"When the Last Sword is Drawn" Film Partners present
The City of Tokyo Winter, 1899
What are these?
Here. Make sure you pack this.
Yes, yes...
We'll never get do.
Sure we will.
Chiaki...
...pack first, then drink.
Yes, dear.
We can't take half a bottle with us!
"Ono Clinic"
"This clinic is closed."
"We are moving to a new location."
"Chiaki Ono, M.D."
Yes?
Coming, coming!
I realize it's late.
My grandson has a fever that won't go down. Would you mind?
Come in.
We're moving, so the place is a mess.
Find an empty place and sit down.
Minoru...
There we go...
Wefve got a patient!
All right.
My wife handles the children.
Come in.
There's not much room. You go in alone.
I donft want a needle!
Minoru! Stop this nonsense!
There's nothing to be scared of.
I'm sorry.
It's all right. Just leave that there.
You've got a fever.
Don't be scared.
This gentleman...
Who?
Do you know him?
No.
How could I forget him? Kanichiro Yoshimura...
The man I hated most...
...and in those mad days when the Shogun fell, my comrade in...
...'the wolves of Mibu'.
WHEN THE LAST SWORD IS DRAWN
The 'Newly Chosen Unit', or 'Shinsengumi', was formed in 1863.
Quartered in Kyoto's Mibu area...
...this group of masterless samurai was charged with keeping the peace...
...as the Shogun's power ebbed.
I first saw Yoshimura among a group of recruits...
...selected by our Lieutenant, Toshizo Hijikata.
'Listed' swordsmen and above.
First, Kanichiro Yoshimura.
Sir!
From Morioka, Oshu Clan. North Star One-Sword School. Licensed.
He's the same school as you, Ito.
Never seen him.
Mr. Nagakura...
How about trying one with a real sword?
Okita!
It's all right. They're not sharp.
Your school doesn't train with real swords, does it.
That's right, sir.
Go easy on me.
He might miss. Wear a protector.
I might miss, too. You wear one as well.
I won't need it.
Very well.
Starring Kiichi Nakai
Koichi Sato
Yui Natsukawa Takehiro Murata
Miki Nakatani Yuji Miyake
Story Jiro Asada
Screenplay Takehiro Nakajima
Music Joe Hisaishi
Producers Hideshi Miyajima Nozomu Enoki
Directed by Yojiro Takita
He had killed. You could see that at a glance.
Enough!
Not bad!
My humble thanks.
Yoshimura!
Sir?
It takes a good man to fight Nagakura to a draw.
You will work with him as an instructor in swordsmanship.
All right, Ito?
Hijikata?
Uh, you're making me...
...an instructor...
...for the Shinsengumi?
Well, thank you very much!
And now...
...I have an announcement to make.
Tani...
Masatake...
Come forward.
Welcome.
I'll take your sword.
Sanjuro Tani's younger brother Masatake...
...will be adopted into my Kondo family.
He will henceforth be known as 'Shuhei'.
I ask you all...
...to give him your support.
I ask it, too.
The Tennen Sword school now has an heir...
...to its leader!
What are you doing?!
Move.
What?!
Mr. Saito...
...you could have just asked.
I will now entertain!
I have a special treat for you.
Kondo wasn't a bad man, but he was a snob.
His taste for distinguished families and promotion of glib fools...
...led to his adopting this younger brother...
...passing over Okita, the natural choice to succeed him.
Saito-sensei... have a drink.
My name is Kanichiro Yoshimura.
I'm a new man. Just so you'll know who I am...
What land are you from, Saito-sensei?
'Land'?
Yes.
I was born in Morioka, in Nanbu, Oshu.
It's a beautiful place.
Please...
Away to the south is Mt Hayachine...
...with Mt Nansho and Mt Azumane to the west.
In the north are Mt Iwate and Mt Himekami.
Out of the high mountains flows the Nakatsu River...
...through the castle town into the Kitakami below Sakuranobaba.
Ah, it's pretty as a picture!
There's nowhere like it in all Japan!
Oh, please... allow me.
Last night I dreamed about my little girl.
