Original subtitles

Okiku and the World

Prologue: Where does Edo's Poop Go?

Edo (now Tokyo), 1858, Late Summer

Here you are

Take your time

What?

You alone?

My partner got loose bowels and now he's out, sick

So, you can't buy all of it?

Sorry, I'm shorthanded today I'll just buy half

Here's 50 Mon

You're a wastepaper man

Who's talking, manure man

What's the look for?

It stinks!

The temple's wastepaper?

It's worthless if it gets wet

What does a wholesaler pay for that?

Depends on the paper

Not much, I bet

Man, you're nosy

You're from Kobikicho, your name is...

Oh, you need to?

No!

If you need to, we'll move

I just came to the temple

You came over here, so...

To shelter from the rain

You're Okiku san, from Jiroemon's row house

Don't say my name in a place like this!

Sorry

Your name is Okiku?

You're...

He just called your name, but...

I've seen you at Kikyoya, the wastepaper wholesaler

So, you know each other

Sometimes I go to Kikyoya to buy calligraphy paper

I see, you teach reading and writing at the temple school here, Okiku san...

Don't say my name here!

Sorry

This rain means autumn's coming

We're stuck here awhile

Please move out of the way

Please move away!

Yes

Hurry up!

She's scary...

How far are you hauling those?

To Kasai, by boat

How much do farmers pay for that?

So you do want to know

You asked me first, so I'm asking you back

Collecting wastepaper doesn't pay so good?

Who asked you!

I just lost my partner

Leave me be

- My partner... - Leave me be

My partner...

Leave me be...

Kameari Village, Kasai Ward

Who kept asking to leave you be?

While you're at it,

why not leave Edo and move here, Chuji

I don't want to leave way out here in the middle of nowhere

You just live in a poor row house

Aren't we there, yet?

- Ouch! - Man, you're a weakling

The cart's wobbling

The wind's blowing the stink at me!

Makes my eyes water...

I can't look ahead

Thank you so much

Go sell these at the central vegetable market

Yes sir, I'll take them

Hey, you're making a mess

I want to get it over with

Give it here

Let's go back to Edo

The river's calm and this wind will speed the boat

No, it'll be sundown when we're done

Yeah, in that case, we let it rest in a riverside manure pit overnight

Or two nights or three

Just like miso paste, shit's better after it's aged a little

It's what you call shit paste

That's your cue to laugh, Chuji

Bro...

Bro?

Bro Yasuke, your hands...

Go wash them by the well

When autumn brings the storms,

the river gets wild and we can't get to Edo

Better hurry or the market will close

One riceball won't last you all day

I just don't think it's right

What?

Piling up vegetables where you loaded piles of shit

It's fine, whatever you eat just turns into slop

From food to shit, it goes round and round

Kobikicho Jiroemon's row house

What are you always praying for, Dad?

I'm not praying for anything

I just pray 'cause I'm afraid

These skies won't grant my wish anyway

Dad

What?

Why, Dad, do you always fart when the dawn bell rings?

And not just once or twice

I wonder why,

maybe I'm getting old

Soon, I'll be farting and shitting at the same time

Thanks to you, I have to wake up, too

Say, Okiku

What is it, Dad?

I preferred it when you used to call me Father

We're not samurai anymore, Mother's gone

and you do nothing all day

Can I take a shit?

It's already autumn

Chapter One: The Invincible Okiku

1858, Autumn

Something sure stinks!

The roof leaks in the rain,

this place is just a shack..

It's just,

a shabby shack

Oh, no!

I stepped in it!

Move

Pardon me...

Pardon me

Watch out, you're splattering it!

You all right?

It stinks!

What a stinky mess

This is what happens in tenements!

Hey, Landlord!

At this rate, my nose will get squashed

We’ve put up with this shit for two nights, now

You should let us use your outhouse, Landlord

Only you three use it, so it's not overflowing yet

It will overflow soon

When I crouch down, the stuff nearly touches my butt

Why isn't the manure man here? His name's Yasuke san, right?

