Original subtitles

TOHO CO., LTD.

A TOHO-HAIYUZA PRODUCTION

THE LONG DARKNESS

Produced by SATO Masayuki and SHIINO Hideyuki

Based on the book by MIURA Tetsuo Screenplay by HASEBE Keiji and KUMAI Kei

Art direction by KIMURA Takeo Cinematography by KURODA Kiyomi

Music by MATSUMURA Teizo

Starring

KATO Go KURIHARA Komaki

NAGATA Yasushi, SHIN Kinzo IWASAKI Kaneko, TAKIHANA Hisako

IGAWA Hisashi

Directed by KUMAI Kei

Oh, a new building like that in Fukagawa!

It's been there quite a while.

I sound... just like a country girl.

I first met Shino the evening we held

the farewell party in the dormitory for the graduating class.

Hey, hey...

Anyway, we only have one thing to regret.

In these four years, we managed to visit almost every

drinking establishment in the neighbourhood.

except for only one, we never once went to Shinobugawa!

Right?

Shinobugawa?

What, that small restaurant?

Away their too formal... not your style!

Anyway, drink up. Hey, Ushioda.

Yeah... a bit expensive too, right?

You can't drink there, the booze's all watery.

So you guys have been there?

Hey, hey!

Ushioda set out for Shinobugawa in secret one evening...

He made a pass at the restaurant's most popular girl,

got gently rejected, and came back all depressed.

What girl's that?

No idea.

Shinobugawa...

A good name. Shinobugawa.

Hey, let's go there now!

Good!

Let's go.

Hey, you're not coming?

No.

What's the matter? It's our last night.

Let's spend it together.

Okay... you go ahead. I'll be along.

Good.

At the university hospital,

there's a senior student speciallzing in genetics,

so I told him about my dead brothers' and Kayo's illness.

I asked if there was any hope of a cure.

In Kayo's case,

it's apparently something called ancestral reversion or an atavistic trait.

Modern medicine considers it a mutation.

He didn't say anything straight out,

but when I think about the death of my brothers,

I wonder how long...

before a similar trait shows up in me.

Some nights I can't sleep for the uncertainty.

Kayo, what are you looking at?

The moon.

Silly child... it's only the 1st of March.

There's hardly any moon tonight.

You sure look refined.

Look, this one's even better.

The rascal!

Oh, so you're all from Aomori?

You familiar with Bentenjima pole and line tuna fishing?

They still fish that way?

Last summer I caught one weighing 260 kg!

Dear me!

Looked just like you!

Oh! What a nasty man!

No, really he made you a compliment!

He means you're fresh, right?

Hey, look. She's the one that gave Ushioda the brush-off.

Hey, wait a second.

Could I get a glass of ice water?

Yes.

So she brushed off Ushioda?

A bit hard to believe.

Still... can't judge people by appearances.

Don't get it... just don't get it.

Sorry for the wait.

Here you are.

You heard me talking to myself, didn't you?

all I heard was "... can't judge people by appearances."

I was talking about you.

It was you who gave Ushioda the brush-off, wasn't it?

Brush-off?

He was just a bit too forward.

You only brush people off... who're too forward?

Depends on the person.

How about me?

Well, I haven't seen you before...

I can't say.

I see. So... I'll come tomorrow.

Please do, if you'd like.

Please ask for me... I'll serve you right away.

What's your name?

I'm Shino.

What's your name?

I'm Shino.

The letter I wrote to Mother last night...

had somehow become a heavy burden.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Some sake... and call Shino, please.

Yah... sure.

A bottle of sake!

Got it.

Spring is great, I get all high-spirited.

Maybe that's why they call spring "spring" in English?

Ah, that's good, mister.

How's it going, little Shino.

Every time I see you, you're as pretty as an Empress doll.

Oh...

I'd like to see another beside you.

No boyfriend?

I'm content with the Emperor doll.

Excuse me...

Shino!

Yes?

Table one.

Welcome.

Sorry about last night.

It's good that you came. Here you are.

You live close by?

Student dormitory... the one in the alley.

Oh, at the end of the street?

Yes.

