Woman
Episode 7: "The Important Person Who Died For The Sake Of Living, The Truth"
"Kosuge Village"
- Mom, it's Otori-san. (lit. "little bird") - Is there an Otori-san here?
The name of the driver.
"Kojima Tsubasa" It's Kojima.
Ah, it's read as "Kojima."
This is Kosuge Village. Are you getting off?
- We're getting off. - We're getting off.
Look, this is the village where my Dad was born.
We've come to get a letter of his.
How do I become a bus driver?
Eat lots during your meals.
That's how.
Awesome! It's the mountains!
Mom, you like the countryside, don't you?
I love it.
- Come on, Nozomi. - Eh? Hold up a minute.
Wait, wait! Wait...
Say, is this where Dad was born?
This isn't a place that people could ever get used to.
- Nozomi, didn't you know? - Eh?
Your Father was a monkey.
You're lying.
Eh? That's a lie, right?
Which is it? Which is it?
Hey, Mom, you're lying! You told a lie, didn't you!
"Daibosatsutoge Mountain Pass Chobe Lodge"
Good afternoon.
Yes?
Was this man a friend of Dad's?
Is he an ape?
- Here. - Thank you very much.
- Did Dad eat these? - Yeah, he ate them.
Sir.
- Did you ever talk with my Dad? - I did.
That's awesome.
- That's awesome, right? - Right? That is awesome.
- Itadakimasu. Go ahead and eat. - Itadakimasu.
Itadakimasu.
Good afternoon.
Um, over there...
He wrote this over there.
Ah...
He almost missed the bus going back.
Though he went to all the trouble of writing it, he forgot about that when he left.
I intended to throw it away, until I read a little of it.
Ah, I'm sorry. I did read just a little of it.
And then...
It's best if you read that alone.
"Dear Koharu-chan."
"Koharu-chan, I'm sorry."
"A little while ago, I lied to you, Koharu-chan."
"When I left the house I said I was going to work..."
"...but right now I'm in Daibosatsutoge."
"Since I have no confidence in my excuse when I come home..."
"...I'll sneak this letter into your household account book instead."
"You don't need to answer it."
"The mountains I see from here are the ones I saw every day when I was a child."
"I have come back here now."
"In order to meet that person."
"Aoyagi Shizue"
"I lived in this village from my birth until I was 15."
"It was at this house that I lived alone for 3 years..."
"...from when I was 8 until I was 10."
"The postman would come once a month."
"I would receive a green-bordered envelope from him."
"I would divide up the money that was in it..."
"...and would get things for meals and buy snacks with it..."
"...and pay the electricity bills and school lunch bills."
"I would buy things in the shopping district."
"'You're great for running errands like this everyday,' I was told..."
"...but rather I was shopping for things to make my own meals with."
"In the mornings I would wake up and fold up my futon."
"When my clothes stank when I sniffed them, I would wash them."
"Three times a week I would heat up the bath and get in it."
"When my hair grew long, I'd cut it."
"Because if I let myself get dirty, my secret would have gotten out."
"My living alone was an absolute secret..."
"That was the promise between me and that person."
"Since that made me feel a little like "The King of Adventure'..."
"...I ran with it."
"That person would come back sometimes and give me a reward."
"She would hug me and say, 'You're great; you've done your best'..."
"...and then give me caramels."
"'Just a little longer; just a little more and we can live together,' she'd say..."
"...and then she'd return to Tokyo again."
"That person..."
"...lived with someone over there who was a little more important than I was."
"By the third year of my adventure..."
"...the green-bordered envelopes weren't coming any longer."
"The way forward steepened."
"I couldn't cook food anymore; the refrigerator wouldn't work..."
"...and I could no longer buy or fix my shoes when they got holes in them."
"After trying to be a little overly normal..."
"...I now came to grimace whenever the neighbors would would see me."
"I was troubled."
"'If someone finds out, I'll be put in jail.'"
