All language subtitles for The Long Darkness

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