Original subtitles

Sincerity (Magokoro)

Yôjirô Ishizaka novel

Cast

Minoru Takada ... Keikichi Asada Sachiko Murase ... Keikichi's wife

Takako Irie ... Tobiko Haseyama

Etchan ... Nobuko Teruko Kato ... Tomiko

Fusako Fujima ... Grandmother Shôji Kiyokawa ... Iwata

Ryo Takei....producer

Original Music by Tadashi Hattori

Cinematography by Hiroshi Suzuki

Production Design by Satoshi Chuko

Sound by Hisashi Shimonaga

Directed by Mikio Naruse

"Greater Japan Patriotic Women's Association"

I'd like to talk to those of you who are working

on the Air Defense Watch,

so I'd like Han-chan and her group to come to my place to discuss the plans.

Mrs. Kimura, about the sweet potato market,

I would like to talk to you about the plans at your place.

You're certainly welcome.

And what about our send-off for Mrs. Saito.

I'll work something up and give you what have I tomorrow.

Yes, please do.

Well, that's it everyone. Thank you.

Mrs. Asada seems like she's right for the job.

They say her husband is really obedient.

He was adopted into her family.

Really?

Yes, and did you know that when he was in school, her family paid his way?

Oh? She does really makes you feel like she's from that kind of family.

And that's her daughter over there.

Nobuko, what was your rank?

I was tenth. How about you?

You were first, weren't you Tomiko?

I was first. It's strange.

You used to be above me and now I'm above you.

But you're better than I am. I can't help that.

Will your father scold you?

I'm not worried about him.

What about your mother?

Mother? I am a little worried about her.

On that issue it seems that you have a little different opinion than I do.

Mrs. Sakie had another opinion, right?

Yes.

What do you suppose this means?

Well everyone,

it seems that there is quite a diversity of opinions.

I'd like to put them all together with mine. I think it's easier

to understand your opinions if you write them down, so...

Welcome home.

Hello. Are people visiting?

Yes.

This is good.

Is it her report card? How was it?

She's first in her class now.

Oh, what a good girl you are!

Nobuko was tenth this time.

Her mother must be worried.

Nobuko says that her father won't scold her but that her mother might.

They say that her father is about to get drafted.

Tomiko, Mother is a little busy now.

Would you go out and play for a while.

Well, thank you everyone.

No, no, thank you. Goodbye.

Who is it? Who's playing tricks on me?

No fair! You know very well who it is.

Why do you pretend that you don't? That's cheating!

You're going to crush me! Get off!

No! I'm going to flatten you like a pancake because

you're going to get mad. Right? You're going to get mad.

About what?

See! I told you that you'd get mad.

I told you to get off! Hey, you're really going to hurt me.

Get off!

Nobuko, you did something that will make me angry.

I don't know what it is, but shall I guess?

Or do you want to tell me yourself, Nobuko?

Shall I tell you? Promise me you won't be angry with me,

and I'll tell you. That would be OK, wouldn't it?

Well, tell me what it is.

My class rank went down quite a bit. Sorry about that, Mother.

Your class rank? Oh, that's right, it's summer already.

Well, show me your report card.

You can take it out yourself. I'm hungry.

Nobuko! How do you explain this? What's your rank now?

Tenth. You said you wouldn't be angry with me.

But your individual marks are so good. I don't understand this.

They're not that good, really.

I only got a 'fair' in math, and four of my marks are 'struggling'.

What happened?

When you were with Mizutani-sensei your marks were much better.

Why is it that? It doesn't make sense for your marks to go down

like this all of a sudden. There must be some sort of mistake.

No, there isn't a mistake. Iwata-sensei is a good teacher.

Mizutani-sensei is a good teacher, too.

But I like Iwata-sensei a lot better.

Mama is going to show this to your father.

Then I'm going to talk to Iwata-sensei about what's going on.

Your wife is here.

Have her wait in the reception room.

Well, at any rate, can I come for it tomorrow?

