Original subtitles

OFFICIAL ENTRY FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS

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Your mom hasn't come home?

Since when?

Did she run off with a man?

How could she leave behind a blind daughter?

Maybe she drowned.

No. She must have run off.

Caring for a blind daughter on her own became too much for her.

You're Saito the druggist.

I couldn't find anybody in the village.

Then I heard voices as I was passing by this hut.

You came at just the right time.

We need help from a worldly man like you.

What's your name?

Your age?

Orin.

Six.

What a cute little voice you have.

So you're called Orin, eh?

Here, eat this.

I was told that I was born in the province of Wakasa.

But I've never seen my parents.

I heard that it's a beautiful place.

All I know about the place is the sound of the waves.

When I was six, Mr. Saito took me to Echigo.

There, I became a pupil at a house of goze.

THE BALLAD OF ORIN

A HYOGENSHA PRODUCTION

Produced by KIYOSHI IWASHITA, SEIKICHI IIZUMI

Based on the story by TSUTOMU MINAKAMI

Screenplay by KEIJI HASEBE, MASAHIRO SHINODA

Cinematography by KAZUO MIYAGAWA

Production Design by KIYOSHI AWAZU

Music by TORU TAKEMITSU

Sound by HIDEO NISHIZAKI

Lighting by TAKEJI SANO

Edited by SACHIKO YAMAJI

SHIMA IWASHITA

TOMOKO NARAOKA, KIRIN KIKI

RIE YOKOYAMA, TOMOKO JINBO

KEIKO NAKAMURA, AKO TOMIZAWA

TAKAKO MINEKAWA, SEN HARA

YOSHI KATO, JUN HAMAMURA

TAIJI TONOYAMA KAORU KOBAYASHI

SHOICHI KUWAYAMA MANSAKU FUWA, HATSUO YAMAYA

TOSHIYUKI NISHIDA, TORU ABE

YOSHIO HARADA

Directed by MASAHIRO SHINODA

It has been exactly 20 years since then.

When I was 21, I was denounced as a loose woman.

And I was expelled from the goze house.

I've been on my own ever since.

So you were cast out from the group?

Yes.

Goze is an itinerant group of blind women like me.

We travel playing samisen and singing songs.

And we stay at a house for goze.

Once you're cast out from a group,

you have to travel all alone like me.

And you spend nights in empty charcoal burner's huts

and in shrines with leaky roofs.

Sakuji, isn't the errand man back yet?

GOOD FORTUNE IN BATTLE KOTARO ABE

The comedians are no good.

They're not cheering up the party.

The goze are late.

They promised to come just this morning.

The young master is going to war.

We need samisen for the singing to get going.

It's not time yet It's not time yet

Now is the time You can turn...

- Good luck, Kotaro. - Thank you for coming.

I have information from the village office.

Your regiment might be sent to Siberia, as the troops are used to snow.

Did you hear that a man hanged himself at Shimosatose?

Yeah, I heard about that.

Somebody saw something hanging from a beam in a firewood shed.

He realized that it was a body when he got close to it.

I think the man was a deserter.

The military must be keeping quiet, for it's a shame to them.

If captured, he would have been shot.

She's here!

We have a pretty goze.

Master. Mistress. I brought a goze.

I found another louse on your kimono.

Really? I'm sorry.

She's pretty and accomplished in her art.

She's going to sing many songs for our party.

Thank you for sending for me. I hope to entertain you.

Sing something cheerful. We don't want sad songs.

All right.

Soft seaweeds by the rocky shore

Can she see a little?

- Not at all. - That's what she says.

She may be saying she's blind, even if she can see.

- It makes no difference in bed. - What?

She can make love even if she can't see.

Idiot.

- Don't sneak into her bed tonight. - But she's a lone goze.

She's lone, but not a slut.

I'm sure you won't say no

You want to come with me I know you do

I was born blind. I've always lived in the world of darkness.

When I was six, Mr. Saito said that I should go to Takada

where blind girls like me were living as a group of goze.

And there, I could become a good goze.

He said, "You're blind."

"A blind girl can only live as a masseuse or a prostitute."

"But in the goze group, a kind woman will take care of you."

"She'll teach you music, and you'll be happy."

Kaneko, don't stop.

Any footsteps sound to you like those of Yasuke's?

They're Mr. Saito's.

- The druggist? - Yes, you're right.

Last year, he came after the snow melted.

