TOKYO METROPOLITAN LIBRARY ARISUGAWA BRANCH
JANUARY, 1979
Good morning.
Early as always, Ms. Takezawa.
Hello, Sis? It's me.
Takiko!
Yeah.
Okay, I guess.
Huh?
Listen.
We need to talk.
It's nothing silly like that.
What are you talking about?
Marriage isn't silly. Do you realize how old you are?
What? Is that Sakiko?
It's Takiko.
A woman over 30 faces nothing but obstacles, you know.
It's about time you--
I told you. It's not that.
What then? Spit it out.
It's a bit early in the morning for sibling spats.
Hello?
What is it?
All four of us should be there.
- I need money for a textbook. - Then I'll tell you.
- What book? - "Advanced Stories for Reproduction."
I'm bad at English. Say it in Japanese.
FATHER
- Huh? - Didn't you buy that already?
That was "Elementary Stories for Reproduction."
Say it in Japanese!
You should have mentioned that last night.
You really need it?
Yeah, I do.
Bring back a receipt, okay?
Sure.
Okay, here.
At least say something before you leave!
- We're off! - And Yoko, that skirt is too short!
It's my longest one.
Sorry. So what's up?
You can't keep me waiting just because I'm your sister--
I said, "Sorry," didn't I?
This is bigger than, "What's up?"
Well, you called at the busiest time of day!
We're all coming to your place tonight. I'll tell you then.
I'll call Tsunako and Sakiko.
And I'll have dinner before I come.
Why eat out when I could--
Some little sister she is.
She's got to quit that library.
What's wrong with being a civil servant? It's less pressure than doing sales.
She can't do it forever. Eventually...
Lifetime employment as a housewife, then?
Well, at least it's stable.
Don't say it like that.
Is Tsunako coming too?
It's all so sudden. Who knows.
Will you be late with a meeting?
You're going to Ikegami today, right?
My mom’s secret savings account matured.
She uses our address.
Why not use theirs?
She thinks Dad will get complacent if he finds out.
He can't retire just yet.
Men have it rough at any age.
Not as rough as women.
Say hi to your Old Man.
Just the Old Man?
I'm not reciting Momotaro. I don't have to mention them both.
- Have a good day. - Yeah.
ASURA
I'm home.
Welcome back. The ikebana artist is here.
- Oh? - Yes.
It took them two hours to do my hair.
I swear, their tongues are busier than their hands.
Your arrangements are always impressive. But today, especially.
How can I put it?
The flowers seem almost erotic.
Not at all.
My teacher always said my arrangements
were orthodox and dull.
That's not true.
In fact, I see a woman with her kimono undone.
Don't you agree, dear?
Well... Flowers are beyond me.
Good work.
Masukawa residence.
Tomorrow. One o'clock.
Sensei! Your sister is on the phone.
Coming!
- I told you-- - See you.
It's not about marriage.
What is it then?
I'll tell you in person.
I have my own life too. You can't just call and--
This month's pay.
What time?
You can't demand that I come at eight without knowing my schedule.
You're so selfish, Takiko!
Don't come, then. I'm not forcing you.
At least I asked.
It's important. The three of us will figure it out.
So don't complain to me later.
- Welcome. - Welcome!
This way.
You shouldn't call me at work in the first place.
My shift ends at nine tonight.
Tell them your mother is sick.
I used that excuse last week.
Sorry.
Good afternoon.
My request...
I have this.
Was everything okay?
Yes. Not perfect, but...
Oh?
Won't it bother you?
It will.
Of course it will.
But I can't just turn a blind eye.
Thank you for waiting.
Same bill, please.
Very well. Excuse me.
Huh? I ordered an American.
She gave you my...
Too strong.
Oops!
Oh, uh...
I'm sorry.
Excuse me!
FUJI APPLES
- Excuse me! - Yes?
- I'd like-- - Apples?
- Four, please. - Sure.
Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman.
The old man gathered branches from the mountains
while the old woman laundered their clothes at the river.
As the old woman was washing clothes, a giant peach floated down the river.
Slish-slosh, slish-slosh.
KOTARO TAKEZAWA
- Huh? - Oh, it's you.
If it isn't Makiko.
What's so funny?
- You two... - What?
