NOVEMBER 1894 HIROSHIMA MILITARY HOSPITAL
You'll be fine.
Please be strong.
Take him to the back.
Treat his abdomen.
In November 1894...
Yae was posted at the Hiroshima Military Hospital.
She was commanding the nurses there.
You are in good hands.
You're at the hospital. You'll be just fine.
We'll start treatment.
Within 3 months of the Sino-Japanese War...
Commander Ooyama of the Second Army
captured Jinzhou Castle on the Liadong Peninsula,
and advanced his army toward Port Arthur.
Let's capture the Orient's best fortress at once.
Yes, sir!
Everyone, it's time to eat.
I'm sorry that Yae will be away for a long time.
If anything, I'm worried about Yae.
She'll be surrounded by military men...
and she has to manage the nurses there.
I also heard there's a bad illness spreading.
You can be cautious with the illness...
but if you're unlucky, there's nothing you can do.
Yae will do what she sets out to do.
She'll be home after fulfilling her duties.
Eat and gain strength.
YAE NO SAKURA
Last Episode: Cherry Blossom Will Always Bloom
Screenplay: Yamamoto Mutsumi
Theme Music: Sakamoto Ryuichi Music: Nakajima Nobuyuki
Narrator: Kusabue Mitsuko
Ms. Yae, please come.
What's wrong?
I can't handle him.
Stay away! Stay away!
Please stop!
Go away!
Don't touch me!
Are you all right?
Stay away!
I don't know what he's saying.
He refuses treatment.
It's infected. You need treatment right away.
or you'll lose your leg.
Bring disinfectants.
Don't touch me!
Hurry!
Yes!
Calm down. I'll save you.
Don't worry.
Friends and enemies alike are treated at Red Cross.
In the Geneva Conventions,
we promised to treat the injured Chinese.
How strange. He seems to understand Yae.
Please treat him.
Coming through.
We'll help.
Please don't interfere. Hospitals are like battlefields.
They're not for women.
It hurts! It really hurts!
Is he a Chinese soldier?
They're not a member of the Red Cross!
Mercifully save anyone inured, even one's foe.
That is Commander Ooyama's order. Did you forget?
Please follow me.
Let's transfer him.
Don't interfere!
Leave him to us!
Gender makes no difference in nursing.
1, 2 and 3!
During the Boshin War, the women did the nursing.
Boshin War?
I was in Aizu castle.
Let's get to work.
Check his whole body.
INFECTIOUS DISEASE ROOM
I'll fix your bed.
What if you get infected?
Don't worry about me.
I'll wipe your body.
Not only allies
but even foes who speak another language
we nurse them all alike.
for the color of our hearts is the Red Cross
Thank you for working hard today.
Same to all of you.
Ms. Yae, thank you very much.
I admired the way you treated the wounded soldiers.
Even the medics have prejudice toward the nurses.
It's disappointing they think we're meddlesome.
Some accuse us of disrupting the atmosphere.
It's frustrating.
We're staking our lives here.
There's always opposition to anything new.
Let's show them we're serious.
We'll pave the path.
Let's work with pride.
Yes.
On November 21...
A full scale attack was launched against Port Arthur.
Order the first army to seize Port Arthur.
The enemy's army of 6,000 is approaching Jinzhou Castle!
Send Nogi's troops there!
On this day, Japan's fierce attack crumbled the Qin (Chinese) army.
The impregnable Jinzhou Castle fell in one day.
Ms. Yae!
Mr. Tokutomi!
It was a great victory for us.
Japan is strong after all.
When did you arrive?
I've set up a temporary office by the Imperial headquarters.
Excuse me.
Let's get started.
Yes.
What are you doing?
Obtaining information on the battlefield.
Get information on the battle at Jinzhou Castle.
I want a picture.
Will do.
There are soldiers dying daily.
Please refrain.
I know.
Don't only cover the brave fighting...
but the fact that many are dying from illnesses.
It's important we keep the morale up.
With the momentum from Port Arthur, we must seize Beijing.
That's what the readers are waiting to hear.
There are other things you must relay to them.
The nurses are at risk of being infected.
I know that!
I'll write about how dedicated the nurses are.
This isn't merely a military war now.
It's the national war.
Are you all right?
Please stop it.
Mr. Tokutomi...
The Imperial headquarters are advancing troops toward Beijing.
The soldiers are suffering...
in this cold and snow.
We're short on food and cold weather gear.
Port Arthur fell too easily.
In February 1895, Japan secured their victory.
Then in March, Ito Hirobumi from Japan,
and Li Hongzhang from Qin, met to discuss peace.
We should stand firm for the peace talks.
Japan now has hegemony in the Orient.
You first came to me with Mr. Niijima's referral.
Is his pupil pushing for a hard-line diplomacy?
That is what the people want.
Listen.
When the Shogunate lost their strength,...
and we recreated Japan,...
there was much unnecessary bloodshed.
Qin China's defeat...
will change the list of great powers in the world.
There will be big wars involving nations.
