Dedicated to the Memory of KUROSAWA Akira
It'll be a while...
before we can cross, even after the rain stops.
Six days at least, maybe ten.
You look like a traveler, sir.
The inn must be full by now.
The innkeeper's the only one making money today.
Us river porters don't even make the money to gamble with.
Stop grumbling!
At least we've got food and a roof over your head.
The poor travelers will be worried about running out of money!
Don't run around here naked!
Come on!
How else am I going to wash their clothes?
Naked is best for 'em! Naked we're born!
Will these clothes ever dry?
Where has the sun gone off to?
When's this rain going to stop?
It'll stop sometime.
It always has.
Ain't that the truth!
That samurai's a fine man, he doesn't put on airs.
He's always smiling, not like a samurai at all.
You have returned.
We won't be crossing that river for a while.
Sorry. I bring you nothing but trouble.
I'll make some tea.
There's a thief here!
I step outside for my laundry and my rice is gone!
I marked my pot, you know!
- Her again! - Ihei...
Right!
Who stole my food? Who's the thief?
That's too much!
Even if it's true, it's still too much!
Yes, but...
Maybe if people were nicer to her...
They make her an outcast,
she's lonely.
She's like that because she's sad.
Well, you sanctimonious old fool!
Don't act like you didn't see anything! You think I'm blind?
I knew you did it right from the start!
Stop that, please!
There's no one that bad here, you know that.
There's no need of a samurai here.
Just because of my trade doesn't mean I have to sit by...
No, no, of course not!
Perhaps I could make it up for you.
I'm not asking for that.
I'm not that desperate for a little bit of rice!
I'll borrow this again.
Could you all come and lend us a hand?
Put everything down here.
Sir!
What's going on?
I thought I might cheer everyone up.
Everyone pitch in and help with the cooking.
It's not much, but let's try to have a good time.
Don't let my husband heat the sake! He'll drink it all.
Isn't this great?
Sitting back with sake and all this food...
I feel like I'm in the Shogun's court!
Don't relax too much, or you'll topple over onto the dirt!
This is like a dream!
With this once a year, I could put up with anything!
Don't try to seduce
the man of snow
He won't answer you
He'll just melt away
Why are you singing about snowmen when it's hot like this?
I thought if I sang about a snowman you'd all feel cooler.
How about this one, then...
Look over there
Here comes O-Roku the dyer...
I know that song! It's about a hussy who all the men went crazy for!
So beautiful was O-Roku
she'd make you swear...
Hussy or no, I'd sleep with O-Roku!
Then you'd do anything to get
your O-Rokus off!
That was a good one!
The children are very quiet.
They're too busy eating to talk.
The hooker's back.
Come over here!
I'll give you your food back!
Who are you to go around calling someone a thief?
An old man like me!
Come here, I say!
I've kept this for you!
Take it!
Choke on it!
Wait, please!
Don't talk like that, please. People make mistakes, you know.
You know how it is,
people just get sad.
If you could just...
try to be friends.
Please, join us. It's not much...
Come and eat with us.
Please...
People are all... you know...
I'm not an entertainer, but...
The thief sneaks into the watermelon patch...
He ties it up with a rope
and makes his escape!
I'll do one.
In early spring
the fern blossom shoots up like a hand
right smack
in the middle of the mountainside
Oh me, oh my!
Listen all of you
Don't gape when you see the dancing girl
It may be all right now, but come spring
a sparrow will build its nest in your mouth...
Alone together on the beach are the Akita abalone
and the Tsugaru sea cucumber
The abalone sticks to him and squeezes tight
The sea cucumber melts away...
Making love with another man's wife
keeps a man busy...
Unwinding her kimono sash, unwinding his loin-cloth
then all night long
doing it and wiping off the sweat
then if comes her husband, he jumps into his sandals
Look how busy he is now!
I'm sorry. Forgive me.
You've been prize-fighting.
I'll be honest.
I have.
I had to do something,
hearing them like that.
Everyone was so embarrassed...
Imagine how she felt!
I just...
You promised you'd never do that again.
Actually...
I was going to pawn my sword.
But the pawnshop was closed...
You're right. Forgive me. I'll never do it again.
Please, if you'd just...
have a bite.
Just a little, to show I'm forgiven.
My big sister was cold
so she warmed her behind at the fire
She got so nice and warm
even the fire sent up sparks...
The rain's stopped!
The rain's stopped,
but it'll be a while before you can cross that river.
Well, at least it's stopped!
Sir!
Thank you for what you did last night.
You made the rain stop!
Yes! We owe you at least this!
Sir!
Where are you off to so early?
Just for a walk. I feel dull after sitting around for so long.
What am I doing, damn it?
I don't matter,
but I've got to think of Tayo!