He's not alone.

Hello.

It's Saito, the druggist.

I'm back once again this year, too.

I'm glad to see you well.

Welcome.

Why, you're Mitsuko.

You've grown a lot since last year.

Thank you for coming in the snow.

It's very nice to see you well, Mistress of the House of Satomi.

I have a request to make again.

- Well, please come in. - Thank you.

The goze house smelled of incense and hair oil.

The mistress was a kind woman.

When I paid my respects to her, she stroked my hair.

Then she introduced me to my goze sisters.

And Yasuko toasted some rice cakes for me.

The rice cakes were warm and made me happy.

I remember them well.

And now...

you have nobody to guide you,

and you're traveling all alone?

Yes.

So...

where did you come from?

I was at Zenkoji till March.

I came here through Arai at the beginning of April.

Here's some water. Drink.

Thank you very much.

- Are you really homeless? - That's right.

I came here to work at the quarry.

The job finished this morning. I'm on the way home.

You're in the mountains. And you're telling me you're homeless?

- You must be from around here. - No, I'm not.

It would get dark before I reached the village.

So I decided to spend the night here.

I'm tired.

Thank you.

Are you really asleep?

All of us living today live in a degenerate age.

In order to live a true life,

we must firmly believe in the Original Vow of Amitabha.

And we shall never waver

but find strength in the chant...

Use your index finger.

Prostitutes...

Like this.

Now, the second string.

Move your finger up.

Tsugiko.

Do you hate me so much?

Why do you say that, Kaneko?

You tried to trip me with that.

What? Why would I do that?

I knocked it down accidentally. I'm redoing blind stitches.

Liar.

Don't act superior.

You're always mean to me.

I know all about it, you know.

You're secretly having dates with Magoji.

- The water is cold. - Yes.

- Doing washing is the worst. - Yes.

Orin.

Yes.

You have good instincts, and you learn quickly.

But there's one thing you mustn't forget as a goze:

to observe the proprieties of goze.

Listen well.

The goze dedicates her ears, nose, mouth and limbs,

all of herself to Amitabha.

That's why we chant the sutra every morning

to pray to Amitabha to protect us from straying from our path.

If you stray, you go to hell.

You will fall into a terrible hell.

- You understand, Orin? - Yes.

After two years, we celebrate the beginning of the third year.

After seven years, a career name is given.

The following year, in the eighth year of training,

you advance to the status of "big sister."

After three more years,

your training is finally completed.

And you become a full-fledged goze.

Despite paying visits over many evenings

I still do not see you

On the door of the gate

I leave a message for you

On the door of the gate

I leave a message for you

When I write the message

On the door of the gate

It is my teardrops

That wet the inkstone

It is my teardrops

That wet the inkstone

I shall tell my tale

Behind a young pine tree

Finer in details as...

In Sado

Jiro speaks thus:

"Listen, Miyazaki."

"We should stop staring."

"I am becoming depressed."

"Indeed, Jiro."

"We should stop staring. It is making my eyes tear up too."

Let's end this as a draw

What a cute little girl she is.

You sang the song very well.

You understand the lyrics?

How old are you?

She is eight now. She joined us when she was six.

I shouldn't have made her wear tabi socks.

We wear straw sandals on our bare feet.

But we feel warm even walking on snow.

Very soon

The elder said...

She was right.

At first, my bare feet hurt from the freezing cold.

But after an hour, I actually felt it was easier to walk that way.

It was strange.

Since then, I never wore tabi socks even in winter.

When are you going to stop following me?

You must have somebody waiting for you at home.

I'm alone.

Like you.

I have no parents.

- Nobody's waiting. - You have nobody?

- You're lying. - Why would I?

If I had somebody waiting for me,

why would I come to work in the mountains?

Hey, miss!

Tokamachi will have its spring festival. Why don't you go there?

I'll come with you.

Get down into town for a change. And eat something good.

I can't afford to do that.

Why don't you get on my back for a bit?

I'll carry you on my back and run.

- You're kidding me. - No need to be shy.

- Stop it. - Come on.

If anyone sees us, they'll laugh at us.

Nobody's watching.

You should stop.

We passed it.

There was a path off to the right. You follow it through a thicket.

Then you'll find a place full of magnolia blossoms.

How do you know a place like this when you have nobody to guide you?

When I was eight, I hurt my foot,

and I passed through here on Yasuko's back.

