Original subtitles

HOKKAIDO - EARLY 1900s

Place your bets.

Even.

Odd.

Ten horses for 20 yen...

Kijima, the horses are our lives.

How can you part with them for such a pittance?

I just came here for fun...

but I kept losing.

Matsuo, you may be the union rep

but your business is horses.

Leave the gambling business to us.

Gambling is not why you came here from Sapporo.

Daikin, it's illegal to trade in horses without a union license.

I could have you thrown in jail for this IOU.

If you don't want that to happen, take these men and get the hell out of town.

I'll have you know,

I'm descended from samurai from Saga.

I always keep my word.

Master!

Shit!

Master!

Master...

Who are you?

Tell me. Tell me!

Hey!

~ Nihon Jokyo-den: Makka na Dokyo-bana ~ BRIGHT RED FLOWER OF THE NORTH

Stop!

I said stop!

I hate Ainu. They smell.

Get off. I said, get off!

Makiri...

Get off.

There's no need.

You're Japanese just like us.

You don't have to listen to him.

That's a laugh.

Hey Lady, you must be a virgin

to say something so naive.

How about it?

Damn you!

Nishipa. You get off.

Damn you.

Drive on.

I won't forget this.

Damn, that hurts.

Cast

FUJI Junko

YAMASHIRO Shingo

OZAWA Eitaro, ISHIYAMA Kenjiro

TAKAKURA Ken

Directed by FURUHATA Yasuo

Since Matsuo's death,

the union rep position has been vacant.

The government delegated the decision to the horse traders association here.

So, I'm calling a board meeting soon.

You say your candidate is Matsuo Yuki.

Who is she?

She is Master Matsuo's daughter.

Does she live here in town?

She hasn't arrived from Kyushu yet.

Well...

A union rep is a government appointee, responsible for twice-yearly horse auctions

and general business of the union.

Can a girl who'll set foot here for the first time handle these duties?

We'll back her up.

What's your point, Deputy Mayor?

A certain party has protested the candidacy.

They say there's a more suitable candidate.

No way!

Gen!

You disappeared on that fateful day.

Where have you been since then?

Grandpa. Gen was Matsuo's head ranch hand.

He should take over the position.

Gen. Is that what you think?

That's ridiculous.

Genji, you know who killed Master, don't you?

Tell us right now who did it.

Let's not get physical here.

Gen, come back to us, please.

Stop it. Call the police.

Why do you put us in jail and let those yakuza free?

Not my business.

Calm down or I won't let you see your visitor.

Grandpa!

It's me. Have you forgotten me?

I'm Matsuo Yuki.

Miss.

Yes, you're Miss Yuki.

Chief!

Matsuo's daughter is here?

Yes. She insisted we free the ranch hands.

She says it's illegal and she'll tell the Tokyo newspapers.

It's not good to escalate matters now.

We have the Sapporo banks and government officials in our pockets.

Not to worry.

I think we should ease off.

The horse auction is next month.

We have to get the right to hold that auction.

Of course we'll take care of it.

I need money for my election campaign.

Let them go for now.

How happy the master would have been

to see you grown up so beautifully.

There is something I need to tell you.

Shichibei has told me about my father's license.

I also know you've been waiting for me to come

and why you've asked me here.

But I must tell you this...

I can't follow in his footsteps.

Miss!

I am a woman.

I don't know what a union rep should do.

Being a woman in a land I've never lived in...

I don't think I have the ability to do business or be your leader.

Please decide amongst yourselves and choose someone to take over for Father.

Miss, then we lose the justification for contesting Daikin's claim.

Miss Yuki. That's it.

I know this is hard for you.

But to defend what your father gave his life for

you must be the nominal leader.

You are his flesh and blood after all.

No.

I hadn't spoken to him for over 20 years.

From the day he left Saga, he didn't write once.

I have no idea how he lived or what he believed in.

So I've made decisions on my own.

Since my mother died eight years ago,

I've dreamt of emigrating to China.

That dream is about to come true.

I have been appointed to teach in a Japanese school in Manchuria.

I plan to leave Japan at the end of next month.

I came here to retrieve Father's remains so I can bury him next to Mother.

Please forgive me for being self-centred.

Listen everyone.

Except for Shichibei,

all ranch hands are forbidden to enter town for the next two months.

That's illegal.

Shut up!

