A day is dawning in 1966
This is the simple, traditional entrance to my grandmother's house,
where I lived until I was 3 years old
Five seconds from now, it will become avant-garde
What's up! Hurts!
Why'd you drink so much again!
Hey, hey, Eiko san! Eiko san!
Get off me!
You're still up!
You'd wake anybody up
This is my Mom
Tiny!
Run to Daddy's room. He'll behave in there
Don't grab my stomach
Just go to bed
Get off me!
Godzilla!
I told you not to grab my stomach!
Tiny...
I'll paint this someday
I can paint this a little better
I got you something good
Here
Good, right?
Make a face like it tastes good
This is my Fujica Single 8
And this is my Dad
He's the same person as the slightly creepy young man in the photo
The Tokyo Tower, behind him,
then about as half-baked as my father's taste in clothes,
when finally completed in 1958, was 333 meters tall
Even today, decades later,
it still stands at the heart of Tokyo and Japan,
as centered as the pin of a spinning top
These days,
I find myself staring at Tokyo Tower from very close by
This is the modest story of my father, who got knocked down
and kicked out by Tokyo, all the way back to his hometown
It's also about me, who came here and lost a place to go home to
It's also about my mother,
who never had any illusions, but was dragged here anyway,
and unable to go home or return,
found her eternal rest at the foot of Tokyo Tower
< TOKYO TOWER > - Mom & Me, and sometimes Dad -
Fujica Single 8
I can shoot that, too
Great
He was just feeding him yakitori?
They don't fit his mouth
This is me and Mom and Dad
This is my last memory from when we lived together
That's when Mom moved us out of my grandmother's house in Kokura
and into my grandmother's house in Chikuho
You can pass, you can pass
Who's narrow path is this?
This path belongs to the gods
Won't you kindly let me pass...
Mom!
Your mom's mom
Here we go
This is where I was born
Tasty
Thanks
Eiko! You're back! Been a while
Hello
Welcome home, Sister
Hey, Ma, you've grown just a little
We'll have a feast tonight
See you later
It was an old, small, mining town,
served by a single-track railroad, making 8 trips a day, running in the red
Hardly like Kokura, which had been a metropolis
It's a crayfish, a crayfish
Run it over
Run the crayfish over!
In this dead end town,
I had totally lost it
Got it!
Now it's a frog
Run it over!
Run the frog over!
Now it's a rabbit
I may have lost my mind,
but I still had some sense left in me
Life is precious
Are you working again, Ma?
You woke up?
I always feel better when you work
You sure have a strange body
It's a children's illustration
There sure are all kinds of work
I can't make ends meet with just one line of work
They'll scold me if I don't finish today
What's funny?
Even as a kid you were scolded a lot
You were always being scolded
Look who's talking You were scolded a lot, too
Who would scold me?
I'm the top of the pyramid
I'm ready
All right, game
Oh, no, she got me again
What's with her?
Cards is one thing I can't beat you at
You need 10 more years before you can beat me in cards
Shut up! I can't sleep!
I've got the morning market
Then, let's just drink
You're not supposed to laugh, Sister
What's with your face?
Hello
Ma, Ma...
I finished the illustration
How rare, you were fast
Slowly but surely, I'm improving
I stirred your pickle brine for you yesterday
Oh, Tamami
And this is for you
Thank you so much
Nakagawa san, your radio appointment...
- But I just realized you're a writer... - Let's go
You're on the radio, too?
Behind the scenes
What channel?
I don't talk
What channel? FM? AM?
I don't talk I'm going
What's there to do on the radio but talk?
You'd be surprised
I'll be back tomorrow about this time What can I bring?
Nothing, I don't need anything
We'll be back
Isoyama san, Tamami, thank you
Bye
He should talk...
Yes, yes, yes. We're driving there, now
And about next week
You're getting the test results, soon, right?
Yeah, they'll determine,
whether to operate and remove it or rely on chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is painful, isn't it?
Yeah, it is
Of course it is. It's doing the impossible
Whatever deal Mom and Dad had made,
on long school vacations,
I was sent alone to the house in Kokura
You... only draw pictures of ships
And it's always the same drawing
I don't know what it looks like from the front
How very unusual
White is good, right?
Yeah
This good? Done, right?
What? Why?
You're almost finished
Clean up the mess
I'm going drinking
You're almost done!
I have no idea why he never finished the ship
But among all my memories, that was when
he was most fatherly,
and I know I was thrilled
Thanks
Thank you
Tasty, this is good You're always a great cook
It's easy to simmer fish
You know how to cook it not mushy My wife's is always mushy
You think?
Yeah, yours isn't mushy
Welcome
Welcome back, is this seat OK?
The usual?
Sister, a plate of simmered fish and a red wine
Oh, I'll do it
Where to?
Where are you going?
Um...
Want to come, too?
Let's go, I want to go home
Stay there and play
The game will start
Did you press the start button?
