This film was created with the city of Yanagawa and the friendship of its people.
This is not a true story of Yanagawa.
But it is a fantasy well-suited to the hearts of the people of the canal town...
...beautiful and willowy.
A PSC, New Japan Productions, and Art Theatre Guild Joint Production
By Nobuhiko Ōbayashi
The Deserted City / Haishi
...like gray coffins floating in the water. - "Memories" by Hakushū Kitahara
Produced by Shirō Sasaki, Kyōko Ōbayashi, Shinichi Shimada,
Michio Morioka, Shōsuke Taga, and Nobuhiko Ōbayashi
Screenplay by Makoto Naitō and Chiho Katsura
Cinematography by Yoshitaka Sakamoto
Art Direction by Kazuo Satsuya
Sound Design by Shōhei Hayashi
Music by Naoshi Miyazaki and Nobuhiko Ōbayashi
Lighting by Akio Watanabe
Audio Recording by Kazumi Inamura
Assistant-Direction by Tadashi Naitō
It was such a long time ago.
I spent the summer in that town to write my graduation thesis.
I hadn't intended to go to such a far-off place that I'd never visited.
Any cheap and quiet inn where I could have studied would have been fine,
but that wasn't so easy to find.
By chance, a relative told me of a place where a friend had a home.
For me to decide to go so far away...
Something he said must have drawn me to it.
It was a town with canals throughout, and it imparted such mysterious emotions...
The sound of water...
...though I've now forgotten them.
Youth passes so quickly and memories are swept away.
If I hadn't read the article in the paper about the town being destroyed in a fire,
I wonder if I would have even remembered at all.
As I read, I thought of the people I met in that town,
and wondered if it would become a desolate haishi in the end.
Even back then it was such a lonely and quiet countryside town.
I'd sent a letter beforehand, but as I passed through the imposing gate
and saw the old-fashioned building, I couldn't help feeling a bit afraid.
Excuse me.
Excuse me!
- I'm here from Tokyo. - Come in. Eguchi-san, right?
I recognized your voice.
Come on in.
It was the same voice on the phone earlier.
But who knew you'd be so handsome?
I'm just teasing.
This is a big place.
That's right. It's a lot of work to run.
- This way. - Alright.
I'm Yasuko Kaibara. Nice to meet you.
- I'm the daughter of the house. - It's very nice to meet you.
They're just fireflies, Eguchi-san.
Really?
Aren't they beautiful? But fleeting...
They are. This is the first time I've seen them.
There are lots of fireflies here. It's because we're a canal town.
A book called it the Venice of Japan.
That's why I wanted to come.
So, you came out of curiosity?
I've been cleaning today because you were coming.
Memories become indistinct with the passage of time.
I can remember some parts of that summer as if they were yesterday,
but most of my memories are lost in the fog.
Are we close to the river?
Yes, there's a dock right outside the courtyard. Boats still go in and out.
Is that right...
It's so quiet. I can work hard on my graduation thesis here.
I'll always remember not being able to sleep that first night.
The sound of stifled crying in the night, and the strange stillness...
It's as silent as the grave.
That's an English expression, right?
Sorry. You're in the English department, aren't you?
Right.
Well, please relax.
- Good night. - Good night.
That's a boat.
I heard about the sounds of the boats on the river.
Who could that be at this hour?
Eguchi-san?
Is there something on my face?
No, sorry about that.
You're a strange fellow.
Yasuko-san...last night...
Last night? What about it?
It's nothing.
- Seconds, please. - Sure.
It's on your face.
This is Aki-san. She's the maid.
- This is Eguchi-san. - Nice to meet you.
- Grandmother, may we come in? - Please.
You came all this way to transcribe the Analects?
How commendable for one so young.
Grandmother...
No one transcribes the Analects these days.
This is Eguchi-san. He came to write his thesis.
He needed a quiet place to finish it so he can graduate.
Graduation Analects?
No...
My grandmother's never set foot outside this town.
It's too late now.
On The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
Is Eguchi-san well?