Come on, snap out of it,
Misawa Ihei!
Say no more!
There's nothing to be said!
That's it, then!
- Do you fight? - Yes!
Stand aside!
Stop that!
Please, stop!
No!
Swords are for cutting the hearts out of fools!
I mean for cutting the foolishness out of hearts!
Who are you?
I'm just...
Stand aside! This is a fight between men!
- But... - Silence!
Oh, I'm sorry!
Cease!
Enough!
Haven't I forbidden dueling?
- You're slow! - It's your horse, Milord!
Ours are old nags beside yours!
Don't prattle! Take these fools away!
I don't know who you are, but for stopping these fools,
you have the thanks of Shigeaki, lord of this domain.
I saw everything from over there.
It was terribly rude of me.
Not at all.
That is great skill for a mere passer-by,
if I may so describe you.
Thank you.
Are you staying nearby?
At an inn, the Matsuba.
I am Misawa Ihei, a samurai without situation.
With all this rain, it's impossible to cross the river...
That must be tedious.
Perhaps you might find diversion in visiting the castle.
Sir, I couldn't!
Well, then...
I am Gonnojo, Chief Attendant
to the lord of this fief.
I am Noda, attendant.
Milord commands me to request
that you accompany us.
I am not worthy.
Could you please wait a moment? I'll get ready.
Take your time.
Give these to everyone.
They're good, cut in big chunks with miso soup.
The lord of the fief wants me to go see him!
I know.
But...
I can't go dressed like this!
Then change your clothes.
Where did you get that?
His Lordship!
Welcome!
I trust my suddenly sending for you was no trouble?
No, sir, not at all.
Make yourself comfortable.
And again, thank you for the trouble you went through
over those young fools.
Not at all.
Well, let's skip the formalities and get to the point.
The fencing master to the fief
up and died six months ago.
I'm looking for a new man.
I've seen a number of men
but none of them fits the bill.
This room is too stuffy to talk in.
Let's go look at the garden.
Watching you,
I started thinking of you as my fencing master.
I'd like to find out something about you.
If you wouldn't mind telling me, of course.
In my youth,
I served as bookkeeper to a small fief in the north.
But spending every day writing at a desk
was extremely boring.
I left abruptly.
You ran off?
Yes. I thought I'd go to Edo,
but I'd left under cover of night,
and I had no money.
So what did you do?
A friend suggested a scheme.
"There are lots of castle towns on the road to Edo", he said.
"They all have fencing dojos."
"Try your luck there."
Prize-fighting?
No, no! I wasn't good enough to do that.
What did you do?
I'd very calmly approach the master, not a disciple,
and challenge him to teach me something.
Then just when he was about to move on me,
I would apologize.
Apologize?
I'd throw my wooden sword aside,
prostrate myself and say, "I yield."
How did you make money that way?
It would put the master in a good mood
and he'd make me welcome.
He'd set out food and offer me a drink
and give me a little money to help with traveling expenses.
Quite the scheme!
That way I managed to make my way to Edo.
And then?
I was wondering what to do
when I happened to pass a large dojo.
I hesitated, but I thought
I'd try my luck one last time.
It was the dojo of Tsuji Gettan.
Tsuji Gettan? All the land knows that name!
Surely you didn't challenge him?
I did.
But to challenge Tsuji Gettan!
I can't believe it!
And what happened then was truly unbelievable.
Tsuji-sensei
accepted my challenge...
NO TRUTH BUT FACT
I was thinking
when to throw down my sword and apologize.
I yield!
I don't understand. Why would he do that?
I was surprised, too.
I didn't understand either.
I confessed everything.
Then Tsuji-sensei...
Now I understand!
More men have come to face me
than I can count,
but never one like you.
I saw so many openings,
but you were so calm, as if you didn't care if you won or not.
I had no way to take you.
I didn't know what to do!
So I lowered my sword.
I really got beaten, didn't I!
Isn't that something!
What did you do then?
I became his disciple.
He took a liking to me, and I became an instructor there.
He found me work in a fief,
but that didn't go well.
Not well at all.
I developed a very bad reputation, left the fief,
went from there to two others,
and am now a ronin.
My wife says I'm just not cut out
to be in service.
May I have a look at your sword?
Please do.
Gon, where's his sword?
In the guards' sword-stand.
His name is "Gonnojo", but I call him "Gon",
as he would be my son.
Let me show you my garden later.
With all this rain, it's been ages since I was out in it.
With your permission.
Forged in the wood-grain style. A dotted boundary pattern.
Very nicely striped from the tempering.
A tranquil edge,
like a spring breeze.
Diffused martensite speckling.
It bears no maker's name.
Still, a fine sword.
Where did you come by it?
Tsuji-sensei gave it to me.
They say a warrior's sword is his spirit.
This is magnificent!