I pass by there sometimes.

The students always make such a racket. What was it last night?

A farewell party for the graduating class.

Are you graduating as well?

No... not yet.

Is that odd?

What's that?

Truth is... I should've graduated already.

Shino... they're asking for you upstairs.

Okay.

Where do you tend to go for drinks?

Usually the 'oden' stall under the bridge, or a bar down the tracks.

Once in a while... please drop in here too!

Shino, they're waiting upstairs.

I'm in the middle of something.

Make some excuse.

Here...

Shino.

Yes?

I came, as I said... but just for tonight.

I wanted to hear you say "yes" just once more, and then leave.

During the day,

I began to doubt Shino.

I couldn't help but think that her kindness was just part of the job.

Mom, this doll...

how long have we had it?

Well... how long can it be now?

Your late grandfather... he would have known.

But I've got no idea.

But when evening came,

I didn't doubt Shino anymore.

I couldn't help but believe Shino's kindness was genuine.

So you're pretty familiar with that neighbourhood.

Yes.

Do you go to Fukagawa often?

Two or three times a month... sometimes as often as every Sunday.

Well, in that case, you must know it pretty well.

Aside from the route to the university,

it's the part of Tokyo I'm most familiar with.

Fukagawa is where I was born.

Later we were evacuated to Tochigi.

It burned down...

they say nothing's left of the old Fukagawa.

I wonder if it's true.

How about... going there together?

Sure!

But I hardly ever get time off.

That's a pity.

Could you wait until Servants' Holiday?

A month from now?

Yes.

It's all changed. I feel like a complete stranger.

Don't worry. It'll come back to you as we go.

After all, this is where you're from.

That's true.

Let's go to the place you last saw your brother.

After that, I'll show you where I was born.

I wonder which is closer?

Mine's in Kiba.

Mine's in Susaki.

Shino...

wanted to visit the place I'd last seen my elder brother...

who after that meeting, never returned home.

The wind's blown something into your eye.

Please, use this.

Thanks.

The wind in Kiba

is full of fine sawdust...

it stings your eyes if you're not used to it.

The first time I walked here with my brother...

he made fun of my tears.

Walking side by side with my elder brother,

my heart was bursting with joy.

It must be the same wind that's causing my eyes...

to tear up today.

That's as far as we go.

Anyway, that's Kiba for you. There's nothing here.

What a nice breeze.

I've come home to Fukagawa at last.

Shall we go? You must be bored.

We've come all the way!

Let's stay a little longer.

Is this the place?

Yes.

After the war, for some reason my brother joined the lumber company here.

When I arrived in Tokyo four years later,

to start university, it was my brother who paid the tuition.

In spring seven years ago...

Brother!

What's the matter? Money?

Yes.

Take the bankbook and seal...

from the office desk drawer. Take as much as you need.

Got it.

I've got something to do. See you later.

Thanks.

Hey, just a sec.

What... brother?

Good... Okay, get going.

Don't spend it all.

That was the last you heard from your brother?

Yes.

What happened to him?

He died.

Well... let's go.

After all... it's just a reservoir. Looking at it won't change anything.

Since I was a child, if people asked about my brothers...

I'd just say they were dead.

That way... I wouldn't have to explain anything.

Ah, I remember. Now I know where we are!

This is Susaki Bridge.

"Susaki Paradise"...

'Paradise' sounds kind of cheap to me.

Oh merciful Buddha, Oh merciful Buddha...

I would never have dreamed, that one day...

with no sign of rain, I'd be walking in broad daylight...

in a neighbourhood like this, sharing a white parasol with a woman I fancied.

Candy, candy!

This is where I was born. The house used to be right here.

My mother had a shooting range here.

I was raised in an arcade in the red-light district.

So what? There's no shame in that.

Have a good look. So you don't forget.

How long did you live here?

Until the summer I turned eleven.

Hey, kid...

Hand me some more pellets, will you...

If you don't have any money...

just say so, and ask politely.

Excuse me. Kindly let us have some fun!

Hey!

Thanks a bunch.

There you are.

Hey, look at that!

Thinks she's a real beauty!