You sneak out with your man every night.

Did you think I didn't know what's going on?

I've been taking care of you for years. What do you think it was for?

You slut.

You have no regard for my feelings.

I've had it. I'll expel you. Go anywhere and drop dead.

Along the Niigata Route A swarm of locusts ruined the soybeans

It's great to be locusts Without the worries of human beings

That's right That's so true

We had a poor crop last year.

We only have rice seeds for sowing.

I can only give you these taro stems.

I didn't know. I'm sorry to bother you.

We're blind, so we couldn't see. Please forgive us.

- Yasuko. - Yes.

They're having a hard time. Don't trouble her.

Please, don't say that. My father has been ill for a long time.

He wants to hear you sing before he dies.

He's been waiting for you. This is from him.

It's not much, but please accept it.

Thank you very much.

I'm glad that I kept at this business for this moment.

Thank you.

In the town of Shinbo

There's Kodaiji Temple Where did its priest come from?

Oh, yes, where is he from?

Let it out.

She's pregnant.

- Orin. - Yes.

Can you see?

This place is called the Healing Buddha Pass.

Every mountain seems to be filled with the smell of new buds.

It feels as if fresh green leaves are shedding tears

that would wash our eyes clean.

People come into this world thanks to their parents.

Amitabha mercifully made us blind

so that we are spared from seeing the hells of this world.

Tsugiko, you are a girl after all.

You wanted happiness just like ordinary people.

But why couldn't you see the great mercy of the Buddha?

Orin.

Orin.

I'm here.

Orin, your first period came?

Orin is a woman now.

We'll make red rice tonight to celebrate.

Orin, the menstrual flow is a sign that your body can have babies.

Every woman has a monthly period.

It's the destiny all women have to bear.

But goze are not allowed to sleep with men.

You'll become pregnant if you sleep with a man.

Remember when you were eight,

Tsugiko became pregnant with Magoji's child, and she left us.

The night wears on Over the castle walls of Liaoyang

Under a pale morning moon Dark shadows fall

In the mist-filled fields of sorghum

No voices are heard From the trenches

Oh yeah, oh yeah

We don't need pillows

Oh yeah, oh yeah

We'll rest our heads

On each other's arms

Pea pods are growing in an abandoned field

When one pea pod goes all others follow

But I'll follow you

Orin, you're pretty. You're a grown woman.

Every kind of bamboo is adorable

From marbled bamboos to tootsik bamboos

To small bamboos in the neighborhood to mountain bamboos

To Simon bamboos growing on the causeways

Even to their shoots

- Here, have a drink. - Thank you.

Orin, the men are laying a trap.

Young men are drooling over your body.

Go in and leave quickly And there would be no problem

But you stayed on And now you spent all your money

Oh, yeah, oh yeah

I'm having fun.

- I'm leaving tomorrow. - Where are you going?

- To Fushimi. - Where is Fushimi?

In Kyoto. I'll be working at a brewery.

Have another drink.

- Drink. - Thank you.

She's still a child. Please don't make her drink too much.

Don't be strict.

Go on. Drink.

Now, I'm going to do "Iso Bushi."

"The plane is taking off with newlyweds.

The propellers roar to celebrate their honeymoon."

'Honey, what's that speck over there?'

'That's Miyajima, one of the three famous sights of Japan.'

'And what about that thin strip down there?'

'It's the Bakan Straights.'

'And where are we?'

'In the clouds.'

'Then nobody can see us?'

'Nobody can.'

Orin, you'll be cast out if you sleep with a man.

You'll have to leave our house. It's the rule enforced by our chief.

You were given a new name when you were 13.

You exchanged nuptial cups,

and you became a bride of God.

You are not to sleep with a man.

Orin, once a goze sleeps with a man, she will be expelled.

'Forget about the control stick.'

Come on, Orin.

Drink this.

Drink up.

Let me fill the cup.

Come on, drink up.

All right. I'm going to do "Wajima Bushi," now.

I couldn't help it.

No matter how much she lectured me,

I couldn't contain the excitement coursing through my body.

I felt such delight.

I even pitied the mistress for refusing pleasure.

What are you making?

Goze are on an endless journey led by the Buddha.

We help them not to get lost.

I'm a family relative spending the night.

You don't have to worry about a thing.

Is this your first time?

You're a virgin.

Take a good bath, goze.

Thank you.

Mom.

Mom.

