Original subtitles

LETTER FROM THE MOUNTAIN

You're panting

I'd forgotten what the place looked like

And now we're going to live here

We've been living too fast It's time to slow down a bit

There's only so much you can do by sheer force of will

And who might you be?

How are you? I'm Takao Ueda Sei's grandson

I've moved back to the village

Well, isn't that nice

Please

step inside for a bit

This is my wife, Michiko

Please, please, step in

The water's from yesterday

so the tea might not be very hot

thank you

Thank you

At least cold tea won't burn you

It's not very hot

How long has it been

since Sei died?

Grandma died five years ago She was 81

It stopped raining for her funeral

Sei was ten years younger than me

So you're 96, Miss Ume?

Me?

Well, once I passed 90 I decided

that whatever age everybody said I was

was the age I'd be

Sei had a very hard life

but she was a lovely person, very accomplished

Miss Ume we brought this to say hello

Well, well, well

Aren't you a dear

That's very nice of you

Thank you

Sei

Look what Takao brought

I'll give you some later

Mrs Ueda, I understand you're going to be working

at the clinic in the village

Yes

I've been ill myself

so I'll just be there three mornings a week, though

Well, even that much

is something to be grateful for

Welcome Dr Ueda Michiko

Sei didn't want you moving to Tokyo

She didn't?

She said you were like your dead mother, always reading

She was afraid you'd turn out a 'cherry-blossom farmer'

If he'd stayed here, he'd never have found a wife

But why would a famous doctor marry Takao?

I liked the idea of a farmer who'd stop to look at cherry blossoms

You know what that means, then?

A dreamer so absorbed in cherry blossoms

that he doesn't get his work done

The kind of man we always tell our girls not to marry

I'm not very brave, and I'm not very talented

so I chose something practical, like medicine

That's why I chose farming

That's not even practical

As our guests are looking a little tired

perhaps they'd like to wash off that city dust in our hot spring

Yes, Mr Mayor Let's close this meeting

This village finally has itself a doctor again

This doctor's also being a noted researcher

makes her someone far beyond anything we could have wished for

May she never leave her cherry-blossom farmer behind

and depart from this village

I also ask that everyone in the village gives her

their complete cooperation

That's all

Thank you

Well?

It's wonderful The water feels so soft

I'd forgotten how far you can see here

Good night

Doesn't this bedding still have your grandmother's smell to it?

Yeah, I feel like I'm a little boy again

Good morning

Let's eat

Bon appétit

How is it?

Good

'Unbowed by the rain, Unbowed by the wind '

That's Miyazawa Kenji

My mother copied that out years ago

'Unbowed by the rain, Unbowed by the wind

'Unbowed by snow or summer heat, Sound of body

'Coveting nothing, never angry

'Always quietly smiling

'Eating four cups of brown rice, miso and a few greens each day

'Leaving himself out of the account

'Watching, listening, understanding and not forgetting

'Living in the shade of a pine grove, in a field, in a small thatched hut

'To the sick child in the east he tends

'To the tired mother in the west he bears sheaves of rice

'To one dying in the south he says, "Do not fear"

'To quarrels or lawsuits in the north he says, "Be not petty"

'In drought he weeps

'In a cold summer he paces

'Called a fool

'Not praised, not criticized:

'I want to be that kind of man'

Good morning

Lovely day, isn't it

Here's the doctor

Good morning

It's nice to see you here

Hello, Doctor

Good morning, Sensei

Well If it isn't Takao

Yes

Should you be doing that?

'If the sun shines, though tomorrow the world end

' do not omit to dry your bedding'

So how are you feeling?

Is that why you're here?

No

I won't go into hospital

The doctors call it 'stomach cancer'

but in 'cancer' is the word 'can' Certain things become possible

Come in

It's inconvenient now, but once I'm dead I can do what I want

Sensei

where are all your books?

