Original subtitles

SHOCHIKU FILMS

Production by Fuji TV and Kyoto Eiga

In collaboration with Eizo Kyoto

Cut on the lower, right side of the abdomen.

Depth: 9 cm. Stabbing wound.

On her back...

...Identical wounds

In two... no, in three places.

Left hand...

Two severed fingers.

THE OIL HELL MURDER Onna Goroshi Abura Jigoku

Bamboo baskets! Bamboo baskets!

Bamboo baskets for rice! Round baskets!

Bamboo baskets! Bamboo baskets!

Bamboo baskets for rice! Round baskets!

I'll give him the money.

We are very embarassed.

Our request has been very bothersome for you.

Not at all. Don't worry about it.

We all are oil merchants, arent' we?

I'm glad I could be of help.

Don't say anything to her brother, Tahei.

It must be hard on you.

I'm not his father,

but in honor of my late master,

I want to take care of his son.

Yohei's a smart boy.

He'll eventually...

...come to his senses.

Give this to my brother.

What is it?

Something he cherished a lot.

And tell him that I, Okachi, I'll always...

...stand by him.

I broke the stove. I broke the mortar,

I got scolded, hoy!

That's funny!

A watermelon A melon

A grilled eggplant

Wanna eat them! Wanna eat them!

Excuse- me. I'd Iike my usual oil.

Yes!

Listen, I have something important to talk with Yohei.

Go play outside.

Yes, ma'am.

Play what?

Thank you very much.

Here's the sales made while you were out.

Here.

Greedy ol' man. Can't believe he actually coughed it up.

Yohei,

if you accept this money,

you have to quit being a bum.

You must go home and help the store...

...and help your parents.

D'you really need money to break up with that bad woman?

Don't talk to me about that anymore.

As a matter of fact, who is the one you're involved with?

You don't know what you're talking! I'm involved with no one.

Women are scary... And they tire me.

It's true. I've had enough.

You know,

I used to baby sit you when you were this big.

I could tell just by looking at your face,

if your diaper was wet.

And?

Is it now?

You're stupid.

I trust you.

We've agreed, haven't we? You're going back home,

and you're going to work hard.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Your sister, Okachi,

is very worried about you.

She told me she'd always be on your side.

What are you doing?

My hair!

That hurts.

You scared me...

I didn't realize you had become so strong.

What... what are these?

Senju, from the Ogi house,

Koyoshi, from the Sumiyoshi house,

Ukifune from the Tori house, Akashi, Chikuzen...

You were with all these geisha?

There's nothing that surprising.

I was sure you'd react that way.

More!

Alright.

Supper's ready!

Shall I warm some sake?

What are you looking for?

These are mostly Yohei's.

He calls this boX...

"The Love Suicides BoX".

Love suicide?

He put prostitutes letters in here,

pledges written in blood,

hair from a woman who killed herself,

and a nail torn from a pinky.

Yohei asked me to throw everything away.

We let him stay here out of compassion,

but he's an adult now.

We don't want people to talk.

Send him back to the Kawachi house at once,

before they start gossiping.

But I used to change his diapers!

At 20, he's no baby anymore.

Get a grip, stupid!

"This couple is on public display for 3 days..."

"...before being executed for adulterous relations."

Tenjin bridge is rather high,

And if you fall from it, take care...

One shu if you make them say something.

Come on!

Shout!

Well?

Morons!

Shall we let them be?

No way! You're a wimp!

Come on! Come on!

Say something!

Come on!

"KOBAI SEX CLUB"

You can't go in!

I'm sorry.

There's been a death in the family.

I have to bring her home.

I'm sorry.

Is she in this room?

Yes.

We've done something stupid.

Very stupid...

Punish us, if you feel like it.

I...

I'm really ashamed.

Let's get out of here.

Come.

Moron! It's no show!

Close the door!

Could you get a palanquin?

She's going back to Hachimansuji.

If you don't mind, we'll wait here.

What a surprise.

Are you going to tell my parents?

I don't know.

If you talk to them, I'm not going back home.

Why this whim?

Please, don't tell them anything.

You know,

our shop is connected to the one...

...ran by your father.

