Toho
THE WHOLE FAMILY WORKS
From a story by Nao Tokugawa
Cast:
Musei Tokugawa: Ishimura Noriko Honma: His wife
Akira Ubukata: Kiichi, first son Kaoru Ito: Genji, second son
Seikichi Minami: Noboru, third son Takeshi Hirata: Eisaku, fourth son
Seiichiro Bando: Kokichi, fifth son Kiyoko Wakaba: Hide, first daughter
Den Obinata: Ogawa Sumie Tsubaki: Mitsuko
Written and directed by Mikio Naruse
I'll get some rice for you.
Don't worry, I'll do it myself.
Here, give me your bowl. I'll dish it out for you.
I'll do it myself.
Kiichi, since you guys are working at places like Sanyo,
things must be good for you.
Not really.
Mother, Genji seems to be doing well.
It's a first for someone from this family.
How much do you make, Kiichi?
You should know that.
- Mom! - Can I get up now?
It's still early. Why don't you sleep some more?
Go upstairs. You can come down when I'm done straightening up.
What's to be done with you, Kokichi?
Mother, are you putting pickled onions in my lunch again?
It smells up the train when I go to work.
And it makes the rice smell bad!
That's because you put them next to the warm rice. The salmon is worse!
Why do you have to complain too?
Let's run to the train. Jyan ken pon!
Good morning!
Genji!
She's pretty, that girl.
She graduated from school, the same year that Genji did?
That's right.
On your way back, tell your brother to come over.
Oh, so you aren't asking me to come?
He seems a little down these days, that's why.
He does seem kind of grumpy today.
Well, please. See you later.
This stinks!
Mom, Jiro says he's going to Middle School.
Is that right?
I really don't want to be a factory worker.
You can't say that.
Your brothers went to work as soon as they finished elementary school.
Mom, I'm going to be a soldier. I'm going to go the Military Academy.
What do you think?
That sounds good.
Kokichi, you're always saying you're going to be a general.
What about me, mother?
You're going to be... a tramp!
Kokichi, why do you say such stupid things?
I think you're going to be someone's pretty wife.
I'm going to be a pretty bride!
Mother, I really don't want to work in a factory.
Well, I don't know what to say to you. Talk to your father about it.
Ishimura!
This is for you.
Did you talk to your father about what you wanted to do after you graduate?
You haven't talked to him yet, I guess.
He says he's going to send me to the factory.
I see.
In any case, you have to think about your future.
I have to think about this. Go home and think about it.
If I stay here, I can't do anything.
I won't be able to take care of my parents when they get old.
I can't get married, either.
No matter how long you stay here, your pay won't go up.
And most of all, it'd be a shame for a smart guy like you to waste yourself here.
I don't think that's true, but I would like to go to school.
But if I go to school, the family income will go down
and it'll be tough on all of them.
Who's working now?
Two of my brothers and my father. That's four of us.
As it is now, we barely make out with our incomes.
If one of us stops working, it'll be tough on all of us.
What are you doing?
Hey, this guy is fast asleep. Watch out!
I envy you. All those hard working boys.
I don't know if they're hard working. They just get bigger and bigger!
They're going to be fine men, soon.
What are you saying? They just eat more,
still they don't bring in that much money.
That can't be true.
But it is! No matter how much barley I mix in with the rice,
they just gobble it up.
At least they work. That's good!
Not much...
- Going to the market? - Yes.
Cod is really cheap today. I bought some.
I think I'll cook it up with tofu.
I'll have a look, then.
Prices have really gone up, haven't they?
But we can't just sit around and complain about it. Every day is hard!
Remember, it's cod. They'll give you a discount, if you ask for one.
I see. Thank you.
Cut it out!
Mom!
This cod would probably be good with tofu.
Yes, probably; but tofu costs five sen
and we don't have enough for that.
I suppose that's right.
It would be different, if you'd give up drinking.
It's good stewed like this, though.
All my hard work and this is what I get!
Kokichi? Are you done studying? I think you have some more to do.
Dad, I don't understand this one.
Which one? Let's see.
Arithmetic these days seems to be different than when I studied it.
You don't understand?
I don't think I learned how to do these.
What?
Go upstairs and ask your brothers.
Help me with this!
Are you a girl?
No! I'm a boy!
I'll help you.
Ma-chan is getting married.
She's coming the day after tomorrow. You'll have to go over there?
Yes. It wouldn't look good if I didn't.
- What about a kimono? - Mine is good enough I think.
You have to bring them something, too. It's before the 30th.
