Akane...
I'm so happy you've come...
You've kept your word...
You've come to see me...
... even in death.
At last...
... the snow is so beautiful!
The snow, Akane...
... is falling for you.
It becomes you...
... like a dream!
The snow crystals...
... match...
... your heavenly body.
"Time goes by quickly."
"It's been almost five years."
"I found out you were well,
and that you are still working...
... in the same library."
" My father, Yamato Kyogoro, has died a few days ago,
after being treated at home for one year. "
"He has left us, now."
"Before dying, he promised you the final sting."
"I read about this in his will."
"You went such a long way."
"It'd be a pity...
... not fulfilling his wish."
"I can help making his promise real."
"Please, be kind and come to Kyoto. "
"Yamato Katsuko."
I'm going to meet with Mr. Ito at the library.
I'll be waiting for you in front of the temple by 16:00.
You should pray for me also.
We'll get married in three months.
It has taken us so many years...
Hasn't it?
Kyoto.
After five years, I'm back in Kyoto.
THE SPIRIT OF TATTOO
My name is Akane.
It's an honour meeting you.
Wait a moment, please.
I've got a very urgent...
...commission.
I'll be through with it in a moment.
Welcome!
My daughter, Katsuko.
Yamato Kyogoro is a tattoo expert.
He usually draws kimono.
He leaves in Kyoto.
- Kyoto? - Yes.
If it's okay with you,
I'm thinking about going to Kyoto tomorrow.
It has hard making her talk,
but she ended up by telling me his name.
And still...
...she knows she'll lose me.
Because she knows...
...the value of your skin.
She knows how sweet and beautiful this skin is.
Akane, I love you.
But I can't leave her,
I love her tattoo too much.
Akane, I love you!
It's true!
But I can't leave her!
That's how I am. I have to be sincere with you.
I want you to know...
- What I am. - No!
No, stop!
Please, don't talk about her anymore!
Akane...
May I?
What is it?
The gentleman from the library has delivered this.
He did, did he?
- Put them on the shelf, then. - Yes.
- Harutsune. - Yes.
Call Mr. Arai,
and tell him the kimono is ready.
- He can come take it tonight. - Yes.
I'm sorry to have made you wait.
My name is Akane. I'm honoured to meet you.
I am Yamoto.
You have come from Tokyo. It's a long way.
I'm not sure to be able to help you.
I hope you will.
Mr. Fujieda has given me a rough idea of what it is that you want.
He's an authoritarian man.
I am sorry.
There's no need to.
Oh, I understand...
You want me to tattoo your back.
Yes.
I understand.
It really is you...
...Mr. Fijieda has talked to me about.
Of course.
Come in.
I went to Kyoto yesterday.
- You know I've got work to do... - I want to tell you this,
before you don' change your mind.
He'll decide after having met you.
He wanted to know where on earth we had got his name from.
- And what did you say? - Nothing.
I had given my word to Haruna.
You should have told him...
...that you loved a certain tattoo...
...on the back of one Haruna.
No, I shouldn't have!
He'd have refused, had I told him.
He's a very difficult man.
How did you convince him to see me?
I let him understand...
...that I had had a rough time finding him.
Please, go to Kyoto.
Be careful with the brands of your clothes.
Better wear a kimono.
- I want to kill you! - I'm sorry.
It's a long time I've stopped making tattoos, for a very specific reason.
You went through all the trouble of coming to see me in Tokyo.
And you both look like decent people.
And still, you want a tattoo.
Everyone lives in his own way.
You must surely have a very good reason...
...for getting a tattoo.
- I... - Don't you worry.
I had no intention of prying.
Still...
...injecting ink under one's skin...
...never made a human being happy.
I'm thinking that,
as a woman,
you've got more to lose, than to win.
Are you ready to accept that?
Yes.
A tattoo i snot something...
...one shows to other people.
Once it's made... you'll have it for the rest of your life.
You won't be able to erase it, or burn it.
One can only get rid of it... with one's last breath.
I ignore the reason you want this tattoo for.
But, are you really ready?
Fujieda...
...why are you having this affair with me?
Don't call me like that in here.
Call me "deari".
Why...
...are you having this affair with me, dear?
Because... I love this skin.
No other woman has a skin so beautiful.
- Is it true? - Yes, it's true.
I'll never leave you.
I'll do anything for you.
Thank you.
Akane...
Getting tattooed hurts.
It's going to hurt you.
I do it my own way.
It's quite a particular way.
It could...
...ruin your whole life.
I'll ask you once more.
Are you ready?
I am ready.
I don't want to be defeated.
The situation I am in...
...it's me who has chosen it.
I won't be defeated.