Yes, it seems that way.
He became a professor in Sendai this year.
Shōzō-san...that's so admirable.
Shōzō's my uncle.
We're speaking of my father.
That's right, that's right.
The letter asked if we'd look after a nephew for the summer.
That makes you the nephew.
I am. Nice to meet you.
You don't have to sit so formally.
Please, relax.
Alright.
Shōzō-san loved this town.
He said it was like a canal city in the West.
Let's have tea.
- Um... - Yes?
I don't know how to do it.
That's fine. I'll teach you.
- Eguchi-san... - Yes?
Please sit properly.
That's the first lesson for the tea ceremony.
- Are we disturbing you? - No, I was just thinking of taking a break.
Was that uncomfortable this morning?
I'd meant to introduce you yesterday evening, but she was nodding off.
You must have been exhausted as well.
- Thanks. - Thanks.
Let's have tea.
- It's so quiet. - Just the sound of water.
So it's just you and your grandmother in this big house?
A bit lonely, isn't it?
The maid's here.
- Saburō-kun too. - Saburō-kun?
He's going to agricultural high school.
I'll introduce you soon.
Then there's my sister and her husband.
Your sister?
Her name's Ikuyo. She's eight years older than me.
That's when I thought it must have been her crying that night.
I was struck by a vision of Yasuko-san's sister whom I'd never met.
However, the reason for those tears was still a mystery.
Naturally, I was concerned.
What's the master of the house like?
Naoyuki Kaibara-san.
Kaibara? Is that her husband?
Yes.
This place is a lot to deal with, isn't it?
That's why everything's starting to fall apart.
No...it's already fallen apart.
It doesn't seem that way.
It's not Naoyuki-san's fault. Really.
My grandfather was an extremely influential man.
He was like a prefectural assembly chairman, and had 30 employees.
My father was useless.
He lost the farmland we got after the war.
Then he got involved in all sorts of business.
Nothing ever turned out well.
Despite that, Naoyuki-san was adopted into the family.
He works tirelessly to keep us going.
Your sister must be a wonderful person.
Isn't she?
Why's that?
To capture the heart of someone like Naoyuki-san...
Yes.
She's so different from me. She's as beautiful as a doll.
You're beautiful as well, Yasuko-san.
You're just flattering me. I'm nothing special.
My sister and Naoyuki-san were well-suited to each other.
Please.
How was the kneading?
You're quite skilled...
Mekaja! Mekaja! Get your mekaja here!
Mekaja!
Huh? What's wrong with it?
This is the 11 o'clock news.
I was actually anxious to hear the crying again the next night, but it never came.
- Ah, the fish dealer. - Hello, young lady.
- Mekaja, please. - Right away.
- Every day is hot now, huh? - Right.
Two...no, three of the sole, please.
- Alright, mekaja and... - Yo!
- Oh, Eguchi-san. - I'm going for a walk.
Just a second. I'll go with you.
Three of the sole, right?
- Are you learning piano? - Sorry for the wait.
I didn't really want to, but my friends were learning dancing, shamisen, and the koto.
I had to do something.
- Goodbye. - Take care.
Thank you.
Where are we going?
Saburō-kun!
Would you mind giving us a ride?
This is Eguchi-san, a college student from Tokyo.
Nice to meet you.
Whoa!
Are you OK?
Be careful.
This river runs right through the middle of town.
There are smaller rivers running alongside it, too. We call them the little rivers.
It's beautiful.
There are canals running between the big river and the little rivers.
That's why this is the Japanese Venice.
Using the canals is the fastest way to get anywhere in this town.
Eguchi-san, behind you!
Watch out.
Are you OK?
- Let's walk around the park. - Alright.
We can walk back from here.
- I'll wait. - That's alright.
No, it's no problem.
It would be nice to live in a place like this.
Oh? What do you like about it?
What do I like? Everything.
You don't agree, Yasuko-san?
It's hard to find a place with such a calm and quiet atmosphere.
Is that so? I hate it.
Why?
- Close your eyes and listen. - Huh?