I gave them to the school

Welcome back

It makes the place look a bit empty

I want everything all cleared away for once in my life

We have no children

I'm leaving nothing behind, and I don't want to

It's a load off my mind

I still have your letter from when I won my 'Best New Writer' prize

'Becoming famous is by no means a good thing

'It does not elevate you

'The purpose of creativity is not reputation or success

'Think of being the subject of people's idle gossip

' as embarrassing'

That was rude

In the ten years since I haven't accomplished anything

You've only just started

I'm over 40 and I haven't made any money

I've started to wonder whether I'm worth anything

It's an important time for you

Patience, patience

Like him

Even at my age you're not sure if you're really worth anything

But who cares?

Just walk your own path and regret nothing

I will

For all my children care, I might as well not be here

No?

And after all the trouble you went to

Yes You put them through school, they move away

and never even come home to visit

You're lucky At least yours come at New Year's and in August

Yes Twice a year is more than most

Mine only come once

If there's any problem, call me

I will, thank you

Isn't it nice to have a good doctor here

We'll keep you on the same medicine

As old as I am, Doctor

it hardly matters if I take medicine or not

There you go

Takao

Yes?

The village newsletter

I could pass that around if you wanted

Could you? We'll be busy in the fields pretty soon

It's all yours

'Bye

Thank you

'Letter from the Mountain:

'People tell us not to dwell

'on what is before our eyes

' but in spring I plant eggplant, beans and cucumbers

' in my garden and water them

'Thinking this way of only what is before me

' I suddenly find myself 96 years of age

'ls it a good thing

' that I looked at nothing else and did not add to my worries?

'That may be the secret to a long life'

Isn't that great

Miss Ume was in hospital with high blood pressure last winter

They asked me to go see her

Let's go after we eat

I always fall asleep at this time of day

I'm sorry to worry you

Not at all

I thought I might come and check your blood pressure

My blood pressure, eh?

All right

Right here?

Here we go

I should lie here?

All right?

Yes

I'll lift your arm

Blood pressure

Here goes

135 over 82 That's very good

That's good to hear

I'll take this off

Can I get up?

All right?

It's so nice for you to do this for such an old lady

Are you finished?

I'm finished That's it

Why did your blood pressure go up last year, Miss Ume?

Last year?

I was digging a latrine There's no toilet here

So I was digging

That's when I started feeling strange

Digging latrines all the time must be hard on you

I'll build you an outhouse

An outhouse?

You?

Well, I'd like that, but you know

I don't have any money

Don't worry about money

I've got some stuff at home I'll build you one

I'm strong and healthy

It's a shame to waste health and strength on a job like that

But if you would

I'd be very grateful

Leave it to me

It's so nice here

A fallen tree

Listen to the birds

Watch your step

Careful

Gotcha

Got her

You got me

Here we go

Who's it?

There he is

This way

Wait

Got you

Aw, you got me

After him, everyone

Here we go

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Wow

Come on

Aw, too bad

Wow, look at them go

There's some steps

Yes

They're way over there

They're so fast

Bye-bye

OK, goodbye

thank you

See you

Bye-bye

'In the sunset glow the day ends

'From the mountain comes the sound of the temple bell

'Hand in hand let's all go home

'With the crows let's all go home

'When the children have all gone

' comes the big round moon

'When the birds are dreaming

'the silver stars will glitter in the sky'

Bye-bye

Let's go

Why am I crying when I'm not sad?

That's a long way to carry all that

Good morning

Hello

This is Sayuri

She can't talk

Thank you

'Three years ago an illness affected my throat, and I still can't speak'

Sayuri

writes down the things that I say

That thing you were talking about

the 'Letter from the Mountain'?

That's right

That column is very well-written

Simple yet meaningful

You know the doctor at the clinic? This gentleman's her husband

A long, long time ago

he used to live in the village, just over there

Right now he's not doing anything

So he's here digging away on an outhouse for me

Aren't you

'I heard you're a novelist'

Well, it's embarrassing when people call me that

I haven't written anything since I won a prize over ten years ago

I'm more like a failed novelist

Right

These 'novels' of yours

are they lies

or are they true stories?