We'll certainly have it ready by tomorrow.

Mr. Asada Is there something wrong?

Dear, look at this.

It's Nobuko's report card. Is there something wrong with it?

Her marks have fallen a bit, but she seems to be progressing physically.

She seems to be doing just fine.

Dear, you say her marks have "fallen a little bit",

but when she was with Mizutani-sensei she was always first in her class.

That teacher was too easy on her. I think this shows her actual ability.

Aren't you worried that your daughter's marks have fallen?

Good marks are better, of course but I don't think it's fair

to her that she be evaluated above her actual ability.

You say it's all 'actual ability'.

It sounds like you're telling me that my child is stupid.

I suppose it's inevitable that she'd end up stupid just like me.

I think it's a mistake to look only at the marks on a report card.

It says here that she hasn't missed a day and that she's very healthy.

This isn't such a bad report card.

Well, then fine.

I'll have to do something about it on my own.

Good. After all, a child's education is primarily the mother's responsibility.

I think you've been doing too much outside the home these days.

I think you should try to stay at home and look after her more.

If you look after things at home, I think you'll certainly earn Nobuko's appreciation.

To tell the truth, I came to talk to you because

I was surprised when I saw her report card.

She doesn't seem any lazier at home than she was before.

If there's something wrong with her approach to her studies,

I'd like to know what it is and correct it. You might already know this,

but my husband is busy at the bank, and I'm handling her education on my own.

After consulting with my husband about Nobuko’s report card,

he told me that he feels that there must be some reason

why her marks have fallen and asked me to come and ask what it is.

I don' think there's any special reason.

I think Nobuko is a very cheerful and good child.

She has been raised in a good home like yours and is quite relaxed.

I think that your home must be a good environment for raising a child.

Those are her good points. However, to be frank

she’s also a little capricious and self-centered. In the lower grades,

she was able to get good marks with her innate abilities, without working too hard.

Now that she’s in the sixth grade, however, she has to put more effort into her studies.

On this point, I think she needs to put more effort and concentration into her studies.

I’ll do what I can to help, but I’m worried that if things continue like this,

those bad parts of her personality will continue to grow, and her marks will even get worse —

and the bad parts of her personality, her self-centred nature and her laziness, will take over.

Sensei, this might be just my perspective as her mother,

but I don't think Nobuko is on the path to juvenile delinquency.

I'm not sure I should mention this, but my husband thinks that perhaps

the fall in her marks might be partly a result the sudden change

in teaching styles between you and Mizutani.

That's his opinion, anyway.

There might be something to what you say.

I didn't think I was capable of using Mizutani more comprehensive marking system.

In the interests of continuity, I asked if I could use it,

but the head teacher just wouldn't let me.

Mrs. Asada, Just now you mentioned juvenile delinquency

when you were talking about Nobuko.

I want to make it clear that it is something you brought up yourself.

And as for your husband’s opinions, in order to avoid misunderstandings,

I think I should talk with him myself.

Please don't mention my husband's opinions to him.

If you do, he'll know that I've said too much here and he'll scold me.

Mrs. Asada, 'juvenile delinquency' is a very serious problem for those of us

in the teaching professions, something that we don't like to talk about lightly.

I apologise for talking so carelessly.

Please don't speak so sternly to me.

By the way, who ranks first now?

I'd like to point her out as an example to Nobuko.

It's Haseyama Tomiko

Haseyama Tomiko? Isn't she the girl without a father?

Yes, she is.

If Haseyama...I know her a little.

Haseyama's a very good kid.

She's got a good head on her shoulders, but she has a good personality, too.

She's nice to others, calm, and courageous.

I think she's our model student.

You may have heard, but her mother has raised her all by herself.

Her success with Tomiko speaks to her strong character.

Haseyama and your Nobuko are very good friends at school.

It’s unusual for kids with such different personalities to become friends.

That might be a reason why they influence each other.

You mean Haseyama will be influenced by Nobuko?