There will be bloodshed unlike any in the past.
Mr. Itagaki, you're too old-fashioned.
Hey you!
You're still young.
Yes.
Mr. Tsai...
Thank you.
I pray for your safe return.
Our duties end today.
I appreciate your devotion these past 6 months.
Let's pray.
Yes.
For the soldiers who died.
For the nurses who gave their lives to their duties.
Yes.
In the Sino-Japanese War,
668 nurses were dispatched by the Red Cross.
That was their first service as military nurses.
I have come back.
Jo, you wanted to save those who were injured in battle.
That is why you returned to Japan.
Without hating the enemy...
helping the people who are suffering and sad...
That is the kind of world you aimed for.
Am I contributing even a little to it?
The world is changing.
There is nothing I can do.
Someone has to sow the seeds.
The first grain must fall to the ground.
The seeds were just sown.
I can't stop now.
We were tricked. MAY 13, 1895
Liaodong Peninsula is being returned. MAY 13, 1895
What?
As a result of the peace talks,
Japan had acquired Liadong Peninsula.
However, Russia, Germany, and France
used their strength to pressure Japan to return it.
Prime Minster Ito finally submitted.
Russia is behind it! Unforgivable!
No!
The Japanese weaklings submitted to those powers!
That's right!
It's between Japan and Qin China!
Our efforts were for naught!
What about the other newspapers?
They're all furious.
It's meaningless if you can't push justice through!
Let's appeal for an increase in military power.
That's the mission of the newspapers.
Yes!
Let's run it on the editorial column.
Yes, let's do it!
The insult and anger they felt then...
would steer them into another war.
Do a good job.
Sis, stop bothering me.
He's just going with the flow.
I won't be influenced.
I'll write about true human nature in my novels.
LITTLE CUCKOO
SUMMER 1896
Mother.
Oh Yae.
Have some.
Thank you.
Look.
I'll thread it for you.
My eyes have become really bad lately.
Don't overdo it.
That's true. I'm too old.
I'm 85 already.
Here.
Your father must be tired of waiting for me.
Father is telling you not to come for a while.
He feels sorry for me if I end up alone.
I guess there's no hurry.
Yes, take your time.
Do you have tea class today?
There's a lot to learn,
but it's very interesting.
Look here.
You've taken a lot of notes.
From the time you wanted to learn about rifle...
you haven't changed.
I'm a samurai daughter.
When I started something, I have to perfect it.
How valiant!
Tea ceremony used to be for men in the past.
You like to be the spearhead (for change).
It's fun to learn new things.
Oh no, I'll be late.
Just stay here.
I'm fine.
I'll be going.
Go on.
Rifles aren't for girls.
Is there a reason why you insist on it?
Yae always initiates things.
Saku passed away quietly in 1896.
Tomi and Hisae also died of illness as if to follow Saku.
It's raining hard!
Hey!
Use these.
Are you sure?
You don't want to get wet and catch a cold.
Thank you very much. We'll return them later.
Ladies with wisdom and dignity...
have more power than men to change the world.
Study hard.
We will.
Thank you again.
Who is she?
I don't know.
Isn't this Mr. Niijima's house?
Is it?
Was that Ms. Yae?
It must be.
Shall we go?
I believe women with wisdom and dignity
have more power than men to change the world.
Jo...
Thank you for the lesson.
NIIJIMA'S TEA ROOM
You've practiced hard.
I still have a lot to learn.
Does Ms. Niijima Yae live here?
Yes!
We will go.
Ms. Yae, you've recruited many female pupils.
I'm very grateful.
With a cup of tea before you...
you can confront anyone.
You can be open, mutually respectful...
and pure.
Not wavering to anything.
Harmony, respect, purity and tranquility...
The four important elements of tea ceremony.
Ms. Yae, an official from Kyoto is here.
Official?
Are you Niijima Yae?
Yes.
I have a notice from the Decoration Bureau.
Niijima Yae is awarded the 7th Class Gold medal.
A medal for me?
A woman receiving a medal?
That's amazing.
The medal was to recognize her devotion to nursing in Hiroshima.
Ready?
It was the first medal to a non-royalty woman.
TOKYO POLICE FENCING HALL
Who is that?
Fujita Goro. He comes sometimes to train us.
Ready!
I give up!
He's strong.
Yes.
What style is that?
That's Saito Haijime.
Saito?
Next!
Haven't you heard of him? He was in the Shinsengumi.
Shinsengumi...?
Please teach me!
Ms. Yae received a medal.
Look.
Niijima Yae's name is listed in the 7th Class.
It's for her hard work as a military nurse.
She must have gone gung-ho leading the young nurses.
The first civilian to get a medal is an Aizu woman.
It makes us proud.
I'm glad.
I am so excited!
I'd like to swing the naginata (halberd)!
Let's use that as a naginata (halberd)!
Tokio...
Ready!
Don't!
Congratulations, Ms. Yae.
Hey!
Is it about time that we publicized it?
The letter from His Majesty.
Yes.
Kenjiro.