Young fella, come on up.

I'll show you a good time.

Eyes up here, handsome!

Be it great lords or us,

we're all naked in the bath...

I don't want to sound

like I'm critisizing these people...

but courtesans weren't like that in the old days.

They had professional pride, a totally different class.

They act as if it's a joke these days.

Just looking at them makes me uneasy.

I suppose it's just that times have changed...

but I really can't stand these amateurish girls.

I know my father would be very disappointed.

Did I say something funny?

No.

It's just...

I guess I take after my father...

What's your father like?

My father?

He's a lazy good-for-nothing.

He's in poor health now, so I shouldn't be too hard on him.

I don't know much about it, but even though

he was the eldest son of a wealthy dyer, he didn't study much,

and eventually he was disinherited.

He ran wild, wasted his education...

He'd drink all the time, saying

"I'm no good, I'm a fallure."

But even then, on the Benten Shrine festival,

he'd dress up in fine clothes.

In the red-light district, people would call him ''Professor Atariya''.

Atariya?

It was the name of my mother's shooting gallery.

Apparently he used to look out for the less fortunate courtesans

and give them advice.

One of them who was friendly with me

was called Onaka of the Tonero House.

She had consumption and couldn't work anymore,

but her contract still had a while to run.

She often used to come to my father for advice.

In the end, though,

there was nothing anyone could do for her,

and on the Hachiman Festival day,

she put poison in 'tokoroten' jelly, ate it and killed herself.

Those Tonero people were the most heartless lot in the whole district.

They were scared, and none of them would clear up the mess.

Father arranged everything from beginning to end.

From a very young age I remember often doing things like that.

We've walked a long way!

Yes...

But now my mind... feels released, free.

Now you know all about me.

I feel complete.

It's a good feeling.

Hey, could we go... to Asakusa!

Asakusa? For the train to Tochigi?

No, just for fun.

Seeing Susaki suddenly made me want to go there.

My father used to love Asakusa. He often took me there.

We'd see a film, I'd ride on the merry-go-round in Hanayashiki Park,

and on the way home we'd always stop at the Kamiya Bar.

I'd have a little wine and he'd drink Denki Bran.

But it's your day off, perhaps you'd better go back to Tochigi.

Your father and the others are waiting for you.

Yes...

But since it's my day off, I want to do something I can't normally do.

I'd really... like to go to Asakusa.

Let's do whatever you want.

Great!

Asakusa too

has changed completely.

They used to sell roasted beans and rice crackers. My father always bought them.

Check these out... check these out?

The best in Japan!

Excellent Chinese lanterns, they bring good luck!

Once popular things

are gradually falling out of favour and will eventually disappear altogether.

New things come up to replace them, but these too will be gone one day.

These days,

you can't afford to be sentimental about such things.

It's the course of nature. Does it make you sad?

A bit...

But it's fine.

It's fine.

You're not going to say a prayer?

I'm not comfortable with it.

But this is a place you come to pray.

I understand that, but...

The Bon Festival is celebrated to save our ancestors...

from the realm of Hungry Ghosts.

In return...

they offer protection for our parents and ourselves.

That's what my father used to say.

"That was when I trusted Shino during the day for the first time."

See you.

Yes.

That evening...

I was overcome by a sense of shame.

Even though Shino had been so honest that day...

I had been trapped in my usual cynical self.

Shino,

a minute...

A student from the dormitory asked me to give you this.

Thank you.

There are things about my family

I didn't mention at Fukagawa. I've written them here.

My family has run a textile business for generations.

I was the youngest of six children.

One spring, when I was six years old,

on my birthday of all days, my second eldest sister killed herself.

Well, Tetsuro, put your hands together and pray.

Sister!

My sister Mina

loved a man she was forbidden to love.

In her despair, she drowned herself in the sea off Tsugaru.

In late autumn that same year,

my eldest brother disappeared.

He was quite neurotic and

probably couldn't bear the grief he felt for our sister.

We still don't know where he is, so we assume he's dead too.

In the winter of the same year, my eldest sister Aya killed herself.

She blamed herself for our sister's death.

She laid her head on her koto and poisoned herself.

