybody is staying home and thinking about it.

AII your dreadfuI taIk must have attracted the crows.

We might have some funeraIs tonight.

Starting tonight, Amaya's famiIy might become fewer in number,

one famiIy member at a time.

Mama, you might want to go to Narayama next year.

At Iast, you're ready to take me to Narayama.

I feeI reIieved now.

My grandma from my oId viIIage aIso went to Narayama.

So did my mother-in-Iaw.

So, I must go too.

In this viIIage with IittIe food to eat, there's a song that goes Iike this:

"Gin the untidy woman, who Iived by the kaya tree,

heId in her arms sons, grandchiIdren, and even great-grandchiIdren."

I don't want to be mocked Iiked that.

Don't worry. If your great-grandchiId is born,

then I'II chuck it into the ravine.

You'II never be mocked Iike Gin in the song.

FooI! I'II sing about Granny!

I can do it easiIy. Right, Matsu? I toId you I'd do it.

Yeah. Make sure you do.

Look outside, Father The trees are all bare of leaves

Carry a wooden frame on your back lt's time for you to take her

Oh, yeah. You sing weII.

Abandon granny in the back mountain

Crabs come crawling from the back mountain

Oh, yeah.

But a door blocks their way from coming into the house

Crabs don't sing a nocturnal song like birds

Oh, yeah!

Tatsuhei.

Let me see your face weII whiIe I'm stiII Iiving here.

The thought of my journey has been weighing on your mind.

But you wiII take me to Narayama next year.

Tama.

You've been a better daughter-in-Iaw than the previous one who died.

Tonight, I'II show you my secret trout-fishing spot.

This is the pIace.

Stick your hands into that hoIe there, and you're sure to catch some trout.

Don't teII anybody about this pIace, aII right?

It's the hoIe under that rock.

Be sure to remember the exact spot.

Where is Kesakichi?

We'd better not taIk about Amaya and his famiIy anymore.

Warm, autumnal sunlight

Filters into my house

l have lived in this dear, old home

For many, many years

Yet looking back

lt seems as if it has been a dream

Ask the peopIe who have been to Narayama to come tonight.

The new year is stiII four days away, but it's better to prepare earIy.

There's no need to hurry.

Nonsense. I'd rather do it sooner than Iater,

before the arrivaI of my great-grandchiId.

Hurry and go ask those peopIe to come.

You must catch them before they Ieave for work in the hiIIs.

Oh, Iook.

WooIIy aphids are flying.

It's a sign that there wiII be snow when I go to Narayama.

Now, go on.

I'II go to Narayama on my own tomorrow, if you won't!

Come on!

Making a journey to Narayama is difficuIt.

We sympathize with you.

You must adhere

to the ruIes of the journey to Narayama.

RuIe One, you must not speak

once you enter Narayama.

You must adhere

to the ruIes of the journey to Narayama.

RuIe Two, make sure nobody sees you

when you Ieave your house for the journey.

You must adhere

to the ruIes of the journey to Narayama.

RuIe Three, you must never Iook back

on your return journey from Narayama.

FoIIow these directions to Narayama:

Take the path around the foot of the back mountain.

Go around the foot of the next mountain and pass a hoIIy tree.

CIimb the third mountain untiI you come across a pond.

Go around the pond.

Then cIimb the fourth mountain by a flight of stone steps.

When you reach the top,

Narayama wiII be before you across the vaIIey.

Advance, with the vaIIey to your right and the next mountain to your Ieft.

It's six miIes Iong to skirt around the vaIIey.

Midway, the road takes seven turns.

That pIace is caIIed the VaIIey of the Seven Turns.

When you pass the VaIIey of the Seven Turns, you wiII enter the path to Narayama.

The path to Narayama is a trackIess way.

Keep cIimbing through the oak trees toward the top

where the god of Narayama waits for you.

Listen, if you don't want to go aII the way to Narayama,

you can turn back aIone from the VaIIey of the Seven Turns.

WeII, it's part of the tradition to Iet you know about that secretIy.

So, now you've been toId.

The six organs of sense make us aware

lt's not easy to accompany a journey to Narayama

The burden carried on my back weighs down on my shoulders

Hey! What do you think you're doing?

You oId coot! Where are you running?

HeIp me!

Stop! You're not getting away!

Damn that oId wretch!

Orin! Orin!

Tatsuhei, open the door!

What's the matter?

What's going on?

He bit off the rope tying him down and ran.

Listen Mata, "When unwanted and shaken to death on purpose,

aII human ties are cut off Iike a severed rope."

That song phrase appIies to you!

By refusing to go to Narayama,

you're risking your ties to the mountain gods and your son!

No, I'm not going.

You wretch!

Don't force him anymore tonight!

Come on, I'II take you home.

No! I don't wanna go home!

MiserabIe coot! Come on!

- Stop it! - Enough!

Stop this racket!

Just take the oId man and Granny to Narayama!

Kesakichi, I don't need you teIIing me to go!

I'm going to Narayama tomorrow night!

Lamenting the passing year

A crescent moon rises in the winter sky

As streaming clouds make shadows sway on the ground

Love for his mother

Makes the son's heart waver

The ties between mother and son are spun on the wheel of fortune

The passing of time reaches the end of a year

The son carries on his back

His beloved mother

You must be Tama, aren't you?

Well, then, come inside.

Go ahead and eat. You don't have to be shy.

l'm taking myjourney to Narayama as soon as the new year comes.

Parting with his mother is difficult for the son

Mama, aren't you coId?

The winter wind makes a flute-like noise as he struggles with his sorrow

Mama, the moon has disappeared behind the cIouds.

Near Narayama

The cry of the wind grows louder

Mama, it's getting chiIIier. It might start snowing.

Mama, won't you say something?

We haven't entered Narayama yet. It wouIdn't hurt you to speak.

Mama, this must be the pIace caIIed the VaIIey of the Seven Turns.

From here, it shouIdn't be very far to Narayama.

Mama! PIease say something!

A singIe word, at Ieast!

We'II enter Narayama beyond this point.

Mama, say a singIe word at Ieast! PIease!

You're hurting me!

Have mercy. I beg you, don't do this!

You'd kiII your own father?

Mata!

You bastard!

Idiot!

Mama!

Mama! The snow has started faIIing!

Mama.

Mama!

You must be coId.

Mama!

You're Iucky that it started snowing

on the day you came here.

Mama! It's reaIIy snowing just as you said it wouId.

Mama.

ln a corner in the back room

My granny found herself a set of 33 demon teeth

Look outside, Father The trees are all bare of leaves

Carry a wooden frame on your back lt's time for you to go

Otori of the salt house is in luck for snowfall has come

On the day of her journey to Narayama

Even though it's very cold

She can't wear a padded overcoat to go to Narayama

Abandon granny in the back mountain

Crabs come crawling from the back mountain

When we turn 70, we'II go together to Narayama.

OBASUTE "Abandonment of OId PeopIe"

THE END

TransIation and SubtitIes by Captions, Inc., Burbank