This is just a warning but if you disobey

we will reopen investigations into last night's incident.

If you know what's good for you, you'll leave town.

This is outrageous. You yakuza should leave.

Let go.

You minions of the yakuza!

Let go.

Grandpa! Please talk to the Miss again.

Get in.

Damn you.

January 4th. Sunny, then rain.

Twenty years have passed since I left Saga.

Comrades mostly dead or returned to the mainland.

Only Shichibei and I remain.

When we were defeated in our fight for freedom and human rights

I exiled myself to this freezing land.

My enemy now is harsh nature.

Am I to be defeated once again?

No. No. I will not.

Miss. I beg of you.

Please follow in your father's footsteps.

Please. I beg you.

April 5th. Rain then sunny.

My wife has died.

When I think of Yuki left alone,

my heart almost bursts.

To bring freedom and justice to this land,

is my lifelong work.

I can't leave here without accomplishing that.

I can only hope that Yuki will understand.

December 23rd. Cloudy.

Shot by an assassin of an unruly mob.

So my life is about to end here.

Regret, indignity... Yuki... Yuki... Yuki...

So we have both candidates here.

We will now take a vote.

Who votes for Masukawa Genji?

All right.

Who votes for Matsuo Yuki?

Five to four. A foregone conclusion.

Everyone, thanks for coming.

Wait.

As Board Chairman I have the right to a vote.

So it's five to five. We're deadlocked.

Chairman, this is unfair.

We won't be able to hold the horse auction.

I'm just a country doctor.

I know nothing about horses.

But I'm a better judge of people than you are.

But we'll never solve this.

That's right. But there is one way.

There is one more board member.

Matsuo recommended this person and transferred his stocks to him.

His name is Kazami Goro.

We were never able to locate him.

Isn't he a member in name only?

Well, I hear he lives near Abashiri.

Since our vote is split, we'll have to find him,

and have him cast the deciding vote.

I will try to find him.

In the meantime, I'm reserving decision.

The meeting is adjourned.

I've never heard of a female union rep.

Miss, although the vote was split,

I promise we'll resolve it in your favour.

Thank you.

I will do all I can as well.

That's the spirit.

Miss, this town was built by pioneers like your father and us.

Officials and yakuza have no say here.

We'll do what we can but we count on you as well.

All right?

Yes.

Miss, I'm so glad.

This horse market is one of the three largest in Japan.

Thousands of horses from all over Hokkaido will gather here.

The horse market and the stud farm were created by your father.

Yuki, are you still going to China?

I'm finally understanding...

what my father was trying to create.

Nishipa!

Makiri!

Nishipa. Take it.

Thank you.

How does it taste?

Well... it could be better.

Is it that salty?

No, no. To make perfect soup took me three years.

It's not bad for a first try.

How about this?

Very good.

Hello!

Is this Matsuo Yuki's residence?

I am Matsuo Yuki.

Oh, as you are.

I am the editor in chief of Hokkaido's Nichinichi newspaper.

My name is Kosugi Shinsaku.

I admire the fact that you defeated Daikin

at the board of directors meeting.

Our paper will endorse you and print op-eds...

I know. You want advertising fees.

Oh, you're ahead of me. Thank you.

Here.

But I want you to research something.

Sure. What you want to know, is why Genji defected.

Yes. Do you know why?

Not a clue.

But his wife has gone to work recently.

Therein lies a clue.

She says she will not live with a husband

who betrays his former master.

So she's left home with her kid to work.

Hey, is Ume here?

She was here just a minute ago.

Is she upstairs?

Yes, she's putting her boy to sleep.

Ume?

I'm Yuki, Matsuo's daughter.

Miss. Please forgive us. Please.

My husband isn't the kind to go against you.

I think he was threatened by Daikin.

He can't help it.

I know, Ume.

When I saw Genji, I knew he was good.

Miss! Please help my husband.

Yes. But if Genji is really a hostage,

it's dangerous for you to be working here.

Bring the boy and come and live with me.

I can't possibly impose on you further.

So, it's you.

Lady, you treated me really badly.

I'm going to repay you in spades.

Hey you, take the kid and get out.

Well?

Are you going to shoot a woman over your pride?

Your bullets can't kill me.

Shoot if you can.

Such a cute face, but you've got guts.

Lady... no, Sister.

I've fallen for your gutsy manner.