I had secretly dreamed about sleeping with a man.

Sleeping with a man made me feel warm.

It was very sinful of me.

I enjoyed working last night

because you were beside me when I sang.

I haven't felt so good and sung so well in a while.

I felt happy too.

- Thanks to you. - You're kidding me again.

You introduced yourself as my guide to last night's customers.

But now you must be feeling burdened by me.

You're wrong.

I was spellbound when I heard you sing.

And your pretty.

Why don't you make love to me?

When we first met at Itsukodaira and also last night at Isakiya,

we slept side by side.

Why didn't you take me?

Is there a reason why you can't love me?

After I was cast out from the goze house,

I traveled with strangers who guided me for weeks at a time.

All those men were after my body.

Being blind and helpless, I couldn't refuse.

They were big and strong.

There was no use fighting them.

I simply let them have me, and they paid me some money.

Some men would banter with me,

and I would remember the warmth of my first man.

I would tell them where I was staying

and even beg them to visit me.

When I had to sleep alone on a cold winter night,

I would imagine that I might freeze to death by morning.

And the thought frightened me.

Mister, please don't leave me.

- I'm an old man. - I don't mind.

Please warm me with your body for a little while longer.

I beg you. Please.

I beg you. Please.

When I was lonely, I would beg any man to stay with me.

- It's arson! - Where's the fire?

The rice store in Arasemachi.

The mistress in Satomi taught me that Amitabha made us blind

so that we don't have to see the hells of this world.

But an old woman who gave me rice said

that we were like itinerant priest of long ago.

They traveled to save people from their sins.

And she said we were doing the Buddha's work like them.

Didn't you ever have a child living like that?

I had one. But the baby died.

Where?

In Noto.

I gave birth in the village of Suzu.

It was during a cold winter.

I couldn't raise a child, and my man ran off.

The baby froze to death.

It was my sin.

When I have enough money, I'm going to buy some tools.

I'll mend geta sandals. And I'll feed you hot rice.

My mother used to work for a geta shop.

So she was good at mending them.

I used to help her as a child.

Is that so? Your mother was a great woman.

Shinbei Kudo has a daughter

There had been three years of rain and two years of drought

For five years altogether he suffered poor crops

Should he sell his daughter or his land?

What's the deal between you and her?

I'm her guide.

She picked me up.

She picked you up?

It must be the other way around.

For a five-year contract for 35 ryo

I have been sold to serve as a prostitute

How I have missed Anju

Oh, for so long

How I have missed Zushio

Don't eat what you're not given!

How many times did I tell you?

Even if you're starving...

Even if you're starving...

Why did you never tell me your name?

Tell me. I want to know your name.

It's Tsurukawa.

Tsurukawa?

It means a crane in a river.

A crane that alighted on a river.

I'm called Senzo Tsurukawa.

I heard that cranes land on rice fields.

They land on rivers, too?

What are you doing?

Hold me in your arms. I feel lonely.

Orin, don't ask me to do that.

If I do, I can't travel with you.

Why not? What's wrong with holding me?

I want to travel with you for a little while longer.

My body feels so cold. Why won't you warm me?

Just hold me tight. I'm not asking for anything more.

Orin, stop.

You're a good girl.

But you have to live like this just because you were born blind.

It really makes me feel that this world is hell.

I can't sleep with you.

If I do that,

I'll have to leave you

like the rest of your men.

I want to travel with you for a while.

Let me be your guide for a little while longer.

Stay still like that.

You look like the Buddha in the glow of the sunset.

Mr. Tsurukawa, don't stay back there. Come closer to me.

You're the Buddha.

CARPENTER'S TOOLS

Raising again their tear-streaked faces

How cruel is the fate of the sister and the brother

Wherever you may find yourselves

Do not be bold with your mouths

Like trills that birds make

It's as smooth as an eggshell.

Orin.

If my business goes well, you won't have to work so hard.

You can sit by me and polish geta.

- And quit being a goze? - That's right.

You'll no longer be a goze.

You'll be a sister of Tsurukawa, the geta maker.

Sister?

Don't you get it?

You're my sister.

I'm your brother.

From tomorrow on, you can call me brother.

You're not my brother.

You're not my brother.

You're the man I love.

Come on over. Take a look.

Fine silk shirts for only a third of the retail price -

Here's Jitsubosan, a new medicine from Kokando of Toyama.

Take one dose and the chill below the waist will be gone.