She's the image of her mother, who was the prettiest girl in town.
lt's just been so long since I saw her...
An awful country samurai, bragging about home and family.
When I left home...
...she was only five.
Even then...
...she was such a sweet little thing it took your breath away.
It had been a month then since I'd killed a man.
My son Kaichiro...
...is a fine swordsman and scholar.
I don't just say that because I'm his father.
He'll be a fine samurai.
I decided I'd kill this man.
Please...
Could you walk me back to my lodging?
Sorry?
I'm drunk, and it's not safe to go staggering down the street alone.
Of course.
This should do.
Here?
A joke can go too far, sir. I ask you the reason for this.
There is no reason.
You'd kill for no reason?
I just don't like you.
You're crazy!
Die!
I can't allow that to happen. I won't die.
I'm not serious. I just wanted to test you.
I ask that this be the last time you test me.
You don't want to die? What kind of samurai is that?
No one really wants to die. Are you any different?
I don't care. I'm only alive because no one will kill me.
I'm different. I kill because I don't want to die.
For violating the rules of our troop, Takito Seyama has been ordered...
...to commit hara-kiri.
When he has cut himself open, you new men will remove his head.
What is his crime?
That doesn't concern you.
Do not fail.
I will obey.
Hurry it up.
No! Please! Stop!
I'm truly sorry.
Forgive me.
Payment.
Go have fun in Shimabara.
Don't you want it?
I can't accept this!
I see.
Hijikata-sensei...
...as you're aware, the circumstances...
...made the task quite difficult.
It caused a chip in the blade of my sword.
Could I perhaps ask for the cost of a new sword?
That should do. Your blade doesn't bear its maker's name.
You're too kind.
My humble thanks!
What kind of a samurai is that?
He's really something!
Where's it chipped?
My sword's as worn down as I am.
The Shinsengumi was the sterile flower of the Shoguns' end.
And here was this miser squirreling away all he could.
We're checking to make sure it's nothing contagious.
It"ll take a bit more time.
I'm sorry.
I've come at a bad time.
Would you like a drink?
A lot of our patients pay their bills with alcohol.
We're moving tomorrow, and we have all that left...
Oh...
I don't know what to say...
I heard you'd accept alcohol for your fee...
If you gave me money, I'd just buy liquor with it.
You're too kind.
Anyway, have a drink.
You're too kind.
Your father?
Hm?
Oh...
No.
That gentleman was my teacher.
Morioka is 140 leagues from Edo...
...at the end of the Oshu road, and not blessed like the west country.
To stand up for your own land against the children of those rich ones...
...is no easy thing.
The Morioka cherry blossom splits through rock to bloom.
The Morioka magnolia blooms even facing north.
So I don't want you to wait until spring comes...
...and it's nice and warm.
Split that rock.
Run ahead of the times.
Go wild. Bloom.
Yoshlmura-sensel was a low-ranked samurai...
...known for his learning and swordsmanship.
Our clan made him a teacher at its school.
Squire Chiaki!
Your body's wide open. Keep your arms down!
Good, Kaichiro!
His son Kaichiro was like him... strong...
...and gentle.
Are you all right?
'Let's go to the peach tree.'
Mitsu...
Shizu... I'm back.
Welcome home.
Hello, Squire Ono.
Come in.
Go on.
Mitsu...
Yoshimura-sensei had to struggle to keep up appearances.
It was all he could do to keep his family fed.
But to my eyes at least...
...they seemed happy.
But then, to everyone's surprise, he left the clan...
...leaving his family behind.
In those days leaving one's clan was practically treason.
But what really shocked me was that a man...
...who preached the virtues of Nanbu samurai...
...and was so proud of the beauty of his land...
...would abandon it.
Your old man's a traitor!
A disgrace!
He should die!
A real samurai apologizes by spilling his guts!
Hara-kiri!
Stop!
I will speak.
Yoshimura-sensei served my father, Jiroemon Ono.
The sin of an underling is the sin of his master.
lf Kaichiro has to kill himself, so do I.
Is that your wish?
Come on.
Are you all right?