Well, they're not 'true'

Maybe they're lies told in order to tell the truth

All right, then

you can't eat burdock straight from the field

but you can cook it to make kinpira

If you ask which is 'real', it's burdock from the field

but if it wasn't kinpira you'd never know how good it was

Something like that

You write about kinpira?

No, you don't understand I mean

'I think a novel is Amitabha taking the form of words'

Now, that's something I can understand

I've lived to the age I have

and I've heard my fill of sad stories

Now I want to hear happy stories

No one wants to spend money

to buy a sad story

When I hear a happy story

I want to feel happy, too

Look, the clouds have gone from the mountains

Mrs Takeda?

Yes?

Hello

Hello How are you?

Here's the newsletter

I'll leave it here

What are you growing now?

Vegetables

We can eat them here at home

What do you enjoy doing?

Having tea with the neighbours

So you talk over tea?

Yes, a little talk in the morning and I'm happy all day

That's good for you

Yes, it is

Good for you

I'll bring this again

If you need anything, tell me then

I'll see you again

Hello? Mrs Ohira?

Here's the newsletter

How are you?

Well, my back's been hurting me

Your back?

Yes It hurts and I can't hang out my laundry

When it gets better I have to get out in the garden

So what are you doing about drying your laundry?

I manage the best I can I can't dry my bedding, though

I see

Do you have anything that you're worried about?

Worried?

Everybody helps me out, so

You're OK

Yes, thank you

Here's the village newsletter

I'll leave it here

Thank you

Take care I'll see you again

That's it? I'm sorry I wasn't more help

I'll see you

All right Thank you

Thank you

When did you first start living in the village?

Here? In, uh, 1947

1947?

We were evacuated in 1946

From Manchuria?

Yes

That's when you came here Were you alone then?

No Then it was one child, my husband and me

It must have been difficult

Well, I was lucky

I'd just given birth

I had milk, so I was able to nurse other babies, too

I see

'Letter from the Mountain:

'There's everything in the fields

' eggplant, cucumber, tomatoes, squash, watermelon

'I've always eaten whatever my body told me it wanted

'If eating plain food has anything to do with long life

' then I've lived long because I've had no money

'I'm lucky to have been poor'

Takao and his wife are here

As long as it's not a house call

Hello

'Rise to heaven on a great wind' I get closer every day

That's by Ryokan

Clean lines, as if a nice breeze was blowing through

I'm not there yet

Writing that and tearing it up he practises all day long

Here

It's the form I'm after Form's the main thing

Form traces the outline of the soul

Anyway, this is what absorbs me now

Bring that thing, will you?

all right

Were you ill?

Uh, yes

It's good for a doctor to know what it's like to be sick

Yes, that's true

I want you to have this

You're the one who should

You remember The sword I use for the temple Noh dance

I couldn't

Take it

I know they want me to take your place at the Winter Festival, but

I taught you the dance Take that sword and do it for me

That's a load off my mind

Isn't that nice One more thing we've got cleared up

I think I'll write a bit more

We should be going

Don't you worry yourselves about me

Is he eating well?

Same as ever He eats what he wants

Is he in pain?

He won't say He's very stubborn

I'll call in from time to time If there's anything, call me

We won't tell him

Thank you

I guess miracles don't happen, do they

No

Well

No luck

Let's move

There I got one

Got it

I did it

I'm so happy

Really happy

There's ginger

And a mugwort

Hi, Doctor

Hello

Where were you?

Look

I caught it

Good, eh?

Just one?

Yeah, just one

Where were you?

Picking herbs Here

Thank you

Isn't that sweet

See you

Bye-bye

Bye-bye

It's done

There

You caught it

No, you have it

No

Yes

It's crisp

It sounds good

I know

We can have 'kotsuzake'

Give me that

Um

don't you need a raw char for kotsuzake?

This'll do for today

Good for what ails you, huh?

If you're going to fish

it has to be a mountain stream

Give me some

Good night

Are you sleeping well?

yes, I sleep very well

So well I don't even dream

That's good

Sleep is the basis of health

I sleep very well here, too

Has there ever been a time when you couldn't sleep?