Just listen. Close your eyes.
- Can you hear the sound? - The sound?
Yes. I noticed it when I arrived at the station.
You can hear the river wherever you go in this town.
- The sound of the town heading to its death. - Death?
No...it's dying even now.
This town has no energy.
The people with traditional jobs are growing older and dying.
The young people can't wait to get out of here.
Only the elderly will remain.
Eventually there will be nothing left.
Then what will you do, Yasuko-san?
Sorry.
We're dying as well. We're bound to this tiny place.
Why not leave?
Just because your sister's married and can't leave doesn't mean that you can't.
Fireworks...
I can't shine as they do.
But...
You don't understand how we feel.
People who aren't from around here...
Oh, Naoyuki-san!
Yacchan!
- Is your grandmother well? - She's alright, but her legs aren't so good.
And you?
The practice for the festival is going well, but I'm so busy.
- Who's this? - Him?
This is my brother-in-law.
This is Eguchi-san. He came from Tokyo to write his graduation thesis.
I'm much obliged.
Sorry for not greeting you earlier.
Is that so? I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here.
Please, enjoy yourself.
Feel free to come visit.
- See you, Yacchan. - Good night.
Good night.
Yasuko-san didn't say a word after that.
I didn't understand why, but I suddenly felt that Yasuko-san was the one crying.
- Sorry to keep you waiting. - Thanks for the meal.
It's the 12th anniversary of my mother's death, so I've been busy.
- So that's the reason for that sutra? - Yes.
What was your mother like?
She died when I was seven.
Was she as cheerful as you, Yasuko-san?
I'm cheerful?
Aren't you?
My mother and sister were alike.
They had the same sad smile.
- Could you do me a favor? - What is it?
I feel like you're meant to light a stick of incense.
- I'll need to get changed. - Later's fine.
You'll be sitting for so long that I'm sure you won't be able to get back up.
That's not nice.
It's a really long ceremony.
- I'll call you when it's time. - Alright.
I thought I'd finally meet Yasuko-san's sister that day.
I was excited by the thought.
Then it would be clear if those tears in the night came from her or Yasuko-san herself.
Eguchi-san...Eguchi-san!
Eguchi-san!
Wake up!
Please come on down.
You're barely awake.
This way, Eguchi-san.
- Well, let's go. - Right.
Which one's her sister?
My mother and sister were alike.
They had the same sad smile.
My legs hurt.
Have a seat, Eguchi-san.
Everyone...everyone...
Everyone quiet down.
Thank you all so much for coming to such a hot place today.
It's not much, but please relax and eat.
- Well, then... - Have a drink.
Here you go.
- Let's have a drink. - Oh, no, you go ahead.
Ah, the student. Stop staring and have a drink.
Are you a relative of Kaibara-san?
You shouldn't wear a jacket in this heat.
Undo the button. Let's get that off of you.
Tanaka-san, right?
Are your studies going well?
Yes, thank you.
I love everything about this town.
It's a nice little place, isn't it?
People in towns like this gather and drink this way.
Whether it's noh chanting, ballads, or haikai, everyone lets loose.
That's the kind of place this is.
Eguchi-san...
It all seems so refined though.
All the water, the beautiful scenery...
The canals...
They used to have the practical purpose of preventing flooding from the river, but...
At some point...
...the townspeople starting digging them almost as a hobby.
The scenery became unnatural.
It's artificial and degenerate.
The townspeople themselves are degenerating.
It has no vitality.
Time is just being used up.
It's like art.
How's that?
Doesn't art always aim to improve upon itself?
There's no aim like that here.
Just crushing boredom day after day that drives people to obsess over canals and song.
The people and this town are becoming ruins.
Do you know the term "haishi?"
Haishi?
"Hai" from the term for "ruins", and "shi" from "city."
That's what this place is.
Memories from the past
Everything's like a dream
They fall into the spring...
It used to be flooded over and over again.
Eventually there will be an earthquake or a fire.
Then it will truly become a haishi.
It's dying even now.