I'm sorry you had to do that for me, Squire Chiaki.
I couldn't stand to see Kaichiro lose heart that way.
Starting with Kaichiro, the rest of the family...
...were driven from the clan's domain to seek refuge with relatives.
Wind chimes!
Wind chimes for sale!
Well done.
Kanichiro Yoshimura!
Sir!
2 ryo, 3 bu, 3 shu.
Well done.
My humble thanks.
Next!
Tatsunosuke Nishimura!
Thank you!
2 ryo, 1 bu, 2 shu.
Hello!
Hello again!
Could you send this, please?
Certainly.
Mr. Yoshimura... here's a letter for you.
My humble thanks!
I'll write you a receipt.
'Dear Father...
'I have read your letter...
'...and it is wonderful to hear that you are well.
'Mother and Mitsu are in good health...
'...and Keijiro is learning both to speak and to make mischief.
'I am helping in the fields...
'...and continuing to practice with my sword.
'Mitsu sometimes calls out "Papa" in her sleep.
'I would like to come to Kyoto and serve with you as a samurai.
'I will take care of our family, so please do not be uneasy.'
Alms!
Please, sir! Alms for the poor!
For several years Morioka had suffered a harsh famine.
Just as I was getting worried about Kaichiro...
...who should I run into after some time but the man himself.
'Dear Shizu, Kaichiro, Mitsu and Keijiro...
'Are you well?'
Kaichiro!
I'm sorry...
...Squire Chiaki!
Please! You don't have to bow to me!
We're friends!
Forgive me!
Kaichiro!
I see...
That's how Kanichiro's supporting his family?
Why was Yoshimura-sensei driven from the clan?
Surely you could have done something, Father.
I cannot act out of personal feeling.
A man who leaves his clan does not merit our concern.
We suffered a serious loss of face.
So the rumor he's joined the Shinsengumi...
...is true.
My father and Yoshimura-sensei were born in the same barracks.
His father was a minor Samurai of Foot.
My father lived there with his mother.
But suddenly a gap opened up in their relative status.
The Ono family's son took sick and died.
My father, the son of old Ono's concubine, was adopted as heir...
...to a 400-koku stipend.
It is with deepest gratitude I enter the House of Ono.
Though I am of humble birth...
As a concubine's son...
...he was in no position to go against the head of the family.
He probably struggled to learn to suppress all his own feelings.
Despite, or perhaps because of, their change in status...
...the only one he could talk to was Yoshimura-sensei.
However...
Leave the clan?!
Yes.
I hear of great changes taking place. I cannot resist my nation's call...
...to revere the emperor, expel the barbarians, and defend the Shogun.
Do you really expect me to believe that?
I know it's hard on a tiny stipend when the crops keep failing.
But Kanichiro...
...don't do something stupid like leaving the clan.
What will I do without you?
My resolve will not be shaken.
Why, Kanichiro?
Haven't we been friends all our lives?
Please...
I'm truly sorry.
Fool! Leaving your clan is a crime! I won't stand for it!
So said my father. It was only later I found out...
...he'd secretly given Yoshimura-sensei a letter of credit...
...for his journey.
Why...
...do you have that photograph?
If it's not your father...
That gentleman was a friend of my father...
...or to be more precise, the father of my friend.
He'd be about your age.
Would you have ever heard of the Shinsengumi?
Well...
They were very powerful, weren't they.
They were no use in the new era.
Grandpa! I'm going home.
Be a good boy and do as the doctor says!
If you don't do as she says, you won't get better.
Are you getting things cleaned up?
I was just starting.
What'll I do with you!
Now.
We are the Shinsengumi! We have business here!
Die!
One of your men.
What? Who?
He died instantly.
Sanjuro Tani? Who killed him?
I don't know.
He was found this morning in front of Gion Shrine.
Tani?
He'd been getting above himself.
The other men didn't like it.
You're saying one of us did it?
We're investigating.
Murderer!
Stop it!
You did this!
I will not allow serving the Shogun to be called murder.
What?!
Shuhei!
Saito-sensei... there's something I'd like to ask you.
Would you mind?