When it rains and I can't get around much

I don't sleep very well

What do you do then?

Eh?

What do you do then?

Then I just listen to the water flowing over there

and imagine that I was water, too

I think of myself just flowing along

and suddenly there I am asleep

When you turn to water, where do you flow to?

Well, I flow with the water

way, way, far away

and about the time I'm thinking I've reached the sea

there I am asleep

We hear the sound of the river every night

but I don't feel like that

You're both still young

You've still got to listen to a lot of things

The river's there, and you have to hear it

but the sound of water's no use to you

It's something for old folks to listen to

When did you stop taking your sleeping pills?

Yes

The night I caught that char

You know

I'm glad I came to this village

Thank you

They say if you shout about something good, it flees

Is that a bird?

It's a frog

It is not

The 'singing frog'

It only lives in clear streams

I love this it's like the mountain's rocking us to sleep

'Be not a burden

' rather be a help, asking no reward'

Mr Koda's calligraphy?

Yes

It was the motto at his school in Manchuria

You were married in China?

Yes

But the Russians took him and put him in a work camp in Siberia

I fled with our baby and what I could carry

but the child died I couldn't even have his ashes

For 11 years after the war I was alone

waiting for my husband to come back from Siberia

Then he said

'If I'd really been a good man, I wouldn't have lived to come back'

But he came back, safe and sound

Did he say anything about your child?

'I guess it was his destiny' And never another word about it

'I guess it was his destiny'

Soon I'll be alone again

The days will be long

Takao, why don't we buy a new household shrine?

This one's so drab

They're expensive

So?

Because of those ancestors you're here, and now so am I

Wouldn't it be nice

to live the rest of our lives here and become ancestors too?

Yes, it would

Look at it burn

There it goes again

It's done

No more

That's all

'May Amitabha's name be praised'

'Letter from the Mountain:

'At the O-bon Festival in August, the dead come to visit Amitabha Hall

'With fire I light their way, and talk with them until dark

'As we talk, I no longer know if I am of this world

'or of theirs

'This did not happen when I was younger

'I do not fear them

'I would happily pass this way into eternal sleep'

See you at New Year's

After six months, Michiko's reputation here is high

She listens to the elderly, responding not only with kindness

but with good diagnoses

The Mayor came to ask if she might work every day

but Michiko said she wanted to go on the way she is

Now let's see your eyes

Open your mouth

Stick out your tongue

Look up

Now the throat

Does that hurt?

No?

How about here?

OK?

Look down

'Letter from the Mountain:

'As a girl I was always running fevers

' and couldn't help much at home

'Neither my family nor the villagers expected I would live long

'But I have lived so long it's as if death had forgotten me

'It goes to show you never can tell

'The longer I live, the more I do not understand

'and what I understand least is why I have lived to this age'

I wonder if Sayuri writes like this because she fears the worst

What's happened?

What she had in high school may be turning into a sarcoma

I'll have to check with the general hospital in town

And if it is?

It's fast-growing, so she'd need chemotherapy

It's a rare case

Isn't this precisely your specialty?

Well, yes

'If you're lost, go forward'

In Tokyo I saw three cases like Sayuri's

I doubt that a doctor out here has ever seen even one

I phoned the hospital, and they asked if I'd consult

Then you should go and work with the attending physician

But can I?

Sure you can

You're the only one who can cure Sayuri

You can do it

You're a doctor

It'll mean some nights, and there's the clinic here

Will I be OK?

Sure

I'll drive you in and back, and do whatever needs doing

You'll be fine

Hello

Your 'Letter' was very good I'm looking forward to next month's

'If you were deceived by life

'Do not grieve, or with anger burn

'Persevere in times of strife

'Have faith, for happy days return

'In the future lives the heart

'Suffer now although you may

'Sorrow swiftly will depart

'You will hold this dear one day'

Pushkin's a great poet

'They told me Dr Ueda will be helping

'I know this will inconvenience you, too'

Don't worry about me

You've got to get better fast, go back to Amitabha Hall

and listen to Miss Ume

Are there columns written?

