Original subtitles

A JAPANESE ART THEATRE GUILD DISTRIBUTION

COPRODUCED BY SOZOSHA AND JAPANESE ATG

Furniture by Takashimaya Department Store Futons by Sugimuraya Sake by Yamamoto & Ota Tesuzo Shoten

Wedding Kyoto Grand hotel Ceremonies Koekisha & Yamamoto Masao Buddhist Altars Yamanaka Daibutsudo

Carpets & Curtains by Kurare Inc. Gala gowns by Watabe Wear Ship by Oshima Transport Inc.

IN COOPERATION WITH DAIEl STUDIOS, KYOTO

PRODUCED BY SOZOSHA

A FILM COMMEMORATING THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF ATG

THE CEREMONY

SCREENPLAY TAMURA Tsutomu SASAKI Mamoru OSHIMA Nagisa

MUSIC TAKEMITSU Toru

CINEMATOGRAPHY NARUSHIMA Toichiro

STAFF

ART DIRECTION TODA Jusho

LIGHT YAMASHITA Reijiro

SOUND NISHIZAKI Hideo

EDITOR URAOKA Keiichi

SOUND RECORDING AND EDITING

ASSISTANT DIRECTION CONTINUITY AND ASSISTANT PRODUCER

COSTUMES, MAKE UP AND HAIR DESIGN

CAST

KAWARAZAKI Kenzo

KAKU Atsuko

NAKAMURA Atsuo TSUCHIYA Kyoshi

OTOWA Nobuko

KOMATSU Hosei TOURA Rokko VVATANABE Fumio

KAWARASAKI Shizue HARAChisako TAKAYAMA Maki MITOBE Sue

TSUBAKI Ryuichi NARUSHIMA Yumi OTA Yoshiaki TSUBAKI Yukihiro

OS AW A Efiaro TONOY AM A Y asufli

KOYAMA Akiko

SATO Kai

PRODUCED BY KUZUI Kinshiro YAMAGUCHI Takuji

DIRECTOR OSHIMA Nagisa

THE CEREMONY

That's embarrassing, yes, especially for me

In any case, I ask you to wait one more day...

You can change the time...

...and take a later plane?

If we don't hurry up...

...we won't have the time to confirm the obituary in the newspaper

In fact, he's more important to me than my grandfather.

I'm counting on you.

If it concerns Terumichi, I have to take care of it.

The telegram was ad reseed to me

I was the only one, who knew where he was

What are we going to...?

I didn't want to imply, that we necessarily have to go together

How long would it take to get down there by train?

Three hours with the Shinkansen to Osaka...

...and from there on I'll take the Kirishima to arrive at Kyushu...

...at 11:50 am tomorrow. The ship leaves Kagoshima at 5 pm

and arrives on the island at 10 pm the next evening

I'm asking myself, if I should go

Why?

Such a long journey, that can't be supported

The telegram from Terumichi wasn't a joke

Announcing his own...

No, he doesn't have the habit to lie

If it's true, nobody is left, but you and me

You will live as long as your grandfather, until you will have turned 89 years

Maybe older, 100 years...

Are you making fun of me?

No, I'm serious

What do you think we are for each other?

Relatives

That's all?

Relatives who do not see each other except on weddings or funerals.

Really? Would you say the same about Terumichi?

Relatives, who do not see each other except on weddings or funerals.

No, that's not true

From childhood on, since the first time that I've met her...

...I haven't stopped loving Ritsuko

Terumichi, if you hadn't been there, I would have found my fulfillment

Teruchimi, if you hadn't been there, my life would have been different

Come on, relative!

What did you say? Me, I have a name: Masuo Sakurada

Man of Manchuria. Born in Manchuria.

Terumichi, you caught me

It was just after New Years Day 1947

My mother and I had just been renaturalized from Manchuria

When we approached the family home of the Sakuradas...

...the village people told us that this particular day...

was the first anniversary of my father's death

Then mother told me: "From now on, we'll...

"...be living by ourselves and make a living an our awn, just the two of us, alright, Masuo?"

And when we started to walk back the way we had come,

you came after us, to catch us

We had escaped the Russians, the Manchurians and the Koreans

And finally, it was in Japan, that we were arrested by the Japanese

They said, that the Russian soldiers were all demons

Were they really that terrible?

What?

You're in a desperate mood. I ask you, if they have treated you like a whore?

I've heard, that some

I'm asking about you. If that didn't happen to you with the Russians, how about the Manchurians or the Koreans?

If something like that had happened to me, I would not have returned alive

But why did you just try to run away?

We wanted to live without your help

What? For the Sakurada family, Masuo is irreplaceable

Ah! I forgot! What happened to your younger brother?

Before we arrived at Dairen, he

Well, that couldn't be avoided. So Masuo will live for two sons

I don't know why, but I didn't look at the photograph of my father

But, even if I would have, I wouldn't have learned anything about the reason for his death...

...or to be more exact, the reason for his suicide.

All I knew about my father was, that he had to return to Tokyo...

...on an important mission, shortly before the defeat, in July 1945...

wand that he committed suicide the following year, just after New Years Day 1946

Nobody told me about it, and I didn't want to know more about it.

I didn't want to be considered as a particularly difficult boy

At that time, people didn't talk a lot about these things...

about the war, the military and the missing persons.