The old man's cutting branches,
and the old woman's laundering clothes.
What's so odd about that?
I wish I had brought a peach.
Peaches aren't in season.
Mom, the apples had your name, so I bought some.
- What? - See?
Oh, my. Fuji apples?
Isn't that nice?
You don't need expensive housewarming gifts to visit your parents.
Besides, the two of us can't eat all these ourselves.
I'll help.
- Oh? - Dad! Have an apple.
I'm fine. I have to leave soon.
- Is he working today? - Yeah.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are reserved.
A reserved man, huh?
All done.
Hey, aren't those your clothes?
He never did things like that before.
"Hey! Your clothes fell off the line!"
He does the rain shutters now too.
- By himself? - Yeah.
Preparing to meet his maker, maybe?
He has to compensate for all the hardship he caused you.
Penny-pinching
and years of nagging hardly qualify as hardship.
Pretty happy life for a woman, I guess.
Anyway, what about the money?
The bank would like to keep your account open.
Right.
Oh, and have you heard anything from Takiko?
No. Why, did something happen?
She said she needs to talk to us.
Could she have finally found someone?
That's what I thought, but apparently not.
Hey! The tofu vendor is outside.
We still have last night's tofu.
Oh, right.
Oh, wait!
I dusted your other coat. The brown one.
Don't worry about it.
You're home early.
Whenever I tell him you're coming, he hurries home.
You're my lucky charm.
My meeting just happened to be canceled.
You never had sisters, Takao. So when it's the four of us...
- What's that? - Here we are.
Is today the day for breaking the rice cakes?
It's supposed to be on... Whoa!
On the 11th, I think.
He just wants to relive his childhood.
All guys do.
When my husband was alive,
he was always strict about decorations and customs.
It's not like we were high class. It was such a pain.
Fond memories I'll bet, now that he's dead.
Rice cakes are best deep-fried with salt.
He's hoping for the same.
I'll help then!
- Oh! - Sorry I'm late.
I'll let her in.
- The organizer arrives last. - No kidding.
Oh, are those rice cakes?
Say, don't these cracks remind you of something?
Wait.
Mom's heels!
Exactly! You took the words right out of my mouth!
These lines here.
I still remember the sound when mom took off her tabi socks.
Before bed, right?
She'd turn the lights off and...
They'd make that weird sound rubbing against her heels.
Why were her heels so rough? Skin problems?
She had a hard life. Sometimes she went without food.
It was right after the war.
Gotta keep the husband and kids nourished. Meanwhile, she only ate porridge.
Her hands were rough from working in the kitchen too.
Remember that black ointment she put on?
I do!
She'd heat it over the charcoal brazier and then rub it all over her skin.
It hissed, and the smell was awful. And all that smoke too!
That really takes me back.
I could never bear all that.
Hey, you'll burn your tongue!
Oh, could that be Sakiko?
I'll let her in.
- I hate you for this, Takiko! - That's all of us.
Did you really have to call her?
- If I didn't, she'd resent it. - Unlike you all...
My job is hard work!
Wash your hands first!
Last week, I said Dad had appendicitis. This week was Mom's back.
Next, it'll be you three in a car accident.
- Yikes! - That's scary!
Come on! Not every week. You make it sound worse than it is.
My boss loves to golf. I have to follow him.
He said he's tired of the booby prize,
so I bought those things mail-order and now they just sit there.
How am I supposed to clean?
I use them when you're not looking.
Masaki left some in my house too. No one uses them and yet...
The ones like this. Or this.
Oh, and--
It's about Dad!
There's someone in his life.
A woman?
Why would it be a man?
I thought maybe he was sponsoring a student or something.
You're so naive.
Are you sure?
Other guys maybe, but our dad?
He's a doddering old fool who can't even shop on his own.
How could he have a woman?
You don't shop for women, do you?
Now that's a good one.
Your dad with a mistress...
Are you really one to laugh?
What's that supposed to mean?
No need to get defensive.
Or did I hit a sore spot?
Don't take it out on me. Right?
Dad turns 70 this year. Give me a break.
Besides, where would he get the money?
He works Tuesdays and Thursdays, right?
His old subordinates took pity on him. He's an executive in name only.
What could a bi-weekly reserve like him do?
A reserve?
