In Commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of Kindai Eiga Kyokai Production
Masahiko Tsugawa
Yuki Sumida
Yoshiko Miyazaki
Yasuko Yagami
Tomomi Seo
Yoshiyuki Omori
Kei Sato
Hisashi Igawa
Choichiro Kawarazaki
Kazuyo Asari
Daijiro Harada
Jiro Kawarazaki
Jun Hamamura
Hiroshi Kadokawa
Haruko Sugimura
Nobuko Otowa
Directed by Kaneto Shindo
You painted it white?
You're an oddball. So is your house.
You're right.
It looks nice.
May 23, 1920.
I move to Ichibei in the Azabu district.
My mother pays me a visit.
I had it painted, so it looks like a new house.
New Year's Day, 1926.
Last autumn I fell ill,
so I suddenly
decided to resume writing the diary
I'd abandoned for a while.
This year sees its tenth volume.
I go to a cemetery to visit my father's grave.
The plum tree is blossoming earlier than last year.
My father died from a stroke
about 4 PM, December 30, 1912.
It was snowing hard that day.
I wasn't home then.
I was staying at a spa in Hakone with Yaeji,
my pet geisha.
I didn't know he had died.
An unfilial son, I was ignorant of what had happened.
What a shameful son I am!
Happy New Year!
Say, "Happy New Year!"
Happy New Year, Outa!
Outa, how old are you now?
Twenty-one.
Year of the Ram?
A poetry card.
How old are you?
Fifty.
You're...
as quiet and gentle as a ram.
Sir, what does it say?
"A ram looks like a good old man,
"It's horns seem gentle, too."
It's your ram.
It's very hot.
So I air my books.
DIARY
August 8.
I go to a cafe named "Tiger" in Ginza.
He's Maestro Kafu Nagai back from Europe.
Mr. Kikuchi.
All he can write about is geishas and whores.
He made a conquest of women in America and France.
What about me?
Why not? He likes cheap bitches.
A question, Mr. Kafu Nagai.
Do you know Ryunosuke Akutagawa killed himself?
Yes, I do.
He took his life, suffering because of his literature.
Why not kill yourself, too?
Why should I? I have no literary problems.
Prodigal and villainous!
All you do is whore and booze!
A disgrace to literature! Kill yourself!
Excuse me. I'll go wash my hands.
That way!
A blackmailer.
Kafu's fast when he's running.
"A woman who has a large or small ass...
"Was she terrific or not?"
How can you call such trash "literature"?
Kafu, come out!
Are you trying to run?
Kikuchi! You too!
It's you, Ohisa! You startled me.
The door was open.
Nothing to steal here. Thanks for a while ago...
No maid?
I had one. She got too old to work.
Anyone to cook for you?
No. So I eat lousy grub at your dive.
Why, so many books!
Lovely letters.
Hands off!
Never move anything here.
How can you clean up?
I never clean up.
The house smells moldy.
A nice bed!
It's good for sleeping.
Ohisa, a waitress, came today.
Whatever she is, she's an interesting person.
"Swallows, swallows.
"Are you ready for your journey?
"Crickets in the garden...
"They kept chirping all night long."
This woman Outa...
was a geisha, but honest and kind.
Since she became
my kept woman, she has seemed satisfied
and willing to serve me as my mistress.
She's still in her early 20s.
But she depends on me, when I'm over 50 and ailing.
She doesn't seem to regret it. She looks happy.
Today, defiant thoughts prevail.
It's surprising that
such an old-fashioned woman still lives
in this democratic city of Tokyo.
Ohisa, the waitress, came at noon.
She insists she needs money and stays,
as if to black mail me.
How much do you need?
Any amount.
I have no money now. Leave.
No, I won't.
Blackmailing me?
You're rich, aren't you?
The bourgeois should pay the proletariat.
Say that in Russia.
I'll take half.
Half of what?
A hundred yen?
No.
What, then?
Your assets!
You've finally revealed yourself.
500 yen.
You slut!
You trampled on my chastity.
You must pay for it.
Chastity? It's a laugh! I pay every time I lay you.
You think you can buy my body for a few coins?
Take this and go.
I'll come again.
Goodbye.
Kafu, you're in, aren't you?
Open the door!
Police, please.
Hello? The police?