A brilliantly executed cut to the chest.
The cut begins on the left.
And one more thing.
One stab from left of the spine to the heart.
Mr. Shinohara deduces there were two culprits.
A two-man job...
No. I believe the assailant acted alone.
After the body cut, but before he fell...
...he was finished off with a stab.
A deft swordsman, then.
I've always heard that left-handed men were quite deft.
To stab, one turns the sword on its side...
...like this.
From the right...
...the wound doesn't match.
But...
...from the left hand...
Even so...
...it was most skillfully done.
Simply brilliant.
But our rules...
...strictly forbid private vendettas...
...Saito-sensei.
And have you mentioned these conclusions to anyone?
No.
Do you draw against me, sir?
The Shinsengumi, this death-seeking rabble...
...suits me somehow.
Keep out of my way.
Well, then...
...will you give me some money...
...to keep my mouth closed?
Why do walk on that side?
I'm afraid of your left arm, Saito-sensei.
I won't draw on you.
Does this...
...mean us?
Are we...
...'the wolves of Mibu'?
My humble thanks.
I don't want your thanks.
Welcome.
I'm sorry to disturb you.
Not much to look at, huh?
Please.
Well! Thank you.
I don"t like beautiful women. Women called 'beautiful' disgust me.
After all, none of us is more than a sack of shit.
They be so pretty!
I'm truly sorry!
Your accent makes me think you're from Oshu...
I worked all over the north.
Then I was sold to a brothel in Shimabara, here in Kyoto.
I see...
I didn't know that.
'The boss' here doesn't like people talking too much.
You can't talk too much about your home town.
She's beautiful!
I'm getting married... to a girl from near here.
You are?
Who is it?
Shizu, the girl at the summer festival we were looking at.
Shizu?
I fell in love at first sight.
You did, eh?
I see...
Fool!
Do you mock me?!
A farmer's daughter?!
If a samurai family adopted her...
Make her a concubine, if you like.
You can keep her until you make a proper marriage.
That we will permit.
Please stop!
What is it, Miss? Do you need to relieve yourself?
Hey!
You stay here!
Hey!
Kanichiro!
Shizu!
What are you doing here?
This is where I want to be!
I want to marry you!
Shizu!
Kanichiro!
Shizu...
Give the girl back, please.
Shizu...
...will be my wife!
Jiroemon won't have her! Go tell him that, Sasuke!
You can't do that!
From this day on...
...you are my wife.
I won't let anyone lay a finger on you!
Shizu!
Kanichiro!
I have received unofficial notification from Edo.
We of the Shinsengumi are to be made direct retainers of the Shogun himself!
We must look to our task.
We must preserve the authority of the Shogun...
...and his Tokugawa family!
Kondo-sensei...
You say that we are to be made hatamoto?
Is this true?
Yes.
Yoshimura... does this displease you?
No!
No.
Not at all.
Um... may I ask a foolish question?
Will we receive payment appropriate to this honor?
Payment?!
'All personnel to rank as "Inspector".' You will earn 40 bags of rice.
Forty?!
Yes. Forty.
Thank you!
Kondo-sensei, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Ito-sensei, Hijikata-sensei...
...thank you very much!
Everybody... I thank you...
...with all my heart!
My humble thanks, too, Yoshimura-sensei!
Saito-sensei...
...my humble thanks!
The gentleman in the middle... don't move. Stay still.
Hold your breath!
One, two, three...
...four, five, six, seven...
...eight, nine, ten.
Well done. That's it.
Who's next for a photograph?
Yoshimura!
Yes?
Have a picture taken. They'll love it back home.
No, no, thank you.
Don't worry. We'll pay for it.
Well, if you say so...
What, only me?
Gentlemen!
Just you.
Kondo-sensei! Saito-sensei!
Like this.
Stand still. Just bear with it.
Don't move!
Hold your breath.
One, two, three...
Where are you moving to?
Manchuria.
China? That's a long way away.
Yes.
By this time the Shinsengumi had split into two factions.
So had Japan, as the Shogun's forces fought the southwestern clans...
...who wished the Emperor to rule.
