Original subtitles

After Japan lost the war, people's lives changed drastically.

There were people who made money illegally, but

most people were having a hard time just surviving.

Shoe shine~!

- Welcome! - Shoe shine~!

- Welcome! - It's done. That will be 10 sen.

It's so so.

Here.

This isn't enough.

I told you it was so so.

It was only worth half the price. That's what I'm saying.

Yoshino.

Mom. Here.

The four of us earned it by shining shoes.

- Shining shoes? - I did it too.

When did you...

I'm sorry. But we've been studying too.

Taka Nee-chan's been teaching us.

So won't you accept this, Mom?

I'm sorry.

Why are you sorry?

Manpuku

♫Marumatteru senakani ni morai naki ♫I get infectious weeping looking at your stooped shoulders

You have to Believe!

♫Haji datte issho ni ♫We'll share the humiliation too

Week 5

♫Hikoukigumo bonyari nagamu ♫Gazing absentmindedly at contrails

♫Kokoro kokoni arazu ♫Here in body, but not in spirit

♫Nenkan totaru moshi shitara ♫If I was to calculate an annual total

♫Tsukiau watashi sugoi? ♫Aren't I amazing for keeping you company?

♫Toboketeru mayuge ni morai warai ♫ I get infectious laughter looking at your comical eyebrows

♫Tere datta nandatte ♫Be it embarrassment or whatever

♫Morai naki morai warai morai ikari ♫Infectious weeping, infectious laughter, infectious anger

♫Moraippaji don to koi! ♫Infectious embarrassment. Bring them on!

♫Seiten mo donten mo hekireki mo ♫Sunny days, cloudy days, thunderous days too

Katsuko was crying?

She's happy that they're earning money, but

- it must pain her to make the children work. - That's it.

Katsuko's lament is understandable.

Do something about it, Manpei-san!

How long are you planning to freeload here? Don't you feel ashamed for imposing?

I do, but...

We're selling kimonos to make money.

You should talk, Mom. You won't even sell your kimonos.

I can't take this life like a bamboo shoot anymore.

- Bamboo shoot? - Like peeling leaves off a bamboo shoot,

you start losing your clothes one by one.

That makes sense. That's a good way of putting it.

It may be a good way of putting it if you sold your own kimonos, Mom.

I will not sell my kimonos.

Who'd sell expensive kimonos like that on the black market.

Aren't you going to do anything, Manpei-san?

When you married Fukuko, you said you'd never make her struggle financially.

You ARE making her struggle. With poverty.

I'm sorry.

Manpei-san's been going to Kamigori to stock up on food.

On the jam-packed train.

Anyone can do that.

You're an inventor, aren't you? Even if your company's gone,

can't you come up with something that everyone would want?

- It's not that easy... - I'm asking Manpei-san.

I'll think of something. I'm sorry.

This is where you were.

Why here?

I realized I had never seen Tadahiko-san's work space.

Maybe I shouldn't have come in without asking.

I don't think that's a problem.

Don't mind what Mom said earlier.

If we all do our best, we'll manage to survive somehow.

Manpei-san, you just think of the future.

I can't possibly do that.

It's suiton again.

- I hate this... - You can't have likes and dislikes now...

I'm sick and tired of it too.

We have to do something about it soon.

Can't we get something delicious with the money we earned?

Delicious things are really expensive. Bear with it for a little longer.

I have an idea.

Close your eyes.

- What is this? - Just close your eyes.

Say to yourself.

This isn't suiton.

It's a slightly small daifuku mochi .

- What? - You have to believe!

When you put it in your mouth, it's sweet and delicious, and you feel extremely happy.

- Really? - Really.

Okay. Come on, keep your eyes closed and eat it!

It's daifuku mochi~!

No, it's not daifuku mochi.

- It's suiton. - It's definitely suiton.

- It's not sweet. - I hate it.

No way, huh?

All right.