According to Iwata,

Tsuta-san's kid is a model student and a wonderful child.

He says that all her good points are attributable to her mother.

As long as she's such so solid, I'm going to have her make me a kimono.

Lay off! That’s all in the past!

That you get so angry proves that you haven't forgotten about her.

You probably think that you would have been better off

with Tsuta-san, don't you? It's true! It's true!

Hey, Tomiko, I have something to tell you.

What is it?

I'll talk to you about it later.

Look how much I did.

You've only done a little.

Hey, you're right. I thought I was working hard. I wonder why.

Well of course. You were using that little thing

I was going really fast with this sickle. Maybe we should trade next time.

Just a minute there, you two.

Look at where you've been working.

That'll tell you who was working harder.

I think Haseyama-san was doing the better job.

This isn't just because I like Haseyama-san, it's the truth.

Why do you think I say that?

Don’t laugh.

Look at the area where Asada-san and Haseyama-san were working.

Where Nobuko was working, the roots are still there.

Now look at the area where Haseyama-san was working.

Yes, it’s smaller, but if you come back tomorrow there won’t be

any weeds there because she’s taken all the roots out.

Over here, they’ll come back right away.

So whether it’s basketball or track or studying or something else,

you can only tell the results when all is done. Of course,

Today, I want you to try to work at the right pace.

Quickly, like Asada-san, but also thoroughly, like Haseyama-san.

Understand? Do you all over there understand, too?

OK, we’ll take a fifteen

What was it you had to tell me?

It's a good one. Let's go over there.

What was it?

It's really something. When my father was younger,

he wanted to marry your mother

- and your mother wanted to marry my father.

Is that all? That's nothing.

He's not here now, but I used to have a father.

And you have a mother. You don't understand anything at all, do you!

You're the one who doesn't understand!

And you the number one student.

You think that married couples are born to be together. Well, it's not like that.

What you think is the standard for married couple is just a very special case.

Someone's daughter and someone's son grow up and meet and get married.

That's what married couples are.

I know that much. My mother was once my Grandmother's daughter.

Then she married my father.

You're weird, Tomiko.

Isn't your mother still your grandmother's daughter?

Yes, that's why my mother and my grandmother live together.

My grandmother is my Mama, too.

You're silly, Tomiko.

I'm talking about stuff that happened before we were born.

But it's strange. Who told you all this?

I don't think it's true. Someone lied to you.

Don't they tell you not to play with me?

That's what my parents tell me.

Yes, my mother said once that your family is rich,

and mine is poor and that if I play with you I'll cause you trouble.

But even if she says that, you play with Maejima and Tadao.

Their families are rich, you know. You look disappointed.

If you want to know where I heard this, it was from my mother.

It's not that she told me. I heard it last night when I was in bed.

My mother and father were arguing about my marks.

They started talking about your mother. I woke up and heard it all.

What did she say about my mother? Tell me.

I don't remember that well.

All I know is that your mother wanted to marry my father.

That's what my mother said. Don't be angry.

Sorry. This is all about stuff from the past. It's over.

OK? Right?

"Tailor Alterations Repairs"

I'm home.

Hello there. Wasn't it hot today?

What did you do at school today?

We weeded the schoolyard.

Is that right? That's good.

We'll have to have you weed the garden here.

Where's grandmother?

She's at the neighbour's visiting.

Mother, did you go somewhere while I was out.

I didn't go anywhere. Why do you ask?

What about yesterday?

Yesterday and the day before I had to go to town

to deliver some things to people, but today I was here the whole time.

Why do you ask anyway?

I had the feeling that you had gone somewhere.

You're strange.

Well, let's eat.

I'm done.

Already? Don't you want some more?

What's with you, staring at me? Is there something on my face.

No. It's just boring without a father.

There's nothing we can do about that.

But a father is a good thing to have, right?

Well, yes, of course, but...

Mother, did you like Father?

You're silly. Even if I liked him, even if I liked him, once a woman gets married,

unless she matches her husband, match, they can't really be a couple.

