With the wind blowing,
lighting a fire is difficult.
First, I try to start a fire using white birch bark,
but....
Now Dad
can really light a single sheet like it's a banknote.
I, on the other hand, can't even do it with tinder.
I can't heat a bath.
I can't bake our hot water bottles.
Ah, those are our "hot water bottles."
This one's Dad's
This one's Hotaru's. Here's mine.
Roast these together well.
It's not lighting.
It's no use!
Dad's not going to like this, either.
I have to get up early tomorrow morning to do mountain work.
What's mountain work?
This Rokugo area was originally part of the Todai experimental plantation.
So when logging time comes, they need lots of men.
Folks were allowed to settle on this land under the condition
that they work at logging time.
What kind of work do you do?
We cut down trees.
These should be fine.
Takumi will come for you at 5:00.
Thanks.
You know old man Kasamatsu, don't you?
Mr. Kine?
Have you paid him your respect since you came here?
What is it?
He's a little odd,
so my boss said to tell you not to worry about it.
Who's the Mr. Kasamatsu that you were talking about?
He's been here a long time.
He used to be a friend of my dad.
I know! He's Shokichi's Grandpa.
He's famous.
They call him the "big cheater."
What's that mean?
It means
he takes advantage of people
a whole lot.
ls he that bad?
That's what everybody says.
They say you pay for it big time if you get involved with him.
Have you ever met him, Jun?
No, I haven't. But even Sota and Tsurara said so.
How do you know what he's like when you've never met him?
Even the Nakahata's Sumie said so.
Not matter what people say,
you shouldn't talk badly about a person you've never even met.
Don't you
have lots of things to do
without gossiping anyway?
Hotaru can do it, but you can't
even light a fire.
You can start judging others
after you've become self sufficient.
Hotaru
It's time for the fox to come. Get the leftovers. I'll go with you.
lu lu lu lu lu
Dad's been rather cold ever since then.
Ever since
that lawyer lady
came from Tokyo for Mom.
I felt sorry for Dad that
I didn't even talk to Mom on the phone.
I just ran out, but....
But it still seems to bother Dad.
I sense
a difference between the way he treats Hotaru
and the way he treats me.
Please work hard!
Hello.
Where's Mr. Kine?
It's been a long time, sir.
I've been meaning to come pay my respects to you,
but I've been so busy, I hadn't gotten around to it.
Please be good to me.
How do you do this?
Come on!
Why won't you tell me?
This is a test!
So what if it's a test?
What's wrong?
Jun won't show me how to do it!
Show him, Jun.
Got it. Thanks.
Very good.
100.
What about you, Shokichi? Is this one here right?
Don't know?
Isn't this the way?
So what's the answer?
This!
That's not right.
This!
Very good.
That's not fair!
Why not?
It's not right! Cheating is okay and she corrected all
his wrong answers and gave him a 100!
Everyone got a 100! Why give a test, then?
What's wrong with that?
I can see where she corrected Hotaru's answers on the test.
But she still got a 100!
Why study if she's going to do this!
What happened?
Nothing really.
Don't let him bother you.
Good night.
What's wrong?
Old man Kasamatsu said something to Goro.
What?
Don't know.
Welcome home.
So fast...
I thought I told you to have the water heated by the time I got home.
If you're bad at it, start early.
I got a 100 on my test.
Because the teacher let you cheat.
But she gave me a 100.
After she fixed your answers.
You got 3 wrong,
so you
really only got a 70. You're stupid.
Please be quiet,
Jun.
More rice?
Sota said he'll take me
into Furano to stock up on things.
Can I take Jun with me?
He says he'll let me watch his boxing practice.
Are you sure you don't want to go,
Hotaru?
I don't.
Why not?
Just because.
You should come.
But I don't want to.
Let's go see the fox.
Think Dad's mad about something?
No, he's not.