I don't know.
Don't you have some money?
No, of course not.
Eisaku has some. He saves his allowance money.
Why does he have money?
I took a look and he has almost two yen.
That makes him the richest person in the house.
I think I'm going to have to borrow from him again.
You've taken money from him before?
I borrowed from him last year. I'm embarassed I haven't paid him back.
Poor kid. He's like Kiichi. He's good at school.
He's a good kid.
Of course, he's better than Kiichi in some ways.
Kokichi seems to be struggling, though.
Eisaku, you'll catch a cold.
How old were we when we first met?
You mean you forgot?
I was nineteen and you were sixteen.
Of course, that was when we first met.
That's not what I'm talking about.
It's about time to start thinking about Kiichi getting married.
I think it's still early for that.
But Kiichi is the oldest. We have to think about
having him get a bride and settling down.
It would be better to wait two or three years.
By that time, Genji and Noboru will probably be making a little more money.
I think we need to think about it soon.
What do you think about the girl across the way?
She seems to like Kiichi.
This is interesting.
I don't know if I like protagonists meeting like that.
Why don't you read it and tell me what you think?
OK.
Are you busy these days?
Let's go somewhere when you have a day off.
What's wrong with you?
I don't like this.
- Is something wrong? - No.
Are you going home already?
Yes. Bye.
What's wrong?
I have to talk to my father.
What about the book? Aren't you going to take it?
- I'm home. - Welcome back.
Father, I don't know if this is filial or not,
but I'd like to take five years off of work.
What are you going to do if you take five years off?
No matter how long I work at the place I'm at now, I can't get ahead.
I want to quit and go to school, even if it has to be night school.
I want to go to electrician's school and get an electrician's license.
Then, when I'm 27 or 28, even in the worse case, I could make as much as when I was 26.
But...
I know that it would be tough on everyone if I did that. That's why I'm asking you.
I know that no matter how long I work at that place, things just won't get better.
You could think of me as having died.
Stupid! You wouldn't be dead, you'd be living and eating rice and burning firewood.
Your father's pay is going down and down.
If you don't work, what are we going to do?
I know. That's why I'm talking it over with dad.
I was listening.
And what I want to know is how can you ask for such a selfish thing!
It's not selfish. Mother, you just don't understand.
What isn't there to understand? Someone's got to your head.
Just let us talk.
Do you have any place to go, if you leave here?
My boss at work stayed with a lawyer, when he was younger.
He says I can go there.
He's the guy who worked his way through Waseda.
I think that you're being quite serious, but I don't know what to say to you.
Well, think it over until Saturday. I'm supposed to go see my boss then.
Well, hurry up and eat.
I don't need anything more to eat.
- Then have some tea. - I already had some.
What's up with him? Someone must have said something to him.
He gets a little freedom and wants to go all the way.
He doesn't think at all about how tough it is for all of us.
Don't be so hard on him. He's thinking about the family in his own way.
Are you really going to leave the family?
I wanted to talk you about that. Sit down.
Where did he go?
I don't know. He...
Are you going to the bath?
What's with you guys?
Can you leave us alone? We have something important to talk about.
I don't like this.
Kiichi!
You think about it, but it doesn't help.
Things can only turn out the way they're going to turn out.
Father, I'm going ahead.
- What day is it today? - It's Wednesday.
Father.
Mr. Washio asked me where I would be going to school next year.
And what did you say?
I said I was going to the factory.
Did he say that was a good thing?
No. He said he'd think about it.
The next time you see him he'll give you some praise. I'm sure of that.
But I'm in a hurry now.
Should we walk or run to the train? Jyan ken pon!
Get out of the way!
Walk carefully.
Should I bring an abacus?
No, an abacus wouldn't help with this calculation.
That was a joke. You know, I'm really jealous of you.
With all those boys, you must have a lot of money.
I'm worried about my oldest son.
What's wrong? Has he started going out at night?
No, it's not like he's found a girl or anything like that.
Of course, he's entitled to his own opinions
and he does talk things over with us.
He says he wants to leave home.
Why?
He says he wants to go to school, so he wants five years off.
I don't think it's such a bad idea, really. He's always liked studying.
He says he can't take care of us when we get old or get married, and support a wife.
He's pretty conscientious. I think my son is the same age as yours,
but he comes home drunk every night
and hardly brings in any money at all.
Conscientious or not,
I don't know if I can give him a month, let alone five years.
But that's a good problem to have. He's still something.
I think so, too.
He's a rare kid.