It's the best cure for poor circulation.

The next most common illness is of the nerves.

As the great Buddha said, all nature is medicine.

Now, these seeds of daikon radish...

It's like a dream.

Thanks to you, I'm living like an ordinary woman.

I don't have to slave for meals. I have an easy life now.

Not so loud.

I can't help it, I'm so happy.

Don't be silly.

Just act like an ordinary woman.

All right.

Leaving behind

My place of birth

On the way to an island off Ezo

Oh, yeah

Staying awake Many sleepless nights

Aboard a boat rocked by the waves

To the right is the sea,

and to the left is Mount Yoneyama.

I'm happy for the first time in my life.

It feels like a dream.

It's not a dream.

I wish you would make love to me even for one night.

I'd have no regrets, if I die then.

We're together because I don't.

You're like a beautiful Buddha to me. I want to keep it that way.

I'm no Buddha. I'm not your sister, either.

From Mount Yoneyama

Clouds rise

Soon enough

Showers will fall

As here comes

The crackling of thunder

Here comes the crackling of thunder

TAWARAYA INN

Orin, I've been wondering.

Are you really Tsurukawa's sister?

- I am. Why do you ask? - Because you carry a samisen.

I used to be a goze before.

In our childhood, we were separated.

And I became a goze in Echigo Province.

Many things happened.

We found each other again, and now we're traveling together.

Here. Come.

Don't be too friendly with that man.

Why not? He's very kind to me.

You can never tell with a man.

Keep away from him.

How can I? He has a stand next to ours.

I think you should be nicer to him.

I don't like to be as frank to people as you are.

You worry too much.

Ah, he's looking at me and smiling.

A druggist has it easy.

You can heat up old ointments and sell them as new.

Look who's talking. You sell rayon and pass it off as silk.

You buy rabbits to make a profit

by selling the meat for food and the fur to Siberia-bound soldiers.

- Maybe I'll do that too. - Don't bother.

When the war ends, the price will drop.

The poor always end up losing, no matter what we do.

Right.

- Out of my way! - You hurt me!

Who gave you permission to do business?

Come with us.

Come on.

Brother?

Brother!

Where are you going?

Brother!

Orin.

He went to the local gangster's office about a license.

He just needs to get their permission. He'll be back soon.

Orin, put away your things before they get wet.

It doesn't look like the rain will stop.

The rest of us are going back to the inn.

Your brother will return there too in this rain.

Just a short while ago, the shirt peddler heard this news.

About what?

Tsurukawa got arrested and taken to the police station.

What for?

Earlier, the gangsters took him to the back of the temple.

They got into an argument. Then a fistfight broke out.

Tsurukawa is a big man. So he injured the gangsters.

- And the police arrested him? - That's right.

Tell the others to keep this secret.

We don't want Orin to worry.

What rain, eh?

- Let me help you. - Thank you.

Did you hear any news about my brother?

He'll be back soon.

But I heard he was arrested.

Goze have good ears.

The police won't keep him long over some trouble with a license.

I hope you're right.

I'm not sure whether he really thinks of you as a sister.

Why do you say that?

Let me tell you what the shirt peddler saw.

When Tsurukawa came to this town, he went straight to the post office.

And he sent some money to somebody.

He must have sent it to his mother or some relative.

He has no family. He said his parents are dead.

"He said"?

Orin, you are not his sister.

You're his woman.

He never made love to me.

He's been in a police cell for days.

It wasn't just for fighting with the gangsters.

Maybe he has a previous record.

- Don't speak ill of him. - You're a fool.

It's no use to stay with such a man.

He'll leave you some day, and you'll be old.

This is your chance to make a decision.

When you're old, it will be too late.

You'll end up dying in some abandoned shrine.

You'd better come with me to Toyama and start a new business.

Come on.

I used to sleep on the wooden floor of abandoned shrines.

I'm a blind woman. I don't need pretty kimonos.

I can't go with you to Toyama. I'll wait for my brother.

Orin, are you sure about that?

Can you live like that?

You're a woman.

Some nights you want to sleep with a man.

I'll stay with him as brother and sister.

I'm content with that. I'm no longer a cast-out goze.

- You don't know when he'll be back. - But I'm not a slut.

The mistress of Satomi expelled me when I was 20.

But my brother made me an ordinary woman.

I see. Then I won't say any more.

I'm off to Itoigawa by myself.