"'Once I'm in jail, I won't be able to see you any longer.'"
"That's what that person had told me."
"The one who helped me at that time was the postman, Miyamae-san."
"Miyamae-san is an interesting person."
"He would proudly say, 'I can uncork beer bottles with my eyelids'..."
"...even though he couldn't drink alcohol and loved pudding."
"What's that ring on your finger, Shin-bou?"
"Ah..."
"I've gotten... married."
"You fool rascal; why didn't you call me to your wedding?"
"I'm sorry."
"Ah, my oldest is 3..."
"...and my youngest is still in my wife..."
"Ah... you..."
"What's this? Have you become a father?"
"Yes."
"That's great."
"Don't die on them."
"Yes."
"I saw that person recently..."
"...and she's still beautiful."
"Is that right."
"Even if she is a single mother, making her son put her on his life insurance..."
"Miyamae-san!"
"Pudding... eat your pudding."
"Because I ran away, too..."
"In the end... it's because I ran away from that person."
"Fool."
"It's great you're alive."
"You lived and became a father."
"I've..."
"...made a family."
"Those were my honest feelings."
"Koharu-chan, living with you is my first time at being a family."
"I wondered if I should..."
"...meet that person now?"
"I should just go home to my family and tell Koharu-chan, 'I'm home.'"
"I should pick up Nozomi and the three of us should have dinner."
"Wouldn't that just be fine?"
"Thinking that, I left the hospital and walked through town towards the station."
"Towards the home where my family was waiting."
"I wasn't necessarily searching for that person."
"I didn't necessarily want an apology..."
"...or even necessarily, some words of regret from her."
"I also wasn't seeking her out so that I could take her hands."
"I'm sorry. Um... I happen to be one of Aoyagi's relatives..."
"I just wanted to show that person."
"I wanted to show her that I had become an adult."
"I had come here because I wanted to be at my Mom's side."
"Thank you for waiting."
"This is wrong, Oba-chan. A large size."
"Ah, I'm very sorry. Large size fries..."
"Wrong. A large size cola with medium-size fries."
"I'm very sorry."
"How did she get that wrong?"
"I'm very sorry."
- "Thank you very much." - "Yes, yes."
"Welcome. Is there anything you'd like to eat from this store?"
"Would you like takeout?"
- "I'll have takeout." - "Takeout then."
- "Coffee..." - "What size would you like?"
"A small."
"A blended coffee, small size. Certainly."
"Would you like sugar and milk?"
"Here you go. A blended coffee, small size, 200 yen, please."
"Exact change."
"Thank you very much."
"Say."
"Please wait for me at home."
"Ah, I'm sorry. Thank you for waiting."
"It's dark in here."
"Ah, geez, I'm pooped."
"That coffee tastes awful, doesn't it?"
"Say, it's not something fit to drink."
"Because they keep heating it."
"Know of 'T-digital'?"
"Eh?"
"'T-digital.'"
"We'll be able to get TV here before long."
"I don't need things like vases."
"At least buy me a TV."
"Eh?"
"How much did you bring with you?"
"13,000 yen and... let's see..." ($130)
"...603 yen."
"Aren't you the fool?"
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry... about the TV..."
"I don't know what kind that is, but..."
"...when I get a TV in the future, I'll send it to you."
"You don't have any savings?"
"Hey, savings."
"I have a family."
"A daughter... and before long, one more."
"Have you put them on insurance?"
"If you have a family, you need insurance..."
"You've put them on life insurance, right?"
"Even if the contract is canceled, they'll stand a reasonable chance."
"I haven't put them on."
"Why haven't you? Your wife would have told you to put her on, right?"
"That's true, but..."
"Just because it's me, I didn't particularly mean you have to put me on it..."
"Ah, but... I'm not against doing that."
"I wasn't against it even that time when you told me to..."
- "I was drunk that time, right?" - "Yes."
"I was drunk."
"I wouldn't have said such a thing if I wasn't drunk."
"I was joking."