Not really. It seems he doesn't drink much, and he doesn't smoke at all.
And he brings home money every month. So that's good.
My boy's completely different.
Does he drink that much?
If it were just drinking, it would be alright, but it looks like he's got a girlfriend.
You have to watch out for that!
Where are we going?
Never mind, just follow me.
I have to go.
- Here, right? - Yes.
I have to meet someone. See you later.
Where did Genji and the boys go?
I think they went to that place again.
The other boys are itching to do what Kiichi has been talking about.
Who knows what Kiichi will say if he starts talking to them.
He's getting pretty uppity these days. You have to say something to him.
Did you get the money from Eisaku?
I just talked to him about it. That boy is OK.
Eisaku, are you sure?
Don't worry. I've got enough. It's on me tonight.
- So I can order one more? - Sure.
How about some tempura noodles?
Sure.
We'd like a tempura noodles here.
- Can I have another bowl, too? - Sure.
- Can I order the noodles in the stewpot? - Sure.
- Eisaku, give me 10 sen. - Why?
I want to buy a book at the used book store.
You two go ahead.
Are you going to take a bath?
Didn't you have one last night?
Yes, but I want to warm up.
Is your brother really going to leave home?
I don't know. He has a hard time saying "no" to people.
You think? That's not good.
You like my brother, don't you Mitsuko?
You're pretty direct!
Let's go look at photographs next Saturday.
If your brother isn't going to be around, I'll go.
When we were in school, you were really good at imitating people.
That's because I'm a good person. I did it so everyone could have fun.
You did it when we went to Okochi.
Forget about that stuff.
No one's here. Come on!
No way!
Have some coffee. It's on me.
- Really? - Yes.
I don't feel right taking it. I guess I could sing you a song.
Really?
I do feel a little self-conscious.
On the other hand, I did get this coffee for free. Here goes.
I'm going home.
Don't tell my father about what I just said.
- About what? - About going to see the pictures.
Of course I'm going to tell him.
Genji, what are you doing? Where's your brother?
I thought he was at home.
Good night.
Bye. Good night.
Do you think he's going to come back?
I don't think so.
Why don't you check his bags?
Be quiet!
Hello.
You're pretty late.
- Do you want some tea? - No, thanks.
Welcome back. It's cold out there.
Hello.
It looks like Eisaku went out and used up all the money last night.
How?
I think he was worried that I wouldn't give him back his money,
so he took the boys out to eat.
Well, what do you expect?
Things are like that because of the way you talk.
What good does yelling about it here make?
You're early today.
The new bride is moving in next door. You know, at Ma-chan's place.
I thought I'd have a look.
Is that way you came home early? That's pretty stupid.
That's why you get so many pimples.
Your brother came home late, last night?
Is he busy or what?
Where did you get this? Did you buy it?
It was a gift.
- From whom? - Mr. Washio.
Noboru, did you see the bride?
Yes, I did.
Was she pretty?
I don't know. She was in whiteface so I couldn't tell.
That's too bad.
There was so much food there, it made me dizzy.
Excuse me. Good evening.
- The guy singing is dad! - That's right.
Mom, father's drunk and singing.
Is that right?
Come on in and go to bed.
Come in.
Do you have anything cold to drink?
Were you drinking?
Water would be good.
You don't drink too much, do you?
Do you think I'm different when I'm drunk?
No. It's hard to tell you've been drinking.
I felt like getting drunk tonight.
Are you OK?
Hey!
You know, over at Ma-chan's place, there's a new bride coming in.
I saw her. She's really pretty.
Are you going home? Are you sure you're OK?
I'm fine.
It doesn't look that way!
Why don't you just lie down and sleep here?
It's your father!
Go to bed!
Seems pretty lively over there.
They made me drink a lot. It was rough.
- Where's Kiichi? - Still out.
What is he doing out late every night?
- Genji and the others? - They're here.
Genji, do you know why Kiichi is always late, these days?
He said he was going to Mr. Washio's place.
What's he doing over there?
I don't know.
Genji,
did he say anything to you?
He said that he didn't know if what he was doing was filial or not,
but that he'd made up his mind.
Welcome home.
- Do you want something to eat? - No, thanks.
I didn't know you were at home, father.
Were you drinking?
Yes.
I got drunk.
I heard you were at Washio's place.
Yes. He said to say hello to you.
What did he say?
A lot of things. I think I understood what he was saying but I'm not sure.
It's hard to explain.
What? What did he say?
I went to ask him what filial piety was!
And what did he say?