That's what I want to know

I don't give a shit, but clean up this shit

That's right, my husband's got diarrhea

My stomach feels like it's full of worms!

I need to pee so bad I can't sneeze!

This is your mess to clean up, Landlord

At my age,_ I refuse to shit on the road!

I used to, all the time, but not any more!

We can't even shit, so we don't dare eat!

You gotta do something about this, anything!

How dare you talk to me like that when you can't even pay rent!

Dad, we already paid

Oh, me?

Sir, say something to him

Well...

Wait for it to dry

Who's got time for that!

In this situation, patience is called for This shit won't kill you

Well Sir, we aren't samurai or important like you are

All I do is be patient,

but there's nobody to look after me,

whatever I pick up, I drop,

my back's so stiff I can't reach back to wipe my behind

You wouldn't understand, Sir,

but these days, I see things like bugs flying in front of my eyes

and I'm afraid the whole world will go black...

Save that for later!

I'm getting older, too

When I crouch, my knees shake and my legs go numb

To wipe my behind, my thighs cramp and I can't even lift a sword

Save that for later!

So, Okiku,

I can talk about it later?

We save talking about everything for later, so life never improves

So, injustice prevails

I dislike this side of you, Dad

You always argue and want the last word

You take on other people's troubles and accuse your superiors of injustice

Imagine my patience, after you served your clan but lost your position

I only accused them out of loyalty to my clan

I was only doing my job as the clan's accounts keeper

You should be proud of me!

I think,

you can save that for later, too

I understand Okiku san's point of view...

But right now, we are talking about poop

None of you here appreciates

how I had to swallow my samurai family pride

and learn how to say shit and fart without batting an eye!

None of you may criticize me!

Pardon us

Where the hell have you been!

We're in a hell of a mess because you didn't show up

My tenants are talking nonsense...

Sorry, there was so much rain, our village flooded and boats were banned

Our boat was nearly washed away by the flooding rivers, we only just made it

This is disgusting

You got a new partner?

He's Chuji, still learning the ropes

In any case, this is really poor people's shit

It weighs plenty,

but everyone here eats crappy food!

Hurry up and clean it up!

My items aren't in there

What did you say?

My items aren't in there!

Don't force me to repeat it!

By items, you mean your shit?

She was born like that...

Someone's here, Sir

Have you fared well, Shinjiro?

Pardon me, pardon me

Why are you in our line,_ Landlord?

Do it in your own house

Hurry up!

This is an odd tenement, right?

They're all strange and their stories don't match

You're right

I prefer the samurai mansions to this dump

Want to collect from this row house?

Chapter Two: The Regretful Okiku

1858, Late Winter

Oh...

What is it? I'm doing my business

Sorry... I'll wait

Know any interesting stories?

My bowels are pinched this morning

My legs are numb,

so tell me a good, diverting story

I don't know any good stories... Oh,

Bro Yasuke hangs around the theater, so he could tell you a good one

But, not me...

You got any family?

I had a younger sister, Oyo,

but consumption took her...

I see,

the same illness took my wife

It was just the two of us

You'll find someone else soon

It's better if you find someone to be by your side

But someone like Okiku is nothing but trouble

Once you provoke her, she'll brood on it forever

In the past, if I said, I'm going to practice at the dojo tomorrow morning,

she'd make riceballs for me

But when I said,

don't just salt the riceballs, but add some miso, once in a while,

that was the end of it

She won't cook me a single grain of rice

It's finally out

I used to be able to afford to wipe with paper,

but now, it's straw

I may never see you again

Just my shitty luck

Say,

do you know what the world means?

No, I don't

I can't even read or write

Do you know where these skies end?