This was a tide the Shinsengumi could not resist.
Yoshimura!
Yes?
Could I ask for some of your time tonight? It's important.
Certainly.
This is fine. Leave us.
Our task is to guard the Court. Our loyalty lays with the Emperor.
Under Squire Kondo we are no more than the Tokugawa Shogun's dogs.
In this time of upheaval in the land, I cannot but think that is a mistake.
We thus take leave of the Shinsengumi.
I wasn't surprised.
A fox thinks for itself, while a dog simply follows.
We want you with us!
We need your swords!
We'll be appointed Imperial Guards.
We promise you twice what you get as Shogun's hatamoto.
We're not asking you to decide now.
By leaving my clan, I have already failed one lord.
I will not betray the trust of another.
Yoshimura... Mr. Saito...
...as I see it, the Tokugawa Shogunate is dead.
Others have left... Katsura, from Choshu, and Sakamoto, from Tosa...
No!
I cannot.
Yoshimura! Think of the future!
I was surprised, too, that money would not sway Yoshimura.
You're not fit to be samurai!
You have an obligation!
You're a disgrace!
Mr. Shinohara!
Get out of Kyoto!
I decided to go with Ito...
...but as an informer for Kondo and Hljikata.
Squire Okubo, we must remove those who are disloyal...
...to the Emperor.
Indeed. Those who can't see where the times are headed...
...are in our way.
Without Kondo and Hijikata, the Shinsengumi will collapse.
That's easy to say, Mr. Ito.
Unless...
...Mr. Saito helps.
They were counting on me.
Ito was a fox. So was Okubo, of Satsuma, in the southwest.
They knew a wolf when they saw one.
'I wear a family crest...
'Mother often speaks in jest...
'And Father da-dum da-dum...
'Elder Sister makes eyes at the guest...
'...and Little Sister...
'...is being a pest.'
Be careful.
Hey 'Boss'...
It was Yoshimura's job to pass my messages to Hijikata.
That was ironic.
I'm sorry a woman has to do such dangerous work.
It doesn't frighten me at all. I'm happy to do it.
Have some of these dumplings. I love them.
Well! So do I!
That's good.
Thank you.
Just the thought that a woman like me can help...
...makes me feel strong inside.
When we first met in Shimabara he came back the next day...
...and bought out my contract from the brothel.
I'm proud when he says I'm not much to look at.
My family all starved in the famine.
He's the only one who's ever stood by me.
He took pity on me.
He did, eh?
Have some.
l'm fine, thanks.
I passed on Ito's plot...
...to kill Kondo, and even Ryoma Sakamoto, who was against using force...
...to topple the Shogun.
Very interesting.
Kill Ito.
Of course I couldn't kill Kondo, so I killed their other target.
Welcome home.
Keep away from the Shinsengumi. Don't see Yoshimura again.
I've got to hide out.
You get out of here, too.
Why do I have to go?
I've taken a big chance. I'll be lucky to come out alive.
If you're with me, they'll come after you, too.
This...
...is a farewell gift.
I don't care. I'm staying.
I don't want you getting killed!
Goodbye.
I don't want this.
Think of yourself!
I understand perfectly what you're saying.
But I don't need anything from you.
Instead...
...tonight...
...make love to me.
Hold me...
...please.
What happened?
Ryoma Sakamoto's been killed!
What?
I wasn't excited about who had assassinated Ryoma.
Better than anyone, I knew who had.
Hello?
Miss Nui?
May I come in?
Miss Nui?
Miss...
Miss Nui!
Shizu!
A samurai's wife can't kill herself so there's one less mouth to feed!
Let me go!
Shizu!
Let me die!
Shizu!
Shizu! You can't!
You can't do this!
All right...
...let me die and use me for food!
I can't...
...go on bringing you trouble!
Shizu!
Father!
Don't be angry at Mother!
I'm not hungry! I don't need to eat!
I won't...
...let this happen to you again.
I owe my loyalty to you.
No one else.
As a teacher of children...
...and a fencing instructor...
...it's impossible for me to go begging for money here in Morioka.