I'll leave the rest to you.
All right.
There will come a day when Aizu will regain honor...
...for sure.
Hiroshi died the following year.
As councilor, he held the fate of the Aizu...
and supported the clansmen.
His life came to a quiet end.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last Shogun, had his rights restored.
He had an audience with Emperor Meiji.
Say Katsu...
Yes.
If Edo had turned into ashes from battles...
What would have become of our country?
Some call the surrender of Edo Castle...
a bloodless one.
However, it wasn't a bloodless restoration.
The Ueno guards and the Oshu Clans including the Aizu...
were sacrificed in the process.
I still remember...
when Lord Katamori accepted the post of Kyoto Deputy.
I'm amazed he accepted it.
It's like drawing misfortune.
The Aizu clan is prepared to die in Kyoto.
I pray their Aizu honor won't hurt them.
Yet I abandoned the Aizu.
I was afraid of...
...the Aizu's straightforward honesty.
In fact...
I may have been envious of them.
A bond of faith between lord and vassals...
is something I never had.
The Aizu had a letter from the Emperor?
It'll be troublesome if it gets publicized.
They are people who want a book published.
The author is Professor Yamakawa Kenjiro of Teito University.
You want me to give up publishing the book?
Please.
Lord Yoshinobu had an audience with His Majesty,
and regain his honor.
Our lord's honor must be restored as well.
Now is not the right time.
Because Satsuma-Choshu will have had no just cause?
We had no just cause?
Kichinosuke and Okubo...
had no intention of ignoring the Court.
They did it for national peace.
This is pointless.
Excuse me.
If you insist on publishing it...
I'll have to stop you somehow.
Kenjiro!
Iwao!
I'm an Aizu woman.
I want Aizu to regain honor as soon as possible.
But why did the lord hide it all this time?
Because...
he was afraid it would trigger another conflict.
Wouldn't it sadden the lord that you're both arguing now?
Mr. Ooyama.
I represent the many people...
...who died.
Please wait on it.
I want to think about where our paths split.
I can't seal it forever.
All right.
The Yamakawa brothers' records of the judgment
on the Kyoto Deputy was published.
However, it took another 10 years for Aizu to regain their honor.
I can still do it.
What are you doing there?
Sir Tanomo?
It's you after all Yae!
It's been a long time!
Do you still planning to climb?
I'm sorry it's cramp.
You came back to Aizu.
My only job is to take care of the cherry trees now.
That's a long beard.
Why did you return to Aizu?
Did you come to talk to the Sakura (cherry blossoms)?
Another war is looming (1905).
It'll be against Russia this time.
"They shall beat their spears into plowshares...
"Nation shall not lift up sword against nation..."
Will that day ever come?
I wanted to think about that in Aizu.
Yae.
I lived until now to see what kind of nation...
the new government will build.
But after the Boshin War...
what is imprinted in my mind...
is the sight of people who desperately
survived all hardships.
Their innocent laughter.
They are the only things...
that tug at my heart.
Yae...
You too.
You recovered completely from that war.
You even received a medal.
You are an honorable Aizu woman.
I am so happy.
Thank you very much.
Sakura (cherry blossoms) don't resent the winds that scatter them.
They just bloom with all their might.
Yae.
You are a sakura (cherry blossom).
What?
The flowers may scatter, but with time...
they will bloom again.
Blooming...
blooming many times over.
Yes, I will.
Sakura (Cherry blossoms).
I'll be going now.
I have to rush back to Tokyo.
It's a critical time now.
Have another cup.
Your Kokumin Newspaper...
has become a government bulletin.
Because we are fanning for military buildup?
Yes.
It's for the country.
I love my country.
Jo was a patriot, too.
He loved the people...
who lived in his country.
When you first came to Doshisha...
you said you wanted to report the truth as seen by you.
That is why I founded my own newspaper and magazine.
Public opinions matter now.
What are you going to use that power for?
What?
That great power that sways people.
You must use...
that power to cleave the future.
I went wild in the past.
Aizu was swallowed by a great power.
I fought with a gun...
...until I shot the last bullet.
It was to kill as many enemies as possible.
But...
if...
I were to shoot my last bullet now...
I still...won't give up.
NIIJIMA YAE: AYASE HARUKA
Niijima Jo: Odagiri Joe
Yamamoto Saku: Fubuki Jun
Yamakawa Hiroshi: Tamayama Tetsuji
Yamakawa Futaba: Ichikawa Mikako
Yamakawa Kenjiro: Katsuji Ryo
Fujita Tokio: Kanjiya Shihori
Fujita Goro: Furuya Kenji
Tokugawa Yoshinobu: Koizumi Kotaro
Ooyama Iwao: Sorimachi Takashi
Katsu Kaishu: Namase Katsuhisa
Itagaki Taisuke: Kato Masaya
Matsudaira Shungaku: Murakami Hiroaki
Saigo Tanomo: Nishida Toshiyuki
Executive Producer: Naito Shinsuke
Translation by MTI
Director: Kato Taku
THE END