Sonoko, I love you?
You all right, Sankichi? With all these air raids?
The war is lost. We're all going to die.
I paid you. You could make an effort.
Someone's coming.
No big deal. It's Doctor Akagi.
Housecall?
Probably hepatitis.
Why?
They call Akagi "Dr. Liver."
All his patients have hepatitis.
Is he a quack?
EMOTO Akira
ASO Kumiko
Driected by IMAMURA Shohei
KANZO SENSEl
Company, halt!
Transfer to your custody:
95 prisoners. No special observations.
Confirm receipt of 95 prisoners!
Move it up! Inside!
Major Nosaka.
Could there be a spy among them?
Don't talk nonsense.
The neighboring shipyards get bombed, but we don't.
The planes must be getting tipped off.
No, the reconnaissance planes spotted the prisoners.
The 2nd Lieut, agrees with me.
No one's getting promoted around here.
As for him, he drinks too much.
By the way, the officers' club is closed.
- The Shiunkaku? - They say someone got typhus.
ALL TOGETHER FOR THE FINAL BATTLE
SHIUNKAKU CLUB
CLOSED FOR TYPHUS - ARMY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
The army says it looks like Satsuki has typhus.
And last night, Momoyo complained of stomach pains.
No fever...
Look up. Stick out your belly.
Let me see your stamach.
Doctor, is it really typhus?
What nastry business.
Bend your knees.
Deep breath.
Exhale.
It's hepatitis.
The army must've misdiagnosed.
Anyway, we'll do a blood work-up.
Being a family doctor is all legs. '
'One leg broken, he'll run on the other. '
'Both legs broken, he'll run on his hands. '
'Exhausted, he runs. Asleep, he runs. '
'Even averse to running, he'll run his life away. '
Masuyo, what's up?
Only sardines.
Sardines. What a treat.
Doctor, it's horrible.
- It's my son. - Is he sick?
- That burn has fallen in love. - Loosen your top.
The daughter of Gen, the fisherman.
Name is Sonoko, she's a whore.
No harm in that.
She's a looker, really built.
She's no genius. But for Sankichi she's just right.
Please! I don't care for whores.
Afrer all, Sankichi is an accountant at City Hall.
So what's bothering you?
She's not our kind of people.
I don't see the difference.
I want that slut away from him!
Stick out your tongue.
Doctor, he'll listen to you.
Give him a talking-to. Please.
I heal sick people. Promiscuity's not my line.
Go see the bonze. Umemoto of the Raiko temple.
He's an experienced man.
That slut...
That Dr. Liver, what a quack!
'One month after Hitler and Eva Braun'
'were found dead together, '
'a defeated Germany cannot face its miserable state. '
'Steps taken by the occupying armies. '
'have spread disorder and chaos throughout the country. '
Cut it out, Eva Braun! It stinks of poverty.
All we have is whole grain rice.
It has to be husked.
Are we out of sake?
All gone. You drank it.
Don't resist.
Air-raid!
- I have a favor to ask you. - Masuyo?
It's my son, Sankichi, be's stuck on that whore.
So what? No harm in selling yourself.
Look at her. Come here.
She's a genuine Shimotsui whore.
Is she your new wife?
- Yes, my third. - I'm not the fourth?
Fermented cucumber?
If Sankichi breaks it off with Sonoko, I'll bring you cucumbers.
Give him a sermon. Talk him out of marrying Sonoko.
He'll listen to you.
If you bring me sake, I'll do anything you ask.
I'll bring you cucumbers.
I beg you... Blessed be the name of Buddha!
Hey! No disinfectant in the well!
If someone in the army is sick,
that doesn't mean we were the cause.
As we can't be sure, we've requested a temporary closing.
But we fear one of your employees has typhus.
Out of love for my country, I slave to provide quality sevice.
If I close one day, my eight employees will starve.
I know.
It's all up to you.
It's regulation; they all must be examined.
How long will that take?
I'm a busy man.
It's not easy being Chief Health Officer.
But it's all up to you...
Tomiko, you understand?