If he finds out what happened last night,

we'd be thrown out from the Oil Merchants' Association.

But I'm asking you.

I beg you.

Don't tell my parents anything.

Kogiku...

Since when...

...have you been seeing Yohei?

I... I'm not in love with him.

He's too sophisticated.

I asked him not to see each other anymore,

but he said that, if I left him, he'd kill me.

We have fun with geisha, attend parties,

we gamble, and every time,

I pay for everything.

Kogiku, are you really telling me the truth?

Why'd I lie?

Did Yohei really tell you he'd kill you?

This boy, he's a skirt chaser.

Very well.

What happened last night we'll stay between us.

Really?

- That's good to know! - But,

you're not to see him anymore.

Promise me.

I do. And if I break my word,

you can punish me.

What's so funny?

What will happen if it gets out?

Your parents will have to close shop.

Yes, I know it very well.

Do you really understand this?

I'm sorry.

Kogiku told me

she didn't love you anymore.

She said that?

She said you were a skirt chaser.

You know,

she's making fun of you.

Don't you hold it against her?

You should be angry,

very angry.

Yes...

Just this once,

I won't tell your parents anything.

And as for you, you must stop seeing her.

Agreed?

Yes...

- Agreed? - Yes!

Thank you. I won't see her anymore.

You should work hard to help your parents,

and do your filial duty.

You're not a child anymore.

Yes.

But...

...don't you ever hit me again.

You hurt me.

Oil! Oil!

Lighting oil!

Thank you very much.

Lighting oil!

Oil! Oil!

Lighting oil!

Buy my oil! Best prices around!

Well? Doing good?

Not terribly.

D'you think we should go sell somewhere else?

Yohei, oil doesn't make much.

Did you sleep with Kogiku?

I'm asking if you slept with her?

- What? - I'm not blind!

Good Lord...

The bastard... The bastard!

Bamboo poles!

Okichi! It's awful!

Why are you shouting so? What's the matter?

Yohei has seduced Kogiku, the daughter of the Oguraya house!

Yesterday evening, they were arrested...

...sleeping together.

They were in a seX club in Sakamachi.

And then?

The Ogura house used its influence...

...to set them free.

But the Kawachi house will have problems.

We've got to suport it.

No.

No, no.

He's at Ogura house,

where he's moralized because of Yohei.

Swine!

You only are the son of an ordinary oil merchant!

We, the Ogura house,

we've been running the Association for a long time!

Your father used to work as a clerk for me!

Forgetting all that I did for him,

you had the nerve to seduce my only daughter!

How did you bring him up?

You completely blew his education!

You should leave the Association!

I mean it!

He made too many problems!

I have a question.

Kogiku...

...what did she say about me?

Impudent! Swine!

What a nerve!

You threatened to kill her...

...if she left her.

Who told you that?

She did! Who else?

Just this once.

There will be no neXt time.

If you close shop,

you won't have a home to go back to.

If you ever come near our Kogiku again, you'll get yours.

Swine!

Aren't you ashamed? Swine!

If our father were alive,

he'd have hit you as much.

- I won't leave her. - What?

We're in love with each other!

I couldn't care less about oil business, about the shop!

I'm ready to die!

Bastard!

Tahei! Forgive your brother!

Do with me whatever you want!

Yohei!

Sit!

He's a dog in rut.

He needs to be locked up for a few days at least.

Yohei was only four when your father died.

He knows very well that, at that time,

I was only a small clerk, bossed around by every one.

What ever I say to him, he doesn't listen.

Don't stay that.

We owe it to you for having brought us up.

Drive him away.

Drive this debauched away.

Throw him out.

Let him move his ass out of here.

Excuse me.

Maybe it's not my business,

but if I tried talking to him...

Yohei.

- Yohei! - It hurts!

They're all against me.

Let me go.

Listen.

Do you really mean it?

What about?

Don't play stupid.

Do you really love Kogiku,

the daughter of the Ogura house?

Of course.

You're lying.

Tell me,

why are you trying so hard to resist them?

Your father-in-law and your mother were crying.

Did you notice this?

They disgust me.

Who are they,

to call me a skirt chaser?

This clerk took over our trade...

...and put his grip on my mother.