Mom! I can wash myself on my own.

Your mother is sleeping. lf were her, I...

Masuo, it's me, your aunt.

Do you remember me?

I know how to wash myself on my own

Did you forget me? It's already 7 or 8 years ago

Yes, I remember aunt Setsuko

You know, I knew your father since he was your age

Come on, sit down, you'll catch a cold

I'm ashamed

Why?

Because I'm dirty

So what? Are we not relatives?

What's so funny?

I made myself dirty, too

That's my mother, but she never washes me

Boy from Manchuria

Who are you?

I'm an orphan, the child of a war criminal

You must not spy!

War criminal. But as you say, Terumichi, if I may use your words...

“grandfather, who is sitting next to me...

...felt very honoured to be imprisoned at Sugamo, together with Tojo and company

The war crimes Tadashi was talking about...

were less severe than the ones grandfather committed

They say, that his father was still imprisoned in China

He's one of my father's younger brothers, but he had a different mother

It was disgusting to see, how they touched the knees of aunt Setsuko...

...between two arguments.

Later I understood, that he imitated Kynichi Tokuda the leader of the communist party

You told me, that he was an important person and didn't have

But nevertheless, this is bizarre, because this communist uncle...

to me he appeared to be just another war criminal

And not only him.

Be it my father on this photograph...

...or the other people, drinking sake...

...for me they all were nothing but war criminals

Masuo, how is your mother?

She is very weak, for about 2 or 3 months...

It's a very long time to stay in bed, for a woman who has worked as a nurse!

She is my daughter-in-law. From tomorrow on, we will make her work.

But in her state of health...

After all, she must not eat too fast

They say, that in India, the half-starved children, who devoured their food too fast...

...got dysentery and died soon after

The same goes for you, Masuo

And you, too, Mother-In-Law

Eating less, you'll be better off

it would be good, Masuo, if you would stay here in the countryside with grandmother

In Tokyo, there is nothing but waste that the Americans...

...use to fatten their pigs

Yes

Idiot!

I'll take his father's place and responsibility and take Masuo with me to Tokyo...

to complete his education

But isn't Masuo your...

What?

Well, isn't he your own son?

What'd you mean?

Well, but...

Well, but what?

Isn't it possible?

Me and Susumu, we have the privilege of being your legitimate sons...

...though we are the sons of your mistress, but Mamoru...

For Terumichi, things are almost sure, and about Setsuko...

...and her daughter, you'll never know, who her father...

And finally, there is 7 years-old Tadashi

Am I not an all important person, even for the Communist Party

Isn't it your Communist Party that turns everything into common property?

A nurse that sleeps for two months, have you ever seen something alike?

Russia, Russia. All in all, Russia is disgusting

Masuo, the Russian soldiers, were the dressed in red?

No

Ha! Everybody is convinced something has happened...

...between Kiku and the Russian soldiers.

In sum, you insinuate, that a Russian soldier could act like grandfather

A lie, a horrible lie!

That's demagogy. The Russian soldiers were friendly

Hhm? Weren't they, Masuo?

Masuo, what's your answer?

They gave me brown bread. In Russia, they call it...

They called it Za...Za...Zakous

And you accepted it nevertheless, didn't you?

Yes

And your mother, Masuo, what did she get?

I don't know.

Have you been separated from your mother, in the concentration camp or elsewhere?

That's what I thought.

In front of this child...

Masuo!

I perfectly like your habit

What are you doing, Terumichi?

Disinfection, disinfection! All of Japan will be disinfected...

May I offer you some sake

I'll take one, too

All right, let's drink together

Thank you very much

Do you want one, too?

Terumichi, that was the first sake of my life. What did it taste like?

I can't remember everything, for I was dazed. You dazed me

You'll get better, if you sleep a little

What is it? What is it?

A mole? A toad?

Masuo, move. Let me listen

So what? I don't hear anything

But you do

What? What do I hear?

Tell me, in Manchuria, did you eat snakes?

Under the clear sun of Manchuria, Masuo ate snakes...

Can you hear it? What do you hear?

Get up, you're no kid anymore

They buried him

What did they bury? A treasure?

Who did they bury?

My younger brother

They buried a baby, who was still breathing

They covered it with earth, but I had the impression it was still crying...

...and sol put my ear on the ground

Mom had to drag me away with all her force

And then we had to run like crazy to get back into the column...

that was marching on

Under the clear sun of Manchuria, Masuo buried...

Tadashi, you won't tell anything of this to anybody

That's a man's promise

May I make this promise, too?

Masuo, ask your mother not to tell this story to anybody

Terumichi, you asked me whether we played baseball in Manchuria

I liked your question

In fact, I was trained by a professional from the Manchurian railway club

Of course, Ritsuko and Tadashi didn't manage to catch my balls

And even you had problems with your left hand in case you caught one

At that moment, I felt...

“something like sympathy for you for the first time

Before that, I only knew...

...that your fate mother had been my fathers fiancee

Grandmother was obsessed with the idea that her only son...

...had to marry a girl from a good family

Since we were very young, they tried to make us rival against each other

But then I didn't know yet, whom your mother had married...

wand why you found yourself alone in the Sakurada family

Strike!