We're dying as well. We're bound to this tiny place.
...lamp on the fishing boat
The coming dawn
Come on, come on.
- No, I'm fine. - You can do it.
No, I'm tone-deaf.
Come on, come on.
Why don't you sing?
No, that's alright.
How about it?
I'm fine.
I'm drunk.
Yacchan...
Why? Why, Naoyuki?
Don't you think it's gone too far?
There was nothing I could do.
Nothing you could do?
There's always something.
Not always.
It's hard to change her mind when she has an intention.
It's like it was meant to happen from the start.
Intention? If it was meant to happen from the start, how can you speak of intention?
It's no use, Yacchan.
So you're...you're that kind of person?
What if someone hears us?
- If...if my sister... - Let's go home!
Not yet!
Thank you.
You're welcome.
- Where's Yasuko-san? - She's...
...visiting her mother's grave.
She went out?
Yes. Maybe you can catch her before she takes the boat.
Thanks.
Yasuko-san!
Oh! What is it?
- Going out? - Yes. To the temple.
Visiting your mother's grave?
Hm? Yes...
Is the temple far from here?
It's a long way upriver.
I'll go too.
Oh?
Don't you have to study?
Oh, don't worry about that.
- You're welcome to come, then. - Alright.
- It's going to be hot today. - That's not a problem.
You visited the grave on the day of the memorial service, right?
Yes, of course.
Did everyone go with you?
Everyone?
What about Naoyuki-san?
He was busy.
Then what about your sister?
There were relatives visiting that day.
I'm always going to my mother's grave.
I visit in place of the people who don't.
You loved her, didn't you?
Well...
She died when I was young, so I don't remember her well.
But it always feels like she's close by.
Maybe that's because there's no difference between the living and the dead for me.
If...if my sister...
Hello! We're here to visit a grave.
A lot of people in this town died from things like typhus and dysentery.
We didn't have sanitary facilities and hygiene was poor, so disease spread easily.
That's how it was in towns with so much water.
There were several times when the unclean townspeople almost died out.
That's how my mother died.
Maybe we wouldn't have had all these troubles if she had lived.
For you and your sister?
Yes, for my sister too.
What kind of person is she, anyway?
I still haven't met her.
It's almost like she's...
Like she's dead? Is that what you want to say?
It's just strange.
My sister's just fine.
But she doesn't want to see anyone.
Here you are.
Are your studies going well?
Yes, thank you.
Touring the village is relaxing too.
It's boring for me, but Eguchi-san said it's like a dream.
Enjoy yourself.
The priest needs some help, Yasuko-chan.
Why do you cause me so much trouble?
I don't mean to.
Eguchi-san surely finds it strange.
Oh?! Eguchi-san...
I was bored so I came to see the main temple building.
I just sort of stumbled upon you two.
Don't worry about that.
It was going to happen eventually. Come over here.
OK.
Sis, you'll have to give up your game of hide-and-seek now that Eguchi-san is here.
I'm Ikuyo.
Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude.
That's OK. You're not mad, are you sis?
I'm very shy compared to Yacchan.
I'm kind of a impudent woman, aren't I?
That kind of person is surely better than me though, right?
Have you met my husband?
- Yes, the other day. - Naoyuki's been so busy lately.
- The festival's almost here. - Right.
Well, let's have lunch. I made your favorite, sis.
Thank you.
Let's head back when it cools down this evening. Eat with us, Eguchi-san.
Sorry for not telling you everything.
That's alright. But why does your sister stay shut-up in there?
Did she have a fight with Naoyuki-san?
Not a fight, but...
My heart was pounding when you were about to talk about Naoyuki earlier.
When?
When my sister asked if you'd met her husband.
She doesn't know that he's not at home.
I don't understand.
Naoyuki moved after my sister went to the temple.
My sister doesn't know and I haven't said anything.
She'll worry if she finds out.
Is Naoyuki-san with someone else?
That's right.
He's with a woman named Hide.
It's almost time for the festival, so I'm sure you'll meet her soon.