My name's Nagai. I phoned you.
It's Ohisa. Open the door!
Open up!
I know you're in there. Open up!
Don't pretend to be out!
Maestro Kafu Nagai! Open up!
Ohisa the waitress is here to see you!
Maestro Kafu!
You're a coward! Show yourself!
Don't bother the police with such nonsense.
You can buy whores, as many as you want.
Why must we clean up your mess?
You sell yourself for money.
He deceived you?
How old are you? It's your job to deceive men.
Well, isn't it? Hey!
Cheapskate!
The way that cop talked!
It was as if he puked up a wad of rotten candy.
The incident was interesting so I'll record it.
Mr. Nagai!
Good evening. It's Outa.
Why, Outa! I'll open the door right away.
You eating breakfast so late?
I bought some ice cream. It's in this.
Thank you.
Outa's going home. We spent our last night.
Thank you for serving him.
Get married back home.
Good idea! She's still young.
I gave her severance pay.
Severance pay?
Mr. Nagai is always so kind to me.
Your hometown?
Kanazawa.
It's where the great author Koyo Ozaki was born.
Take care of yourself.
The ice cream's melting.
Life's hard when you're not married.
But I prefer freedom to a ball and chain.
You're already fifty. What'll you do when you get old?
Don't worry, Mother.
I'll die by myself.
You married once, didn't you? No, twice.
The first time was for Father. I got a divorce soon.
Your bride got angry, you used a contraceptive.
I wanted to let her stay a virgin.
Even using a contraceptive, you violated her.
Think so?
Naturally!
Your second wife was Yaeji, a geisha.
She ran out on you within two weeks.
She left a note criticizing you.
"You look down on me.
"You treat me like a cheap whore.
"You feed me only so I'll serve you as a maid.
"If I stay here, I'll only annoy you."
Would you like some more ice cream?
No, thank you.
Am I a bad son, Mother?
I wonder. Maybe you are a bad son.
You run from woman to woman, don't you?
You lead a prodigal life.
But I guess you enjoy it.
A poet wrote, "Life has three pleasures:
"Reading, sensuality...
"and drinking." For me, reading and sensuality.
You don't drink. With you, it's all women.
I can't rid myself of carnal desire.
But studying is interesting, too.
If I keep a mistress in my house,
her strong smell fills the place.
I like the loneliness
when left alone after holding a woman, too.
Are women mere toys to you?
Women are worthless if they fail to provide sexual joy.
Is that thinking connected to your work?
My writing and my women are as one.
I don't want a home.
Children, either. They're just a burden.
You were born to the Nagais, but you left home.
My brother Isaburo kicked me out.
He's straightlaced, he couldn't stand your way of life.
Don't despise him.
I can't visit my home with him there.
Never mind. Everybody has his own way of life.
Do your best, anyway.
Thanks. I will.
Newspaper and magazine,
critics are panning you. They say,
"There's an author named Kafu.
"Being from a wealthy family,
"he rarely does anything but
"carouse in bistros every night."
One author even said I don't deserve to live.
If I quit going to bars and brothels,
it means I've yielded to the press.
So I keep going to bars and brothels.
Without end?
No matter what.
You have guts.
I wish I could meet the ideal woman.
Welcome!
Who's the woman in your office?
She isn't for sale. She belongs to a coal mine boss.
Where's the boss?
Down in Kyushu now.
Then she's free.
Shizuka's waiting.
Not her. I want that woman downstairs.
Thanks for phoning me.
Your usual room.
Kimi Kurosa wa. Age 25 or 26.
A genius at love-making techniques.
Where does she live?
Sorry. I don't know.
She won't tell anyone where she lives.
I want to see her.
You like her that much?
Why not try another girl?
No, I want her.
I heard Kimi lived near the beach. I looked for her.
But I couldn't find her.
Even a private detective couldn't find where she lives.
What a pity!
Sparrows chirping
loudly stopped me from writing my draft.
As the racket of someone practicing the piano
breaks the silence, the sun begins to set.
And the cries of a blind peddler,
following her little daughter,
echo louder among the stone steps.
Buy my fermented soybeans!
February 24, 1936.
I thought I'd go out.
But I changed my mind and stayed home.
I thought I'd write after supper,
but I didn't feel like it.