How about it? Will you be my wife?

Oh, my name is Matsu.

I'm the best seal hunter there is.

I have a lot more money than the ranch hands.

You won't want for anything.

You must be joking.

Joke? I'm serious.

If you refuse, I'll have to kill you here and kill myself as well.

Oh, Tama!

You said you were going to marry me!

You perv! You're going to pay for this.

I haven't done anything wrong.

I said no, but she said go ahead...

I know it's you.

That hurts.

If you try again, I'm going to castrate you.

Tama. Tama. I'm sorry.

Forgive me, Tama.

I won't fall for that.

Ume, your husband wants to see you. Come with us.

No.

I'm looking out for them, now.

You...

Well met. I'll show you how good I really am.

Hush. You'll wake the child.

Damn you.

How are my wife and child?

Idiot. Because you bungled things,

they've gone to Matsuo's daughter for help.

Then they're with her?

That's right.

Bastard. You set it up.

Make sure he doesn't get away.

Keep a close watch.

Damn you.

You can't tell me what to do anymore.

Perhaps we should kill the girl as well.

It's the board members that are the problem.

Maybe we should show them what it means to oppose Daikin.

Fire.

Wake up! Fire!

Wake up. Wake up.

Pirika.

Go and tell Lady Nishipa.

Nishipa!

Are you all right?

Nishipa!

Nishipa, Kijima's over here.

Kijima!

Yuki. Please round up the horses.

Without the horses, I will be ruined. Please.

Of course. You take Kijima to my house.

We'll go and round up the horses.

Thank you.

Let's go.

Hey, lady. This is harder than I thought.

It took me all night and I only found this many.

I'll go and look some more.

What do you want?

Nothing. Don't you see that?

This area is full of bogs.

You step in and you'll be sucked under for good.

Go ahead if you want to die.

Where do you come from?

Kusuri.

Oh yeah? That's the direction I'm heading.

Follow me.

I don't like the look of those clouds.

Hey. You must be hungry.

Eat it.

What? Just chew it a lot.

It's a delicacy for us poor people.

I'm used to poverty.

You're not from around here.

I'm from Saga in Kyushu.

Saga.

I hate Saga people.

I don't want you to like me.

It's getting cold.

The Ainu call this man cold,

because women want to cuddle in this weather.

Put it around you.

Kusuri is that way. I'm going this way.

What business do you have in Kusuri?

I have something to take care of. See you.

Thanks.

You can have that.

Won't you tell me your name?

Name? Goro, the wind.

You?

Matsuo Yuki. Goodbye.

Matsuo?

It's awful how Master Matsuo was murdered.

Murdered?

The Daikin yakuza got to him.

And his family?

His daughter and his old servant are still here.

Who is it?

Are you the chairman of the horse association?

Yes. And you?

You must remember the name Kazami.

You stole his land. I'm Kazami Shuhei's son.

So you're Kazami Goro.

Welcome, welcome. I've been waiting for you.

Here. The stocks are in your name.

Mr. Matsuo asked me to hold them for you before he died.

I'm so glad you came. I want to ask you a favour.

We've been looking for you. Take them.

If they're mine, I'll take them.

They may come in handy to destroy the horse association.

Kazami!

Our lives were sacrificed for the horse market.

I'll give my life to destroy it.

You remember that.

Kazami!

Hey, Kazami!

Tell me what happened between them.

I didn't want the young miss to know.

No, it's all right. I want to know.

The late master's huge ranch stands on land...

Kazami senior borrowed from the government...

and cleared for farmland.

Almost 20 years ago...

Please. I beg of you.

There is no other land.

We won't be able to raise horses around Kusuri.

Please, we must have your land.

And how do you think us farmers can live without land?

Join the horse union and work with us.

A farmer is a farmer. We can't be ranch hands.

It's folly to farm in this frigid climate.

Horse breeding is the only way for Kusuri to grow.

That land is our blood, sweat and tears.

We won't let it go to satisfy your ambition.

We're not leaving.

Kazami!

There's logic in both of your opinions.

Regarding the transfer of the land deed,

we will discuss this in committee and come to a decision.

That is all.

Master.

For the Kusuri 100 year plan, we mustn't lose.

Shichibei, we'll have to bribe the officials.

Bribe?

Yes, and he succeeded.