...a long-sleeved kimono with an elegant pattern.
...in complete shock.
The mother is mad with grief.
My precious, precious daughter is covered in blood. Murdered.
Give her back, bring her back. Give her back to me at once.
Under my clothes, a long-sleeved crimson kimono with an elegant pattern.
Look, Owasa.
That long-sleeved kimono?
This is the same sleeve as the one...
This is really good.
They're like real kabuki actors.
That Benkei is a relative. He's known as a playboy.
Daughter, did you hear?
That man is your father.
Benkei is your father.
Do you know who's playing Owasa Shinmyō?
It's Naoyuki.
Hurry, look at your father. It's him. Daughter, look at your father. It's him.
...help you rise.
Mother, I can speak, but I can no longer see nor hear.
If I could die here in place of my mistress...
And the woman that's playing the daughter, Shinobu...
That's Hide.
...I would be glad, but leaving the parent and child alone...
Without me...
- Doesn't that breeze feel great? - It does.
I invited Yacchan too, but she can't really drink.
What a festival, right?
Your performance was amazing.
People in this town do things for themselves, even if they do a poor job.
It must be difficult even if you enjoy it, right?
It's not so bad.
Let's lower our voices.
This is very important. Look at it.
That long-sleeved kimono?
This is the same sleeve as the one from years ago in Fukui village in Banshū.
Watching the moon on the 26th night...
Trying to avoid being seen...
That was you there.
I met your wife recently.
- Oh? Is that so... - Yes.
It was when I went to the temple with Yasuko-san.
Was she well?
I don't really understand.
Eguchi-san...
I know what you want to say.
You're still young. You must think I'm a terrible person.
Hide as well.
That's not what I think.
It's just a pity for your wife.
A pity? I suppose so.
So that's how it seems...
I'll wait outside.
Alright.
This must be a joke.
Please.
Ikuyo is a good woman.
I was adopted into the family, but she doesn't hold that over me.
And even though I like to go out and have a good time, she's not jealous either.
She's a truly good and diligent woman.
I like that about her.
I love her.
She really is my dear wife.
Even now. I love her more than anyone.
Hide knows that.
Right, Hide?
I'm fine with that.
I'm happy to be with you even if it's just for a little while.
You must think it's cruel to speak this way in front of Hide.
But please listen to me a bit longer.
I love Ikuyo.
You must not think so.
But that's a mistake.
Ikuyo loves me.
And I love Ikuyo.
I couldn't love another woman.
But she didn't believe that no matter how many times I explained it.
She went to the temple on her own.
She said she didn't want to restrict my freedom.
Ikuyo is very prideful.
The entire Kaibara family is like that.
It must have been a big blow to that pride.
But you live with Hide now, don't you?
That's because Ikuyo left.
I knew Hide before it happened.
I didn't know what to do after Ikuyo left.
So I ended up living here.
So your wife had already left home?
That's right.
She didn't believe that I loved her more than anyone else.
Try to understand how I felt then.
My work was falling apart.
My family was falling apart.
I just wanted a place to rest and find peace of mind.
Hide...
I can say it in front of her.
She's a motherly, family-oriented, and kind woman.
She doesn't have the same illusions of pridefulness.
She's satisfied even if the happiness is just for today.
We got on well practicing for the play.
We know we can't live together this way forever.
But is that so bad?
Remember when you said that time is just being used up?
That's right.
We're becoming a ruin.
What a strange story.
Hide gives me peace of mind at home.
But Ikuyo is my true love.
Your wife believes that you love Hide though, doesn't she?
Hide?
No.
Not her.
Not Hide.
You don't understand.
Memories allow us to make sense of an incident after it occurs,
giving it order and context.
The incident that occurred at the end of that summer was seared into my mind,
and as a result I became prone to expecting tragedy at the beginning of things.
I'm able to look back on everything clearly because my memories are in order,
though what I witnessed then returns to me unconsciously.
The water god's festival was at the end of July.
It happened near the end of August as the day I was to leave the town approached.