I wasted the whole night reading last year's diary.
The desire to create art is the same as carnal desire.
As I grow order and lose carnal desire,
my desire to create fades, too.
Since last June or July
my carnal desire has begun to fade.
I got to taking an umbrella whenever I go out.
In Tokyo it's hard to predict when showers might come.
VAUDEVILLE THEATER
May I help you?
TAMANOI
YOU C AN PASS THROUGH THIS ALLEY
Drop in! We have great gals.
Hey, umbrella man, drop in, huh?
Mister, we have the perfect girl for you.
Don't act stuck up!
It's going to rain!
YOU C AN PASS THROUGH THIS ALLEY
Mister, will you take me there?
Sure.
It's near.
Some rain, isn't it?
Yes. It's pouring.
Oyuki, you're lucky.
So many "You can pass through" signs.
Some get lost and go around.
Go around?
Will you take me home?
Go ahead. I'll follow you.
Oh! You're drenched.
You live here?
I'll dry your clothes. Drop in.
Don't bother.
I'll dry them. I must repay your kindness.
In what way?
So, just drop in.
There's no one here.
You live alone?
Yes. Someone else was here but she moved out.
You own the place?
No. The landlady comes here
every night to check the books.
You sure are wet, aren't you?
Take off your shoes and socks.
It's still pouring.
I'm more afraid of lightning than thunder.
I can't go to a public bathhouse now. Stay here.
I'll freshen my makeup.
You have a cabinet and tea shelf. It's tidy. How great!
There are some sweet potatoes on the shelf.
Been here long?
A little over a year.
This isn't your first place, right?
Where were you before?
Someplace far away.
Were you a geisha?
Never mind about my history.
Tip me for courtesy's sake.
Sure.
50 sen for "tea service."
That's just the going rate.
An hour then.
Thank you very much.
In return...
Naughty man!
Fool!
Let's go.
It's so long and narrow.
They split a large room.
I see.
Japanese style, or on a bed?
It doesn't matter.
My bed's a cheap one. It squeaks.
Shall we get started?
We don't need a coverlet.
I guess not.
Change into a gown.
You have nice, firm teats.
You haven't had any kids.
Will you hurry? You're wasting time.
Come on, quick!
Seems the rain has stopped.
Come again. I'm here during the day too.
What's this place called?
Our card...
Oyuki, c/o Masa Ando, 61, 7th block, Terajima-cho...
Go straight home.
He said, "I'll do it next time. Not today."
Good evening.
Whenever it rains, the sewer backs up.
What a sty!
You were late.
Military training.
I have some boiled fish.
No, thanks.
The puddle at the entrance...
Leave it. It'll dry.
Why, welcome!
I came as I promised. Eating so late?
I was busy with a customer until now.
How about this?
Wow! Laver!
I bought it.
For your wife?
I'm single. Whenever I find good food
I buy and stock it.
Live with a sweetheart?
If I did, I wouldn't have come here.
May I keep this?
Sure.
Want some tea on rice?
No, thanks, I've eaten. Do you cook for yourself?
She brings food from her house.
That woman with sunglasses?
The owner of this place?
She has eye trouble?
It's not that. She doesn't want people to see her eyes.
Why not?
I wonder.
You shouldn't talk to her while looking at her eyes.
She used to be in this racket, huh?
How do you know?
By her ass.
Her ass?
It's like yours.
Mine's not that flabby.
She used it too often.
From what I hear, she was a geisha.
A waitress too.
She was a whore somewhere too. She has a son.
He's a college senior.
How could she even have a child?
He's adopted. She dotes on him.
Are you really single?
Single.
Poor man!
Console me.
This evening?
Yes. I can make it.
Shall we go upstairs?
You had a customer. Aren't you tired?
Hardly. I put him on my belly, that's all.
What about me?
It depends on you.
Have some grapes.
That's Hokusai's picture.
What's Hokusai?
"Who?" An artist.
A pornographic one?
That's Utamaro.
Women back then had small asses.
Some women had big asses.
Hokusai's women have heavy thighs and a big ass.
I know your racket.
You peddle dirty pictures.
Oh? Do I?
I'm right. You know too well.
And you keep looking at my ass.
I didn't come just to look at you.
I'm grad you didn't. Change into a gown.