He raised you like a son. Why talk about him this way?

- He isn't a jerk. - He is!

After doing what he did, he asks me to break up!

For the sake of the reputation of the house?

Bullshit!

I don't give a damn about the Asssociation!

I won't let myself be duped.

If he makes me leave Kogiku...

...we'll both commit suicide.

I'll kill her first, and then myself.

A double suicide.

There're a lot of those right now.

Very well.

If you want to kill yourself,

show me how you'll do it.

"The moment came to bid this world adieu."

"The morrow its dew on the plain does lay..."

Listen, Yohei.

I,

will never allow you to live together.

It's funny.

Then, we'll commit suicide.

We'll commit suicide.

"Ogura-ya - Oil Merchant"

How is Kogiku?

She says she's bored, locked in her room.

Why not take her to the theater?

Idiot!

You don't set...

...a cat on heat free.

How vulgar!

Kogiku is our only precious daughter.

What ever the rumours may be, keep us informed.

If this becomes known,

the name of the house of Ogura will be tarnished.

What will, then, happen to Yohei...

...and to his family?

Well...

They'll have to hang themselves, or something like that.

Don't hide them, and don't help them to elope. Alright?

It really is unpleasant.

They're trying to intimidate me.

Okichi.

He talks about double suicide.

He has a dagger.

Yohei has a dagger.

He always has it with him.

Don't try to intimidate me, and neither mustn't you.

Kogiku...

I hope she isn't at risk.

Now... I can't go back home anymore.

I don't care about what's going to happen.

What is it?

It seems...

...you called me a skirt chaser.

Kogiku...

Don't underestimate me.

D'you want to die alone?

Or d'you want me to die along with you?

Double suicide is fairly frequent.

It has its charm, doesn't it?

Well?

Kill me!

Come on, do it.

Sonezaki whores say that when a man...

...proposes double suicide,

you must, first, slash the soles of his feet.

If not, he'll kill the woman...

...and take off. It's unfair.

Well?

You can never tell.

Do it.

Kogiku!

Calm down!

It's me! D'you recognize me?

Calm down! Kogiku!

Kogiku...

...forgive me.

Forgive me...

I waas mean.

Forgive me.

But...

...don't ever again scare me like this.

Here. Thank you very much.

Madame, are you Okichi?

Yes.

Here.

EXcuse me!

is itreally that you want?

Coward!

Coward...

Is this bell,

the bell of Chikurin temple?

You did the right thing...

...telling me where you are.

Let me take care of everything.

Ogura-ya will let you be,

once Kogiku's back.

He found a good husband for her.

Listen...

Where did you put the dagger?

I'm happy you didn't do anything stupid.

Do you want to know what I really feel?

Do you?

Kogiku...

...I love her so much...

...that I'd like to kill her.

You're lying.

O yes? D'you think so?

Don't play games with me, you damn brat!

I'm more than a brat.

And I, I'm a woman.

Be careful.

Don't trust my charm.

You, you're different.

Why?

Because...

Because what?

Because...

Why is it different?

You know,

when you were a baby,

you used to play with my breasts.

You're silly.

Women are creatures from Hell.

My husband will be coming for us soon.

If I'd cheat on him with you, it'd be terrible.

Take care of the young man on the first floor.

If I went to see him?

Let him be.

He's a child, he's shy.

He said he'll be going back by himself.

He's a trouble maker.

Thank you very much.

The dresser, the chest,

the coal pot, and other pieces of furniture,

have the family coat of arms, in gold on black lacquer.

The drawers, for instance, are all painted with clouds,

who are said to protect against fire.

Kitchen utensils and gold-powdered dinnerware...

...also carry the famlly coat of arms.

In this chest...

...you'll find...

tortoise-shell combs.

They are decorated with relief motifs, coral balls...

...and their teeth are made of tortoiseshell.

Let's go on to goldsmith's items.

There're a crane, a tortoise, and a hairpin.

The kimono in her dowery...

...are so numerous that even in 10 or 20 years,

she won't be able to wear them all.

She owns almost 100 pairs of socks.

All carefully manufactured...

...following the exact measurements of her feet.

Good afternoon.

You're the bride's witness.

I count on you.