But Mother, some couples fight.

I bet you didn't know that, did you Mother?

Well, I am shocked to hear that! Which couples fight?

Nobuko's mother and father do. Nobuko told me.

And she said that her father wanted to marry you when you were younger.

That's crazy. That's not true is it?

Who did she tell besides you? Please tell me the whole truth.

Nobuko's mother said it and Nobuko overheard her.

She said that it came up while Nobuko's mother and father

were fighting about her report card.

Did you know him?

Kei-san...

Who is Kei-san?

Kei-san is Nobuko's father.

Why do you call him Kei-san?

What's wrong, Tomiko?

I'll tell you the truth, but I don't want you to cry.

No! Mother, I don't like you anymore! Go away!

What do you want me to do?

All I did was explain a little to you.

I haven't told you about this before, but I knew Nobuko's father.

When we were young we used to say hello to each other,

but it's a lie that I wanted to marry him or that he wanted to marry me.

Those are all lies.

The proof is that I was already with your father before he got married.

Was my father a good person?

Yes, he was.

How good was he?

Good enough for you to love.

Was he a better person than Nobuko's father?

You don't compare people like that.

But if you had to compare them, what would you say?

I'd say that your father was better. You'd prefer it that way, right?

Ah, Grandmother, don't sneak in on us.

You shouldn't lie to her all the time like that.

That only makes things worse. I'm going to tell Tomiko the truth.

Don't do that. Don't tell her!

Grandmother I understand. I won't tell her anything that she doesn't need to know.

Tomiko, I guess I have to tell you. Come here.

I heard you giving your mother a hard time.

Listen, you have to be good to your mother.

I'll tell you why.

No one has told you until today. It’s because your father

was a worthless drunk who gave your mother a really hard time.

You were so little and cute and she had to take care of you

so she had to put up with all of it.

Your mother was the best of my three children,

and she could have married anyone she wanted,

but she felt an obligation to your worthless father.

Mother, you said that you weren't going to tell her.

Tomiko, these are Grandmother's fantasies.

Your father was a good man.

He was worthless! What was good about him?

Why do you try to hide everything's that bad inside of you.

You should at least tell Tomiko the truth.

It's perfectly normal and appropriate for her to know about her father.

So, Tomiko, that's how worthless your father was.

I took your mother away from him a thousand times,

but every time I did, she would say that you needed her

and she would sneak back to you.

That’s why you mustn’t give your mother a hard time.

I was going to tell you about this when you were older,

but just as I was coming in, I saw you giving your mother a hard time.

Well, that’s enough. Don’t cry. Why don’t you go swimming or something.

Tomiko, go and play.

You're heavy whoever you are. Who is it?

It's me.

That hurts. You're going to crush my stomach.

Sorry. You haven't been paying attention. I've been here with my father.

Your father?

He's fishing over there.

It was a bit strange when we were both crying at school today.

My mother's still mad.

About what?

About all sorts of things, but mostly about my marks.

That's because you don't study at all.

But it's so boring.

Did you ask your Mother about what I said?

Yes.

And?

I don't know. My Grandmother yelled at me.

But it does seem that my mother has known your father for a long time.

See! I told you.

If my father had married your mother, we'd be like sisters.

But if that had happened, neither one of us would have been born.

The child would have half like you and half like me.

That would be weird.

It's hot. Shall we go in?

I cut my foot.

It hurts. Hold me up.

This is terrible. I'll go get some medicine and a bandage for you.

Mother! Nobuko cut her foot in the river.

Oh no! I'll go with you.

Oh, it's, uh, Tomiko right? Thank you.

I'm much obliged.

No, not all.

It's been a while. Looks like I'm indebted to you for this.

Don't mention it.

This looks serious. Tomiko should have been watching out for you.

No, it's my fault.

She's so active for a girl.

I don't think it's very deep.

Does it hurt?

Yes, it does.

Sorry to trouble you with this.