Right. Nothing. There's no virus.
Great!
You can't trust that military doctor.
Sankichi...
how many times have you had relations with Sonoko?
Up to now, five or six times.
She says she wants to stop.
True it's expensive.
Cost me a good 10,000 yen.
How much do you earn a month at City Hall?
80 yen.
So where do you get hold of 10,000 yen?
Well...
Just between us...
I dipped in the till a little bit.
I'm an accountant.
You idiot!
A statue of Kannon that washed up on the beach.
Pray to it as if it were Sonoko.
What good sardines, nice and plump!
The sake's good, too.
The army really lives it up.
The Imperial Army has connections.
Meanwhile, people have nothing to ear or drink.
How long ago did your wife die?
Almost 5 years ago. And your husband?
It's been thirteen years already.
That military doctor, who is he?
Lieut. -Col. Ikeda, Chief Health Officer, 47 years old.
He wants me, it makes me sick.
At your age, being wanted by a younger man
must be enjoyable.
You jealous? I would'n mind!
Come on.
Isn't this cozy?
I'm all mixed up in this Sonoko and Sankichi affair.
Thanks for sending me Masuyo!
Well, I'm not very good with that kind of case.
Sure. You know plenty about the subject.
This guy used to be a real ladies' man.
As a student in Tokyo, he knocked up his housekeeper's daughter.
Then, in Europe, he corrupted the German girls.
With all that inflation?
I fell for him, too.
I'd have married him in a second.
With his mother...
By the way, how's your son, Ichiro?
He's a doctor in Manchuria, in Harbin.
Lieutenant-colonel.
Unlike his father, he's earnest. And good-Iooking, too!
Takes after his mother.
Doctor!
- It's Dad! - What's wrong?
It's the asthme. He can't breathe and he's white as a sheet.
He's suffocating. Lay him down.
Sonoko, take his feet.
How did it happen?
He was spanking me.
Why did he hit you so hard?
He said she was a whore.
Sankichi's mother says you sell yourself. That true?
Yes, it's true.
Did you promise to marry Sankichi?
No! I don't love him, and, anyway, I have a husband.
It's over.
He's dead.
OK, I'll take it from here.
Daddy!
Doctor, I have a favor to ask of you.
Yes?
Sonoko... could you put her to work?
Left on her own, she'll sell herself.
The community group's reputation is at stake.
If you would hire her...
I can't spend my time watching over her.
I can't pay her much.
If need be, I'll give her temp work.
I'll pay her by the day.
I... beg... of you.
Don't worry, die in peace.
Blessed be the name of Buddha...
He had a wonderful doctor.
Hepatitis all day long. He's Dr. Liver.
Look at Sonoko, the spit and image of her mother.
Got whoring in the blood. Like mother, like daughter.
Guess so.
Sonoko, what are you doing here?
I'm a nurse now, it's been a week.
- Come see me. - You could replace the doctor.
Impossible!
All you do is say it's a liver problem.
Mizushima bombed...
'Yesterday at 8:30 a.m. a B-29 squadron attacked Mizushima. '
'For over an hour, firebombs were dropped. '
'But out planes and anti-aircraft... '
No rice today.
Have to make do with pumpkin.
Listen.
Now that you work here,
stop selling yourself.
Of course! Hardly ever.
No, never.
After lunch, I'm going to the medical center.
Apparently, I administer too much glucose.
Tamano City Medical Center Hibi Office
Doctor, how are you?
Your father was the school principal?
You cared for him up to the end.
What'll it be?
Apparently I administer too much glucose.
What honor, what embarrassment! Welcome!
Almost all my sick patients have epidemic hepatitis.
It seems you doubt this...
No, I wouldn't say doubt.
But glucose it in short supply,
and the army wants us to keen tabs.
Then convey my answer quite precisely!
For 5 years, epidemic hepatitis has spread wildly.
If we don't deal effectively with this problem,
I worry for my patitent, for my nation,
and, very sincerely, for His Majesty, the Emperor.
ust as with smallpox, cholera, malaria and tuberculosis
hepatitis must be battled vigorously.
