Original subtitles

THREE SISTERS WITH MAIDEN HEARTS

Here, take this. You can rip it up and use it.

Thank you, but I don't need it. I have something I can use.

• I'm sorry. I thought you might need some help. • Thank you for your kindness.

My older sister is a strolling musician.

My mother runs the business.

She has 3 live-in apprentices, and she sends them out to stroll around Asakusa and entertain people.

Please don't tell anyone.

Oh, go ahead, it's all right if you do.

I have two older sisters. I'm the youngest.

My two older sisters have been earning money since they were about eight years old.

I think my older sisters had a very hard time, because Mother was really tough on them.

But she has been easygoing with me, because I'm the youngest child.

And she told me that if I found someone nice…

That if you found someone nice...?

That she would release me from all obligations. That means obligations to Mother and to my older sisters!

She even said that?

[Matsuya]

Let me sing for you, Mister.

Let me sing for you, Mister.

• Go away! • Shut up. Don't bother asking anymore.

Right?

Stop it. Come back sometime later.

They don't give up easily, do they.

Let me sing something for you, Mister.

Let me sing for you, Mister.

• No, thanks. • No!

• She's pretty good, don't you think? • She's nice looking, too. Shall we waste a little bit of money?

Don't do it. It's boring.

Just pick a song you'd like me to sing, OK? Pick a song, OK?

For starters, anything is fine.

Hey everyone, Chie-chan seems to be in dreamland when she's dancing these days. It's suspicious.

• It sure is. • It's suspicious. • It's strange.

• Maybe there's a reason. I discovered something. •• What?

• Well... • Shush!

• Oh, really? • I'm jealous. • She should take us all out to celebrate!

• It's all right if you want to take me out to celebrate. ••• What a smart reply!

Now sing it.

No good. No good.

I've never heard such an unfeeling voice.

How many times do I have to teach you for you to get it right?

Now do again from the beginning.

• Buy me a drink. • Buy me a drink.

Let them be, Chie-chan.

It will become a habit with them!

You bobbed-haired scrounger!

Moda! Moda...

• Modern girl! •• We're leaving!

Hey! What are you doing?

Stop singing such stupid songs! Learn something decent!

Why can't you learn it? Try it again.

• That's not a mole, it's a pimple. • Yuck! A pimple?

♪ Heave-ho, heave-ho, heave-ho…

Oops, this isn't right.

Oh, just leave it as it is and give me a discount.

♪ Heave-ho, heave-ho, heave-ho…

Don't sing such vulgar songs. They're a bad influence on the kids.

You idiot!

Mother!

You can't teach by snapping and scolding.

They're not going to learn anything when they're cowering.

I try so hard to teach her but she doesn't learn. She's wasting my time.

• O-haru-chan, you teach her. • All right.

O-kinu-chan, come over here.

O-some…

Chieko has been coming in late these days. She seems strange to me.

Do you think maybe she has got involved with a man or something?

I don't think that's it.

I don't want her to do what O-ren did.

After all the trouble of raising them you think they've finally grown up,

if a man gets to them and they run off, it's more than their mother can bear.

And that's the truth.

Oh! Older Sister, were you there the whole time? I didn't realize it.

• You seem really cheerful. • Really?

Listen, Chie-chan...

• What is it? • Well, Mother is worried about you.

• Really? Why? • Well, she says that you've been coming in late these days.

But once we're done with our performance, we have rehearsals for next month's show.

That's why I've been coming home late these days.

If that's all it is, there's nothing to worry about.

But if there is anything else, please tell your older sister about it—in confidence.

Chieko! Are you there?

Mother is calling you.

Why is your head up in the clouds?

I was thinking of telling only my older sister about you, Aoyama-san. Would that be all right?

Of course it's all right.

That's a good idea.

• Oh! This is scary. • Ha, ha.

Don't be so frightened. We'll be fine.

If the boat capsized here...

…it would be a double suicide with you, Aoyama-san, wouldn't it? • Is that a frightening thought?

No.

Ha, ha, ha.