During that short month I spent my time on the second floor,
working diligently on my graduation thesis, unaware of anything else.
The lives and works of poets across the sea had nothing to do with my life...
...had nothing to do with the tragedy that was slowly developing so close by.
As I look back on myself then, so obsessed with that thesis,
I think of how the essence of that life now seems to be in such a faraway place.
Eguchi-san! Eguchi-san!
Eguchi-san!
What is it?
- Naoyuki...Naoyuki... - What is it?
This isn't like you, Yasuko-san.
Eguchi-san...stay calm.
I came to tell you that Naoyuki's dead.
Naoyuki-san?
Isn't there some mistake?!
I wish there was, but...
But it's so sudden...
He killed himself.
With Hide.
I have to go.
Please come with me, Eguchi-san.
- I'm scared. - Alright.
Sorry I lost my composure.
Does your sister know?
How terrible, Yacchan.
Looks like they took sleeping pills last night.
What a foolish thing to do!
There's nothing we could have done if they were resolved.
They left three notes behind.
One was for all relatives, so I opened it.
They asked for help settling their affairs.
One is for Ikuyo.
I wonder what he said to her...
And then...
This one is for you, Yacchan.
Getting dragged into this terrible thing won't be good for your studies.
That's alright.
But Naoyuki-san...
Why would he want to die?
When you're consumed by debauchery, sometimes death is all you have left.
They went out together, didn't they?
There were two or three times that I wanted to die when I was young.
Yacchan...
Is it true that Naoyuki and Hide died together?
I suppose you had to find out. It's true.
What a troubling thing.
You're a fool, Yacchan.
With someone like Hide...
Naoyuki loved you.
I'm sure you knew that very well.
- Have a New Year's drink. - Oh...
Naoyuki!
Was it cold at practice? Come in and warm up.
Have a drink, Yacchan.
- You can handle more than your sister. - I can't drink.
Then I'll teach you how.
No thanks. I never want to drink.
It's puffed up like you, Yacchan.
Yacchan!
She's in a bad mood. What happened?
That girl is still in love with you.
You love her too.
That's ridiculous.
Stop joking around!
Even though he married me, he couldn't stop thinking of you.
I never showed any jealousy.
I wanted the two of you to be happy somehow.
I planned on giving up Naoyuki for you, Yacchan.
That's why I went to the temple.
I planned on becoming a nun.
Our mother died when you were young.
I wanted to care for you like she couldn't.
I was determined to bring you happiness.
So how did it happen, Yacchan?
This sorry state...
Naoyuki's dead.
He died with Hide... Hide!
How the hell did this happen?!
Didn't you still love Naoyuki?
No, sis.
You're wrong.
Naoyuki was in love with you. Not me.
That again.
If only that were true.
I loved Naoyuki and we married.
But even so, it was like I was never his wife.
I never knew his true heart.
You've been wrong the whole time.
You've been wrong from the day you got married until the day he died.
Naoyuki never returned my love at all.
Yacchan!
You think Naoyuki's death was my fault?
Well...sis...
Both of you stop it.
A wake's not the place to act like this.
Why don't we ask Naoyuki, Yacchan?
Ask him who he loved.
Me? You? Let's ask him!
My dear...
Who was it that you loved?
A Sense of Celtic Collapse in the Works of Edgar Allan Poe
I'll see you to the station.
Thank you.
Eguchi-san, you saw the moment when my family was completely ruined.
My sister went back to the temple for good.
My grandmother's in poor health.
But you're still well, Yasuko-san.
I'm nothing now. I'm nothing at all.
Yasuko-san, you loved Naoyuki-san, didn't you?
Yes, I did.
My sister and I were both crazy about him.
Naoyuki, how about we stop with the fireworks and take the boat out?
That's fine. You two go on.
I'll get dinner ready.
Alright. It's been a while since I used the rod myself.
You're going to do it yourself? I'm glad!
Saburō! We're taking the boat.
I'll do it!
That's alright.
You'll have a lot to make up for if he hurts himself, Saburō.