It's a pun on Dad's reserved personality.
A reserved man who's reserved on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I love it.
But I saw him.
One month ago.
I went to visit a friend who lives near Senzokuike.
The three of them were on their way home.
Three of them?
"Daddy! Hurry up!"
It must have been someone else.
I paid for an investigator.
A detective?
Her name is Tomoko Tsuchiya. She's 40.
The boy's in second grade.
Dad rents an apartment there, and he goes every Tuesday and Thursday.
He doesn't go to work?
He pops in and then goes to her.
And you call him "reserved?" He's lied to Mom for 10 years.
Do you have proof?
What? Is that a family register?
They're photos of the three of them.
I don't want to see!
- Makiko! - Makiko!
You can't look. It's a Pandora's box! If you look, it becomes true!
It is true!
You agree with me, don't you?
- We can't look, right? - Um, that's...
Wait, there's a child involved. We could even be...
We're siblings.
- The first brother, huh? - So I'm not the baby?
You mean there are five of us?
We should...
- What? - You okay?
My false tooth broke.
What's wrong with you?
That's disgusting!
Wait. You have false teeth, Tsunako?
My four front teeth. Don't look, okay?
The fried rice cakes are at fault.
Hey! You got nostalgic about Mom's heels too!
- No heel talk while I'm eating! - How can you eat at a time like this?
I skipped dinner so you wouldn't wait!
Allow me this much.
Come on, girls. Don't fight.
The purblem wirf the child.
You sound like a leaky tire!
The air stingth, okay?
- Somehow, the mood-- - This isn't funny!
- She'th right. - Yeah, but you sound ridiculous!
Do you have a mathk?
- Huh? - A mask.
A mask?
Do we have new ones?
An old one is fine.
Who cares about masks? What about the child?
Old is fine. Just replace the child.
Huh?
Not the child. The gauze.
- The gauze! - Sis!
Oh, you!
Marcano's on the attack. He's slowed down. A straight right!
Get it together, everyone.
This is no time for losing teeth or watching a dumb boxing match.
Dumb? Boxing's a real sport, you know.
Hey! All of you! Don't you care?
Dad has a mistress!
Dad's a guy after all.
It's all so sudden. I can't picture it.
Today's 70 is yesterday's 50.
Maybe Mom fed him too well. His skin does have a nice glow.
To avoid cheating, better feed them junk.
Well, I prefer virile guys.
- Sakiko! - What?
Don't give me "what!"
What about you, Takiko? You're being pretty underhanded.
Underhanded how?
I paid with my own money. For Mom's sake--
That's what I find underhanded.
Why not be direct?
- Direct with who? - With Dad.
It's not like he'd admit it if she asked.
He is reserved, after all.
Sakiko! Don't you feel bad for Mom?
She did everything for him and now she's betrayed at 65!
Dad ith the one at fawt.
It's the one thing I thought he'd never do.
Ith inhuman!
I'm going to make Dad cut her off. Either that or give up Mom.
This other woman is the one he should give up.
Right? It's only natural.
Yeah, I suppose.
Thath the way the world workth.
What?
The way the world works!
Either way, for Mom's sake--
Is that really what you think, Takiko?
Huh?
You say it's for Mom's sake, but I bet it's for yours.
- Excuse me? - You're using this to vent.
Boring job, not a guy in sight...
I'm sure you're frustrated.
How dare you?
It's between husband and wife.
It's not our place to raise a fuss.
In the first place, it's partly Mom's fault if he went looking elsewhere.
She runs a good household, but she's too square. No sex appeal.
- That's too far. - Well, guys are like that.
Quit calling them that!
What do we call them then?
Men.
Sakiko.
Save your dirty thoughts--
Huh? Who's got dirty thoughts if not you?
You wear frumpy clothes and no makeup, but you want a man more than anyone.
Don't use others to cure your desperation.
Sakiko! You little...
I've had enough of your mouth!
Stop it! Both of you!
- Let's talk tomorrow, you and me. - Right.
Gushiken attacks relentlessly!
Marcano's legs are gone!
- He caught him! - With a one-two.
The left hook finished him off.
Whatever the case...
Your mom is not to hear a word of this.
All right?
He's out! Gushiken becomes the first Japanese boxer
to successfully defend his title seven times!