What happened to Aya?

She died.

To me,

death seemed like nothing more than a source of shame.

The death and misfortune of my elder siblings

was the source of much humillation.

Oh merciful Buddha, Oh merciful Buddha,

Oh merciful Buddha, Oh merciful Buddha...

My remaining brother was

a capable and upright person.

He's the one who worked in Fukagawa.

But late in the spring seven years ago...

he went home to ask for money to set up his own lumber company.

He took not only our family's miserable fortune, but borrowed

from our relatives as well, and then ran off with the money.

I have no idea why.

The shame of it shook me to the core.

Not only the shame I felt for our family...

but also for my own naivety for having had no inkling of his dark ambitions.

I'm sorry I lied to you at Kiba.

My brother's betrayal hit my family very hard.

My father had a stroke.

Son,

you're the only one we can turn to now.

Please, be strong.

We've managed to live like common folk so far,

but do you realize what people would say about us

if you did something strange too!

They'd say that madness is in our blood, that we're abnormal.

We'd all die in misery and shame, we'd have no choice.

For mercy's sake, don't go copying

your brothers and sisters.

I beg you, son.

Filled with shame

I fled Tokyo and spent three years teaching

in a junior high school in a fishing village near my home.

Then I quit and spent another year

hiding in the village where my father had been born.

Eventually I decided to enter university once more and returned to Tokyo.

This is the reason I'm so far behind the others.

I'll be 27 next March.

But I've never celebrated my birthday.

Somehow it's become

a day of misfortune for me and my family.

On that day three years ago, I felt depressed and went to Fukagawa.

That's when I started walking around Fukagawa.

Since then, I go there whenever my spirits are low.

It rekindles my anger toward my brother...

and before I know it, I feel like a man again.

Now you know everything about me, too.

This is from Shino.

Thank you.

"Let's celebrate your birthday together next year."

Shino.

I'm sorry.

It must be fate.

Otherwise,

why would the failing of one have prompted

so many of us to do the same with no regard for the others.

I sometimes think... the cause of our ruin must be in our blood.

I believe... we all have things decided by our blood.

For me, I don't know

what unlucky blood runs through my body.

But...

But what?

You're saying... however unlucky the blood,

one should defiantly live one's life?

That's impossible. However bright our hopes,

it'll show up eventually, out of nowhere.

It could be my ruin.

I hate the idea of fate.

But however much I deny it, my bloodline remains a fact.

A hard fact, clearly proved by medicine.

If I was that way as well,

I'd have to die.

But I don't want to die.

Please, you can't die either!

Shino, I'm sorry.

I didn't invite you here to upset you.

Even the flowers in this park

will soon die with the coming of autumn.

For Shino's sake, I decided to live...

this dazzling summer to the fullest.

Ushioda...

Is it true you're returning home?

Yes.

What happened?

My family lost everything in a fishing venture and went bankrupt.

What about university?

I'll quit.

I see.

You're going to Shinobugawa a lot, aren't you?

You should give it up.

Shino already has a man, doesn't she?

You didn't know?

I'm not saying it out of bad feeling,

as a kind of revenge for having to drop out.

Please don't get me wrong.

I heard it from a reliable source.

I even know the name of the fiance.

What is it?

Motomura Yukifusa.

I couldn't believe

a word of what Ushioda had said.

Still anxiety began filling my mind with dark clouds of doubt.

I felt as though I'd been betrayed.

Toki, call Shino, please.

Yes.

What on earth's the matter?

You know a man called Motomura?

Motomura Yukifusa.

Who told you about him?

It doesn't matter.

Is it true...

that you're engaged to this man?

Tell me!

I will. I'll tell you everything.

But not now... and not here please.

Meet me at seven... on the railway bridge.

I'll ask the proprietress for an hour off. I promise I'll come.

Please wait till then.

You said at Susaki... that you'd told me everything.

Was that a lie?

No.

I just didn't think it was worth mentioning.

I would never lie...

even if my life depended on it.

Could you make it six, not seven?

I can't wait until seven.

All right... at six then. You have my word.

Shino? Come here, please.