I'll stay until midnight.
Stay until morning.
Not enough money.
I'll show you something special.
How old are you?
Try to guess.
Around forty.
You're flattering.
I mean it.
Fifty-eight.
Really?
And you?
Twenty-five.
Less than half mine.
But you can still make it.
If a whore gets serious...
she can't work.
Oyuki in?
Not now. Come later.
Oyuki!
It was good.
After a long time.
Yes, after a long time.
I'm satisfied.
Oyuki!
I'll be back in two hours. Wait until then.
Going out? I'll leave too, then.
How coldhearted!
Where to?
To have my picture taken.
Pictures make money. I'll buy you something later.
Good evening
Okay, let's go.
Come.
Have some tea.
How was it?
She's a nice girl.
I'm glad you approve.
She's a very kind person.
She doesn't mind doing this sort of work.
She's popular.
I like her.
She's pretty. She's good at making love, too.
Where's she from?
I don't know well.
She said she was a geisha or something.
I want to know more about her.
You'd better not.
You mustn't get too serious about prostitutes.
The Great Earthquake of 1923...
It destroyed brothels.
Then they moved here, so I heard.
There are 1,500 girls here.
This isn't a licensed quarter, is it?
It's illegal. How come the girls aren't arrested?
There are unofficial links.
To run places like this, we do business
under police instruction.
Any women with super-techniques?
Mariko is a born nymphomaniac.
Young customers run away.
Yukari specializes in blow-jobs.
Taeko's famous for screaming when she comes.
Their advance?
Don't tell me you're a cop.
Do I look so?
You sure do.
1,000 yen for three years.
Any customers?
Only him.
A suspect's hiding around here. Keep us informed.
I will. Thanks for your protection.
Most crooks here get caught easily.
You cooperate with the police.
Without their cooperation, we'd go bust.
Let me have Oyuki, okay?
She has an overnight customer.
So what?
She usually takes two or three at once, right?
I want her!
Mister...
the cops are looking for a vicious killer tonight.
Go home to your wife.
Piss on the cops! I want Oyuki!
She's just a piece of merchandise.
But tonight I don't want to peddle her.
Some other time.
Piss on the cops!
September 20.
I got the basic idea for a novel about brothels.
It's the fruit of having met Oyuki.
July 11, 1937.
The air's as cool as autumn.
I read an extra: The war in China.
It was caused by Japan's invasion of Manchuria.
Anything wrong with you?
You're late. Don't make me wait too long.
Are you sick?
I have a toothache.
A bad tooth?
I almost passed out.
You taking the night off?
I meant to. But since you're here, I won't.
Will you look after the place?
I'll be back soon.
I'll go to a dentist.
Is he near here?
Near the medical examiner's.
Then it's toward the public market.
You know well, huh? You hang around here too much.
Don Juan!
Ouch!
"Outside the mosquito net, waiting for you..." Now, go.
Please do.
Welcome! Where's Oyuki?
She went to a dentist.
Leaving the joint empty. How sloppy!
Tell her to come to my place.
My son's being drafted.
The army'll get him. It's so sudden.
Is Oyuki in?
She has a toothache, she's taking the night off.
Really?
When I came so far...
I'm sorry, sir.
"I missed you so much, I came, for getting...
"How frightening the dark road can be."
I'm back.
Thank you.
The dentist said he'll have to pull this tooth.
Your boss came. Her son's being drafted.
My God! Satoru's being drafted?
Go talk to her.
Will you see to the place one more time?
So many mosquitoes!
They're our specialty.
Watch the place. I'll be back soon.
Lay me tonight, will you?
If you like.
Why so indifferent?
You haven't touched me for two days!
What will you do?
Whatever you want.
I'll stay all night and enjoy myself.
Not all night.
Why not?
I need two hours for myself.
What's up?
A date with your steady?
You're my steady.
The madam asked me to sleep with her son.
A farewell gift before the army gets him.
It may be his last chance.
I see.
He wants to lay me. What do you think?
I don't mind.
Aren't you jealous?
Who am I to be jealous?
How disappointing!
Make love with passion.
Will you do it first then?
No, I'll do it later.
Touch me.
Will you go to the madam's place and wait?
To make him feel easier? Sure.
Go straight along the alley.
Turn right at the first corner.