That final left hook Gushiken threw was awesome!
The other guy fell right in front of his corner.
Wait. Weren't you watching?
I watched.
Gushiken's two years younger than me.
Yeah, but... you know what that means, Hide.
Like the saying goes, "Great talents bloom late."
I can't wait any longer.
Hey now.
Wait up!
Oh, Hide! Ready to rumble?
Leave it to me!
Okay!
- You too. - Whoa!
- Nice catch! - Wait for me!
He's too fast.
We'll be there to cheer him on!
Better close shop early, or you'll miss the KO!
You got it!
Don't do that.
We'll get in trouble!
- Ow! - Did it get in your eyes?
- It did. - You okay?
Ow, that hurts.
A little more.
Okay!
Whoa! Cut it out!
- I bet you got nagged on. - Huh? No.
Didn't your sisters call you?
That's another story. It doesn't concern me.
Don't get cynical.
Hey, I hope we can move into an apartment with a shower soon.
Once I win, we can.
One-two! One-two!
I don't...
I don't want this!
I don't!
Do you think it's serious?
Huh?
My dad's affair.
All you do is grunt.
I should have washed these last night.
The problem is the child.
If not for that...
An affair is okay if it doesn't produce a child?
That's not what I said.
I just mean it would be simpler.
Maybe it's best to wait
for time to sort things out.
Time isn't fair.
People have stronger feelings for the love that came later.
Sometimes older things get thrown away.
Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman.
The old man was secretly cheating on the old woman.
The affair produced one adorable son.
TSUNAKO MITAMURA'S SCHOOL OF IKEBANA
MITAMURA RESIDENCE
Coming!
It's here already?
My word! Dry off before you leave the tub.
How much?
I can pay for it myself.
- But a large box might cost 2,000 yen. - I said it's fine.
Don't worry. Just take it. Come on.
- Oh, uh... - Um...
Hey, watch it!
Leave me alone!
Let me go!
Just come, damn it!
You never liked the smell of cigarettes.
Quiet neighborhood, huh?
Have some tea.
I see you got new false teeth.
I went first thing in the morning.
Of all of us,
I'm the only one who got Mom's bad teeth.
Dad's pay was still low when I was born,
so maybe it was the diet.
Aren't you going to ask?
"Who was that guy?"
"Is he married? When did you--"
Sis.
"You cavort in front of your husband's alter?"
"You have a son of marrying age--"
Sis!
"You had the nerve to call Dad inhuman! What about you, huh?"
Why don't you say it?
Sitting there in silence only makes me feel worse!
Why not let me have it? Call me whatever names you like!
Takao's cheating on me too. As a wife and mother, I can't forgive you.
Is that good enough?
Makiko...
Just because I have a dirty secret,
don't invent one of your own.
I didn't invent it.
Do you have proof?
Unlike Takiko, I've never been one for research.
Not to mention the cost.
I can feel the wrinkles already.
- What you don't know can't hurt you. - Mom says that too.
That's why
I want to fix things before Mom finds out.
Fix things? You mean Dad?
I asked Takao to handle Dad.
Then you mean...
Yeah.
- We'll convince the mistress. - How?
With money, what else?
Fine.
I'll pay half.
It's settled.
Say, are you hungry?
I am.
The teeth look great.
Twenty thousand yen per tooth.
The dentist said his younger brother is an ophthalmologist.
I suppose the next youngest is an ENT doctor.
Come on!
You fool.
He gets you laughing, and then he yanks them out!
It's not much, but...
So who paid for them?
Huh?
Was it him?
Makiko.
Huh? It's a mess.
How did that happen?
Thank you for the meal.
"Break up with him. Here's 500,000 yen." Isn't that a little too easy?
That's all my secret savings.
If I have to, I'll hold her hand and beg her sympathy for my 65-year-old mother.
You're serious?
I even put on new underwear for good luck.
You sound like a yakuza making a raid.
I want genmai rice.
And salad. With lots of lettuce.
Oh, and capelin!
- Female, with eggs. - Sure.
Mommy?
Mommy.
Make sure the capelin are female.
And a rolled omelet.
Here I go.
Snail, snail
Come out from your shell
Where, oh where
Does your head hide?