Thank you so much
Can't you thank him?
I'll be right back
Around and around, I looked for Mom
Around and around
Mom!
Let's go home
Why are you stirring the pickle brine now?
You're up?
Yeah
Counting backwards from breakfast,
the pickles taste best if I stir the brine now
Your pickles are the best
Of course they are
This brine has been in the family for over 100 years
That man from yesterday...
Ma
Do you like your Dad?
Yeah
I figured
I started middle school
Maybe Mom didn't want to rely on Grandma forever
She moved us to a different house
Hello, I'm Nakagawa
Um...
This will be your room
Thank you
This is like a hospital
We don't have a choice
We can't borrow a room at Grandma's forever
Where's the bathroom?
Mom! Mom!
What's with you?
You're such a chicken
What's wrong with you?
Live here?
You joined the baseball team?
All I do is get hit
What did you expect?
I hadn't seen Dad in a year
How's your mom?
She quit the diner and works at home now
Piecework? The pay's lousy, right?
But she just bought me a guitar A Morris
On lousy pay?
What are you doing these days, Dad?
You mean for work?
Architect - Nakagawa
Dad was living alone, then
Yeah, yeah
I want to wait it out a little longer
So, can you start with the large room?
What do you say?
My son's staying with me
Take whatever you want
If you moved, you need stuff, right?
Just a TV
Take that one, over there
Hello
The hell!
There's real deadlines and there's fake ones!
Need anything else?
Um...
What?
Is there a woman?
What?
Fujica Single 8
I'm rolling film, do something
Hey, there's no film
What?
Take it
But I don't have a projector
I don't either, take it!
In the course of my life,
I've never met a man so utterly free
Sometime after finishing 8th grade,
I began to have two strong desires
I wanted to go somewhere other than here
and I wanted to set Mom free
By that time, smoke had stopped pouring out of the giant smokestacks
of the steel factory in Kokura
and the mines in Chikuho
To me, everything made by adults,
everything I could see, seemed to be going downhill
Whatever lasts forever,
is what everyone desires without question
But if it's not eternal, everything is an illusion
With my high school exams ahead of me,
I made up my mind to leave this town
Come in boss, we've got nice girls
Check out the girls, stop in
Oh, you're Na san's son
You're so cute. How old are you?
I'm 15
See my tits?
No
Did you come to play?
I came to study
Study? Study tits?
No
Cut it out. You're scaring him
They're scary, my tits are
Na san, what are you making him study?
This kid says he wants to try to get in to the Art High School in Oita
So I thought I'd teach him how to draw
What? Why go so far away?
It's best for men to start their travels young
Start drawing this
I'll check in on you later
This?
Yeah
God, I'm sick. That baldie won't give up
Who are you!
A helmet?
Yes
What's a kid doing here, drawing a helmet?
He's my kid
What a shock, so he's your kid
Yes, sorry
No, your lines are too weak
Give it here
Like father like son
Despite my father's half-assed tutoring,
I did...
Make it into high school
Check your ticket one last time
I have it
Take good care of yourself and study hard, OK?
Yeah
Can you wake up in the morning with no one to wake you?
I swear I'll get up
Do your best
To Masaya
From Mother
In that letter, she wrote nothing about herself,
only endless words of encouragement for me,
with great conviction
The thing is, I had this dream No idea what it was
For some reason, in this dream,
I have relations with this lady who's my relative
And when I spread her legs,
I have no idea what I'm seeing
It's a dream
But it's a fish face
A sardine's face...
He's on a roll, but it's time for a break
We can't have his mother hearing this stuff
Yes, it's better she doesn't
Why did Mom...
start laughing when I only pushed the start button...
You're so drunk
OK, OK, I'm fine
I understand how you feel but you're drinking too much
Who asked you?
Don't tell me you understand
Which program are you on?
Dad said he'd visit. He called
Really?
What? When?
Sunday
My hair's a mess I haven't been to a salon
Don't bother
No
I can't see him with my hair like this
All right, I'll see what I can do
High school life in Oita
My first time living alone
My Mom's words proved prophetic
I was totally comfortable in my depravity
Please go out with me
If you'll get baptized
Baptized?
Lmpossible if you're not baptized
You'd better start by reading the Bible
Otherwise Sunday dates are impossible
lmpossible
During those 3 years,
I was snubbed by a Mormon girl...
Naito
Nakagawa
He's late again
Hiraguri, go wake him up
Sure
Hurry up
I found a new friend, Hiraguri, who was a little unusual
Hurry up!
Bring him here
C'mon, let's go
And all we really did,
was spend the money Mom sent,
puffing our way through packs of cigarettes
Thank you, Hiraguri san
See, you look years younger
I wanted you
to come over for dinner one last time
What a shame
Don't talk like that
The only reason my son graduated was because of you
No, I was able to graduate because of him
The deadline for Nyan-nyan?
Oh, that again
Illustration and text for Queen Kong?