"If they had to raise a child alone..."
"...anyone would be like this."
"Even your wife..."
"If you weren't there and she was alone..."
"...she'd become like me."
"Ah..."
"Do you know Kawashima Naomi?" (Japanese actress, singer and radio entertainer)
"Eh?"
"The wine woman."
"Ah..."
"She's the same age I am."
"When she was appearing on TV..."
"...I..."
"...gave birth to you."
"When I was cleaning up after your leaks and crap..."
"...I was thinking, 'Why isn't that me?'"
"Yes."
"Even I had been invited into showbiz."
"If I hadn't given birth, I might have been..."
"...that wine actress."
"Yes."
"Geez, what is this?! All you do is say 'Yes.'"
"Having to wear these high-socks makes me want to vomit!"
"What is it... this time?"
"Aoyama... To live in Aoyama..."
"...in an apartment."
"Let's live there... okay?"
"I'll buy clothes from a department store."
"They won't have wrinkles..."
"I'll take those..."
"Mom..."
"Um..."
"That..."
"I'm sorry."
"Um..."
"...may I take that?"
"I'm getting it..."
"I've taken it."
"This is..."
"...hand-knitted... isn't it?"
"I always slept with this."
"I'll take this and go."
"Mommy."
"I had fun."
"I enjoyed it."
"Mommy, you may have said all sorts of things..."
"But even when I went to the facility..."
"And even when the police would say those things..."
"They would say all sorts of things about you that were bad..."
"Like, 'Having just a single parent'..."
"...and "I feel sorry for you'..."
"...and other such things."
"I wonder if they said that to Mommy, too?"
"I wondered if they said that to you."
"I was worried about that."
"Mommy... I..."
"...was fine."
"I enjoyed making my promise with you."
"I enjoyed keeping my promise with you."
"Because I loved you."
"Because what was fun for Mommy was fun for me."
"'What day will she come this month?'"
"Just thinking about that made me happy."
"Seeing Mommy's handwriting on the envelope..."
"Seeing your characters on our address made me happy."
"People who saw Mommy's envelopes would say various things to me..."
"...but for me it was hope."
"Everyone would tell me I was unhappy..."
"...but to me, it was just reality."
"I..."
"...just lived."
"Even when I cried, I was alive."
"Even when I was sad, I was alive."
"I..."
"...just lived."
"Like that... Thinking like that..."
"Like that..."
"Look... Like you and I..."
"...she's a person who gets lonely easily, too."
"That's why we live together."
"We cuddle when we feel the need..."
"We cuddle when we're sad..."
"We will teach our children..."
"...to live politely and wholeheartedly."
"Mommy..."
"Thank you."
"I'm doing well."
"I'm fine."
"While I was speaking to my Mommy..."
"...truth is, I was was thinking about something different."
"I wonder why that was?"
"It was that I wanted Koharu-chan and her mother to reconcile."
"I wanted Koharu-chan and her mother..."
"...and us to share a meal together."
"And so from here I think..."
"...I will now go and meet Koharu-chan's mother."
"I will meet and talk to her."
"I will tell her that Koharu-chan is a mother now and is raising a daughter."
"I will tell her the Inarizushi you make has her mother's favor to it." (Inarizushi - Sushi in fried tofu)
"I want to see the place where Koharu-chan and her mother..."
"...and us are all eating dinner together."
"I'm sure it will go well."
"It has a 'It'll all go well,' kind of feel to it..."
"Oi!"
"You forgot this."
"Ah... thank you."
"That's the last one."
"I couldn't help having that premonition."
They don't make a sound... Right?
Say.
Do you want to read the letter Dad wrote?
Can I?
Sure. It's the story of your Father, after all.
- Does it have lots of kanji? - Huh?
If there are any you can't read, I'll read them.
- This is Dad's handwriting. - Eh?
That's your Dad's handwriting.
"Koharu-chan, I'm sorry."
Dad is apologizing.
Yes?