Reveal your horns
Reveal your spears
Reveal your head
Hello? Takezawa residence.
Oh, Sakiko!
How are you, dear?
I'm great.
There's something I want to tell you.
But you have to promise to keep it secret from Dad and my sisters.
What could she be keeping secret?
I don't know.
She said she'd tell me at the apartment.
Sakiko's apartment?
She made me promise not to tell you girls or your father.
But I'm a little worried, so I'll tell you the address.
Hello?
This should be the right zone.
Half the apartments in Japan have names like this.
You have to get the correct address!
Are you sure you wrote it down right?
I'm sure, okay?
Maybe the block number is wrong?
- No, this is it... - Oh, how pretty. A camellia.
Yeah.
Is this a bathhouse?
Remember when you fell in one of those?
- I cut myself here. - Yeah! You still have the scar!
Hey, if we don't get there soon, she'll definitely blab.
- She always has to be different from us. - You're right.
Oh, they're drinking milk.
- Nice. It's always so good after a bath. - Right?
Um, I've probably seen you on TV before,
but I'm afraid I can't tell athletes apart.
He hasn't been on TV yet.
Not yet.
Oh, is that so?
Doesn't it hurt to get punched?
Some spots hurt.
If you get hit in the liver...
"Liver"?
"Kanzo" in Japanese.
Oh, the liver.
But if a man's hit in the right spot, he'll float gently to sleep.
Really? I'd have thought you weren't allowed to hit down there.
Huh?
Oh, mom! He means the chin!
- The chin? - Yes, the chin.
Oh, my...
I was going to wait until he became champion,
but I wanted you to know first, Mom.
Hey, Mr. Jinnai! You left your garbage pail out!
Not now. We're in the middle of an important conversation.
Who cares about the damn garbage pail?
Mr. Jinnai!
Coming!
ASAHISO APARTMENTS
The address must be wrong.
I think this is an apartment.
- Look! - You're right.
- Oh! - Sis?
What are you doing here?
Where's Mom?
She's here.
Huh?
Did you tell her?
We're trying our best to avoid--
Get a grip! I wouldn't tell her that.
I only told her
about my boyfriend.
- Your boyfriend? - Boyfriend?
The slacker boxer I live with.
- You mean like this? - Yeah.
That's not much of a profession.
Why not a baseball player or a golfer? Anything but a boxer.
Wait, that thing on TV last night. Is that why?
What did Mom say?
She was surprised.
Well, duh!
"Can he earn a living?" "How will you get by?"
"What if he's injured?" "Are you getting married?"
I'm sure she has a lot of questions.
But you know Mom. With him there, she's all...
Keep the parental suffering to a minimum.
This isn't just any time.
If you worry her now, the suffering is double!
Oh, really? I think I'm being a good daughter.
Sakiko, you--
I wanted to find a new thing or two for her to worry about.
That way, even if she finds out about Dad,
it won't occupy her mind so much.
Go home.
I told Mom I wanted her to know first.
If you're here, it's no longer special.
How could you say that?
Go home!
Go.
- A cup of tea, at least. - This place was hard to find!
- Go, already. - Just one cup of tea.
Bye-bye! Get home safe!
One cup of tea!
- It's no use. - Yeah.
- Wow. - You hit pretty hard. I'm impressed.
She's laughing.
Yeah.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Good night.
Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
Twelve.
Thirteen.
Fourteen.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
Seventeen.
Eighteen.
Nineteen.
- Twenty. - Hey!
What do you think you're doing?
You got me!
- Right in the liver! - The lights!
Sit your butt down!
Listen here.
"I need restraint until I win the title."
"If I have a girl, I'll get soft. Everyone will notice."
Who said that?
Me.
- It was me. - Right? They're your own words.
So then...
First things first.
Let's become champion.
Okay.
Okay. Good night.
Ow!
Change out of those clothes before you go to sleep.
I know, okay?
- Ow, that hurts! - Huh?
I'm Takao Satomi.
You've helped my sister-in-law.
Not at all. Thank you for your business.
Single, huh?
- What? - I can tell by your unpressed collar.
Oh, uh...
Well...
I've heard you've been very kind to my sister-in-law.
I thought maybe you'd fallen for her.
- Excuse me. - Coffee, please.