Yes.

Thank you for entrusting me with this important role.

And then, your wedding preparations are truly impressive.

The parents' duty is to marry their daughter well.

But I wouldn't have thought it was that eXhausting.

Tell me,

the men I just met,

wouldn't they be the bums Yohei used to go along?

They'll take care of the water ceremonies.

Take care...

...of the water ceremonies?

It'll really be festive.

By the way, do you know who introduced him to us?

That bum, from the Kawachi house.

You mean...

Yohei?

When you're young, love stories are only a game.

We're paying him.

That'll end his relation with Kogiku.

I see.

I'm happy...

...everything's working out.

Here I am.

Today...

Is a lucky today,

And it's a time...

For celebration.

All good things...

Are here.

For this occasion...

We have brought up our daughter.

Our daugther...

With a lot of love.

We must today...

Giver her hand in marriage...

To a man.

Heave-ho!

All together! Heave-ho!

Come on!

What're you doing, good-for-nothing?

Careful!

There's someone looking for you.

I'm busy.

I'm still only an apprentice. I have a lot of things to learn.

I'm risking my life coming to see you tonight.

Throw yourself in the water right away.

You can stab where you want, my coat is open.

When I make love with my husband,

I close my eyes,

and I imagine your face.

Doesn't it mean anything to you?

D'you make fun of it?

Do you love me all the same?

I beg you.

Good afternoon.

Nice afternoon, isn't it?

Good afternoon. What are you doing in front of my house?

You've really become a model wife.

All the same,

meeting one's lover by day, is rather dangerous.

Okichi,

don't talk nonsense.

You see,

the owner of the floating inn...

...buys his oil from me.

And I'm on very friendly terms with his wife.

I know...

...you have contacts...

...with Yagoro and Zenbei.

How did your today meeting with Yohei go?

How old are you, anyway?

Idiot.

Idiot!

Why d'you despise me?

And why did you come to see me?

What have you to say to me?

You surely know it.

Legally I'm Sakai-ya's wife.

I don't have to take orders from anyone, and especially not from you.

Isn't it so?

You're right.

Your koto lesson will soon start.

I've met your already husband,

but say hello to him from my part.

I'll listen you play the neXt time.

Okichi!

Yes?

Going to see your sick uncle in Juso?

Yes, I was going to change.

If you leave now, you'll be coming home late.

If you want, you can sleep there.

Yes.

Your tiresome.

Can I borrow them?

Come in.

I'm sorry I'm not Kogiku.

Tell me...

Why d'you look so melancholic?

Come closer.

I'm not going to eat you.

I must talk to you tonight.

I already am a little drunk.

I'll find it difficult to talk to you if you don't drink.

Here, take a glass.

Alright,

but spare me your sermons.

D'you have anything to reproach yourself, if you talk about sermons?

Here we go again!

Not at all.

Come on, drink.

What happened to your foot?

Yohei,

have you, at last, decided giving up your bad habits?

D'you really work in an oil factory?

Of course I do! Look at my hands!

Yohei,

you were happy to receive a letter from Kogiku,

weren't you?

Her letter said that Yagoro and Zenbei would be there.

- I wanted to see them. - It's her you wanted to see.

You are the author of this letter.

Doesn't matter.

Yohei,

Kogiku's fooling you.

Don't you see this?

Listen to me.

Yagoro and Zenbei...

...are both her lovers.

They go on seeing themselves, despite her marriage.

I don't believe you.

Ask the owner of this inn.

It's ridiculous.

Imbecile.

Imbecile!

Imbecile! Imbecile!

- Stop! - Wake up!

Why are you lying to me?

Take a grip on yourself!

You're still in love with Kogiku, aren't you?

It's for her sake that you came as far as here.

Don't you imagine...

...I'm jealous.

This woman,

is ready to sleep with no matter what man.

She's a real bitch.

And you, you let her...

...fool you.

Imbecile! Imbecile!

I wonder why,

when we meet,

I always end up lecturing you.

It's pitiful.

Yohei.

Please.

I beg you.

Make...

Make...

Make love to me!

Auntie...

Are you alright, auntie?

Stop calling me: "auntie"!

How should I call you?