Ah, you arrived. How's it going?
Ah, really? That's great, that's great.
Eh? Sacchan? Yeah.
Huh? Yeah.
Let me go ask her. Eh? It's okay, it's okay.
- Sacchan, it's from Koharu-chan. - What is it?
Here... It's from Koharu-chan.
She's asking if you remember anything...
...about the time when Shin-kun came to our house and ate dinner with us.
Hello?
Ah...
I'm sorry for the sudden call.
I don't remember much anymore.
Is that right...
Sorry for asking when you're so busy.
It wasn't that big a deal.
For dinner...
We had beans and rice along with a miso soup of Asari. (Asari - short-necked clams)
They had beans and rice along with an Asari miso soup.
I hard-boiled a flounder.
They hard-boiled a flounder.
We had a hand-tossed salad of cucumbers and chicken breast with vinegar...
A cucumber and chicken breast salad with vinegar...
Boiled eggplant and lotus root.
And then...
After dinner, I peeled some pears.
"What kanji character do you use for the 'Shin' in 'Shin-kun'?"
"The 'shin' from 'believe' (shin)."
"You're 'Believe-kun,' huh?" (He's using the English word here)
"That's right."
"Ah, I'm certain there's a song named 'BELIEVE'..."
"...that children sing at graduation ceremonies."
"When I imagine my oldest child singing it now, I start to cry."
"Before then, won't you cry when your youngest is born? Eh?"
"When is it?"
"Her expected due date is next month in August."
"I see. You're looking forward to that. Looking forward to that, right?"
"If you asked which of one of us, I'm the nervous one."
"Ehh... Koharu-chan's calm, huh?"
"She's strong. She was impressive when it was the older child's time."
"When she was born, I was late due to work..."
"...but she just called a taxi herself and went to the hospital."
"That's strong!"
"Then, Koharu-chan right now..."
"...is like that wrestling player Yoshida Saori, huh?"
- "Eh?" - "Eh?"
"Well, when you look at her, she's thinner."
- "Is she eating meals?" - "She's eating them."
"She has a strong body with a constitution where she doesn't get fat."
"She's always proud of that."
"'Good health is my merit,' she says."
"She doesn't catch colds, either."
"I see..."
"I wonder what kind of adult Koharu-chan has become?"
"Right?"
"Aren't you eating too much? Your mouth is full."
"When the second one is born..."
"...I'll bring Koharu-chan and the children over."
"Will you meet them?"
"She's only being stubborn."
"Truth is, she wants to meet her mother."
"She wants to show you our children."
"Please."
Hello?
That was it.
Thank you very much.
I'm hanging up. Yes.
"'Premonition.'"
"'I couldn't help...'"
"'Having.'"
"'...having that premonition.'"
"The End?"
"Yeah."
- "Mom." - "What?"
"It's a little difficult for me..."
- "...and I might be wrong." - "Yeah."
"I think Dad..."
"...was happy."
"Yeah."
"I think he was, too."
- "I'm right?" - "Yeah."
"Why, I wonder?"
"Here's what I think."
"Yeah."
"There aren't such things as happiness or unhappiness."
"It's only in our hearts that we feel 'happy.'"
- "Our hearts?" - "Yeah."
"What your Father was feeling..."
"...was 'happiness" in his heart."
"And I think that's a veeeery strong thing..."
"..and a veeeery wonderful thing."
"Nozomi was born, right?"
"And Riku was born, right?"
"Your Father didn't need any more than that."
"I think he was happy just being with his family."
"That was what your Father gave us."
"It was what he had prayed for."
"Even now, me and Nozomi and Riku..."
"We're inside the happiness..."
"...your Father gave to us."
"I understand."
"You understand?"
- "I don't understand." - "You don't understand?"
- "I guess I understand." - "You do understand..."
Oh!
Beans and rice!
Because I have the late shift...
...when Shiori wakes up, take this to her room.
Yes!
Like this, you and Koharu-chan...