Still, it must be hard being a ronin.
It's difficult at times,
but sometimes it's very enjoyable as well.
You meet different people, and different things happen.
And the business of a fief is tiresome.
The officials are stuffy and stupid.
Their conversation provokes no mirth,
only yawns.
Milord loves to call people down.
And he is good at bestowing nicknames.
Quiet!
But yes, I have a nickname for you, as well.
I know.
"The white gourd."
Pale of countenance, and hanging...
from His Lordship's sash.
I'm getting hungry. What time is it?
I've sent the page and the women away.
So pour your own sake.
This is...
my chief retainer, Ishiyama. "The Blockhead."
Akashi's the assistant-chief retainer. "The Scarecrow."
I am Misawa Ihei. I'm honored to meet you.
These two are the fief antiques.
I don't know if they're worth much,
but I do know that they're old.
Anyway, pick up your chopsticks and relax.
The trays and bowls are very nice, but the food isn't.
The fatty part of the fish is bad for me, they say.
And by the time it's been tasted for poison,
the soup is cold.
It's awful!
The other day I gave some fish to my wife's cat.
He sniffed at it, made a face
and walked out of the room!
I've decided on a fencing master.
This gentleman.
I've enjoyed myself today.
We've had an interesting talk. I haven't felt like this in weeks.
Milord, the position is important.
We must proceed with all due caution.
Do you doubt my judgment?
Gon!
I'm very taken with this gentleman. What do you think?
Milord judges well.
I've met both the gentleman and his lady
and find them of most excellent disposition and character.
But it is customary for all within the fief
to agree on a fencing master after a demonstration of skill.
"Custom" again! I hardly think it necessary.
If we were to appoint a day when he might show his skills.
Would that do?
Certainly.
Blockheads!
It eats at my innards!
He won money from all three of us!
Three dojo masters!
Through trickery, Sensei.
He acted so meek and mild you let down your guard.
What I don't understand is how he was invited
to His Lordship's castle.
He presented himself well. He bowed and scraped.
The fencing master should at least
come from among our number.
How else will we hold up our heads here in the castle town?
Don't worry.
His Lordship pays great attention to appearances.
Will we let him steal it from under our noses?
That man!
They've sent him to the inn in a palanquin, with gifts!
Thank you.
If there's any food in here, I'll bring it out later.
You have returned.
Congratulate me!
I will be fencing master to this fief!
At least, I think I can say that.
I'll have to do some demonstration fights first.
But the lord himself said that wasn't necessary.
He was very impressed with this sword.
He knows quite a lot of things, actually.
Were you waiting for me?
I'm sorry, I was entertained at the castle.
And he gave me this cloth.
It'll make a fine kimono for you. You came up in the conversation.
I was quite surprised by this lord.
He knows about things, he's an interesting man.
I told you, didn't I? That samurai's a fine person.
He's no ordinary man.
He's even nice to someone like me.
Pearls before swine, isn't it? A man like that here.
Yes!
Help yourselves, everyone.
A gift from the lord of the fief.
He's a very good man, he is.
What are we waiting for?
The three dojo masters from the town
have yet to make their appearance.
Are they all who will fight?
No, Milord. Two men of our fief are ready as well.
Idiot! Why not start with them, then?
Begin!
I am Nabeyama Tahei.
I am Misawa Ihei.
I yield!
I'm sorry. Did I hurt your hand?
No.
Next!
Inuyama Handayu.
How do you do.
I yield!
Next!
The fencing masters have not yet arrived.
They've run out on us!
We won't wait.
Gon! Get out there!
I humbly submit that I would
stand no chance against him.
All right, is there anyone else?
Who will stand against him?
Bunch of milksops!
I'll fight him, then!
Milord! I'm sure if we wait...
Silence!
A practice spear won't be any fun.
I'll use a real one.
Milord.
Bring me a spear!
And don't scratch the carvings over the doorway bringing it!
Right!
Here I come!
Come ahead.
No holding back!
I'm dreadfully sorry! I forgot myself!
I can't apologize enough!
Are you sure you're not hurt?
Just shut up, will you!
Don't worry. No matter how angry he is, he'll calm down.
He understands things.
He shouldn't have challenged
someone he wants to hire as a fencing master.
That'll teach him.
But will I never learn?
Well, I'll be going.
I'll call a palanquin.
No, thank you.
You've been most kind.
Borrowed finery suits you well!
Who's this nobody who thinks he'll be the fief's fencing master!
We won't stand for it!
And who are you?
Forgotten us already?
You tricked us the other day, but that won't happen again.
Draw!
Draw, beggar!
Wait!
I've used all the money I won
but this talk of me becoming fencing master might be over.
I've been thinking I might just as well forget about it...
Shut up!
Take care!