Everything's fine.
lu lu lu lu lu lu
Maybe it's too early.
lu lu lu lu lu lu
I'm so disgusted, I can't even say anything.
About what, sir?
Who gave you permission to live there?
That house is where my folks....
I own that property.
Is that true?
I feel sorry for your dad.
He and your mom died,
and you ran off to Tokyo.
There was no one else,
so I paid the money and took care of everything at the end.
I got the land in return as collateral.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
lu lu lu lu lu
This one is good.
It's too big.
That's just right. Want that one?
It's called the "Nutcracker."
It's right up that way.
Sota looked a lot sharper
than he usually does.
Can I ask?
Ask what?
That...
Don't tell her I asked.
Does she have someone?
What?
Does Yukiko have someone?
I think
she did.
I'll bet
she does.
But I don't think she has anyone now.
Why not?
I just get that feeling.
You're not just saying that to make me happy?
Is it true?
I don't know for sure.
What do you think she thinks of me?
I think she likes you.
This is fun.
Want something to eat?
I did it!
I want a hot dog.
Could we have
2 really good hot dogs, please?
Never mind, just one.
Except....
Won't it cause concern?
About Tsurara.
Yukiko's concerned?
Why?
I don't really know.
Was she?
Seeemed that way.
But don't worry.
Things will work out.
Why?
Things like this happen a lot.
Just leave it and I think things will work out.
How old are you?
Welcome home.
Dad wasn't back yet when we got home.
According to Hotaru, Uncle Katsumi told her that
Dad would be going somewhere on the way home.
What you said yesterday... Is that true?
It's true.
Which means that land's registered in your name?
Never registered it.
But
they said you could have it?
That's right.
It was
your dad and me
that worked so long and hard to clear that land.
How much
did my dad borrow?
Back then... a little over 500,000 yen.
Do you have any kind of note?
I didn't ask for one.
Does anyone else know?
The Naito's Yoshimatsu was the witness.
Where's Yoshimatsu now?
He died. Spring time 3 years ago.
That's stupid. How can that be true?
I never heard that your dad
ever borrowed any money
from old man Kasamatsu.
Why would your dad go to old man Kasamatsu anyway?
I don't know.
Except that they were friends
from the time they both came to clear and settle on this land.
He's lying.
There's no way that could be true, Goro.
But
I will go settle it
with the old man.
He really is a big cheater
like everyone calls him.
Jun!
You left all this ganbi out there.
You don't appreciate things enough!
You may burn all this in one night,
but others could make it last for a whole week.
You...
I'm sorry!
I'm
the guilty one.
Aunty!
What's wrong?
Do you think Dad doesn't like me?
Why?
Don't be silly.
Why isn't the old man here today?
I let him have one last night.
Over that matter?
He said
he never said anything like that,
and I said he was lying.
I told him that I'm the one that made all the arrangements
for you to move back up here.
And if what he said was true, I had to take responsibility.
And I demanded to know if it was true.
What'd he say?
He started muttering to himself.
Something about how it happened before your dad died.
Do you think it did?
He has to be lying. He doesn't even have a note.
Would you lend money with nothing to prove it?
Basically, he's a rotten guy.
That's why everyone calls him a big cheater. Leave him be.
No one takes him seriously anyway.
Did you tell him not to come logging today?
No. He's just pouting.
He'll be here tomorrow.
Don't let it bother you. Just forget about it.
The first time I met him
was that evening.
Aunty Yukiko and Hotaru had gone over to
Uncle Katsumi's house to learn how to make pickled vegetables.
I was alone practicing
how to light a fire.
Can't get it to light?
Use this to light it.
Don't waste matches. One will do.
Good.
He smelt a little like liquor.
I did it!
It was forest as far as you could see a long time ago.
Here?
The bears played.
Here?
This land originally belonged to the bears.
But human came along and chased them away.
Is there still an old tree stump back in there?
It was at least 500 years old.
A huge katsura tree.
We chopped it down with axes.
It made an incredible sound like it was howling.