These skies go on forever

That's what the world is

The cause of all the recent unrest,

is that the folks who finally

realized that,

can't see beyond their own tiny corner of it

Listen,

if you fall in love with a woman, tell her,

I cherish you more than_ anyone else in the world

There's no greater compliment

I just don't know,

it doesn't sit right

It all happened so long ago

Samurai sure are vengeful

With all this unrest,

what's a little grudge...

Chuji san

Have you seen Dad? His sword's missing, too

Oh, yes

I just saw him here earlier,

and he had his sword with him

Where did he go, not in sandals, but in travel footwear?

Some men came to escort him

Escort him?

Yes

He headed east, with the samurai

Hey!

Why didn't you stop Okiku from running off?

What?

I saw you...

Well, I suppose I couldn't stop her either

We men of poor means can't be sticking our noses

into samurai business...

Get back to your work

Heave-ho

Beware of fires

Pardon me

Pardon me

Heave-ho

I heard... The news

Come on inside

I...

I'm sorry we lost Genbei san,

but at least Okiku's life was spared...

Man, it's cold, step inside

I used to be,

a skilled coffin-maker

I used to make caskets,

so I've mourned for many of the dead

But now,

I just mend the bamboo bindings on caskets and pails

I'm old and senile now,

and my own bindings_ are falling apart,

so I'm not long for this earth, now

But then,

under the ground, the dead

get eaten up by worms and return to the earth

That's how

human beings lose everything, including their greed

In a way, I'm looking forward to that,

right?

When Okiku gets back from the clinic, give her a kind word

No need for condolences, just,

The skies today,

are mercifully free of clouds,

or something like that

But it could be

two months or three,

maybe four months before she's back

Chapter Three: Okiku, Fall in Love

1859, Late Spring

Hey, Chuji!

What are you up to?

I'm making the rounds of the ferry inns nearby,

carrying the filled buckets to the boat docked at the Eitai Bridge

Where are you headed?

Me?

I wanted to go back to making coffins while I can still work,

so I asked a job-finder to place me

When it's my time, I want to go in a coffin I made myself

The place is near Kan'ei-ji Temple, so I'm moving

Thank you so much for everything

Oh, by the way, Okiku's back

But she never leaves her rooms

Wait a little while longer

She still needs to be alone...

Well, be well!

Okiku!

I'll leave some sardines I grilled for you here

Please eat them

Let's leave her be

Yes

Hey, Okiku!

It's his monthly anniversary today

Let's toast his memory together

I owed your father money...

This is the place

Okiku san, it's me, Kojun

Call out to her, all of you

Teacher

Teacher!

Dear Teacher, please come back!

We want to see your face

We want to!

Dear Teacher!

Dear Teacher!

Dear Teacher

Teacher!

We're all sad

We're lonely

Dear Teacher

Every day, these children visit our priests' quarters,

begging to know when you'll return

Okiku san,

you have a role to play

you may not be able to read out loud, but you can write

and if you can do that, what do you say...

Whether speaking them or writing them with a brush,

what matters is the spirit of the words

Whatever your disability,

someone can assist you

I'm ashamed to confess,

my personality is better suited to eating sweets than giving sermons

But I, too, have a role to play

We are all given roles to play

You only have to play the role you're able to

And it's an important role not many can play

My role is torn between sweets and sermonizing

You see, when I eat sweets, I come up with good sermon lines

I sermonize and eat sweets, eat sweets and sermonize...

And now... I have no idea

what I'm talking about...

You see, that is,

this Buddhist is begging you

As I feared,

I am not skilled in sermonizing to persuade others

So, you will return?

I want to eat sweets!

Gatekeeper!

Please!

Please open the gate!

Yes!

Oh, it's you, the manure man You know where it is,

go ahead

Where's Soichiro?

He died like a dog

Hey, you've got it tough

Oh...

But you're better off than us

You only pay this much?

Like always

I don't know about that!

We eat better,_ so our shit's expensive

Please don't, it's the regular fee

Pay more, hey!