No, Mom. It isn't fair

Masuo has to throw more gently

No, Masuo

Throw them with all your force

Your father used to play with that glove you're wearing, you know

He was very strong

I was one of his supporters, and I cried when he lost

Shall we change?

Could you sleep?

Nothing but bizarre dreams

What genre?

They have nothing to do with you

So, if you sleep another while, me, I'll think for a moment

It's better not to think too much, you know

Do you remember when we played baseball...

...after the first memory service for my father

First anniversary...in 1947...

...we didn't play baseball

But, I'm sure. You took the bat and Terumichi was the catcher

No, you're mixing things up. Only you played baseball. Yes, only you

But that's not true. Your mother, Setsuko was the referee

She praised me for my good throw

You want to tell me, that my mother has lead you, so you became what you are?

Setsuko, aunt Setsuko, you were there, weren't you?

I stopped playing baseball. It's over, I stopped playing

Mom, I stopped playing baseball

Aunt Setsuko, no! Setsuko!

I could feel your eyes on my back

Being absent while my mother died...

...I was resigned to be blamed by everyone for the most part by grandfather

But you, Setsuko, the way you looked at me, blamed me the most

It stuck in my heart

I felt ashamed by it, but physically it hit me like a pleasant shock

In 7952, Masuo Sakurada, leader of the sports team of Komatsgawa wa highschoo}...

represented the Tokyo highschools at the National Baseball Tournament in Osaka

The evening before the quarter finals, I received a phone call that Mom had fallen into agony

The next day, during the 8th inning of the quarter finals...

...I missed the ball, that decided the match

The score of 0:0 was lost

Just at that very moment, Mom died

Thinking about her, she was a very unhappy woman, full of sorrows

She wasn't with her husband when he died, and she didn't see her son before her death

That was her destiny

In Manchuria, Mom seemed to be happy

Indeed!

Yes, she should be overjoyed...

...to be buried in the Sakurada's family grave!

Terumichi's mother wasn't that lucky

Do you think it is luck to be buried in the Sakurada's family grave?

For women it doesn't matter much

All that matters, is you, Terumichi, and you, Masuo

Japan has become independent

It is your duty to stand firm and correct by the nation...

...that has been changed by the blow of the defeat

Remember the rows of souls of those, who disappeared, who died for the Fatherland!

You, Masuo and Terumichi, you must not follow the example...

...of grandfather nor Masuo's father

What a horrible conversation. It feels as if, molotov cocktails are flying back and forth!

You know, Masuo, your father wasn't that type of pigheaded militarist...

...who starts to run amok like a bull in front of a red cloth

You defend him. Didn't you have a love affair with him?

You are offensive

You should get married soon

If there's enough room at your place, I'm ready to invite myself

Ritsuko, you will marry Masuo or Terumichi

That goes without saying.

The honorable Sakurada family has lost men of great value in the war

There is no reason, to tell such dirty lies...

...because no party of the family is satisfied

The only ones satisfied, are you and me

Despite our 9 years of separation?

From now on, you'll be allowed to come back, and live with me

No, let's leave it as it was, for the education of Terumichi...

...both of us...

For his education, you will come back, and live with me

Terumichi, will you study law, to become a civil servant, too?

What a disgusting education, isn't it?

I've already abandoned university

Ah! You will become a worker and pursue practical activities?

What does "practical activities" mean?

For Uncle lsamu, as a Party member...

..."practical activities" might mean, for example...

...to make everything in common, the production of children...

...with women to his left, and women to his right

Terumichi, how old are you?

I'm 20

And you, Masuo?

I'm 19 years old

I'm 16, grandma

You said "it goes without saying" before

That's really impossible

In a word, Ritsuko, you have to love one of them

Setsuko, after all that happened, I don't know what you told Ritsuko

It seemed, as if you turned down Ritsuko

Setsuko, on that particular evening, did you foresee what would happen?

Will you even burn that glove?

Give it to me, I'll give you something else in exchange

What will that be?

Do you really think you definitely can abandon baseball?

Yes. I'll definitely start university next year

Then you shouldn't be surprised to read in the morning papers, that...

"Young champion Masuo Sakurada cries a river...

...for his beloved mourned mother"

I don't care anymore.

I played baseball, but I hated it from the beginning

But, isn't it the only thing that you can hold on to now?

You say that now there's nothing else left to support me?

It's just that, I cannot be the one, who...

If...

No, but in the place of...

This is the last will of your father, Kanichiro Sakurada

He asked me to preserve it, and to give it to you on your 20th birthday

I didn't read it myself

Why did you hide that in your heart for 6 years?

I didn't especially hide it

Shortly before his death, Kanichiro came to me and insisted...

...that l should hand it over to Masuo

Kanichiro didn't leave me a testament

I have the right to know what he had in mind before he died

I only respect his last will. No more, no less

What do you mean by "no more, no less"?

Before his death, didn't Kanichiro pay you a visit?

This was an unmoral and disgraceful act

But from the very beginning, morality has been exceeded

You drove a wedge between your own son and his fiancee...

...only to possess her for yourself! That's the kind of morality, which...

Shut up! Masuo, I'll call you later

And what else?

I loved Kanichiro. And I believe that Kanichiro loved me

lam an illegitimate child, by an unknown father, whose mother...

...who was your sister, fled the family

Therefore you opposed our marriage

You, with all your power...and me, a 19 year-old, beseeching you with my tears...