Thank you for taking care of me.

You were very kind to me. Thank you.

Don't do this.

I believed in your kindness. Don't betray my trust.

Don't do this.

Nobody is around. Tsurukawa is locked up.

Just this once, it won't hurt to let me have you.

Nobody is around.

Wait.

I'll untie the sash myself.

Wait.

I'm going.

Don't tell my brother about this.

Never tell him.

If he finds out, I'll have to kill myself.

If he's really your brother,

then he won't punish you for loving me.

But I won't tell him if you don't want me to.

I won't tell him.

Brother.

Did you see?

- Did you? - Was it the druggist?

- Bessho? - Don't be angry.

It wasn't his fault.

I was to blame.

Brother.

Brother. Forgive me.

Forgive me, Brother.

Brother. Forgive me.

From samurai, peasants and merchants, there shall be recompense.

To temples, monks, believers and Shinto priests, pay respects.

Leave!

One who breaks the rules

shall cut her hair and give up her bamboo stick.

And as a punishment for the sin,

she shall be banished 25 to 50 miles outside the area.

Orin.

How could you be so thoughtless?

After all my warnings, you slept with a man.

The chief found out all about it.

You're sure to be expelled.

This is an important party to honor the goddess of music.

Your presence will disgrace the goze of Satomi.

Leave at once!

Go away!

Get on the cart.

I want to be alone. I won't get on your cart.

You'll go your own way?

Don't tell anyone that you met me.

I won't.

I beat up the druggist just now.

I beat up the local gangsters, too.

Many more will be after me once they hear the police released me.

I don't want you to get hurt because of me.

So we'll go our separate ways for a while.

When things blow over,

I promise I'll find you, and we'll live together again.

Where will you go?

I'll head south.

To Wakasa Province.

Come back soon. I'll wait for you.

You head towards the south too.

I'll be just ahead of you.

JITSUBOSAN

It's Bessho.

That's Bessho, the druggist.

Who goes there?

Who are you yourself?

- Are you a goze? - You too?

Are you completely blind?

I can see blurry things when the weather is fine.

- Where was your goze house? - In Nagaoka.

- When did you get expelled? - Three years ago.

- You were expelled too? - Yeah.

On the way to this place,

I was asked to perform in this village.

Will you keep watch on my things?

Sure.

- Are you Orin? - Yes.

I'm Imanishi from the police in Nagaoka.

I have some questions.

Yes.

You have a brother called Senzo Tsurukawa, right?

Yes.

While he was locked up at the police station in Kashiwazaki,

who were you with at Araiso beach?

With Mr. Bessho.

That would be Bessho, the druggist?

Yes.

You walked with him along the beach. And you rested a bit.

What did you do after you parted with him?

- I returned to Tawaraya Inn. - And you met your brother, right?

- No, I didn't. - Don't lie to me.

He was released that day.

I returned to the inn, and the innkeeper said

that he went looking for me.

He checked out and took the cart with him.

I went back to the beach, but I didn't find him.

I don't understand why he left me behind.

Please tell me where I can find him.

I'm looking for him too.

It's sundown. I wonder where he is and what he's doing.

You can see, can't you?

When the sun goes down, the smell of the air changes.

Oh, it's confusing, it's confusing

This present world is confusing

They say Westernization is underway

But you can't judge only by what you see

Gas and electricity are amazing

Steamed engines are wonderful

But are they just flash and show

Like gilding or puffed tempura?

People keep complaining

About the bad economy

Unaware of being caught

In an endless cycle of cash shortages

Oh, it's confusing, it's confusing

Love and duty are also confusing

NAGAOKA POLICE SUBSTATION

NAGAOKA POLICE SUBSTATION Are people blinded by their selfish desires?

Oh, all people are confusing

Imanishi.

PUBLIC SECURITY SECTION

This is Lieutenant Imanishi, who I was just talking to you about.

I am First Lieutenant Torazo Hakamada,

of the Fukui Prefecture division of the Army military police.

It's the second man from the right in the foreground.

Army Private Heitaro Iwabuchi.

We can't identify him by this picture.

So I gathered descriptions of him from the men in his regiment.

And made a drawing of his likeness.

HEITARO IWABUCHI

HEITARO IWABUCHI When did he desert?

April 1917.

That's nearly two years ago.

This is an embarrassment to the army,

but desertions and draft-dodging are increasing.