Today of all days, I am angry at myself.
If I lose control of myself...
there's no telling what I'll do.
Big talk!
Shall we stop? I've had enough.
Is something wrong?
No!
Did you lose your temper again?
I was knocked into the pond jousting in the garden.
Oh, dear!
That wasn't so bad, but the man who did it
apologized so much that I shouted at him.
I hate to say it,
but kind words from the winner only add insult to injury.
I felt as if I were being made sport of.
This man sounds interesting.
But sometimes good nature itself can hurt people's feelings.
You may be right.
No one wants to be pitied.
It hurts the pride.
It must be hard for him.
When a man is that skilled and that good-natured,
he's bound to irritate someone.
I see!
He said
things never work out when a fief hires him.
Now I understand!
That may be it!
Welcome!
You have returned.
Will you have dinner?
I'd like a drink.
All right.
Everyone left today. It's so quiet.
They're all such nice people.
Their lives are hard...
but they're so warm and thoughtful it makes me sad.
The poor can only depend on each other.
They can't survive thinking only of themselves.
The old man who preaches...
He said he'd never been so happy
and that he'd finally realized
there were good things in life.
And while he couldn't be young again,
no matter what happened,
it was good to be alive.
I thought my heart would burst.
Let's not talk like that any more. It makes me...
Anyway, we're through with that,
I think I can say.
I won all the fights today.
I did go a little too far,
but I think it's all settled.
That's happened before.
But this time, the lord is a very different man.
Of course you can't be completely sure...
but I think this time...
we can rely on him.
I'm sure we can.
Would you like more sake, or shall I bring the rice?
Let's eat, shall we?
I'll bring it right in.
It looks like a fine day.
Even a few small clouds
down here
can mean rain in the mountains once we're over the river.
Are you going out?
No, just out front.
Good morning! It's a day of peace and good omen!
My prayers for your happiness!
No complaints with the weather.
At least, we'll hear something today.
They won't just sit and say nothing.
That's right.
But we should be ready to leave.
Yes, one way or the other, we're leaving here.
They're here.
You are a most rare swordsman
of surpassing spirit and skill.
His Lordship has expressed his wish to appoint you fencing master.
Oh no, I am not worthy...
Despite your somewhat inappropriate behavior towards His Lordship,
the fief was prepared to engage you,
when a completely unexpected problem arose.
Not in connection with the fief, but with yourself.
It concerns your prize-fighting.
I'm sure you recall entering
into a contest for money,
at a dojo in the castle town.
I do.
I did it for the sake...
of people in a dreadful situation,
guests in this very inn.
Whatever the reason,
for a samurai to engage in prize-fighting
is the height of dishonor.
Since a complaint has been made,
custom decrees that the fief washes its hands of the man involved.
I must ask you to consider as void any discussion of your employment.
His Lordship commands me
to offer you this towards the expenses of your journey.
Oh, no, I couldn't...
Please don't concern yourself.
I have received great kindness from you...
We accept with humble thanks.
My husband was wrong to fence on a wager.
I have long begged him
not to.
But I see now I was wrong.
I finally understand.
I am sure he is aware there is dishonor in prize-fighting.
He knows that, but there are times
when he has no choice.
At long last I see.
What is important is not what he has done,
but why he has done it.
Although fools like you may not understand that.
Stop that! There's no need to be rude!
I will stop.
Now I will speak to you.
You are free at any time to engage
in prize-fighting if you so wish.
Please do so...
if it will bring joy to the poor, the helpless
and the unfortunate around you.
Ma'am...
this is for you.
It's for when your sandals dig into your feet.
It's tobacco ash.
You mix it with spit. It works.
I wish I had something more.
No, no, thank you very much.
They send away a sensei like this!
His Lordship's just a paper carp!
What?
The outside looks like a carp, but inside there's no guts.
Don't say that.
The lord of this fief is a fine man.
I really thought this was a place I'd be able to work at.
And it was then that his wife said it was not what he did,
but the reason why he did it?
Yes, Milord.
And then,
"I wonder if fools like you can understand that."
And what did you have to say to that?
Milord?
You witless blockhead!
Bring that man here!
Or I'll have you cut in pieces and fed to the carp in the pond!
But Milord agreed the prize-fighting left us no choice.
I can't leave anything to you!
I'll go!
As fine a swordsman as you are,
you can't find yourself a place.
It's ironic, isn't it?
Still, that's fine.
You won't push people aside, steal their place.
When you have the chance, you make wishes come true
for people who are poor but good.
I think you're wonderful.
I'll go work up a sweat.
Let's go.
I've put my regrets behind me.
You cheer up, too.
I'm quite happy.
I think I can say that.
Isn't that wonderful? What a view!
Yes, it's really beautiful.
It brings the strength welling up inside of you.