I'm sorry

Pay more!

You loser!

Cold water! Cold water for sale!

Stinks

Please don't...

Hey there!

Say, are you all right?

Why are you walking with this guy

She's not

Sister, let's leave them be

Yes, let's

If you're worried about me, don't bother

Spare me your sympathy!

I apologize, Okiku san

I'm the one bothering you

Your temple school's the other way

I'm sorry you had to follow me

Besides...

You've had...

A terrible blow...

Chuji told me...

May I leave now?

I'll be fine, really...

You stink

Stinks

Bro,

they made me pay more, again

Unbelievable

Something happen, Bro?

Nothing happened

I'll make another round while the sun's up

Bro, you've had it rough, let's call it a day

How dare you

All over Edo, people are shitting

They fart and they shit Can't let it go to waste

We eat off of their shit!

We can eat because they shit, so we gratefully accept it!

Don't sound so pitiful

I'm not pitiful!

You, you can quit, anytime!

There's plenty of other work for you, here in Edo

Hey...

I saw Okiku, before

I was cruel to her,

so sometime, apologize to her for me

My whole life is, Pa Pi Pu Pe Po

Don't know how to write it, but Pa Pi Pu Pe Po

This shitty world is, Pa Pi Pu Pe Po

Hometown

Pardon me

Okiku san, it's me, Chuji

Oh, sorry

I made the rounds_ in Bakurocho today,

so I stopped by at Kikyoya and got this

I heard that you have returned to the temple school

I...

This is all I can do for you...

All I can do...

Oh,

Yasuke said something to you,

said to apologize

Maybe next time

Please, be well

Chapter Four: Dumb and Dumber

1859, Kasai Ward, Early Summer

What'll we do, Bro?

What?

What?

What the...

Don't spill my meal ticket

You, too

The shit's splattered onto your nose

My eyes sting, but I'm used to it

Bro, Bro!

Bro...

Bro...

Wait!

Bro!

Dumb,

we're so dumb

What's so funny?

Hey,

you spilled half the bucket

There's a reason for this...

The cart broke down

Not my problem, you dumbasses!

Go do it over!

I thought this world could eat shit

but I wound up eating shit

That's your cue to laugh, Chuji

What?

I said, that's your cue to laugh!

What the hell are you laughing at?

Are you making fun of me!

I am truly sorry for farting_ my rudeness!

My farting rudeness!

Chapter Five: Foolish Okiku

Chu-gi (Loyalty)

Chu-ji

Chapter Six: And So Goes the Boat

Tucking the goldcoin box he stole into his belt, the thief Jirokichi,

limber from working the scaffolds, easily leaped across

the tiled roofs...

Bro,

you've been loafing at the theater

Don't skip work on your rounds

I want to be a professional storyteller

So, tell me a good story, then

Nothing good happens to me...

We made it here before sundown

1859, Naka River, Late Summer

The humidity makes the stink stick

Say, Chuji,

did you fall for a woman in Edo?

Why?

Why do you suddenly care about your stink?

Besides, you took over my route in Kobikicho

Because you like the samurai mansions

It's Okiku, who lives at Jiroemon's row house

It's Okiku, right?

Look...

A turtle

We see turtles everyday... Man, you have a dirty mind

Maybe there's a hairpin on the ground

I need to take a shit

Bro...

We get paid by the weight Time for your after-lunch shit

I don't eat food to make fertilizer

Don't make fun of us peasants You're a townee, living in Edo

I'm just a landless peasant,

too poor to eat

What's that look for?