What do you complain about?

Didn't I adopt you as my daughter, and didn't I marry you to a...

...influential, pro-japanese, Chinese personality?

I don't want to talk about that

That was afterwards

I had met Kanichiro in China a couple of times again

Despite my feelings for him, that's all that happened

On what did he count then?

When Kanichiro came to see me, he already had decided to die

We opposed you. He, with his 22 years, and me, with my 19...

You boast about this!

No, I don't boast about it.

I'm just telling you the truth

So don't you think that we should put an end to all that truth?

Setsuko, come nearer

If I approach you, do you think you really can put an end to it?

I don't know for sure, but I'm determined to

I didn't have the courage, to listen to your secrets any longer

Neither did I have the courage, to come to your help, Setsuko

Anyway, what could I have done?

And you, could you have helped me?

Setsuko, even now, I deceive myself

The truth is, that you were my first love

Grandfather, is this the beginning of a lesson?

You don't understand.

It's the end of a lesson!

So, let me study it

The conclusion from this is already fixed

Be my first teacher

My lips

My breast, too

Now the other one

No, don't hurry, stay calm

Did you arrive in time?

Yes, I like these ceremonies, because lots of things happen

We have to stay through them, until the end

Who is your father?

Why do you suddenly ask this question?

When you lived in Manchuria, did my father come to visit you?

Yes, I remember very well... three or four times

So what?

What are you after, Masuo?

Your father and my mother ...I'm...their daughter!

Can you imagine that?

I don't think, that it was possible, but...

And even if it was possible, so what?

In this case we would be...

What?

Brother and sister

Despite coming from Tokyo, you're very thoughtful

Anyway, I'd like to be your sister...

Brother and sister...

Yes. Talk to me, as if you were my brother

I'm not able to talk right now

Okay, practical activities; kiss me!

As a brother, kiss me here

What are you doing? Now, we are no longer sister and brother!

Mom's funeral was magnificent. In fact it was so grand, that the people said...

...that grandfather had offered himself his awn funeral during his lifetime

Just before he was rehabilitated, grandfather had become vice president...

...of a public engineering enterprise

A lot of people visited to congratulate him

Setsuko, in his last will my father wrote:

"When you will have grown up, Japan will crumble under a communist regime. "

You, my son, you will gather your companions around you and start fighting them

In fact, he was mistaken

He wrote these lines, on January 1st, 1946. The emperor had just been obliged to declare...

...in front of the Japanese people, that he was nothing but an ordinary human being

My father thought that this would be

...the end of Japan, and decided to commit suicide

Today it is difficult for me to feel that way

Setsuko, the truth is, by starting university I wanted to stop playing baseball...

wand become politically active

But, I don't want to imagine, that you are the reason for this decision

And you, Setsuko, you cried along time at the coffin of my mother

But your tears, for whom did you shed them?

KAGOSHIMA

There's still some time left. Shall we take a walk?

What?

Once on the ship, you can't turn back

You think I'm not aware of that?

Yes, it happens very often, that people don't turn back...

...when they have the opportunity. Afterwards, they regret it.

You're talking about yourself?

Yes, about myself

But you, did you never regret anything?

You want to talk about our kiss?

What is it?

Against seasickness

I'm not afraid of it

The crossing takes about a day

it isn't the first time

When I left Manchuria, renaturalized, the crossing took much longer

But that was a long time ago

It feels like it was only yesterday

It's a return ticket

Of course. You won't stay there, even if...

Even if what?

If Terumichi is alive, I will not need a return ticket

Ritsuko, is this your definition of a life without regrets?

What a horrible face you make!

Returning or not, in any case...

...our life, hasn't it begun with a return, when we had been renaturalized from Manchuria?

Yes, maybe. But if the renaturalization is the regret of the great Japanese empire...

then we are all children barn from this regret

This is valid for Setsuko, as well as you, Ritsuko...

as for the children of war criminals like Tadashi

Go, go, to the future! May it come or not

Like father's pocket money Like the elders rules

To the married couple! To the married couple!

Happy songs, sad songs, from all the songs I listened to

I can't forget but one, and that's the song of work!

Hallo to you, the young! Hallo! Let's go!

Yes, let's go! Because you are as learned as the English

You use rubber and paper

While the others still use their fingers

to give relief

Fingers aren't necessary anymore! To the bride! To the bride!

Child of the Fatherland, bravely you go to war

Bravely you leave your family

As bravely you return without having shot your three rounds

Drunken with beer and sake Bu! it is the knee of the beauty...

In my dream Heloise has appeared, and she threatened me to cut it off

When! woke up, I looked below my navel. When you have done it with the first girl...

To each his own. It's my turn

Song of my boarding school: "The Cup"

With flowers in the cup With flowers...

With flowers in the cup...

A reflection of the moan in a cup of sake The wealthy city takes a bath in a dream of peace

On the top of the hills that tower above it A dormitory of young people full of energy

A dormitory of young people full of energy

Next one! To you, Susumu!

Go, Susumu! Carry on!

Forget the Chinese prisons and sing "Chinese Nights" for us

"Chinese Nights"

He won't sing

He reflects upon the crimes he committed in China and upon the lessons of President Mao

He wants to be a new democrat, torn by his contradictions

For him it isn't the moment to sing

Susumu, I'm your sister-in-law, and I don't know much

But from now on, we'll try to live...