The sales manager says...

Mr. Motomura is a very successful car salesman.

He earns a considerable income and has a good character.

If you marry him, you could become really happy.

It's a good proposal.

Miss Shino... make a decision.

The money I earn... I send back home.

Would he really support my sick father as well?

What are you saying?

If you accept the proposal, the salesmanager and Mr. Motomura

would jointly take responsibillty for everything.

"Take her"

Why hadn't I realized it sooner?

I'll take her.

I'll take Shino!

Even if she is engaged... I'll take her from her fiance.

No matter what the cost... I decided I'd take Shino.

I was a fool.

Motomura became my fiance...

on my days off we'd see a film,

or sit in a cafe. Still...

I wasn't happy at all.

Motomura was strangely keen to hurry the wedding.

Have you decided on a day for the ceremony?

No. Where would the ceremony be?...

where would our honeymoon be?... that's all he ever talked about.

Somehow it left me feeling empty...

I lost interest in getting married altogether.

The more he tried to hurry things along,

the more I found reasons to postpone the ceremony.

And then he...

He what...?

He tried to have me.

And so... did he?

Of course not.

But he grew so persistent that I started to worry.

I went to Tochigi to ask father.

You fool!

Refuse a guy like that outright.

He's trying to make you unfit to marry anyone else.

Then you have no choice. A dirty trick!

Making fools out of us...

You can't just sheepishly follow that rascal.

But... The proprietress...

What about her? She doesn't own your body.

A woman's should have a woman's spirit.

Don't throw your life away over such shortsighted promises.

Get out of the engagement if it's based on such conditions.

Shino...

Don't worry about me.

Live your life with a clear conscience.

Whether you'll be happy or not depends on the man you choose.

All right? Money doesn't make a person happy.

When it comes to marriage...

find someone you love more than life itself...

and get married without a second thought.

Please, reject the engagement... break it off.

I will.

Pretend it never happened.

Forget about it.

All right.

Then... tell your father...

you've found a man... whom you really want...

to be your husband.

Too forward...?

Not at all.

"At the end of autumn, Shino's father took a turn for the worse."

It looks like... the end has come for my father.

I'm leaving soon.

My father's been a heavy drinker ever since he was young,

and since my mother's died, his health has deteriorated even faster.

With only the money my younger brother and I can earn,

he couldn't afford to recuperate properly.

There's nothing I can do.

You mustn't give up. Be strong.

No matter what happens... you mustn't let it get you down.

Yes.

I'll come part way.

If you could, I'd really like that.

Let's leave right away.

The sooner the better. The train leaves from Asakusa, right?

Yes.

Read this after I've left.

If you need me, telegram. I'll come right away.

Thank you.

I have an urgent request.

I'd like you to meet my father before he leaves us.

I would deeply regret it if both my parents died without seeing you.

It would be sad for me as well.

I would like to introduce you to my father, at least.

Then, at least he can die knowing that his daughter is in good hands.

It's selfish to ask, but can you come on the one o'clock train tomorrow?

I'll send Tami, my youngest sister, to meet you at the station.

There's something else I couldn't tell you before.

We live in a shrine.

A Shinto shrine.

When we were bombed out of Fukagawa, we were evacuated to a temporary shelter...

at the shrine in Tochigi.

Eventually it became our residence.

I hope you won't let that put you off coming.

Please... please come.

I'll see you tomorrow.

I hope you make it in time.

If you can't, at least come to see my dead father's face. - Shino

How's your father doing?

According to the doctor there's no hope....

but he's still alive.

Well, that's a relief.

Shino says...

she won't let father die...

till he's seen you.

Tami... is this a shortcut?

No, it's the long way.

Why are we taking the long way?

Well, once father's seen you, he'll probably die.

To think of prolonging, even for a short while...

a life about to be swallowed up by the void,

for the sake of someone as powerless as I...

left me feeling rather strange.

They're back again... those crows!

I was sure... that Shino's father...

had already died.

I'm here.

Welcome.

We were waiting for you.

Your father... he's here?

Yes. We've managed to keep him alive until now.

That...

That's my brother's workshop.

Workshop?