Mr. Fujieda...
...only likes tattooed women.
Your name is Akane, isn't it?
Mr. Fujieda...
...works in the library during daytime.
Nightime come, he searches among millions of women...
...for the one with a perfect skin.
So, it's you he has found.
That's right.
Haruna, you can understand this.
Even searching a lot, one couldn't find such a beautiful skin.
It's been twenty years since I've had a tattoo on my back.
I'm tattooed and...
...I got shivers only seeing her neck.
It's annoying, but that's the way it is.
- I've got nothing special. - You shouldn't say that!
- You don't know the value of your skin. - Akane...
I'll prove you just how much Fujieda loves my tattoo,
when he'll fuck me...
...me, who am ten years older.
You'll see then that my skin is as beautiful as yours.
I don't want to...
I don't want to be defeated.
Please, get undressed.
Yes.
I'll get everything ready. Just one moment, please.
I don't want...
...to be defeated.
- Aren't you cold, dad? - No.
Shall I put this here?
Shall I bring another one?
No, it's going to warm up soon.
- Dad? - Yes.
Are you going to tattoo her?
She's so beautiful.
- Why does she want to... - Katsuko!
Don't say another thing.
Nobody can know... what's in her mind.
Forgive me.
Tell Harutsune I want to see him. And then...
- give the lady another cup of tea. - Yes.
Twenty years!
Did you want to see me?
- Harutsune. - Yes?
This woman...
...is called Akane.
She comes from Tokyo.
I'm considering...
...tattooing her...
...my way.
You've got no choice.
You can only become a tattooist.
Help me.
D'you understand? D'you understand what I'm telling you?
Yes. I understand.
She'll be coming from Tokyo every week.
It'll take a year, maybe two.
D'you agree?
Yes.
What a sinner I am!
Once again, I've got a needle in my hand.
- Akane, listen to me! - No!
Haruna knows she'll lose me when you'll be tattooed,
but she helped me find the expert all the same.
Because she's a real tattoo lover... and she loves the beauty of your skin.
No! She only wants to drag me along her way.
She wants me to sink in the same abyss she fell in,
so that I won't be able to have a normal life.
She wants to ruin my life!
Wait!
D'you really think that living with me means ruining your life?
Answer me!
Please.
- One day, you'll leave me. - That's not true.
You are leaving Haruna now.
When my skin will get old... you'll find yourself another woman.
Akane!
That day will come soon.
A young woman...
...gets old very quickly.
I'm not looking for everlasting beauty.
I love tattoo because it is...
...as frail as human life is.
It's a work of art no one can reproduce.
A tattoo's beauty...
...can't exist without human life.
You see,
had I not met you,
I'd have spent my whole life with Haruna.
It wouldn't have happened because I loved her,
but, rather, because I wouldn't have had any choice.
I want to see her tattoo... on your body.
Help me!
Like snow.
So beautiful.
It's a snow-like skin.
He's the best tattooist in Japan.
When he'll see your skin...
... he'll appreciate it's value.
Akane...
...snow would go perfectly...
...with your skin.
How beautiful you are!
Look.
It's a copy of Kuniyoshi's picture of Madame Tachibana.
D'you want this tattoo?
Yes, please.
Akane...
I want to be sure once again.
The way I tattoo can't be put into words.
Whatever happens, I must ask you to endure.
This will be my last tattoo. Please, accept.
I feel sorry for Haruna.
- Since she's had... - Don't you feel sorry for me?
I'm going to have my back tattooed.
Stupid!
You've got nothing to be afraid of. I'm here.
Even if you refuse... I'll never leave you.
It's my favourite Kyoto borough.
Wait...
You don't have to answer me, but...
I'd like to know: What kind of woman is Haruna?
All I know,
is that she has almost 50 years and she has a grown-up son.
- She has a son? - Yes.
But he has left home quite a while ago.
He might not be living in Tokyo anymore.
She doesn't like talking about her past.
But...
How did you meet her?
It was...
in club for people with rather peculiar tastes.
She used to run it... back then.
Akane...
Today,
your skin will bear with the needle for the first time.
Everything will go on just fine.
When it'll be over, come at "Osaka" inn.
We'll have dinner, and then we'll go back to Tokyo together.
I'll be waiting for you.
This is my apprentice, Harutsune.
This also comes from a painting... by Kuniyoshi.
It's one of the 108 heroes in the Chinese legend of "Suiko Den".
The tattoo on his back...
portrays another hero of this legend.
So, Akane... are you ready?
Harutsune.
Stop it! What're you doing?
Stop it, please!
What're you doing?
This is the way I do it.
It's not possible! Are you mad?
When it hurts you,
cling to him.