I don't want to commit double suicide with you, Chieko. People would think it was a father-and-daughter suicide.

• If my mother had been kind enough to commit suicide with her children... • Then would have been no need for you to commit double suicide with me.

I still don't know.

I think that at the moment I fell in it would certainly become easier.

That would make you a daughter full of filial piety toward her father.

I'd make it look like I were your lover.

How would you do that?

I think I'd know when the time came.

Yes, when the time comes…

No! What a stubborn girl you are!

O-shima-chan.

O-shima-chan, I don't think you've made much money.

Come her. You can have this.

I made more than I need, so you take this.

Thank you!

• There are some good customers out there, so go out and make a little more money. • I will.

USED BOOKSTORE

What are you doing?

I don't like it that you hide things.

What did you buy?

Come.

You girls aren't very nice. Why do you keep hiding things from me?

Have I ever been a tattletale?

So what if you buy a little something for yourself?

If Mother scolds you, tell her that I bought it for you.

What's the point of trembling all the time?

I can't tell you how bad it is for you yourselves.

I hope you understand. Now, once more around, all right?

Off you go.

FIRST-RUN WESTERN MOVIES

• You know, that might be something juicy. • What do you mean?

• You saw that couple? The guy is the son of the owners of Ume-no-i. • Ume-no-i?

It's a big restaurant complex. And I'm sure that girl is a dancer.

• So what's the big deal? • Tch. You're slow to catch on...

Now stop that.

• What's the problem? Stay beside me a little longer. • Stop it.

• What's the problem? Why can't I be drunk? • Then have me sing something.

OK? Have me sing, OK?

• Beer please, Miss. • Yes.

• Hey, you don't have to sing. Come on. • Stop it!

• What's the problem? • Stop it! Ah!

It's not my fault.

Cheapskate.

It's not a twenty-sen toy, you know.

Here, have your money back.

Cheeky, aren't you.

Hey you, go on home. You didn't have to say things like that!

Go on, go on home.

She's a pretty girl. I wonder what else she does.

Heh, arguing with her was... Heh, heh.

• Give me some sake. • Yes.

• Check, please, Miss. • Yes.

Let me have my check, too.

• Isn't that your older sister? • Yes. You'll wait here, won't you?

Older Sister!

I'm sorry, Older Sister. Lying to you like that.

There's no need for apology.

Just don't make any mistakes.

I was planning to tell you about it—in confidence.

• I'll tell you when I get home, all right? • Just don't be too late, all right? • Yes.

Oh, today I saw Older Sister O-ren.

What, our older sister? Where?

She was getting on a streetcar at Tawara-machi.

I'll tell you about that later, too.

POCKET CINEMA

You haven't been earning enough...

so what's the big idea buying books?

I always thought that you were bringing in less than you ought to, but it's because you've been secretly buying things, isn't it?

If you're going to be doing things like that, you ought to know what's going to happen to you.

I'm home!

• What's wrong? • They used the money they made on themselves.

I have to punish them a little.

If you're talking about that book, I bought it for her.

She's been working hard. I think it's all right to give her something like that.

Doing things like that makes her more and more impertinent.

Don't interfere. You don't bring in that much money yourself.

What? You broke your samisen again?

In this business you can break an arm, but you always need to take care of your samisen.

Ahh. I get so sick of this.

All the trouble of raising you, and you're nowhere near becoming someone who gives an honest day's work.

You have no idea how much easier it would it have been for me to go out and earn money myself!

Like a beggar,

like a fortune-teller,

no matter where I go,

I'm looked down on,

pushed away,

and even when I get home, there's not a single kind word.

Mother...

please be satisfied with how you raised me!

Don't be impudent! You aren't a "young lady from a good family", you know.

If you don't like it, do whatever you want.

Just like O-ren, some man will probably get to you and you'll run off.

This thing!

Oh! Are you crazy? What are you doing?

This thing!

Hey! Hey! You're crazy! Stupid!

Even without a samisen I can bring home money for you!

I'm home!

Why are you staring off into space? Hurry and clean this up!

You had another argument?