He's a broom-maker.

It's this way.

Father.

Father.

He's here, he's here.

Father, Father!

Shino's father

was clearly dying.

He's come all this way... You understand me, Father?

Do you?

It's Shino's man, it's Shino's man!

Father, Father!

Father!

Father, it's Shino's man. He's here.

Father.

Father!

Look, Father!

He's right next to you!

Father.

I am Shino's father.

Don't do that.

Please... you're fine as you are.

I'm an old fool... couldn't even raise my children right.

I'm a useless man...

but Shino... take good care of her...

I beg you.

Can you see him?

Can you, Father?

Can you see him?

Yes, I see.

Yes, but what do you think?

What do you think, Father?

He's a good man.

He saw you. He said you're a good man.

The next day, Shino's father died.

For the first time, I saw

a person die a normal death right before my eyes.

Being used to the unnatural deaths in my family,

It made me feel that this death carried a profound meaning.

I felt that this death freed Shino...

to choose me and start a new life.

After their father's death, Shino's family had nowhere to live.

Their home reverted to the shrine authority...

and the family had to move out.

Brother, here's a wedding present.

I don't have anything, so I made this. Please, for you.

This is the first time I've seen your work.

It's really beautiful.

Thank you.

Shino's brother moved into

a broom-making company as a resident craftsman,

the sisters moved in with distant relatives,

and I took care of Shino.

"On New Year's Eve, I took Shino home on the night train from Ueno."

After thirty-five days of mourning,

Shino and I realized her father's wish, that she would

find someone she loved and get married without a second thought.

It's your first time in Tohoku?

Yes.

People here live under a low sky... It's a dark place.

I don't mind that.

But I wonder if I'll manage all right.

What?

It'll be fine.

Cold, isn't it?

No.

Well, well...

I am Shino.

Welcome.

You must have been cold.

Please, wear these.

Thank you.

You too, put these on.

Thanks.

It's a cold place. Welcome.

You needn't have

come to meet us in this weather.

What...

how could I not have come to meet my son's bride?

There's a taxi waiting.

Please.

- Let's go. - Yes.

Come, come.

I wonder if we can get through this snow.

I've got my son's bride here. We've got to get through!

Well! Your son's bride on New Year's Day,

that is grand.

Stopping halfway would be a bad omen!

We'll get there all right.

Welcome, welcome.

Let's keep the greetings for later.

Come on in the warm.

Yes.

Been snowing since last night,

doesn't matter how often we clear it.

Are you sure you should be doing that?

Why not?

He won't listen to reason, no matter what we say.

Well, well.

I'm Shino. Pleased to meet you.

The pleasure is ours.

Welcome. You've come all the way to this snowy countryside.

Shino, come in under the kotatsu already.

Please.

Yes.

I wonder if these will suit your tastes, but...

Thanks so much.

It's chilly so sit at the kotatsu.

Come on.

Dad.

Oh, thanks a lot.

Kayo?

I wonder.

Kayo.

Kayo?

Kayo.

Kayo, what on earth are you doing here?

I can't find the sweater...

I knitted for Tetsuro last spring.

A thing like that...

you can look for it later.

Shino's arrived.

Come and join the rest of us.

No way! Someone like me...

She'll be your sister-in-law. What are you saying?

Shino, eat anything you want.

Yes.

Well, this way, this way.

This is Tetsuro's elder sister.

I'm Shino. Pleased to meet you.

I'm Kayo.

Oh!

I'm sorry!

Not at all, I'm the one who placed it there.

Shino. Please, I'll take care of it.

Kayo, where were you?

Tetsuro, I knitted a sweater for you.

It's beautiful work, Kayo.

Kayo, from now on, Shino will take care of things like that.

I just thought we're celebrating and...

Of course, we're celebrating.

Thanks, Sister.

It's beautiful.

Regarding the wedding, we thought we'd hold a private ceremony tomorrow evening.

Our relatives live far away,

and we don't know many of the neighbourhood people very well.

Yes.

Oh, it's quite late already.

Well, time to prepare dinner.

Yes.

Oh, no, Shino...

you're the bride, so just sit down and relax.