...for peace, independence and democracy

Arise! ye starvelings, from your slumbers

Arise! ye prisoners of want

For reason in revolt now thunders

- And ends at last the age of cant - Enough, enough, enough...

Ritsuko, let us sing Japanese songs!

Following his lead That carries me away with him

My hair is flying in the wind Dancing wild, cheek to cheek

My kimono, in complete disarray, my shame and joy

The geisha's waltz is a dance of memory

And you, Masuo?

Bald as a demon But with the heart of a man

I leave my mother To go overseas

My friend, my brother, when will we meet again?

What kind of song is this?

"The Soul of the Manchurians"?

What do you mean?

Nothing special

Okay, if Susumu won't sing, we'll pass it on to his son

Tadashi, sing for us!

In 100 places In far of! Manchuria

In the twilight of the sun a companion rests under a stone

Attacking the enemy fiercely Always in the first row

Now he takes a rest him, the brave soldier

At my side in the battle He suddenly fell

I rushed to his help disobedient to the rules

Should I have let him die this way With an emergency dressing only

Answer me clearly! Since I was 7 years I haven't seen you anymore

Father, I don't know who you are

Answer me!

What uncle lsamu just said, that's wrong, isn't it?

Enough. If you weren't my father, I wouldn't ask you anything

"if it is for the country, don't be worried about us, Go, and don't hurry to come back!"

Tadashi, those were the times in 1956'

I didn't sing, and if) did...

“it would have been a song that cried out:

"No, to the Atomic Bomb"

Those were the times

That year it was said that the postwar era was over. Your father had finished to serve his sentence

was war criminal in China, and had been released

But we didn't understand, what our fathers wanted to say:

That it was because of this something, that fore- boding of a new era, that was beginning to show

That's why my father commited suicide

But you, you've put your father in the shade

That depraved era, for you it was the one, when you were young

It's whiskey. Don't drink that fast

Tadashi, you just made your father lose his face in front of everybody

It's not enough to make him lose his face

What does it take to make people talk who do not want to?

Torture re

What?

In the Sakurada family, almost everybody knows what this is

Grandfather practiced it when he worked for the Home Office

Uncle lsamu has been beaten up often enough to stop him from participating in demonstrations

My father did it at first, but later he changed sides

They aren't funny, them, who always want to sing...

Go, call for him

Who? My father?

Idiot!

Angry young men like you will be ruined by alcohol

But a girl, you know...

Yes, you're right. A girl, older than 20 isn't a girl anymore

You want to torture Ritsuko?

That depends on the mood of the moment

You haven't come further than that?

So it was useless, that l spied on you

We were just to begin

So, I'm inviting myself for a moment

You are well hoisting one right now

You, too. Since when?

With your lover, for example?

What lover? I don't have one

And you, Tadashi?

What? That's unthinkable, isn't it?

Nothing is unthinkable

That's true

Tadashi is very angry tonight, watch out for him

Masuo, you really ask me to?

Women aren't enough. I...

You really attach great importance to killing?

Now, after I went to great pains to join you, your conversation is not very interesting

Yes, I want to kill!

What with?

If that's all, you're just a boy

Tadashi!

That's not the way it should be drawn

You hold it with both hands...and with your whole body you aim at your enemy's heart

Because a man who's only hit lightly will not die easy

I do understand that there are people who want to kill others...

...but I don't understand why people want to kill themselves!

Who does?

My mother

Aunt Setsuko? That's none of our business.

Yes it is!

If Setsuko said so, we're totally concerned! Totally concerned!

Why does she want to die?

I don't know. She only said, she wants to die

Delusions! That's none of your business!

But yes, it is!

How does it concern us?

Terumichi, you...

It's been 4 years, since your mother's funeral, that I've seen aunt Setsuko

I don't know the actual state of her soul

Does it not concern this particular day, 4 years ago?

I wasn't there on that particular day

I'll go.

Wait!

But you gave it to me, didn't you?

With an old thing like this you'll only manage to kill one or two people

Are your feelings that weak, that you would be satisfied with this?

Without the will to exterminate, to seize the power and change the society...

...it is useless to take up a weapon

And the weapon of choice for that moment is the rifle

Let me go!

Go and rethink your ideas!

Because I don't like to be with those who want to die...

...I allow myself to stay with you tonight

And quietly listen to you...

...telling about what happened 4 years ago

That's my futon!

Then come in, please!

I remember, that we promised to be sister and brother 4 years ago

I hope you don't think it's unfair.

Well, who wants to begin?

The way you're talking, makes it difficult to start

Be more manly! Wasn't it your idea?

Back then, Terumichi was way ahead of me, and in my place

Can you be a bit more specific?

Like this: in this room, Masuo lies to my left and Terumichi to my right

Or: my leg and Terumichi's leg are entangled

So grandfather took Setsuko in his arms

And then?

He caressed her

What?

At that moment, Terumichi entered the room

Grandfather left:

Setsuko was lying on her back

I asked her to...

You asked her to...?

Setsuko was tender

What do you mean by "tender"?

As tender as I would have wanted her to be

But it was Terumichi, whom your mother...