...seem to be getting along better.
That's incorrect.
I'm not incorrect. You two are alike.
You're just annoyed with the other simply because you see yourself in them.
This is a parent-child quarrel, isn't it?
Look. This was made by Sacchan for you.
Ah...
Then I'll prepare dinner.
And this was Sacchan, too...
- This too? - Yeah... Right?
Yes.
"When I was speaking to my Mommy..."
"...truth is, I was was thinking about something different."
"I wonder why that was?"
"It was that I wanted Koharu-chan and her mother..."
How do you read this kanji?
Kanji?
It's my Dad's letter.
Let me see.
Where were you reading?
- Here. - "Reconcile."
"It was that I wanted..."
"...Koharu-chan and her mother to reconcile..."
Dad called his Mother "Mommy," didn't he?
Right? I didn't know that.
I wonder if I should call Mom "Mommy," too.
- Sure. - No way! It's embarrassing!
- Try calling her that. - No way! No way!
- Try calling me that. - No way! No way!
Mommy!
Why are you calling her that, Sloth-san?
Because you wouldn't say it.
Say it, say it.
Mommy.
- Why are you calling Sloth-san that? - That's not me.
Mommy.
(This is the song "BELIEVE" Shin-san spoke of earlier)
- I'm sorry. - The children finally went to sleep.
Dad went out to drink.
Ah, yes.
Will Uesugi-san be late coming back, too?
"Uesugi-san"?
Huh? Ah, Mom.
You should use "Mom," shouldn't you?
Not much longer now?
Did you have some business with her?
No. Um...
We had the food she made.
I think being a bit more natural would be fine, though.
You're going to be here a long time, right?
I don't think we should.
Please do.
Mom's just being stubborn, but in truth, she's happy.
She says, "It's my own fault."
Eh?
"Because I gave those pears to her husband..." she says.
Where are the new garbage bags...
Thank you.
She doesn't have to think that way.
That it was, "the fault of the pears."
Then, what should she think?
She doesn't have to think "it was the fault of something"...
...or that "it was someone's fault."
Eh? Then...
Why he died was...
I think about that sometimes.
But that's...
I wonder if I want to say...
...it's something without a cause...
...or it's not something for regrets...
The letter...
Eh?
In the letter...
You read it?
Nozomi-chan asked me about a kanji character.
Ah! I'm sorry!
Ow!
- Did you step on it? - Ah, I'm fine.
Ah, wait... Before you get hurt...
- Please sit down. - Please don't come near here.
After that, over here. Please come sit down.
- No, I'm fine. - No, really.
Over here...
Please be a little careful.
Thank you.
Here.
Thank you.
I want to get along with you, Onee-chan.
Yes.
I cried when I read the letter.
Just thinking about it makes me cry.
How Onee-chan's husband is dead...
...and that you still feel strongly about him and haven't gotten over him.
I think Nozomi-chan and Riku-kun are great...
...for doing their best without a father.
Normally when a family member dies...
It's because Shin-san isn't dead.
He's alive.
He'll only live.
Welcome.
I also have regrets...
And pain...
- And four of these... - Yes. Four of them.
And two of the animal ones.
I think I should...
...tell you as properly as I can...
...about that day.
Which of the animals would you like?
- The frog and the lion... - The frog and the lion...
I was the one who called Aoyagi Shin-san a molester on that train.
It was because of my lie that it turned out the way it did.
Aoyagi Shin-san was a kind man.
He was worried about me...
He was kind to me...
That's why I know what he meant in his letter...
...about being happy.
I'm sorry.
Ah...
I'm sorry, I'm sorry...
Ah... I'm sorry...
This is the way Mom brought me up!
I'm sorry...
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...
Why? Why?
- I'm sorry... - Why?!
Mom?
I'm sorry...
Mom, what's the matter?
I'm sorry...
Nozomi, you mustn't! You mustn't come in here!
There's broken glass, so you mustn't!
Don't come in here barefoot!