You're absolutely right.
Well, pass that along to the army.
One moment, please...
We'll have to account to them.
- Like little children? - Well, in a way...
How old are you?
Going on fifty.
Mentally, you're a small child, and physically...
you have hepatitis!
10 sen?
Akagi!
Toriumi!
What are you doing here?
Cut off my morphine supply. Army orders.
They tell me I use too much glucose.
A surgeon can't be short of morphine.
Sure, but personal use must be cut down.
Don't worry, I hardly use it anymore.
You know everyone calls you "Doctor Liver?"
You too? You think I waste glucose?
Course not.
My patients have hepatitis, too.
We're in a real crisis.
In Europe, it's known as a contagious disease,
but in Japan, people are unaware.
They say hepatitis proliferates in wartime,
but where's the guilty party?
Still on the loose.
Must be a filterable virus.
Think so? A minuscule pathogenic agent?
Toriumi,
for your country,
join me in the anti-hepatitis crusade.
At our age, I couldn't be as naive as you.
Ten years ago, when I was a military doctor in Manchuria,
I was truli devoted to my country.
Then there was "the Nomonhan Incident"
The modern Soviet Army decimated us.
Twenty thousand dead in 4 months.
Now it's the same thing.
To hell with Japan's future!
For me, morphine will suffice.
I'm disgusted by the army's attitude, too.
But what about white tyranny?
China, India, the Philippines, Indonesia...
all soaked dry.
And the war is to liberate them?
Of course it is.
The emancipation of Asia is one of the main goals.
Japan wound up going to war.
I'm Japanese.
I'll fight all the way.
As a small-town doctor.
The war is lost.
My only son is on the battlefield.
Even if we know we'll lose, we must keep the faith.
'Rice rations will be cut 10%'
'effective the 11th of next month. '
'Two measures per person per day will be allowed. '
'So let's try mixing it with potatoes, peas, or cereal. '
Doctor Akagi,
thank you for treating my mother.
You have an icterus, too.
It must be hepatitis.
Come see me in my office.
A Tokyo Medical School reunion. Should I go?
I miss Tokyo a bit.
Ah, the sea...
The tide is in. Just right for bass and sea bream.
You going? A real fisherman's daughter!
In his time, my father was the best fisherman around.
My late mother said so.
She said, he killed a whale by himself!
A whale?
HIBI RED LIGHT DISTRICT
See you again.
Come on, Sonoko, sing!
Mommy, I want to go home.
Your daddy is sick in bed,
I have to stay to make money.
You're 4 years old now, you can understand that.
I'm happy, you know.
Once, your father killed a whale. All by himself! I tasted it.
Was it good?
The best!
Whalemeat from the tail
is much better than sea dream or tuna.
You're going to be pretty.
Lots of men will want you.
But Sonoko, no freebie lays.
What's a freebelay?
Never give freebie lays.
Except for your one true love.
Don't forget!
What lovely bass! And sea bream!
I've got more.
That's plenty.
Sonoko, one second...
I'm short a geisha for tonight.
A volunteer at the factory. She's working tonight.
Could you fill in for her?
I've got the kimono and you can sing.
Aren't you closed? Anyway...
Don't worry. They're officers and big shots from the refinery.
Let's go. Quickly.
Good evening!
Kohacho, that woman last night, did she score?
Scored, scored, and scored again!
On your way!
Gee whizz!
Excuse me!
Gee whizz! Excuse me!
So hot!
I can't breathe!
Sonoko, please,
spend the night with the prison camp commander.
The pervert?
He's weird, but he's harmless.
Come on. He says he'll pay well.
Can't Sanae do it?
No, he wants you.
He was very specific.
We won't tell the doctor.
But...
'The enemy is now poised'
'to establish bases in the Mariannas, Iwojima and Okinawa. '
'In June, air-raids will intensify. '
'And so Kure, Kochi, Akashi, Gifu... '
Don't you like eggs anymore?
What's the matter?
You look tired.