Aha! And thereafter we became sister and brother!

We aren't brother and sister

I don't think of it as aunt Setsuko, who gave herself to me, Terumichi

But I think of her as a woman, who gave herself away

That moment, I longed for a female counterpart

Was it only physical?

You think that a female counterpart is only physical?

I don't understand. And besides that, Ritsuko...

Don't be shy

Me, too, would like to know, what this female counterpart means

Have you ever been with a whore?

I did sports, and my older friends took me with them

Nobody visits a whore to find a female counterpart

Even if you go there to find it, you'll always return without it

It's complicated

On the other hand there must be a male counterpart, too...

...and I hope that it isn't as complicated

Terumichi, get up

Male counterpart, female counterpart, all this general talk

However, Setsuko,as she was 4 years ago and Setsuko today...

Masuo, do you think, that night 4 years ago...

...is related to my mothers current desire to die?

Perhaps it's not immediately related, but...

In this case, what's the aim of our discussion?

A research on masculinity and femininity

Shall I call her?

Me,I...

Will you call her?

No, I don't want to dig deeper into it...

...but I simply want to know how Setsuko feels

Now I understand, what l was looking for

Me, too

What is directly related to that night 4 years ago...

...are your feelings for my mother

Take it as a precaution

Was it by chance, that your feelings surfaced...

...and that they were connected with her desire to die?

Tadashi, you saw me entering Setsuko's room

I felt it

l knew it

Setsuko was sleeping peacefully

I looked at her sleeping face

Deep dawn inside of me, every sensation suddenly died...

wand I recalled what I had been for the last 4 years, until this day

Next spring I entered Kyoto university

Terumichi had become grandfather's secretary in Tokyo...

wand that was probably one of the reasons that I left Tokyo

Terumichi was promoted to so-called secretary, but in fact, he didn't do anything...

except reading thick tomes

I started to let myself into the world of baseball, again...

...that I had left so seriously

Maybe there was a direct connection, but then it existed for more then 4 years

Tadashi, you remember it, don't you?

Since that day, when the four of us played baseball...

...I had this feeling for Setsuko

Meanwhile you, Tadashi, although you didn't know what was going an in my heart...

...you spied on us for along time.

It was the proof of your youth

As for me, I wasn't that young anymore

Masuo, Ritsuko was only joking

Don't take it serious

You should know what's going on in a young girl...

This sounds, as if I'm old

lf l would be in love with someone nowadays...

...I would possibly ask him to die with me

Answer me only one question:

That someone couldn't perhaps be Terumichi?

Did he tell you that?

Yes

I don't know what he told you, but I only gave in to the desires of a young man

That particular moment, and though I wasn't this young anymore...

...he still moved my heart

Setsuko!

What?

Until now, I never did something extraordinary...

...and in the future, I believe I'll be a good-for-nothing

I don't care to die now

You embarrass me

Your father wasn't that generous

If he had been, I would have...

But that was 10 years ago

I have gone through too much, Masuo, but the next time, it will be my funeral

Despite all, I accept your gesture

You wont...

No, I only keep it

Tadashi, did you watch Setsuko' s room?

Because after I had gone, something happened

The next day, Setsukos body was discovered...

...near the pine tree, behind the house

Nobody opposed grandfather...

...who said that it was suicide

Tadashi, take it!

Tadashi, you didn't move, except for a cold smile

Tadashi, do you know the true reason for Setsuko's death?

During the funeral ceremony, they heavily insisted, that it was suicide

But I never suspected grandfather to have killed Setsuko

And it wasn't the reason, why I hated grandfather.

In 5 hours we'll arrive on the island

Once arrived, I feel, that I will lose you forever...

...your hand...

...your hair...

...your lips...

These lips that have done nothing, but make fun of me, since my childhood

You know the story of the flying Dutchman?

It's the story of a captain who had been cursed by God

Since then he wanders around the seven seas...

...all alone...

...without being able to die

Me too, I am a victim of this curse

I'd like to wander around with you in eternity, torn back and forth between the seas

You know, that you're not damned

You only like to be

But I'm no longer able to make fun of your fate

Shall we go on deck?

Ritsuko, if Terumichi's telegram proves true...

...would you marry me?

The appendix!

She'll get an injection

Stay calm

Hello! I just received news...

...that the bride has an inflammation of the appendix, but...

Tadashi!

I'm sorry. Shouldn't I have mentioned it?

That's not the problem

What kind of uniform is this?

This is a police uniform

Were aren't in a public place. Go and change!

It's my intention to dedicate myself to the public 24 hours a day

I don't have anything to change, but underwear and pajamas

But you are a member of the Sakurada family

You may excuse yourself from the ceremony

Tadashi, go and change!

If the appendix won't get better...

...what will become of the ceremony?

Don't worry about that, go and change fast!

I don't have the intention to

Did she have a surgery?

So, someone has to go to the hospital...

No, visits are forbidden...

...and anyway, I'll take care of it

What about the ceremony?

Before she had undergone the surgery, we should have...

Isn't the bride just shirking?

Not at all! The bride had problems with her appendix before...

...and after all these wedding preparations...

The notion of "shirking" may be inappropriate...

...but doesn't it give the impression, that she's lost all interest in the wedding?

No, she had a real appendix crisis, and in about 5 days...