I'm just glad I was able to have a good child.

Father, I want to go to Tomiko's house. I've never been there.

You're welcome to come, but our place is so dirty.

It's not that dirty, Mother.

Nobuko, let's go home.

She's pretty heavy.

Thank you, Tomiko. And thank you, too.

Thank you.

Bye, Tomiko. Bye Tsuta.

Bye.

Father.

What?

Shall we go home, too?

Nobuko is a good kid.

Mother, my leg hurts too. Carry me!

Tsuta Are you jealous of Nobuko? You're joking aren't you?

But you know, I'm not as strong as he is.

You might flatten us both. Well, here we go.

You are heavy!

Mother? Don't you have to say goodbye, too?

To whom? I don't see anyone here.

Nobuko's father is a good person, isn't he?

What are you doing?

Nothing.

Mother.

What is it?

Shall I rub your shoulders?

I'm working, so why don't you do Grandmother's shoulders?

I can do her shoulders later, just let me do yours.

Tomiko seems to want something.

Yes, it seems she does. What is it, Tomiko?

Nothing. I just want to rub your shoulders.

Is that so? Well, go ahead.

Mother, I'm good, right.

Of course, you are. Why?

You're a good girl in many, many ways.

I'm going to do something nice for you every day, Mother.

That would be great.

So you'll love me, won't you Mother?

Don't I always love you?

I don't want you to go anywhere.

Where would I go?

Are you sure you won't go anywhere?

Ouch! When you hit me that hard, it hurts.

That's more than enough, thank you.

Next I'll do Grandmother!

If you're going to be so rough I don't want my shoulders rubbed

I'll be gentle.

Shall we go to the Asada's place and see Nobuko?

Yes, let's do that. Let's go see her.

You'll come, too, won't you Haseyama?

No.

Why?

I have something to do.

Is that so? Well, the rest of us will go and see her.

I'm home.

Hello.

What's this?

You can look at it, but it's not ours, so don't get it dirty.

Well then whose is it? Did someone leave it with us?

Whose is it, Mother?

Nobuko's father sent it over in thanks

for helping Nobuko yesterday. Some boy came to deliver it.

So it's mine?

Ask your Grandmother.

If grandmother says it's OK, can I keep it?

Yes.

Where's grandmother?

She went to the Watanabe's to deliver a kimono.

Tomiko! Tomiko!

If someone gets hurt and you help them

and they give you something in return, is it OK to keep it?

What? Slow down! What are you getting at?

I need to know the details.

Yesterday, Nobuko and I were playing in the river and Nobuko cut her foot.

Mother and I brought her some medicine and a bandage.

Nobuko's father was there.

Is that what happened?

Your mother didn't say anything about it. What did Kei-san say?

I don't know, but can I keep the doll?

Did they talk for a long time?

No, we were there for the whole time.

Can I keep the doll, Grandmother?

Be quiet about that! Answer my questions

Did Kei-san say anything else?

Tell me everything you can remember.

What he said? He said 'thank you'

Anything else?

He said 'goodbye' when he left.

Don't be silly; those are just formalities.

They must have said more. Try to remember.

I don't know, but Mother just looked at him quietly.

You're mother is cute that way, but that's stupid.

That's exactly the situation where you should speak your heart.

But Grandmother, what about the doll? What about the doll?

The doll? What doll?

The doll Nobuko's father sent.

What did your mother say?

She said that I should ask you.

And do you want this doll?

Yes I do.

Well, seeing how he took the trouble to send it to us,

well, just this once.

You should know that there's such a thing as obligation, though.

I'm going ahead. Bye.

Mom! Grandmother said it would be OK to keep the doll.

Is that right? I have to take some things to my customers.

Mother, we have to thank Nobuko's father.

I've been thinking about that.

Shall I write a letter?

Well...

Grandmother, here it is.

Wow, that's quite a doll.

So you met Kei-san?

Mother Yes.

We didn't really do that much

- not enough to deserve this doll.