Like I said, it would take a while to explain.
But, father, I'm not going to give up on my plans.
Remember that. No matter what happens, I won't give up.
Look, I'm 22. I can't mess around any more.
No one told you couldn't do what you wanted.
But that's what your face says. I know.
I went to see my boss, and last night I talked to that lawyer.
Come, I'll buy you a coffee.
Kiichi, are you alright? Take it easy.
What's up with Kiichi?
- I don't know. - What do you suppose it is?
What are you going to do? Are you going to take the day off?
What? I think that stuff they had last night was bad. My head hurts.
That's because you gulp your liquor down.
But I didn't have a choice.
It only seemed that way because you don't have a backbone.
Mother, I'm going to be a Junior Air Cadet. Doesn't that sound good?
Anything you want to be is OK with me.
I thought you were going to be a general.
Shin-chan is going to be the general, so I decided to do something else.
I'm going to get married!
Today I'm going to talk to Mr. Washio.
- About what? - About Kiichi.
I see. I hope he has some useful advice for you.
What about me?
You're still little. We'll worry about you later.
You used the money you said you were going to lend to me.
And you don't even scold him.
How long are you going to bug us about that?
I'll ask him about you.
That's fine for a drunk with a hangover to say.
I want you to think about me for once.
What's going on?
I don't understand why Kiichi was asking about those things last night.
He suddenly asked me what filial piety was.
There's a lot going on with him now.
Yes, it seems that way, but I don't know what it is.
Without knowing, it's hard for me to give advice.
Did you have a fight with him?
No, not a fight! It's a really difficult problem.
I see. Now I understand. You need some help with this.
I'm not trying to use filial piety as a way to get my sons to work for me.
It's just that...
I see.
It's really not that much of an ambition, really.
He wants to feed his parents and a wife.
I want to grant him his wish.
I'd like to be able to write everything off, if he fails. But if I say yes to him,
I know I'll have to say yes to the others.
Yeah, that's tough.
Some advice from you?
Why don't you talk it over amongst all of you?
If the parents are good, the children will be, too.
You should think it over together.
Why did you do that?
So I don't frown.
I didn't come here at the bequest of Mr. Ishimura to give my opinion.
I'm not the kind of person who does that.
Nor do I have an answer like do this or do that.
It'd be easy if Mr. Ishimura had a drinking problem or if Kiichi were lazy.
That's why I think all of you should talk things over amongst yourselves.
What do you think, Genji? What kind of hopes do you have?
I want to join the navy. In ten years I could make it to Warrant Officer.
How about you, Noboru?
He has some really big ambitions.
Why don't you talk?
It's not your turn to talk. He wants to be a lawyer.
That's great. All of you are going to succeed. Mr. Ishimura, you must be happy.
Are you saying that we won't succeed?
- No, I wasn't saying that! - Because I will succeed.
How do you know? Be quiet, Kiichi.
I can't put up with this any longer. I'm 22.
If I don't prepare for my future, when am I going to do it?
Even if I work 100 years at the place I'm working now, I won't be able to feed a wife.
I've put up with a lot of poverty.
Father, I don't want to insult you, but since I left elementary school,
I've worked as hard as anyone.
Since the second or third grade, I was selling beans with Genji two or three years ago.
How long do I have to put up with this? All my life I've always thought
that it would get better at some point, but...
- What are you saying? - Mr. Ishimura!
I'm not trying to insult you, father. I'm just sick of living day to day.
I'm not talking about ambition or becoming a lawyer or anything like that.
I just want to be able to have enough to eat.
That's my plan. If I don't succeed, I won't be able to eat.
Fine, just leave. Come back in five years. Ten years.
Succeed. We'll get by somehow.
Genji, Noboru, Eisaku, you guys do what you want to!
I shouldn't have been depending on you.
I'm going to see what I can do. I still have a bit left in me.
Kiichi, let's go have a tea and talk things over, alright?
The world is not such a small place.
A young person like you shouldn't be crying over things like this. Understand?
What do you think he's going to do?
I don't know, but I feel sorry for father.
I bet he won't leave. Don't you think so?
Sorry about crying in there, but I feel like it cleared the air.
I now understand what a good kid you are.
Like I said, I can't tell you what you should do.
That's because I respect how you feel. You shouldn't be in a hurry.
I don't want you to give up on your ambitions.
I just want you to try hard. That's all I want from you.
I'll do that. I'll work hard.
I'm going to do my best.
Me too!
Do your best!
The End Translated by: Guy YASKO Synch and check: Dan