Three?

Get lots of rest

Start again when you're all better

I'll come back

That's my husband

Be right there

I'll see you

He's a bit young, isn't he?

You'd think so But he does his homework

He read my articles That speeds things up

Before anything else, a good doctor is humble

And that he is

'Under the bright moon

'Fog covers the mountainside

'Clouds on the paddies'

If pneumonia sets in

We'll just have to watch very closely

and hit it with antibiotics the moment we see it

Forgive me for asking, but

what are you doing in Yanaka village?

Shouldn't you be somewhere closer to the front lines?

Call me a drop-out if you want, Dr Nakamura

I don't mind

I'm sorry I didn't mean that

It's all right I don't think there's anything wrong with it

In Tokyo I was always trying to be everyone's idea of perfect

and at the same time live up to my own ideals

I couldn't take it

I shouldn't have pried

I tend to be solitary by nature

I have a bad habit of testing people to see if they're sympathetic

I'm sorry

Anyway, our job now is to knock out Sayuri's tumor

Let's do that

It's been a while since I've seen you writing

I thought I'd tape Miss Ume and play it for Sayuri

So I started trying to write down what I should ask

Sayuri will like that

But it's not easy

Maybe I shouldn't try to plan it

and just listen to what Miss Ume has to say

Miss Ume, I thought today I might record your voice

Record?

Yeah You talk into here, and we can hear your voice afterwards

the same thing as Sayuri uses

That's right

Listen

the same thing as Sayuri uses

I'll take what you say on this to Sayuri

Could you say something?

All right, if you're going to take it to Sayuri

Hello Are you well?

no she's sick

Anything

For example, what you think is the most important thing

The most important?

Amitabha, I guess

Amitabha May your name be praised

Heal Sayuri, please May your name be praised

Sayuri will be cured

I'm worried sick about her, you know

But when I sit here and look out over the valley

after a while it brings me peace

You'll be fine Hang in there

Hurry

She's hyperventilating

Oxygen saturation falling

Put her on the ventilator and stabilize her breathing

That's our only window to hit the pneumonia

We'll go to steroids if we have to

Might be side effects

We have to keep her alive

You'll be fine

Ampule

Stop her breathing

Muscle relaxant

The pneumonia's progressing faster than we expected

It's fifty-fifty right now

She's not giving up at all She's fighting back

We're going to work with that and do all we can for her

She's stable right now You should all get some rest

Tired?

I haven't been in a touch-and-go situation like that for a while

I was surprised how calm I was once we got started

Dr Nakamura

Could I ask how many terminal patients you've attended?

About 30

in the four years and a bit I've been a doctor

I watched more than 300 go when I was in Tokyo

Let's relax a bit

With your permission

The last death certificate I signed

was for a 76 year-old taxi owner-operator

His family hadn't arrived yet

I sat by his bed and watched as his breathing got slower and weaker

And just as he'd taken his last breath

the evening sun shone in from between the buildings

and it was like something vital from inside me

went out and rose on those rays of light

This doesn't sound very professional

but I think what went out of me

was my qi, my vital force

I was pregnant, but the baby died in my womb

I'm sorry

They say the child chooses its parents, don't they

And I

just wasn't chosen

Why?

Why?

After that I fell apart I guess I'd reached my limit

Your limit?

Death had absorbed all my vital energy

All I could think of was death

I had no optimism left

The Department of Psychosomatic Internal Medicine

diagnosed me as 'panic disorder', a psychiatric problem

The main reason I came to Yanaka, my husband's home town

was to recover from that

You don't look sick at all You look fine to me

The problem is whether the soul's sick or not

The disease might be serious

but if the soul isn't sick, neither is the person

Mr Koda

an old teacher of my husband's who's got terminal cancer

has helped me to start thinking this way

Some patients are like that

Yes There are people like that

The way you think about lif e and about death

changes as you get older

Dr Nakamura

what do you think a life is?