A tattoo is something alive.
Harutsune.
It hurts!
Akane... Is it really her?
Akane, how was it?
Did it go well? What did he say about your skin?
I've rent a room there.
Let's go, I want to see!
Now that your skin has gone through the first stings,
I want to see it with my own eyes.
Akane...
What's the matter with you? Akane...
What happened to you?
Come back! You're going to catch a cold.
I'm hot.
My whole body's on fire.
Everything is your fault!
Akane.
This is the needle that will give the sting of death.
Akane.
Please, look.
I used to play here when I was a child.
It's a very sad... place.
I was born in the village, at the foot of the temple.
I came to Kyoto when I was 14.
I started as a dyer's apprentice.
I then became a kimono designer.
I can recall very clearly, when I was 18,
my superior told me...
... that, without having known a woman, I wasn't a real man.
So, he took me to a brothel.
I'll never forget that girl.
Her name was Tamae. She was very young and beautiful.
It was the beauty of her skin...
... that captivated me, as much as her tattoo.
Her skin was like snow.
Like snow, she ignored impurity.
I used to go see her, whenever I had the means.
Then, one day, suddenly, she disappeared.
I was desperate.
I was looking everywhere for that snow-colored skin, that tattoo.
But...
... nowhere was I able to find a girl like Tamae.
That's when I decided to become a tattooist.
I went to see an expert called Shimizu Atsutaro.
Back then, he was at the peek of his art...
His tattoos, wonderfully shining,
were know all over Japan.
There's no one who can teach you how to tattoo.
Everyone must struggle to find his own path.
The most beautiful of tattoos is the one that embellishes a life.
You can try to learn by watching me.
A woman's skin...
... is at its most beautiful...
... when she's in the arms of a man.
I had this idea when watching the back of my wife, Haruna.
If I tattooed her in those moments,
what a marvellous tattoo I'd create!
She refused...
I did it all the same.
I forcefully tattooed her, while I was fucking her.
At the beginning, she hated me.
But, soon after, she asked to be tattooed.
A woman's body is something mysterious.
Before, she had never been so beautiful.
I never knew what she was thinking.
I finished that wonderful tattoo, a thing that filled me with happiness.
But, the next day, she left me.
I lost my wife.
One must never hesitate.
That is my way.
Dad, dinner's ready.
Kyoto isn't what it used to be anymore.
And I? Have I changed?
Let's see...
Me, I think I have...
...since I've begun getting tattooed.
Kyoto is a strange city.
One can't imagine...
...everything that goes on...
...under its so low roof roofs, and in its so narrow streets.
I'll be through with business here today.
Tomorrow I'll come see you getting tattooed.
Absolutely not!
I'm going at the tattooist today.
But I've rearranged my schedule...
Your professional life brought you to Kyoto.
Don't confuse it with your private life.
You're right.
Well, then...
...we'll meet at "Osaka" inn.
Akane...
You have really changed.
Harutsune.
Harutsune!
"Snow Crystals, 2nd volume"
What's this?
Akane...
Stop it...
Stop it!
You become more my wife with every day that goes by.
What is it?
Aren't you feeling well?
I'm sorry.
This evening... the tattoo is burning me.
It's hot.
Harutsune...
I've left Haruna.
You did?
Next year I'll be the manager of the library.
You will?
Doesn't this please you?
Yes, it does.
It's ready.
Thank you for having been so patient!
My tired hands have nothing more to do.
Then... everything's over?
It's so beautiful!
- Harutsune. - Yes.
- Akane... - Yes.
I couldn't have made this tattoo all alone.
I needed this boy's help.
I know.
Thank you.
Now, there's a favour I want to ask you.
Yes.
D'you allow him to make you a secret tattoo?
- A secret tattoo? - Yes.
No one will see it. It'll be very small.
Do you allow him?
Please, do.
With pleasure, Harutsune.
Thank you.
Where would you want it?
It's impossible.
Why?
The back is the most painful place to tattoo.
But the armpit is even worse.
It's impossible.
I don't care.
I want it here.
Very well.
He'll do it.
Harutsune.
I'm very honoured.
Are you all right?
It's over.
Thank you.
Please, look.
What is it?
A snow crystal... It's called "a snow flower".
It burns.
I'm happy.
Thank you.
A snow crystal...
Snow flower.
Akane...
Maybe... we won't ever meet again.
- But... - No.
Tattooists only see their clients when they tattoo them.
Then... could I ask another favour from you?
The death sting?
Akane.
Please, listen to me.
When I'll be dead, please come to my place.
People say I'm a tattoo expert.
Some expert!
My way of tattooing is evil.