You must find it very strange, Eguchi-san.
I loved Naoyuki from the start too, but my sister ended up marrying him.
I happily followed him around all the time.
My sister is old-fashioned and reserved.
She didn't do things like going out on the boat with him.
I was an innocent tomboy then, and we were always out having fun.
People began spreading rumors.
That's what people do in towns like this.
My sister heard them and grew suspicious.
Suspicious?
She would see or hear us joking around.
It was always nothing, but she grew more and more certain that something was going on.
She was jealous?
My sister's not the jealous type. She's the type to resign herself to it.
She's old-fashioned.
She thought Naoyuki loved me, and that she was in the way.
She went to the temple at the beginning of the summer.
It was almost like she was telling the two of us to be happy together.
Naoyuki found it hard to stay at home, and went to Hide's place.
I was alone all of a sudden.
Why didn't Naoyuki-san stop her from going?
It seems they had a big argument.
She's the type to become more and more resolved in the face of excuses.
He was the type that would quickly give up and think it's no use.
It started with a simple misunderstanding and got worse and worse.
And in the end Naoyuki couldn't go on living with it all.
I don't really understand.
If...if my sister really said that it's alright for us to be together,
would you leave Hide and come back home?
Yacchan...
The Kaibara family will totally fall apart if nothing changes.
You want to be with me for the sake of the Kaibara family, Yacchan?
That's not it!
You know why, Naoyuki.
I...I love you more than anyone.
I could only endure it because you were with my beautiful sister, but...
Please live with me instead of Hide.
I can't.
Why not, Naoyuki?
I...
I loved Ikuyo then and I love her now.
I appreciate your feelings, but...
Here is fine.
Please let me see you off. I don't have anything else to do.
Let's wait on the platform. We can catch the breeze.
Please read this, Eguchi-san.
I haven't shown it to my sister.
But I think I want you to read it.
It's Naoyuki's suicide note.
Go on.
I'm so tired.
I just want to forget this tedium and sleep.
Everything I've done has been a failure.
I've only brought sorrow to others.
I pray that you get married and live a life full of happiness, Yacchan.
Hide said she wanted to be together, so she'll come along.
I won't fail in this at least.
- Naoyuki Kaibara
To Yasuko
I gazed at his beautiful calligraphy and tried to find some hidden meaning.
How old was Naoyuki-san?
Thirty-three.
He could say he was tired of life at such a young age?
Well...
The gears of time turn so slowly in this town.
It just gets harder for me to understand.
The train bound for Saga will soon be arriving at the north platform.
I guess this is it.
I'll come again.
No...you won't be back.
You'll graduate from college next spring.
Go to work.
Get married.
Right? You'll completely forget about this town.
That won't happen.
It will. That's your future.
And your future?
I'll die here. I don't have a future.
Goodbye. Take care of yourself.
- Goodbye. Give my regards to your sister. - I will.
Sir! The people in this town don't perceive the feelings others have for them.
Naoyuki-san didn't. And I know you love Yasuko-san!
I too now realize that I was in love with Yasuko-san at the time.
No, the truth is that I must have known it deep in my heart even then.
When Yasuko-san clung to me in that room bathed in the afternoon light,
she was so dear to me in that moment.
The two of us held each other in that second-floor room after Naoyuki-san's death.
Comforting Yasuko-san gave me a sense of happiness
that I remember as if it were a scene from a dream.
But what's the use in knowing that now?
Because even now...even with how it all turned out,
I know Yasuko-san is still in love with her brother-in-law.
And even if I love Yasuko-san,
I can't go back and relive that summer from the beginning.
The train struggled through those late summer fields, already so far from town.
And then I heard the moment the town collapsed just as it passed,
like the sound of the river flowing in my heart.
Based on a novel by Takehiko Fukunaga
Starring:
Satomi Kobayashi Kisuke Yamashita
Toshie Negishi Tōru Minegishi
Wakaba Irie Toshinori Omi
Directed by Nobuhiko Ōbayashi
Subtitles by nitroblast for ADC