An appendix is something very practical

If there had been a mirror...

...I 'd seen the face of a man, who had been abandoned by his future wife

Ritsuko, what face did I make?

At the age of 28, without wanting to...

...I'd marry on request of grandfather

And on top of that, I had been abandoned by my future wife.

But in fact, I had been saved

I was ready to flee, too

It was miserable

I've had 10 years of holidays, and I've had the vague idea to profit from it...

wand to somehow leave on a lonely voyage

The ceremony will take place as planned

Without the bride?

The important members of both families are present

The wedding banquet will be sufficient to officially confirm the marriage

Once the appendix is cured, we'll celebrate in private

Are you sure about that?

What is hiding for once, isn't that easy to be recovered

But we don't live in your era of secret societies anymore

Today the Japanese police is the best in the world

Exactly!

Tadashi, this uniform again!

It was true, we had left behind the troubled post-war era

Only I had a bad time now...

...a brideless wedding ceremony

Now, may I allow myself to present the bride

But before doing so, I'll say a few words

None of these bad customs introduced to Japan from foreign countries...

...after the end of the war, not the tiniest bit has rubbed off on her

She is a perfect and pure Japanese girl

And to prepare herself for this splendid day...

...she has dedicated herself for a month, no, for several months...

...to purify her body and her soul

After she said goodbye to her parents this morning...

...she got ready to leave...

...when all in a sudden she had a dangerous crisis of the appendix

Notwithstanding that, suppressing her suffer, she insisted...

...that the ceremony should pass as planned

But as this ceremony is the matter of a single day,

whereas the marriage is a matter of a whole life

After the parents-in-law have been consulted for their advise...

...I decided to admit her to the hospital

This decision, as well as the splendid enthusiasm of the young wife...

...in my humble opinion, merit great approval

Great politicians are in fact skillful

For the first time I pondered upon the one...

who isn't at my side now

Listening to the talk about the "perfect and pure japanese girl"...

...I found it bizarre, that I ever had believed in it

Right now, where is she hiding herself?

She is far from being afraid of the Japanese police!

It's the husband's turn to cut up the wedding cake

May I ask you to applaud

The bride leaves for a moment to change her dress

Let's accompany her with our applause...

...and open our dinner

The bride returns from changing

May the husband go to meet her

May the husband go to meet her

That's embarrassing!

How long will this comedy go on?

With all these politicians and financiers who are poisoning Japan!

What else do you want me to do?

Denounce such a farce!

If you won't do it!...

Outline plan for the reorganization of the new Japan

First the emperor is...

Ritsuko, at that moment we were far from each other

Even if there was this brideless wedding...

...and that little incident, I thought, that...

...me, you and Terumichi should have returned to our routine

But what followed found us again, face to face:

When Tadashi left the hotel...

...he was hit by a car, and died

Sixth, outline plan of the revolt...

First: acquisition of weapons...

...from our companions, who work for the police...

...the pistols from each of them...

...the basic weapons from each section...

Second: the police depots of ammunition...

...and our companions, who work in these depots...

Come on, come on...

It was her, who draw back...

Okay, cry a while

Don't cry

Tadashi, was influenced by silly ideas, and he acted stupid

It's normal that he died

No reason for him to be alive

But Tadashi didn't commit suicide!

Somebody killed him!

Yes, he had been wiped out by your communist friends or some other guys!

He was neither killed nor murdered...

...it was a car accident

Yes, an accident

Like the dangerous appendix crisis of the bride

She was shirking

Masuo has been abandoned

I'm not " the man from Manchuria" anymore

Now I'm the abandoned man

Is this the night of a death-watch, or a wedding night?

I understand your feelings

There's nothing to laugh about

Seventh: target of the attack...

...all the secretaries of state

But you won't continue to cry like that for long

It's really funny, isn't it, Masuo?

Perhaps it's better, that she decided to stay away

It could have led to an interruption...

...of your wedding night

We were lucky

In fact, what am I crying about?

Was I sad because of Tadashi's sudden death?

Or had the ceremony humiliated me?

Maybe because I was drunk, and wasn't quite sure about myself...

Ritsuko! You didn't say a ward, but I felt, that you were at my side

I vaguely remember that grandmother and uncle Mamoru...

were telling stories about wedding nights

I really don't know, why I did that

I think it was the alcohol

Well, on the inside of the handkerchief of the bride...

...instructions for the first night are written...

No, there is no writing

There aren't any paper handkerchiefs

Me, too, asked myself during my first night...

...when I saw grandfather's, how this will work...

Grand ma, your coat...

What do you want?

Hand it to me

Calm, peaceful, without fear...

Be natural and let me do it

Masuo!

It's my wedding night

Are you crazy?

After all that has happened?

Real, perfect and purely Japanese...

...her breasts...her beautiful nipples ...they are mine

Let's call a psychiatrist With a lunatic...

No, let's see, if the people will learn...

Finally we are alone, just the two of us!

There's nothing to be ashamed of.

I love you. Relax your legs

What's this noise?

See yourself, your son!

Pure and perfect Japanese...

...my body is yours, and your body is mine

Masuo, I did believe you were no good at anything but baseball...

But I didn't imagine you to be that stupid!

You, the youngest son of Kazuomi Sakurada!

Real Japanese...

What the heck are you doing? Are you crazy?