You're a man.

Call me by my name.

Okichi...

Auntie Okichi...

Imbecile...

Yohei.

I always looked at you as at a child.

But, on the eve of the marriage,

you wanted to stab her.

It's only then that I realized...

...that you...

...had become a man.

I can't bear...

...that a slut like Kogiku...

fools you.

Make...

Make love to me.

Really?

Turned out the light.

I'm ashamed.

Forgive me...

...for asking you this.

You're a handsome young man. I'm old.

Forgive me.

Forgive me.

I don't care about age.

I've never felt like this.

I'm happy.

Watch out for fires!

Watch out for fires!

Will we being each other tomorrow? Tomorrow?

- Be reasonable. - The day after tomorrow?

I'll let you know.

Agreed?

Are you back?

Are you awake?

Is your uncle feeling better?

Yes, thank you.

He's better, since this evening.

It had no sense me sleeping there.

I stayed for a little while, then came back.

Alone?

No.

One of your employees...

...walked me...

...to the home.

Come quickly to bed.

Yes.

How sweet! How sweet!

The Kyoto and Yoshiwara geisha,

The Nagasaki geisha,

The Osaka geisha...

I dreamt I had fun with them.

How sweet! How sweet!

How sweet! How sweet!

When I give children these candles...

...they're so happy!

Yohei! What's the matter?

Okichi...

There... Lets talk there.

Okichi!

Wait for me patiently here.

You aren't reasonable.

Why? Why are you avoiding?

Why are you ignoring me?

Don't talk so loudly.

We aren't alone.

Today, all the believers are here.

The others, I don't care about them.

I'll make everything public!

You know...

...I have a husband and two children.

I have a shop to keep,

keep the accounts, cook, sew,

do the laundry...

I don't have spare time like you.

Let's leave and live somewhere else.

Let's elope.

Yohei, do you think you live in a dream?

Yes, I've been dreaming about this life.

I'm thinking by nights.

I don't speak lightly.

I have children.

Take them with us. They like me.

Eloping with kids?

I'm serious.

But,

in 10 years' time,

I'll be an old woman.

You'll leave me.

You aren't taking me seriously.

I'm lucid.

Then, I'll tell your husband you're leaving him for me.

What are you saying?

Have you lost your mind?

Yes. I've lost my mind.

Let's talk about it calmly...

...somewhere quiet.

Wouild you elope with me?

No!

You aren't reasonable.

In 10 years' time,

all the moss under the rocks...

...will have flown under the earth.

Now's the time.

Now...

Now!

Yohei...

Let's elope.

D'you mean it?

Without my children.

I'll leave alone.

Let's meet...

...on the 10th of this month...

...at 8 o'clock in the morning,

close to the Uneme bridge.

Now's the time.

Now...

Come on, the show's over!

Scatter!

Okichi said she wouldn't go to Uneme bridge tomorrow.

You seduced another one's woman and you wanted to kidnap her. Bastard!

My wife has taken care of him for years,

she grew attached to him,

and notwithstanding that...

...he tried to rape her.

Don't talk nonsense! It's not true!

It's the truth. She's scared of you,

scared you'd kill her.

It's not true! Absolutely not true!

You waited I went away, you spied on her,

threatened her, demanded she obeyed you.

It's the other way round!

The other way round?

A ripe woman would have tricked you?

Yes, you'told this story to everyone.

Okichi is deeply injured. She's crying.

Yohei,

listen to me carefully.

Okichi is a generous woman.

When I talked about making a complaint,

she begged me, tears in her eyes, not to ruin your future.

Stop! She's mocking me!

She's diabolical and inhuman!

She's not mocking you.

She says she shouldn't have spoiled you.

She bitterly regrets it.

It's totally false! Absolutely false!

Yohei,

please...

Forget her.

Yohei, I beg you.

I beg you...

I married her because I loved her.

I still do,

and if we get separated,

I wouldn't be able to bear it.

I already am suffering a lot.

If she leaves me,

I'm lost.

Yohei, help me.

Yohei, forget her.

I'm asking it in her name.

Please! I beg you!

Yohei, Yohei...

I beg you!

What's the matter?

Are you going to drown yourself so that you come back and haunt her?