She says things that I just can't understand.

Our older sister ran away from home. To tell you the truth, I think she did the right thing.

I just want to go somewhere far away from here.

I think I've made things difficult for you, Older Sister.

I'm the only one who does what she wants.

It's not that.

I should be sad if at least one of us didn't receive a gentle upbringing, Chie-chan.

Oh, and about your friend… I think he's a good person.

• He says that he has met you, Older Sister. • That's true.

When I was having trouble with the thong of my geta, he passed by and offered me a handkerchief.

He's a nice man, isn't he.

I'm sure Older Sister O-ren would be happy to hear about it, too.

By the way, you said you saw Older Sister O-ren, but are you sure it was her you saw?

I just saw her from the side, and the streetcar left right away, so I didn't get a clear view,

but I'm sure it was our older sister. • How did she look?

She wasn't very well dressed.

I wonder if maybe something... has happened to her.

Older Sister O-ren would sit here like this, shedding tears. It happened all the time.

She loved the Matsuya Rooftop.

From there she would stare into the hazy distance. It happened all the time.

That's when it began. Our older sister's character began to change.

If we were walking together in the park,

rough-looking characters would say hello to our older sister. It happened more and more.

When we were walking together, in many ways I became a nuisance to her.

When that happened, she'd scratch the back of her ear with her samisen pick

and I'd make myself scarce.

And then after a while she stopped bothering to carry a samisen.

And then one time…

I saw her all dressed up like a "young lady from a good family".

She had changed her appearance and become a tool of those ruffians.

And then she fell in love with Kosugi-san.

It was a serious love affair for both of them.

I'd never seen our older sister so happy as she was then.

One day she told me…

Well, you know that Kosugi is an honest theater pianist.

But I have so many low-life acquaintances around here that his living with me in Asakusa is out of the question.

Why, just last night…

O-ren is our girl. We won't let anyone take her for himself.

Stay away from O-ren, all right?

• You're threatening him, aren't you! • We're asking him to stay away from you.

Ha! Don't joke around. You have to kill me to make me leave this man.

So stop poking your nose in my business.

But I don't know what they'll do to Kosugi to try to get me back.

What are you going to do, Older Sister?

Please forgive me. I'm planning to leave home.

But, Some-chan, after I leave, you and Chie-chan will probably have an even more difficult time. It pains me to think of that.

And then she ran off without telling us where she was going to live.

But I think that our older sister was happier that way.

Mother!

Mama!

Those little darlings are so sweet.

• They're dreaming about their mothers back in the countryside. • I think you must be right.

But I envy girls who can at least see a kind mother in their dreams.

• Well, it's pretty late. Let's go to bed, shall we. • Yes.

The weather will be nice tomorrow.

[Matsuya Rooftop Amusement Park]

Older Sister!

Oh! Some-chan!

I come here all the time because I think I might run into you.

You used to come here often in those days, didn't you.

That's true, isn't it.

Let's sit down.

Chieko told me yesterday that she had seen you.

• I can't tell you how much I've wanted to see you. • Me too, Some-chan. I've wanted to see you and Chieko very much.

But, you know… How's Mother?

She's doing fine. Chieko is doing well, too.

But more than that, Older Sister, how have you been?

Please. Tell me.

How is Kosugi-san?

He's sick. It's his lungs.

He might never get better.

I haven't had a single happy month since I left home.

Kosugi found a job in the suburbs but he got fired right away.

After that he did work that he was nowhere near strong enough for.

That's why he got sick.

I remember that night…

At that time he was working in the shipping department of some factory.

Him with that weak body of his, doing a job that required so much strength.

Welcome home.

It was cold out there, wasn't it?

Are you feeling OK?

Here you go. Why don't you change your clothes?

Oh, you're all wet. It's not good for you, you know.

What's wrong? You sure don't seem well.

Is something wrong somewhere? Or are you just tired.

All right then, I'll change your clothes for you.

Like a baby, ha, ha.

Don't be silly, crying like that.

To think that this is what you get for working so impossibly hard...