A life?

Well, it's something that inevitably ends in death

I'm still pretty young

'Ruddy of face at morning, bones at day's end'

Since I came out here I've started feeling the truth of that

A good death is part of a good life

dear

I sound just like my husband

I'll go this time

We'll take turns

Thanks

Did you sleep?

I napped

I can still sit up all night with a patient

I guess I'm OK

It looks like it might work out The pneumonia's peaked

You'll make one tough old lady

Miss Ume's my role model

'Praise to Amitabha'

Miss Ume

Hello Pull up a pillow

Sayuri's operation was a success

She'll be fine

She'll be fine? Sayuri's better?

Yes

Really?

She's better, Amitabha

Thank you Praise Amitabha

That's wonderful She's better

Say thank you to your wife

Say thank you for curing her

Say that for me

All right, I will

Wait, wait

You don't get many women who are smart and sweet

You take good care of her

Look at that

Isn't it beautiful

All the way to the mountains

Let's go this way

It's a good rice crop

Look at it all

Wow

Next year I'll plant my own field

Yes

This looks so good

And here, too

Takao, let's stop for lunch

Next year I'm going to plant my own field

Yes Don't be a cherry-blossom farmer all your life

I'll go see Dr Nakamura

Good morning

Hello

Good, huh?

'I've listened to

' Miss Ume's

' tape

' again and again

'lt's made me feel

' very calm'

When Miss Ume

heard that you were going to be all right

she started crying

Thank you

Does it hurt?

No

'Mother' I don't want a funeral

A stick of incense will be enough

Otherwise just go on as usual

Yes, I know

You've been wonderful to me all these years

I can't stand this

I love that sound

Beautiful

The smoke?

My eye There's some ash in my eye, Doctor

There is? Where?

There you go

Good evening

good evening

Please, come in

It's late I'm sorry

No trouble

Thank you for all you've done

Not at all

This is just a token

thank you

Sayuri fought very hard

It was because of you I don't know what to say

Thank you very much

Have some tea

Please

Tonight the council adopted plans for a new clinic

The village wants to take it out of the nursery school

and put it in its own building

Time being of the essence, the Mayor's asked me to come

and ask if you'd take charge of the clinic on a full-time basis

I'll give it serious thought

But rather than a fancy building

I think you should start by thinking

what kind of care people want, and what makes them comfortable

We'll certainly be happy for any advice you can give us

May I assume you'll take part in the planning process, then?

Of course I will When do you expect to have it built?

We hope to have it finished by next fall

You could go full-time from then, if you like

The Mayor will be delighted I'd better go tell him

He's at the Village Hall He was going to come if you'd said no to me

Excuse me

Thank you very much

Thank you

Good night

Will you do it?

Sure

A woman does what she's asked

Takao and Michiko are here

Sensei

This is the best way

Will you be all right?

I'll be fine

I'll go on ahead, then

All right

I won't keep you waiting long

It's almost as if Mr Koda willed himself to stop breathing

He stole away

leaving so many memories

Thank you very much

RISE TO HEAVEN ON A GREAT WIND

I want to write a novel of my life in this village

of what I've seen, what I've felt

carrying the weight of its truth, unplanned, as it is

And I want to continue to heed the words of my teacher

'Form is the main thing

'Form traces the outline of the soul'

Miss Ume?

Hello

You're back

That's wonderful

Thank you Thank you

Wonderful

It's positive

Three months

A baby I'm pregnant

I'm 43 and I'm pregnant

Yeah?

You are?

'Letter from the Mountain:

'Snow erases the boundary between mountain and village

'All is solid white

'You can no longer tell which is this world of the village

'and that world

'of the ancestors, deep in the mountains

'Spring

'summer

' fall

' winter

'The clear boundary between mountain and village

'slowly disappears as the year goes round

'At my age I feel all the more

' our lives are the same'

One more

OK, smile

Here goes

Change places

Careful

Thanks

OK, Miss Ume

You say 'cheese'

Cheese

One more for good luck

One more?

Miss Ume