You can go ahead and sell my kimono.

Mom!

Wow~. This is quite a nice kimono.

- How much can you give us for it? - Hm... I can give you 150 yen.

- 150 yen?! - It's not a cheap kimono, you know.

If you insist on getting more for it, I don't want it!

Please don't handle it so roughly.

You don't know the value of this kimono at all!

Yeah, yeah. She's absolutely right. Let me take a look.

- This is yuki , isn't it? - Yes, it is.

You can't expect a guy like him to appreciate the value of yuki.

- What did ya say, buster! - What?

Sera-san?

It's me. Fukuko!

Oh, Fuku-chan! You were alive!

- W-who are you? - Fuku-chan's sister?

Oh, dear!

- Tachibana-kun! - Sera-san!

Long time no see! I see you made it too!

You too, Sera-san. I'm glad you made it back safely!

Sera-san gave us a lot of money for that kimono.

Please come in.

What are you doing now, Sera-san?

I told you, stop addressing me like that.

You know you're older than me.

- Hot! Hot... - Sera-san's younger?

I'm engaged in business like before. Sera Trading Company is alive and well.

Although I don't have any employees, and my mode of operation has changed a bit.

- Changed like how? - To put it plainly, it's the same thing as black marketeer.

- Black marketeer? - You, Sera-san?

Obtain goods illegally and sell them.

Buy cheap from folks who don't have money and sell high to folks who have money.

Hot! This is too hot, Mom.

- I'm sorry. - You're a bad guy then.

- She's right. - In this day and age, there is no good or bad guys.

- Isn't that right, Tachibana-kun? - Well...

Just a minute. Then the kimono you bought from me...

I'm going to sell it to someone for 3 times the cost.

- 3 times?! - That's what business is all about.

- That's something a black marketeer would do. - That's why I told you, I'm a black marketeer.

Please give me back my kimono.

But I paid you 300 yen to buy this kimono.

But you're going make money by selling it for 3 times more, aren't you?

That's not fair.

Look. We're living in an unfair world right now.

People who died in the war and people who came back safely.

People who are being detained and people who were able to come home.

People who were punished as war criminals and people who escaped punishment.

People who made money in black market and people who didn't.

People who are starving and people who have plenty to eat.

People who got burned out of their home and people whose home escaped fire.

When unfairness is the norm, the minute you start complaining about it,

you're already a loser.

- We're home! - Oh, the kids are home.

Mom, we did good today. We made 8 yen and 20 sen.

- I worked hard shining shoes too. - Oh, shining shoes, huh? I'm impressed.

Okay. If you shine my shoes by the front door, I'll give you 1 yen.

- Really? - Yeah.

Just a minute. My children's real job isn't shoe shining.

I thought I was being nice.

I'm getting all confused.

I can't tell if Sera-san's a nice person or a bad person.

- How can he be a nice person. - That's why I told you from the beginning.

That there's no bad or good. There's only unfairness.

You've just been sitting there listening, Tachibana-kun,

but you should know what I'm talking about.

I'm disappointed.

To see you rotting away on the unfair loser team.

Well then, I should get going.

Hurry up and come out, Tachibana-kun the Inventor.

Sera-san's as powerful as ever.

He must've played his cards well during the war too.

I'm sure he did.

But Sera-san and you are different.

I know.

But I want to be someone like Sera-san

who can confidently say this is who I am.

You're not going to find too many people like that.

I saw this scene at the ration center today.

- Do you have something to prove your identity? - That's why I told you I don't have any!

If you don't, I can't you give your ration.

I told you my house and all my household goods burnt down!

- Don't you at least have a seal? - How do you expect me to have something like that!

He didn't even have anything to prove his identity.

There are lots of people like that.

Seal...

They can't help it since everyone lost their house and all.

A seal will solve the problem.

Then why don't we make it for them.

You mean the seal?

That's right. It's an important item that proves who you are.