I went fishing last night.
Toki, hand me the flag!
Hello, doctor!
You have a cold.
Better go to bed, or watch out for your liver.
I'll write you a prescription. Take care.
Where are you going, doctor?
To town. Okayama.
You're back.
'Dear Sis, we're starving. Go back to whoring. Please. '
'- Kenta. - Taeko. '
That you, Sonoko?
- Yeah, it's me. - What luck.
Here. It isn't much...
Mantis shrimp.
Thanks.
But why?
My son. He leaves tomorrow for the front.
Manabu?
- He got his orders? - Two days ago.
He's a straight arrow, and so awkward.
At 22, he's never known a woman.
So. Iook.
I hate to ask. Couldn't you teach him?
You're childhood friends.
Well, I stopped doing that.
Don't say that. I'm begging you.
I'm down on my knees.
They say virgins attract enemy bullets.
That's why, Sonoko. Please!
Please, make a man of him.
I beg of you.
They say you prescribe
bedrest and good food. Is that true?
That's right.
You know there's a war going on?
Treatment of hepatits requires rest and proper diet.
It's just common sense.
We military doctors work day and night.
Bedrest and big meals are waste!
My son is an army doctor. In Manchuria.
I know.
In any case, you better abide by limitations on glucose.
I can't say yes, but if that's an order, so be it.
But I'd like to submit a request.
What?
About typhus at the Club.
I've done blood work-ups on all the employees, several times.
No germ has been found.
Here are the test results.
Since there is no typhus,
I request the sanctions be lifted.
What is your relationship with the Club?
The owner is an old friend and a patient.
I'll think it over.
In my opinion, there is no germ.
Must be a mistake.
Two employees are sick in bed.
Right. They have hepatitis!
If we allow hepatitis to spread,
the nation will be on its knees.
When the enemy lands, we'll be wiped out.
Now...
are you going to launch an anti-hepatitis crusade?
In any case, I shall dedicate my life to it.
Stick to the subject.
The Army Health Department still has doubts.
The investigation must continue.
Take this back.
We'll keep the Club advised.
You may go now.
Next week, I'm going to Tokyo.
I shall see General Sakurai, Surgeons General of the Army.
I'll tell him about you,
what a devoted officer you are.
Enough.
Please send my regards to General Sakurai.
Bring my car around!
That Okayama over there?
I think so. Looks awful!
Manabu went to look around.
He's unstoppable.
I feel better.
Thank you, sincerely.
Manabu is finally a man.
Thanks to you, Sonoko.
More than a man. He fucks like a god!
I'm limp!
Here, it isn't much. But thank you very much.
No, we're childhood friends.
Take it anyway.
I've decided, I won't take it.
Thank you.
You mind? A good-luck charm for him.
What are you doing?
Luck in battle and long life...
HIBI CITY HALL Accounting Department
Boy it's hot.
Come with me.
Can I get clothing rations here?
Yes, one second.
Sit down.
I have some doubts about the books.
Doubts?
You know why.
We're going to be audited. You'll be caught.
Can you imagine? In wartime?
I say one word, you'll be shot.
Shot?
But I don't want to lose my little underling.
Look, don't say a word to anymore.
We'll work something out, the two of us.
Thank you, doctor.
I'll write you a prescription.
Beriberi. Nutritional deficiency especially vitamin B.
And you have hepatitis.
Follow the prescription.
If you don't eat better, you're playing with fire.
I have seven children.
With the rationing, we can't get by.
He's here!
No doubt about it. Hepatitis.
I'm giving you some glucose.
He has a little fever. Not serious.
I'll examine him later.
Sorry for my superior's rudeness the other day.
Forget it. Nowadays, we're nothing against the army.
No, I'm just fine.
Actually, I got my orders.
I see.
In view of the situation,
I'm ready to die for my country.
My father died of hepatitis.
You, doctor, battle it night and day.
I came to give you this.
Great.
A microscope.
Oblique angle.
Light it from the side,
the corpuscles sparkle.
I'd be happy if you can use it.
Thank you.