Please let me help.

It's all right.

I've got Kayo to help. You just rest.

- But... - Mother!

Shino would like to help. Can't you let her do something?

What are you saying, son?

I'm can't ask my daughter-in-law to work in the kitchen...

when she's only just arrived.

What would people think?

It's all right. Shino isn't like other daughters-in-law.

She'd find it strange for a young wife not to work.

Let people think what they like!

We've spent our whole life worrying about appearances.

Now that Shino's here, it's time we stopped!

Just let her help.

Wouldn't you enjoy making dinner with your

newly arrived daughter-in-law?

Well, I suppose you're right. But it's local cuisine...

I don't know anything about it, but I hope you'll teach me.

Please.

Please let me do something.

Well, take some pickles out, then.

Yes.

Shino, those freezing things will make your hands numb.

Not at all.

You've done well, son.

Yes.

I had a good idea from your letters...

but until I met her, I had my doubts...

her having worked in a restaurant and that.

I even had a dream about her.

But people who've been through hardship are somehow different.

You'll have to treat her right. Don't go taking her good nature for granted.

Yes.

And what does Kayo think?

Shino...

Yes.

Please forgive me.

As you can see, I'm partially blind...

and make a bitter, unpleasant sister-in-law.

Not at all.

From now on, if you have trouble with anything,

you can always ask me for help.

I'll do anything.

It'd make me happy.

Good night.

I'll go to bed now, Sister.

Good night.

Good night.

Good night.

I instantly suspected...

that Kayo was crying.

Whatever she thought of Shino...

her fragile emotions must have been in turmoil.

If I were like any of our dead siblings...

I would simply have gone up without a word, I thought.

Hey.

So my future wife... what d'you think?

She's good.

She'll be your sister-in-law. Think you'll get along?

Yes.

Tetsuro...

can I go on living?

Can I go on living?

You fool.

What're you saying?

You won't be alone, I promise.

Well, let's get started.

First we'll perform the sake cup ceremony.

I'll pour for you.

Oh no...

The wedding could hardly have been any smaller.

but at the same time, there could surely be no ceremony...

where hearts were more closely knit, more warmly entwined.

As for Shino and me...

our married life could have had no more fitting start.

Perhaps I'll sing the Takasago song.

Father.

Hey, Father!

Father!

Stop it, Dad. Please stop it!

To think that my parents...

who had stoicly endured so many betrayals by their children,

could so easily lose their composure in this brief moment of joy!

I thought of the happiness the three must now be

feeling for the first time,

and was suddenly overcome by the urge to weep.

Are you tired?

No.

In the snow country, we don't wear anything in bed.

We sleep the way we were born.

It's much warmer than wearing nightclothes.

Am I not allowed to to wear any nightclothes then?

Certainly not.

You belong to the snow country now.

Excuse me.

Father, can you see him?

Can you, Father?

Yes, I see him.

He's good.

That night...

Shino was a perfectly fashioned puppet...

and I was an inexperienced puppeteer...

forgetting himself at his first performance.

What do you think? Warm, isn't it?

Yes... very.

Father, Mother and Sister...

they're all good people.

I'm ashamed at my uselessness.

Now that I'm here with you...

I realize what a useless life I was leading before.

Never saying what I want or don't want... putting up with everything.

That's the Shino of Shinobugawa.

Well, I'm going to forget all about Shinobugawa now.

Starting tomorrow, I'll be a new Shino.

What's that noise?

It's a horse sleigh.

What's a horse sleigh?

A sleigh pulled by a horse.

One of the local farmers has probably been up to town,

had too much to drink, and is only now heading home.

Could I... see it?

I don't want to die.

Please, you can't die either!

Shino!

Darling!

I can see it! I can see it!

Look! I can see it, I can see it!

What? What can you see?

My home! I can see my home!

Oh, yes. I can see it.

You can see it, can't you!

My home...

Tetsuro, where to?

We're going to Otaki Hot Spring.

Isn't that great. I envy you!

Well, well...

Makes you envious indeed!

Ma'am, it seems everyone's jealous of you two. Right?

THE END