...that's why—a job that you weren't fit for—

...I said that I'd do any kind of work until you could find an easier job...

It's easy for you to say such things. You have a lot of big-shot friends.

It would be easy for you to earn enough money to feed me.

Oh, is that what you think?

Are you telling me to go back to my bad acquaintances?

I left that place, even going so far as to break with my parent and my sisters, just so that the two of us could be together.

I can understand what he was thinking.

He thought that if he let me work, paying taxes and all that, I'd definitely go back to my old ways.

Anyway, he just wouldn't let me work, no matter what.

He just got more and more sick.

If I was a little late coming back from an errand…

• Where were you all this time? • Am I that late? I'm sorry.

Well, I suppose that it's easier to be out there than in here looking at a sick man's face.

Oh.

If you don't like it, you can leave any time. Get out!

Get out and do whatever you want!

I figured that it was his sickness that made him like that, but it really hurt.

But when he was in a good mood…

I'm really sorry to be making your life so difficult.

What? Are you talking to me?

Don't worry about things like that.

I'm not going to live much longer anyway. I'm resigned to it.

But O-ren, please don't give up on me before I die.

My, my. What ridiculous things you say sometimes.

What will you get by being faint-hearted?

Please cheer up a little for me.

If you get stronger, there are so many fun things we could do.

Say, wasn't it fun when we first moved into this apartment?

Everyone remarked how well we got along together.

There were even some jealous wives who made sarcastic remarks.

And remember that student next door? He was quite a character, wasn't he?

All of a sudden he'd feel sorry for himself and start banging on things,

and he always cleared his throat—"ahem"—when he went past our door.

Yes, yes. And is was around the time when—remember?—the two of us went out one night

to steal a watermelon from that watermelon patch.

You sure were funny then!

Just when we were about to take it, you suddenly started shaking and said, "Let's not, let's not."

It was such a ruckus that the guard heard it and shouted, "Hey!"

I'd never seen anyone so surprised!

You ran away in such a flurry that you fell into the sewer and got soaked like a sewer rat.

When I remember how you looked then…

I howled with laughter!

But he has finally decided to go back to the countryside and convalesce.

So will Older Sister go with him?

Apparently the family in the countryside aren't happy about it, but we can't leave each other.

I never thought I was happy, but I don't think I'm unlucky either.

Why did you come to Asakusa?

I came to get money for my train ticket.

I thought that one of my old friends would probably oblige me with a little bit of money.

• When are you leaving? • Tomorrow night.

Chieko will want to see you, too. Let the two of us see you off.

Thanks. We'll probably leave Ueno on the 11:15 train.

We'll be there.

Please do come.

Is Mother still the same?

But I've become much stronger.

It must be hard.

Hey, does it still hurt?

I think you must have bought and eaten something on the sly again. Right?

Older Sister O-some bought it for us.

The way you gobble your food is the problem.

When you have stomach pain or a headache or don't feel right, when you board a train or a ship, when you go out in a crowd, drink sake, smoke a cigarette, touch another person, go on an outing, travel, study, or work,

taking five or six of our pills will instantly make you feel refreshed, soothe your throat, and clear your mind. Better than any other pills!

We are now distributing samples. And for those of you who wish to buy some today after trying the sample, we're offering our two-hundred-pill package, which goes for 20 sen, for the special price of 10 sen.

You can dissolve it in warm water or just freely pop it into your mouth. Do try a sample, please.

Excuse me, may I have some?

[Matsuya]

Then, Older Sister O-ren is in a really difficult situation, right?

• You don't suppose we could ask Mother for money, do you? • No, no, we mustn't do that.

I don't think our older sister ever thought of having Mother help her out.

Please Mister, treat me to something.

Ha. ha. Isn't it funny? O-kinu-chan is talking in her sleep.

Older Sister, O-kinu-chan is talking in her sleep.

It's not talking in her sleep.

She has a fever. She's delirious.

• Older Sister, they say this medicine really works. • What is it?

• There isn't much of it. Is it expensive? • It was free. I got it on the riverboat.