I believe it's caused by the rice riots and the dispatch of troops to Siberia.

We suspect Tsurukawa murdered Bessho, the druggist.

How does he resemble the deserter Private Iwabuchi?

We trailed him to Niigata, then we lost him.

We're sure he's hiding somewhere in Niigata.

Then we heard of the murder.

Tsurukawa is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall,

a swarthy craftsman type, with a slight stutter.

It's the same man.

We questioned the peddlers who were with him.

He left the inn saying he'd head to Itoigawa.

But he didn't set up his stand at the festival there.

He must have realized the police were after him and disappeared.

Then he's almost surely guilty of the crime.

I'll show this drawing to the innkeeper's wife

and determine if it's the same man.

Your inquiry at the inn

and further investigation of Iwabuchi...

should be conducted as a search for Tsurukawa.

It must be kept secret that he's a deserter.

It will bring shame to the Imperial Army.

- Somebody is in here. - It's only my friend.

You told me differently.

You have your friend waiting to shake me off?

No. Your hurting me.

Don't mind me. You can use the hut. I'll go out for a bit.

Thank you, Orin.

He's my customer. Forgive me.

- She's blind? - She can't see anything.

Is that so?

What's the hurry?

My friend kindly left us alone.

Leave her some money, all right?

Are you asleep?

Who is it? Are you staying at the inn?

What do you want with us?

- I have a request for you. - What sort of request?

I brought my granddaughter with me.

She became blind shortly after she was born.

Her father died in Heilongjiang, and then her mother fell ill.

And she died last spring.

She became an orphan, and I have to take care of her.

But I'm old and won't live long.

In these hard times, I can't ask others to raise her.

I was at my wits' end.

Then I heard that you came to play samisen at Echizenya.

This is money my late husband left me.

Please, goze.

Please make her a goze like yourselves.

I can't take your money.

- Please take care of her. - But we can't.

As you can see, we're lone traveling goze.

All we can do is write a letter of introduction to a group mistress.

Please. I beg you to take her in.

But we can't.

Yoshino.

Yes.

- Put your hands together. - Yes.

Let's go to where your mother is.

Say your prayers.

I sincerely believe in Amitabha.

Something's up.

What is it?

- Are you goze? - Yes, we are.

We found a pair of drowned bodies.

A blind girl of five or six.

And a tall old woman in her 60s with a full head of grey hair.

They must have jumped from the cliff of Amagozen Cape.

You said you'd help her. Why did they kill themselves?

You said you'd write a letter.

Why did they have to die?

Because I didn't promise her that I'd take care of the girl.

The old woman was weak.

I'm an expelled goze. All I could do was write a letter.

The undesired comes true And the desired does not

Such is the way of the world

Such is the way of the world

ZENKOJI TEMPLE

Who's there?

I'm from the police.

- Are you the mistress? - Yes. I am called Teruyo.

Who is the other person?

He's from the police in Fukui Prefecture.

I see.

From Fukui.

It's a long way from Fukui.

We want to know about Orin who used to be with you.

Orin?

Did she do something?

No, she did nothing wrong.

We're investigating a man she was with after she left here.

She left nine years ago.

She never came back here? Not even once?

No, she never did.

I'd like to talk to her too.

- Where is she now? - We lost her.

We trailed her to Toyama Prefecture, but we had communication trouble.

She's been missing since the end of last year.

Where is Orin's hometown?

Her hometown?

Before she came here,

she was living in Obama in Wakasa Province.

Obama?

Orin!

Orin!

Who is it?

It's a geta dealer.

Orin, do you know him?

- Brother? - Orin.

- It's really you! - Brother!

Orin, I'm here! I'm here!

Brother!

I knew you'd come to Zenkoji.

I thought you'd come,

so I've been working here and waiting for you.

I wanted to see you, Brother! I missed you!

Orin. Be happy.

Brother.

Aren't the police after you?

Yeah.

But I wanted to see you.

I had to see you.

Amitabha led us to find each other.

Orin.

You're not my brother anymore.

Forward!

Don't slow down!

Move!

- Don't fall behind! - Keep walking!

Don't slow down!

Sing a marching song!

I was told I used live in a hut on the beach.

- Who knows? - Yeah.

But I still remember the sound of the sea.

The sea sounds the same everywhere.

No. That's not true.

The sound of the sea I remember is particular.

But that was 30 years ago. It would sound different now.