Not at all!

...True Japanese!

Leave me alone!

Enough! Leave me alone, idiot!

Pure and perfect Japanese ...Relax your legs...

Isn't that enough now?

You've done enough!

At least for this wedding night, which you are responsible for

"Targets of attack:..."

"...b) all the Secretaries of State and Members of Parliament: sentenced to death."

"All the ministeries' civil servants and provincial civil servants:..."

"...forced labour..."

Relax. If it hurts you, tell me

What are you doing?

Here are these lunatics!

I found him being strange all the time

That's what he really is...

Get out of there!!

Grandma, please tell him to get out!

But why should I? If he's crazy...

...there's nothing we can do about it...

...and he won't listen, anyway

He exaggerates!

Yes, he exaggerates!

Masuo, it's enough now

Ritsuko, if you'd accepted to marry me...

But you know, I've already spent my first wedding night

Terumichi!

Masuo, take Ritsuko's hand

Now we are connected

How I longed to hear that uproar. But where will it lead?

Terumichi, you won't leave us alone!

Ritsuko, if you'd accepted to live with me...

...I would have left this house...

Masuo, promise me to hold her back until I've left

Terumichi!

And me!

He leaves...

He parts...

Yes, he parts...

Ritsuko, as Terumichi told me, I held you close

You could have getaway from me, if you had wanted to,

...and have followed him, but you stayed...

was if you had been spellbound by him

Terumichi decided to leave grandfather, under the condition that...

...I'll marry you and we'll live at grandfather's

But neither Ritsuko, nor me...

...knew w anything about this agreement between Terumichi and grandfather

Ritsuko, since that day...

...Terumichi has left grandfather's house in Tokyo and never returned

Later I learned, that Terumichi was the child of grandfather...

“and that young girl, that had been promised to my father

Shortly after this, grandmother, who liked Terumichi very much...

wand who was responsible for his upbringing, died

I was waiting for him to show up at her funeral, but in vain

A propos, the bride, that had abandoned me...

...never showed up

And you, Ritsuko, though we both lived in Tokyo...

we haven't seen each other again for ten years

May I express my condolences on your grandfather's death

Thank you

It's been a long time since we've seen each other

Yes, it's been a long time

Did everybody arrive?

The uncles are almost...

I didn't have the time, to talk to Ritsuko...

...whom I haven't seen for 10 years

I was in charge of the biggest...

“funeral ceremony, that had ever...

taken place within the Sakurada family

Politicians and important personalities had come to be present at it

Financieres had even come from the province...

...to Tokyo

I was like a machine, repeating the same wards aver and aver again

Since grandfather had fallen into agony at the hospital...

...I didn't sleep for three days in order to prepare the watch

Even if I wanted to, I didn't have the time...

...to abandon myself to any emotion about the death of my grandfather

I had lived my life until this moment, always trying to escape the big responsibility...

...that I had to wards the Sakurada family

Be it baseball, be it my choice...

. . to join Kyoto University, be it to abandon the company I was working for...

...or starting to work as a baseball coach...

mat my old highschool

Lots of people continuously told me to abandon baseball

wand that they would help me, if I decided to become grandfather's successor

My uncles wanted me to marry again quickly...

...to have a descendant

In the end, I was really fed up with all of that

You...

Poor...

Masuo, I feel so sorry for you

You don't need to feel sorry for me

I'm worried about you

Pardon me

Stop it!

What happens to you?

It is heavy, painful, the soil falling down on...

The soil?

I am intered. Buried. Bit by bit my breath...

Masuo, I feel sorry for you

It's painful, I suffocate. But I feel good

No...I'm beginning to sink

My eyes close

It's the soil, it's the smell of the soil

My ears close

...my mouth is filled with earth

The pores of my whole body are sealed...

...the earth can't be detached from my body anymore...

...on the surface, somebody listens to my voice...

my big brother...no, me

TE...

RU...

Ml...

CHI...

...DEAD...

...STOP...

...SIGNED...

TE...

RU...

Ml...

CHI

TERUMICHI...DEAD...STOP...SIGNED TERUMICHI

When we arrived at Terumichi k cabin...

there was a bright light

The very moment, I began to think I'd been fooled...

...Ritsuko shouted: "He's alive!"

Then she squat at the spot...

while I went to the front of the cabin...

wand called Terumichi's name

There was no response

Then Ritsuko slowly came closer

I tried to open the door

To my surprise, all doors were nailed

Now, Ritsuko cried out for the first time: "Terumichi!"

It was a voice, that called for a dead man

We crashed in the door, like crazy...

wand entered the cabin

It was completely empty

Terumichi had removed every trace of his life

Only his corps was laying there

His last will was placed upon the newspaper...

...that had announced grandfather's death...

I just wanted to start to read it aloud, but Ritsuko stopped me, saying...

"I'll read it first!"

Last will:

"I am the only one who can continue the Sakurada line"

"By killing myself now, I destroy the Sakurada family"

Masuo, you'll be late for your ship. You should go.

You're in charge of the funeral services in Tokyo

I'll stay here...

Ritsuko, you intend to die here, don't you?

Yes... but I can take care of everything by myself

Fool!

You think I'm able to leave, knowing that?

Then you intend to stay, and witness my death?

Strike!

Did you find it?