Her husband forgot that.

Master.

Could you write me a letter of recommendation...

...for another factory?

As far away as possible.

I want to leave Osaka.

Women are diabolical.

Tenjin bridge is rather high,

And if you fall from it, take care...

Tenjin bridge is rather high,

And if you fall from it, take care...

Father gave me money for my voyage.

Yohei.

Take your Kokuzo amulet.

I remember.

When you fell into the river when you were 5 years old, it saved you.

Don't lose it.

I took it off one day,

and I forgot it.

I count on you...

...to come see me at least once a year.

Yohei, why do you want to go to Edo? What for?

It doesn't matter.

Ileave to learn my trade.

Mother.

You won't have time to forget me.

- Okachi! - Yes?

Can you go to Okichi and buy some lamp oil?

I'll take care of it.

I'll give back my husband what he lost.

I'm going to Ikeda.

A client promissed to pay this evening.

Come back quickly.

To be on the safe side, don't forget to lock the door.

I'll be back very soon.

Alright.

Did you forget anything?

The door is still open.

Good evening.

It's Kawachi-ya.

What a surprise...

Come in.

My father sent me to buy some...

...lamp oil.

Alright.

Where's your husband?

To Ikeda, having a bill settled.

He forgot this.

Where can he have lost...

...this sword?

I'm returning it.

Thank you. Add it to our bill.

Yohei.

You're still mad on me, aren't you?

Don't go away, leaving me like this.

Why are you so mean?

What have you been saying?

You told everyone I tried to rape you!

How could you be so selfish and make up such a story?

I didn't do it for my sake.

I did it for you.

Thank you a lot.

You're stronger than I am in seduction.

You haven't come only to make these reproaches.

Am I wrong?

You wanted to see me.

Isn't it so?

You,

someone told my husband...

that we were together at the floating inn.

Kogiku, maybe.

You go on condemning her?

Well... it doesn't matter anymore.

They're suspecting we're having an affair.

I'm older than you. Had I not said that,

we'd have accused of adultery.

And it isn't it one if I'm younger?

I had to convince my husband I was faithful.

My two children also.

So you said my rape attempt had failed?

How base...

Don't be so unpleasant.

Anyway...

...I'll be leaving Osaka.

You're leaving Osaka?

I'm leaving to Edo tonight.

I'm sick of this city.

You're leaving...

...because you hate me?

Isn't it so?

Then, say you're leaving me.

Come on, speak honestly.

Yes, I'll be honest.

Dirty bitch!

- You disgust me! Let me go! - No!

Think a little at your husband.

Are you jealous?

I,

only thinking about him,

I shiver with disgust.

D'you find him reponsible for all your problems?

Yes.

Since we've been married...

...not even once...

...did he bring me joy.

He's a coward!

A good-for-nothing!

Must you really go to Edo?

You and me,

we could go on seeing each other, like we are.

Couldn't we?

Can we believe you?

All is lie.

The only truth...

...is this...

Once every 10 days,

or even once a month, if you wish...

...again... again...

...make love to me again.

That's how you ruin...

...the dreams of men.

Soon,

you'll sleep with someone else, and make fun, again, of me.

Are you trying...

...to humiliate me?

HIGUCHI Kanako

FUJITANI Miwako

TSUTSUMI Shinichi

IGAWA Hisashi - KISHIBE Ittoku

NAGATO Hiroyuki - ISHIBASHI Renji

TATSUMI Takuro SASAKI Sumie- YAMAGUCHI Hiromi

NAZUKI Hiroko - UJIKI Tsuyoshi

EZAWA Moeko - SHIMIZU Hitomi

Production: MURAKAMI Koichi - OKUYAMA Kazuyoshi

HORIGUCHI Toshikazu NISHIOKA Yoshinobu

NOMURA Yoichi - IKEDA Tomoki

After: CHIKAMATSU Monzaemon

Script: IDE Masato

Photography: MORITA Fujio

Art Director: NISHIOKA Yoshinobu

Music: SATO Masaru

Light: NAKAOKA Gengon

Sound: SHOZU Toshiyuki

Editing: ICHIDA Isamu

Directed by: GOSHA Hideo