It still rings in my ears.
What howled?
The tree did.
When trees
are cut down, they yell in a loud voice.
I did it a lot.
How many year did it
take to clear all this?
With horses...
the trees
and inadequate equipment.
There're no more horses.
And
the young ones
abandon the land.
The land that we butchered to clear...
Bears
and trees
and horses...
What did they give their lives for?
Human are so selfish.
Put more wood on it.
Grandpa!
Where're you from?
Who was that?
Don't know.
That's the infamous old man Karsmatsu.
When my grandma was alive,
they used to call him "Saint Kine."
That night, our house was bright and full of fun for a change.
Uncle Katsumi and his wife
and Sota came over, too.
They all drank and Dad was drunk for the first time
in a long while.
Now that it's settled.
With old man Kasamatsu?
What about him?
He's something else.
What'd he do?
He claimed that
this land was his.
What do you mean?
He said
he lent some money to Goro's dad and he got this land in return for it. But he didn't have any proof.
What's wrong?
Will you get Sota?
Why don't you come in?
Will you call him?
Strange...
He said you should come in.
Why don't you?
Tell him I want him to come out here.
Just for a minute.
But...
Please.
Ok.
What's up?
It's cold with you going in and out like that.
Is someone out there?
Come on in, Tsurara!
Tsurara?
What's she doing out there?
Come in, Tsurara!
Come inside, Tsurara.
Why don't you?
What's with that fool?
Let's go inside.
Did she want something?
Nothing.
According to
Nada,
old man Kasamatsu had a daughter.
Right, Midori's her name.
She ran away from home.
And Shokichi is her son?
He goes to the same school Jun and Hotaru go to.
I sort of understand how Tsurara felt.
She couldn't come into where everyone was, so
she disappeared all by herself.
There was some of the same kind of feeling inside me,
too.
Just like Tsurara felt that
Sota was avoiding her...
I felt Dad
was avoiding me, too.
And besides...
Dad got mad at me and said
I shouldn't talk badly about others.
When I called
old man Kasamatsu a big cheater.
But now, he's talking badly about him himself.
That was clear contradiction.
I just couldn't think of the old man Kasamatsu that I saw today
as a bad person.
And I felt sorry that everyone
was talking badly about him.
He and I and Tsurara were the same.
We were all being avoided by people.
Keiko?
Mom?
I'm clearly the one in this family
everyone dislikes.
Jun!
Don't do that!
Stop!
Uncle!
Jun!
Have you calmed down?
What're you pouting about?
Why'd you do that?
Hotaru tried so hard to try to get it used to her.
Are you mad at her about something?
I...
What?
Dad
doesn't like me.
Dad
only loves Hotaru.
Jun.
Don't ever say something that rotten in front of me again.
Got it?
If you do,
I'll make you pay for it.
What kind of parent
would hate his own kid?
You're a man. Don't act like a spoiled brat.
Your dad wants to...
...straighten that part of you out.
That's why he's being so cold.
Your dad's
clumsy at expressing himself.
That's why he seems cold.
You're good at studies. Don't you get it?
The truth was...
I wanted to argue that point.
But I decided not to.
The reason is because
Sota's words sounded
really kind to me.
Let's get going.
His words were rough,
but Sota seemed very manly to me.
When we got home,
Dad was still drinking by himself.
Jun?
Your hot water bottle.
Aunty Yukiko scolded Dad
about you after that.
Dad said
he loved you.
Hotaru?
Are you mad
about the fox?
I'm not mad.
Don't worry.
I'm sure
it'll be back.
Aren't you asleep yet?
Where's Dad?
He's so drunk,
he's muttering to himself now.
Stupid....favoritism........me?
Give me a break.
There's no more sake.
Bring me more sake.
Really. Fool.
Stop it. Fool.
Eh?
No sake.
After that night, winter really set in.
lu lu lu lu lu
Hotaru's fox didn't come back.