I knew it very well,
but I had no choice.
I won't leave this house...
...until you come back.
Please accept this last sting,
that will kill my sinful soul,
and will set it free from your tattoo.
I give you my word.
I'll do it for sure.
Thank you.
Now... I can die in peace.
Dad.
"I have a good reason for not bringing this baby up."
"I hope it'll be lucky and someone kind and generous will take care of it."
"It's a girl and its name is Katsuko."
"I hope she'll overcome the hardship life has in store for her."
"My heart weeps but I can't take her with me in the after world."
"An unworthy father."
Katsuko!
My father...
To his dying breath,
was worried about your tattoo.
Really?
He became ill one year ago.
The doctor said there was no hope, and my father knew it.
He forbade me to speak about it... to no matter whom.
Katsuko.
Harutsune?
He died.
How?
How did Harutsune...
These two books came together...
...and Harutsune died.
"Snow Crystal"
And this?
This is Harutsune's blood.
The two books were written by Doi Toshitsugu 150 years ago.
There are 86 illustrations of crystals...
in the two volumes.
Harutsune... had the second volume.
When did he become Mr. Yamato's apprentice?
Three years before you came.
He come one day and stubbornly asked...
...that my father tattoo him.
From what he told us... he was only 17.
He didn't say from where and how he had come.
My father found it absurd, and refused to tattoo him.
But Harutsune said...
... he won't move, not until my father gave up.
For more than a month he stayed in front of the house.
And then... he found himself with no money.
Towel!
Who tattooed your back?
- A Tokyo tattooist? - My mother.
Really?
Please, tattoo my chest!
- And make me your apprentice! - No.
At your age, if you get more tattoos,
everyone'll despise you.
Don't insist, and go back to your mother.
You understand.
It's my mother who advised me...
...to ask you to tattoo my chest.
She told me you were the only one who could do it.
I'm a tattooist's son. She tattooed me.
I've known the smell of blood and ink since always.
Please. I can only be a tattooist.
It was my destiny to come to Kyoto and become a tattooist.
What happened to your father?
My mother told me he had abandoned her...
...before I was born.
Anyway... that's what my mother told me.
For a month... my father seemed to be wandering about what he should do.
And then, suddenly, he began tattooing him.
After he finished the tattoo,
my father looked changed...
... and started teaching Harutsune the art of tattoo.
For some time, we lived peaceful days.
My father allowed Harutsune to make the kimono drawings.
Harutsune helped my father with all his heart.
And then... you came.
I see.
My father...
...was very pleased with the tattoo he had made you.
Harutsune was, too.
But...
...the two books came together...
...just before my father... fell ill.
What's with this book?
My mother gave it to me.
It's a memento of my father.
He told me he also was a tattooist,
and that he used to mistreat her.
It's one of the only two volumes that still exists.
My mother kept it...
...when my father left her.
The illustrations are so beautiful!
But it's a book full of hate.
It was the last time he ever smiled.
And then came the day...
Father...
Do you know who this book belongs to?
My mother gave it to me.
She told me...
...it was memento of the cruel man...
...who had abandoned us.
You!
Why did you abandon us?
Tell me!
I will tell you.
It's on your mother's skin...
...that I came up with my way of tattooing...
It's her skin that taught me.
But she hated her tattoo and she left.
She often said...
...the tattoo she had on her back...
...had ruined her life.
You...
You forcefully tattooed her.
You forced her to do...
...the same thing you forced me to do.
It's true.
That's how I discovered my way of tattooing.
And for that, you sacrificed a woman's life!
- Yes... and I don't care. - Bastard!
Scum!
When you saw the tattoo on my back, you must have understood!
You did recognize the snow crystal I tattooed on Akane!
You were well aware I was the son...
...of the woman you had abandoned.
And still...
...you did to me the same things you did to my mother!
It's true.
I wanted to teach you my way of tattooing.
You're mad...
- You're mad! - Maybe I'm mad...
but one day, you'll tattoo like I do.
You... you... You really are my son.
My blood is in your veins. You'll be like me!
You were conceived while I was tattooing her.
You're a born tattooer.
That's why... you must succeed me.
D'you want to kill me?
Do you?
Go ahead, if you think you are capable.
Come on! Kill me!
I am not your son. I refuse your blood.
Take this tattoo off!
Harutsune...
These two books are yours.
It's your destiny.
I don't want them!
I hate this tattoo!
For my father also...
... the world fell apart that instance.
A few days later...
... he fell ill.
Akane.
According to my father's last wishes,
allow me to give you the final sting.
Allow me to use it for the last sting.
Allow me to give you the last sting
Thank you.
It's over.
Thank you very much.
The snow...