All right
I'll be back in touch
Going home already?
I'm sorry, I wanted to stay with her longer
I just...
Let me pay you
No, really, it's fine
Don't
Nakagawa san
About the test results, please go see Dr. Hirai,
tomorrow afternoon at 3PM
Yes
I'm sorry
I know it's toughest for you
Thanks
Ma
If you don't have anything to do, take the vegetables to Granny's
Back from Oita, studying for my college exams,
I secretly dreamed of going to college in Tokyo
I'll leave 'em here
Granny, is that all you're eating?
I'm alone, this is fine
Come inside
Forget it, come
Can I really just leave Mom behind?
You've had 3 years
to think it over, but no answers
Thinking it over in the country here,
won't get you anywhere
Go to Tokyo
There's all kinds of people there
Go see everything there is to see
Your mom won't stop you
I'm home
I waited for you, Go ahead, eat up
Why such a feast?
You're trying for a college in Tokyo, right?
Get your spirits up
Yeah?
But I don't know what to eat first
Doesn't matter which
Tasty
Let's eat, then
Chicken rice, sushi rolls,
condiments, shiso-flavored rice cakes
tempura, broiled fish,
simmered vegetables, turnips,
cucumber, pork miso soup...
The next year, I made it into a university in Tokyo
Every spring, young kids
from all over Japan got swallowed up by Tokyo, like so much dust,
sucked in by motor of a vacuum cleaner
The dark narrow hose
was a tunnel to our dreams and the future
But the other end of the tunnel,
was still a dust heap
You hang in there, Mother
Cheers!
It was so dusty, I could hardly breathe
The motor kept churning
We went around, banging into each other
Around and around,
Around and around
Hey, Hiraguri
Nakagawa!
Why are you in Tokyo?
I...
Listen
Loan me 2,000 yen
Not getting into college,
Hiraguri had taken over the family beauty salon
When he saw Flashdance, he became obsessed
and moved to Tokyo, dreaming of becoming a dancer
Of course he ran out of money,
and moved into my place
How was it?
Yeah, it was really lively
Oh, I see, now that you're job-hunting...
Have you been in touch with your dad?
He says let's go drinking when I'm back in Kokura
But the thing is...
What?
For the past 4 years,
I basically did nothing
Shocked?
What do you mean?
At this rate, I can't graduate
What's that?
Why couldn't you work harder?
I don't have to stay back, I can just drop out
Not graduate
Why...
Why couldn't you work harder?
Sorry
Hello
I'm going to start a restaurant
What? A restaurant?
Someone I knew ran a restaurant by the river,
but now I can just take over running the place
I'll hang in there 1 more year,
so you keep going to college until you graduate
Can you do it?
Oh...
Yeah, I think I can
All right, stay back a year
So, I lived off Mom for another year,
somehow managing to graduate
I didn't land ajob after graduating, and Hiraguri gave up
on becoming a dancer,
but we both clung to life in Tokyo
This looks great
Hello
It's your Mohican's fault
It's your fault, you're unemployed
You're unemployed and have a Mohican You're a double-loser
Where do you work?
A publishing house
Oh, I see
Which publishing house?
It's a small company,
called Kodansha
Oh, really? Even I know that publisher, it's really important
Oh, Kodansha...
Let's see now...
Nakagawa san
Nakagawa san! Are you there?
You owe 3 months' rent
Nakagawa san, Nakagawa san
Nakagawa san!
Paradise Loans
The days passed by, as slack as a stretched out rubber band
The only growth were was the number of loan sharks I owed
Who's that?
Takamizawa of The Alfee
I see
What do you want to be?
An illustrator
Wow
The man from Paradise Loans
is on the phone again
Sorry, please tell him I'm not here
It's all right that you're never here?
Seems fine to me
Be confident
OK, I will
Can you pass this?
Sure thing
Thanks
Where's my fried chicken?
Right up
Sorry to keep you waiting
Ita, did you find work?
That place isn't for me
Oh, right...
Graduation Certificate Nakagawa Masaya
Excuse me
Hello?
What's with you! You never answer your phone!
Mom, listen,
I'm sorry to ask again but I'll pay you right back
Money?
Um, yeah
I sent it
Listen, your grandmother's not well
Yeah, my sisters are watching her tonight,
but she won't last
Thanks
Thank you
Come home
I figured you were broke so I sent you the train fare home
Yeah...
Don't tell me you already spent that, too
I went to visit my sick grandmother, just once
See the 1,000,000 yen there?
Use that 1,000,000 yen
to buy yourself a pot
I'll give it to you
Buy yourself a pot
What's wrong, Nakagawa san?
Oh, sorry
What'd you come to Tokyo for?
I win
Grandma died. Come Home
You don't have any money do you?
I need train fare
C'mon, don't go
I know it's a terrible time,
but I just can't make it
You can't keep paying rent for both of us
Can't we just hang in there together a little longer?
You're down and out now,