Besides, there are trains and sirens.

It'd be hard to hear the sea.

I'll hear it when everyone has gone to bed.

That's right. He fits the description perfectly.

Yes, she's definitely a goze. She has a stick.

They're just passing our shop.

So this is the sea that you remember.

What's wrong?

I heard the sound of a saber.

Saber?

What about a saber?

I'm sure it's the police.

Run!

Heitaro Iwabuchi, you're under arrest!

- Brother! - Orin!

Brother!

Just confess.

You killed the druggist.

Confess, and this will be over.

Stop screaming! You had the guts to desert, didn't you?

Enter.

This is Orin's statement.

She's still sticking to her story.

Unless you confess, Iwabuchi,

she'll be tortured for aiding and abetting a deserter.

You understand?

Bessho asked you to come to Toyama, but you didn't go with him.

Heitaro Iwabuchi had been detained at the police station,

and you were worried about him.

Also, you didn't want to leave without telling him.

Is this correct?

Yes, that's correct.

However,

shortly after you parted with Bessho who headed for the train station,

you saw Heitaro at the beach.

Well?

Don't lie, or you'll suffer.

- I didn't see him. I'm blind. - Fool!

You're lying.

You say he's your brother, but that's a lie.

He's not your brother. He's a deserter.

- "Deserter," what do you mean? - He's neglected his duty to the nation!

I don't understand what you say. I'm a blind woman.

I don't know anything.

I've never seen faces or hands or feet.

You keep mentioning the pine grove.

But I don't know where it ends and the beach begins.

There are many things I don't know in this world.

I just feel with my hands and smell them.

And I walk as Amitabha leads me.

I don't understand complicated things.

Damn, don't be wise.

But I can't say I saw something when I didn't.

There's a witness who saw you with him at the beach!

I didn't see my brother.

What I saw was his heart.

A truly warm heart full of kindness

like only a real brother could have.

I killed him.

He forced himself on her.

That's why I killed him.

I...

I entered the army in place of the son of Ichibei Terada,

the owner of a hardware manufacturer in Daishojimachi.

I did it for money.

Universal conscription is a lie!

You can dodge the draft if you have money.

But poor men like me have to sell ourselves for money.

- War sacrifices poor men! - Silence him.

I refuse to go to Siberia even if I have to die!

Have you said enough?

You're a murderer and a deserter.

Spare yourself from making further excuses.

Right.

I'm ready to be executed.

But before I die,

I want to see Orin just once.

You've got some nerve.

Stop.

Let him see her.

For the last time.

Orin, it's me.

There's something I have to apologize to you for.

I lied to you.

Orin.

I told you that I have no family and I'm all alone in this world.

It's not true.

My mother is alive.

I was born in Daishojimachi.

My mother lives there alone and has a geta shop.

I couldn't tell that to you.

I'm sorry.

Forgive me.

Don't apologize.

It's only natural that you have a mother.

I have a mother too.

I have a mother.

From Mount Yoneyama

Clouds rise

Soon enough

Showers will fall

Mother!

Mother!

Who are you?

Mother!

You'll break the door.

Why, you're Orin. Aren't you?

Where's the mistress?

- The mistress of Satomi? - Yes.

She passed away at the end of last month.

She passed away?

That can't be true. She's inside.

Mother! Please open the door!

Mother.

Where are you?

Orin has returned.

Mother?

Where are you?

Orin has come back.

Mr. Saito told me

your mother lived

in Obama Village, Fukui.

He said she might still be living

in a part of the village called Buddha Valley.

Despite paying visits over many evenings

I still do not see you

On the door of the gate

I leave a message for you

On the door of the gate

I leave a message for you

When I write the message

On the door of the gate

It is my teardrops

That wet the inkstone

It is my teardrops

That wet the inkstone

Let's take a lunch break.

You know...

I've been wondering what it is.

There at the edge of the cliff,

I can see something red.

What is it?

Where?

Just to the right of the edge of the cliff.

Starring

SHIMA IWASHITA, YOSHIO HARADA

JUN HAMAMURA, TOMOKO NARAOKA RIE YOKOYAMA

TOMOKO JINBO TOSHIYUKI NISHIDA

TORU ABE, HATSUO YAMAYA

TAIJI TONOYAMA, MANSAKU FUWA

KIKI KIRIN, KAORU KOBAYASHI

A HYOGENSHA PRODUCTION

reworked: hids