• Oh, that stuff? • I bet you it'll work even if it's free.

Aren't you going to be late for your performance?

What's wrong?

Chieko, do you need money?

• If that's what you need, you can just tell me plainly. • No, no. That's not it!

Well then you should just say you want to get married or something.

No, no, I'm fine.

No. It's all right if we don't get married.

What's wrong? I have no idea what's going on.

All you have to do is bring him to Bar Matsuba.

I'll show you what he looks like.

• What am I supposed to tell him to get him to come with me? • Hmm.

You're right. It's no good if you aren't able to convince him.

• OK, how about telling him this. There's a daughter of relatives of yours that you owe a favor to... • Yeah, that's it.

...and say you'd like to explain the situation to him. That will be good enough.

I know you're up to no good, but just what is it this time?

Don't ask idle questions.

Well then, let's go.

Wait a minute. I'd like receive the money first and then go do it.

• Why can't we leave that for later? • I don't like it that you don't trust us.

Why don't you give it to me up front? I have other things to take care of, too.

All right, for you we'll pay in advance.

[upstairs room at Restaurant Kurotaka]

MAH-JONGG

RESTAURANT KUROTAKA

[Bar Matsuba]

Sorry for the inconvenience, but we can talk here.

FOR BUSINESS DISCUSSIONS OR OTHER MATTERS, PLEASE USE OUR PRIVATE ROOM UPSTAIRS.

MAH-JONGG

[upstairs room at Bar Matsuba]

MAH-JONGG

[upstairs room at Restaurant Kurotaka]

[upstairs room at Bar Matsuba]

[upstairs room at Restaurant Kurotaka]

• Well, I'm finished now, right? • Yes. And thanks.

[upstairs room at Restaurant Kurotaka]

MAH-JONGG

[upstairs room at Bar Matsuba]

BAR MATSUBA

[upstairs room at Restaurant Kurotaka]

[upstairs room at Bar Matsuba]

[upstairs room at Restaurant Kurotaka]

Even though I'm her relative, I'm terribly poor, and, though I know it's an utterly impudent request, I'd like to ask you for a loan.

It's not that I don't trust you, and I'll do what I can, but first I'd like to consult with Chieko-san.

So you're saying there's no way you'll take my word for it. Is that it?

I think you're showing your true colors.

• So full of yourself, dragging off some dancing girl... • Do you think you can get away with that for nothing?

• Trying to run away? • Ooh!

• Damn! • Aah! • Damn!

• What do you...? • Yo...!

Ah!

Ah!

You're Chie-chan's older sister, aren't you. Are you hurt?

• I'm fine. It's nothing at all. • But you need to get to a doctor right away.

• Come on… • No.

Really, it's nothing serious.

Excuse me. What time is it?

Eh, ten-thirty.

I think Chieko is waiting at the backstage exit of the theater.

• Would it be too much to ask you to bring her here? • Oh, of course I'll do that.

And anyway I'm going to bring a doctor too.

Wait!

Chieko is a good and gentle girl. Please take care of her.

Well, I'll hurry and be right back.

WAITING ROOM

Oh, thank you so much for coming. Where's Chie-chan?

Chie-chan will be late because of her rehearsal.

She really wanted to come, but she sends her regards.

I see.

It's too bad.

Take good care of yourself.

Thank you.

Some-chan, you look pale.

It's nothing.

Watch your health, won't you.

You too, Older Sister.

Thank you.

Ω ...platform, 11:15 departure...

Ω ...for Aomori via the Ōu Line will soon depart.

Ω Aomori via the Ōu Line will soon depart.

Ueno Station! And hurry!

Well, Older Sister, I'll part with you here.

Thanks for coming all the way here.

And, Older Sister, one other thing. Chieko found herself a good man. Be happy for her.

My, my. What sort of a man is he? I wish I could meet him.

But now, I guess, maybe I'll never be able to.

Please look after Chieko for the both of us older sisters, will you?

I'm really sorry to be leaving you to deal with everything, Some-chan, but...

...please.

Well… sayōnara.

Sayōnara.

It's worked out well.