Certainly.
So I figured I'd probe.
Which one of us is the detective, eh?
Anyway...
About my father-in-law.
Couldn't we just pass everything off as a mistake?
L-Like it never happened?
For better or worse, the photos are blurry.
We'll say you got the wrong guy.
I can't do that.
Why not?
Well, I'd be casting doubt on my whole profession.
Does anyone really benefit from knowing the truth?
- It's like taking an old woman who... - Excuse me.
She's climbed 100 steps with her husband, only to be pushed down on the 98th step.
They had complaints, but these women respected their father.
Now they have to view him with total disgust.
Why's that?
It's not like he's a thief.
Women think of men's affairs as robbery.
They're both shameless acts.
Oh!
Whoa!
Takao. Why are you with Mr. Katsumata?
What about you? How'd you find us?
I called Mr. Katsumata's office, and they told me where he was.
- Can I sit down? - Yeah.
I was just asking him for a favor.
He's not much of a talker,
but he's sincere, so give him work if you can.
Oh, did the thing we talked about arrive?
Yes, it did.
That's a family register!
The boy...
He's not Dad's.
He's eight years old.
His father is listed as Minoru Takamizawa.
If you knew that, why didn't you say so?
I may be an in-law, but she and I are family.
But I didn't have my client's permission.
I see. You were right about him.
So we are four sisters after all.
I think we'd better talk. Out of earshot of the women.
I had a feeling this day would come.
Couldn't it be a case of smoke without fire?
There's smoke because there's fire.
We can cover it up.
It's fine. Let it be.
Sir.
What are you going to do?
There's nothing I can do.
It's the bed I made.
An apology then?
No.
No apology?
An apology won't suffice.
Oh, swelling rage!
On whom shall I retaliate now that my lover is in the arms of another?
Or shall my body turn to mere detritus
Here on the river's floor?
As I approach
The water's edge
My image reflected
On the still surface
Has become
That of a great serpent
Your mom's clear soup is the best.
The eggs are good too.
Yeah.
How was the bunraku?
It was my first time, but it was pretty exciting.
Yeah, it was great.
I still like Japanese art the best.
When that doll's face snapped open...
Yeah, that was wild.
"Oh, jealousy!"
Scary stuff.
Just like Takiko.
- Why me? - Oh, this and that.
Pass the soy sauce.
- Why would my face snap? - There!
That's the face.
I'm gonna have nightmares.
- The soy sauce! - Take this one.
Have this ark clam, Dad. It looks tastier.
Isn't that too hard? What about his teeth?
Yeah! The other day, Tsunako broke her false tooth on fried rice cakes.
Watch it, you!
That was a good laugh.
"My false tooth broke."
You're terrible.
But she had it fixed the very next day.
Perhaps she had plans to see someone that day?
Scary, huh?
Oh, wait... I shouldn't say this in front of Takao,
but the scariest in this family is Makiko.
What's so scary about her?
She gets jumpy watching dogs or sword fights on TV.
If you only knew, Takao.
What?
Careful, or you'll get a knife in the back.
Come on! We've been together almost 20 years.
- Here you are. - Thank you.
Not as long as your parents,
but I think I know my wife's mind by now. Right?
Oh, dear. You'd better watch it, Takao.
Or else, right in the back!
"She got me!"
Actually, if I did it, I'd stab from the front.
From behind is for cowards.
- Well, I think Makiko is the scariest too. - Right?
When we have sushi together,
she's always the first to grab the good stuff.
That's true! She aims right for the expensive pieces!
What a horrible thing to say.
"Despite its gentle voice, the cuckoo feeds on lizards."
No lizard talk when I'm about to eat a shrimp!
- Here, you have it. - Whatever the case, she eats the best.
I always get stuck with octopus and squid.
Now now, in truth, everyone eats what they want.
You would say that, Mom. You always eat extra egg or eel.
- That's true. - Is it, now?
"Is it, now?"
Women are something, huh?
They are indeed.
- You don't want the shrimp? - No, thanks.
- You eat the shrimp. - Oh!
Even your house has torn fusuma, huh?
Of course. We're only human.
Right?
- Look, an alligator. - An alligator?
Oh, cut it out!
Subtitle translation by: Brad Plumb