Money doesn't make you happy.

I don’t think it was his only idea, though.

Kei-san should probably have figured that out by now.

I don't think his wife knows about this.

I don't think so.

Then we can't even return it, can we?

Mother, I don't think I want this doll.

All the same, I guess you have to keep it.

I have to take some things to some customers.

Doesn't Mother want me to have this doll?

I think your mother thinks it's a lot of trouble.

Otsuta-san!

It’s been a while.

Do you have a moment?

I heard your daughter has gotten really good marks.

My Nobuko is being treated like a juvenile delinquent.

You must be happy, though.

Well...

You see Iwata-sensei quite a bit, do you?

I'm always thinking I should see him, but I'm so busy.

I've only seen him once.

Is that right? You're always so pretty.

Well, see you again. Goodbye.

We delivered your order this morning.

My order? What was it?

A French doll.

Your husband ordered it and had us deliver it to the Haseyamas.

To the Haseyamas?

Yes.

Thank you very much.

Ah, Father, you're home early.

I had something to pick up here.

I'm going out again. How's your foot?

It doesn't hurt anymore. It's OK. See!

Hey, take it easy.

You have to take care of it, you know.

Nobuko, I'm finally going off to war.

I went to city hall on some other business and my draft notice was waiting for me.

Congratulations, Father.

You have to be good. I want you to study hard.

I want you to win, Father.

I'll give it to them good.

There's a girl here. She brought a box and this note.

What is it?

May I see it?

Dear Nobuko,

Has your cut healed? I hope so.

On the way home from school today, Tazawa-san invited

me to come to your place to see you, but I didn't go.

It seemed frightening to go to your place me for some reason.

I received this doll from your father.

Unfortunately, it seems to have caused my mother some trouble,

so I’m sending it back to you without telling my mother.

Tomiko. She returned the doll we gave her yesterday.

Oh, why?

Just a minute.

Where are you going?

I want to have a word with you.

Mother!

Can you wait? I want to talk to your father.

What is it that you want to talk to me about?

Tell me the truth without hiding anything!

You've been carrying on something with Tsuta-san.

With Tsuta-san? Don't be stupid!

First of all, she's not the type to do that.

And I'm a little better than that myself.

Ah, you two are such good people.

Well then, what about that French doll.

Ah, yes. The doll. That was for Tomiko, of course.

I told you one lie.

When Nobuko cut her foot in the river yesterday Tomiko was there.

She brought her a bandage and some medicine and Tsuta-san came with her.

She probably didn't know I was there. That's why I sent her a doll.

There was nothing before that or after that.

Then why did you lie to me and the neighbours

and tell Nobuko to lie to me about it?

Actually, that was Nobuko's idea to hide the truth from you.

She seems to be worried about your feelings.

I didn't think it was such a great idea, but

..Children are so sensitive.

When we feel bad, we cast a shadow over our children.

As parents, we have to be careful about that.

As for the doll, Tomiko came to return it with this letter.

Read it.

She saw that the doll was trouble for her mother so she returned it

without saying anything to her mother.

She didn’t tell her mother that she was returning it.

I feel as if I’ve done something wrong.

Oh, this came today.

Draft notice: Asada Keikichi, Yamanashi Prefecture

Congratulations.

Why are you crying?

I'm sorry for being so selfish all this time.

You don't have to apologise for that.

It's enough for you to have noticed. Now I can go to war without worries.

It was all my fault.

I thought that you had given up on me, that you have any interest in me anymore.

Now that you mention it,

it's true that I had given up on you a long time ago.

When I got my conscription notice

I was both happy and worried.

To be frank, I was happy that I would

be getting away from you,

but I was also worried about Nobuko.

The young Miss has left with the doll.

I tried to stop her, but she went out.

She must have gone to give the doll back.

I'll go. I have a few things to apologise to Tsuta-san about.

Alright, that sounds good.

I still have a few things to do at the bank.

translated by: Guy YASKO