Il be able to approach the pathogenic agent of hepatitis
With a higher definition lens,
and stronger light,
you can enlarge up to 2,000 times!
2,000 times?
- Doctor, time to eat. - Later!
Sonoko, come and look.
You havem't eaten since yesteday.
Don't worry.
How beautiful!
Yes, beautiful.
It's a species of bacteria.
That microcosm is full of life.
In the eyes of God, perhaps we are that small.
Are there men and women bacteria?
Neither male nor female,
just perpetual reproductive motion.
No prostitution?
That doesn't exist in nature.
Everyone copulates freely.
Only humans value chastity.
Still, prostitution is bad,
since you were born among humans.
Better off being bacteria. More fun.
You are truly incorrigible.
So are you.
You stop eating to watch bacteria!
I want to see the hepatitis agent.
If I can do that, perhaps I can fight it.
For an ordinary microscope, it's to small.
But, with an oblique angle...
Beautiful!
...we might glimpse the enemy's shadow.
Damn! Sonoko, air-raid.
Doctor, hurry!
Up there, bombs. Down here, hepatitis.
Dangers keep menacing Japan.
I understand now.
You're not a quack.
- You're a great man. - Hardly.
I'm just a small-town doctor.
You think only of your patients,
and at night, of bacteria.
I'm going to get a lens, in Tokyo.
Will they have one?
Since the war started, it's take care of number one.
All except for you.
I learned nothing in school.
I'm too stupid, I'm no good to you!
What's wrong? Sonoko, calm down.
I've fallen in love with you!
Wait a second.
I'm serious. Make love to me!
You go overboard.
Tomorrow, you'll change your mind.
Never!
Calm down. Your husband's at the front!
I won't sell myself anymore. I won't give in,
even if they must die in the war.
My mother told me, "no freebie lays."
What?
Except for my one true love.
And now I know that's you!
You... you work it all out your way. Wait!
One day, I'll kill a whale for you.
Welcome home.
Did you get my ticket to Tokyo?
You'll have to leave from Saidaiji.
The ticket's on your desk.
You can go to bed.
There's letter and a telegram.
What is it?
The laundry.
'Mr. Akagi Ichiro died from illness'
'near Harbin, with honors. '
What does it say?
Ichiro...
They say my son is dead.
Would you leave me alone?
'Dear Father, I hope you are well. '
'In answer to your question, hepatitis is transmitted'
'through oral, blood or sexual contact. '
'We are more or less sure of these results. '
'As it is a military secret, '
'we shall discuss it the next time I get leave. '
'Harbin, June 1st, 1945.'
'Akagi Ichiro. '
'Ichiro... '
'I solemnly vow'
'to dedicate the rest of my life... '
'whatever's left of it, to wiping out hepatitis. '
Tokyo University House
Mr. Sakurai!
Oh, Akagi, it's been a long time!
Ten years. Sorry for my silence.
Still a widower?
- Really? - Yes.
By the way I got a letter from Ikeda, of the Okayama Health Dept.
He had only praise for your work.
Everyone's here. Let's go in.
You'll say a few words, I hope?
Dr. Akagi Fuu has just arrived from Okayama.
It is our great pleasure to welcome him.
I practice in the country, in the middle of nowhere.
I'm sorry to miss your meetings.
Seeing Professor Mikaway today, looking so fit,
I suddenly feel much younger.
Now,
I'd like to make a request.
Following the "Manchuria Incident," in 1931,
a few cases of jaundice were noted, with hypertrophy of the liver.
Five years later, the number of these cases rose sharply.
Most patients suffering from the flu
also had hypertrophy of the liver.
So, after 4 or 5 years of the same diagnosis over and over,
it's a liver disorder, "it's your liver,"
I became known as "Dr. Liver."
Many of my patients left me, tired of my repetitve diagnoses.
Currently, 90% of pneumonia
flu and digestive disorder cases ars accompanied
by hypertrophy of the liver.
I've compiled case histories.
I have 1,500 of them so far.
But I do not intend to keep them to myself.