I'll pretend I didn't see that

The buyer Hanbei always wants me to deliver more weight,

and on my samurai mansion route, his son always messes up

I get stuck cleaning up his mess, oh,

I'm wiping his behind

Your cue to laugh, Chuji

This is a hopeless, shitty world

Eat supper with me after this

Eat supper, turn it into shit and add it to the weight

Right,

each and every one of us, eats food and shits it out

That's all anybody does

The samurai and the rich merchants,

even the fancy courtesans, are all the same when they crap

Oh, Okiku, too

Cut it out

Okiku adds hers to the weight

Don't say that

I wonder what Okiku eats

You can keep your supper

I see, you're useless as shit, hey

Useless as shit, is really your cue to laugh

Keep your supper

Is that rumbling I've been hearing, the Thunder God approaching?

You and me are both orphans

So, we can do what we want

No relatives to stop us, no woman to suicide with

Say,

let's you and me try stealing

We know the layout of most mansions, right?

Don't drag me into anything...

I will live an honest life,

learn to read and write

Who's honest? Row house landlords and samurai keep raising their rates

And look at us now

Doesn't it piss you off?

If not, you're either a blockhead or a scarecrow

Learn to read and write and try carrying a sword

Don't make me laugh

I dislike this side of you, Bro!

You talk like you've got big, bold plans,

but on your rounds, you bow down and never return their insults

You only cheat the weight, like before

You're all talk

We're pitiful

You want to fight, but your spirit is weak

You don't have a shred of courage

We're just a pair of stinkers

Oh, and when I say we're stinkers,

I don't mean like shit

That's your cue to laugh, Bro

Bro, I'm sorry!

My tongue slipped, I went too far...

Bro!

That turtle you saw...

Turtle

Turtle?

I'm going back to the boat

Ouch!

I'm not crying

I don't get it

Listen, Chuji,

someday, I'm going to turn this world upside down

Now that's more like you!

Without us, Edo is just one big pile of shit

You're right

Let's try not making any rounds,

right?

Sounds good

Chapter Seven: Okiku and the World

1860, Winter

Good morning

Oh, no,

I haven't lost weight...

It looks like it's going to snow

When the snow falls, it gets so quiet

I like that

When you get home, salt the sardines

Stop bugging me about the sardines I'm off

They're going to rot

- Morning - Good morning

Thank you

Take good care

You're still drunk

- Morning, it's cold - Sure is cold

Morning, Okiku

Nice fat radish

He's such an idiot

Just ignore him and say, Yes, Dear

Oh, Landlord

That you-know-what is our you-know-what

So you should discount our rent

Landlord and tenants are like family

Hey, you owe me last month's rent

That...

How much do you sell that stuff to the farmers for?

He's gotten awful skinny

Your rent

Right up

Right up?

You should quit gambling

Dammit!

I bumped into you because you weren't watching your step

What is it?

What?

You have to spell it out for me

Chuji is... One, two, three, four

In there

Soba noodles! Soba noodles for sale!

You came all this way...

A cart...

Grains of rice...

These filthy grains of rice... Okiku san

Are you feeling sick?

Why did you come?

Okiku san, you're

the daughter of a samurai

And I'm,

just a lowly...

So...

You'll have me,

as I am?

I don't have the words

Someday...

Please teach me how to write

Epilogue: Okiku's World

1861, Late Spring

You bastard!

Sorry, sorry!

I said, sorry!

If I have to pay you any more money, I can't eat!

Seeing your pathetic face

makes me feel shitty!

Feel shitty

You shit-fly!

What did you...

What did you say!

Flies that fly around shit!

Flies around shit...

Not funny

You stink!

You hick peasant!

You hick peasant!

I'm sorry...

Bastard!

Bastard, bastard, bastard!

Makes us the stink brothers!

Your cue to laugh, servant!

Ouch!

It stinks!

Stinks!

Let us now study today's lesson

The world

The world

Let's start by tracing the word in the air

It's springtime

The word, the world, means,

if you head out in that direction,

you'll always come back from this direction

That is the nature of the world

Where are you going, Okiku?

What's that mean?

The springtime of my life

You said that a million times

Who asked you?

The springtime of my life

Say, Okiku...

The End