By official orders, the deed was terminated

and the land was sold to your father.

What about Kazami?

The day the village was dissolved...

he divided his assets among the farmers.

Then he commited seppuku and died.

It was his way of taking responsibility.

But Father believed in liberty and justice.

How could he do something so underhanded?

The land that I was prepared to give my life to protect...

is tainted.

Miss.

In those days, that was the only way he could keep his dream alive.

If there were no horse trading, then Kusuri,

no... the horse industry in Hokkaido

wouldn't be what it is today.

One had to get one's hands dirty to make things happen.

Miss.

What the master did was not wrong.

Please have faith in your father.

Thank you for the other day.

What do you want?

Goro of the wind... No, Kazami Goro.

I am Matsuo Kennosuke's daughter.

I had to see you.

Mr. Kazami. What we're doing is very important

and we absolutely need your help.

I'm the son of the man your father kicked out.

I know. You must hate my father.

Even so, I have no choice but to ask.

Please help us.

My father was not exultant in his victory.

Like your father, my father...

also paid the price for the future of the pioneers.

Please think of it in that light and forgive him.

I don't care about the reasons.

You couldn't eat the dried corn.

When my father died, I was 12 and my sister was 17.

The only thing we had to eat was dried corn.

My sister sold herself into prostitution.

I was sold to a ranch in Abashiri.

It would have been better if I had died.

Do you know why I couldn't die?

For the farmers who were driven out by your father.

I also swore to pay off my father's debt.

Those were the last wishes of my father,

who was a samurai clan lord.

My sister died when she was 19.

On her death bed,

she grasped one yen in her skinny hands.

She said I didn't care how little,

I want you to buy back Father's land.

Can you possibly know how I felt?

This is our land.

I'm going to dig up the grassland...

and make this farmland for them again.

I'm going to destroy the horse market,

with this rifle.

Now get out of here.

Here's your food.

Do you have a stomach ache, Genji?

He's getting away.

Sorry.

Hey, good looking.

Let me through.

I know you.

It's Ume's husband.

Help me. I'm being chased.

Help me.

See. I told you drinking and a hot bath is a no-no.

Have you seen Genji, the ranch hand?

Don't know.

Come on, keep walking.

I've come to help look.

Idiot!

We're almost there.

You've lost an important hostage. What now?

I've got it all planned.

It's even legal, Deputy Mayor.

Thanks for coming.

I have something to discuss with you.

I don't need this many escorts.

I'm sorry, Mr. Kazami.

I have a favour to ask you.

I'm beginning to see the picture.

You want me to vote for you at the board meeting.

That's getting to the point.

I refuse.

You can't refuse so easily.

No matter who gets appointed,

I'll prevent the horse market from opening.

That's my only mission in life.

I'm leaving.

Always have a spare bullet ready when hunting bears.

See you.

We've got to kill Genji.

Thank you.

Quickly.

Hold tight.

We'll send for you when things have settled down.

Just be patient.

Thank you, Miss.

I know I should stay and fight, but...

You're an important witness.

Be careful and don't let Daikin get you.

Makiri...

Don't worry.

No... No...

You must hide.

Makiri, I'm counting on you.

Don't worry, Nishipa.

Dear!

Dear! Dear!

Mama, Mama!

Makiri! Makiri!

Mama! Mama!

Mama! Mama...

Mama...

Makiri! Makiri!

I'll go and look for Ume and the boy.

No need.

You're safe. I'm so glad. Miss!

Kazami, I'm beginning to understand what you said.

I also understand what my father was about.

I now know I was wrong.

For the greater purpose of creating a new town,

what he did to your people may be forgiven.

His death was unavoidable.

That's what I believed.

That's why I wanted you to help us with the board.

When that failed, by hiding Genji

I thought Daikin would lose his trump card.

I really believed that.

And that's why three people had to die.

That wasn't what Matsuo's daughter should have done.

To protect the new world my father had created

I should have shed my own blood.

Their deaths have taught me that.

I think this is what my father tried to write,

with his last breath in his diary in this empty space.

It took their deaths to make me realize that.

But it is my fight now.

I won't ask anyone for help.

But Kazami...

If I die, please take up the fight.

My father gave his life for the people of Kusuri.

Don't hurt the townspeople.

If you have a jail large enough, arrest all of us.

This is no place for women.

What's the meaning of this?

Chief. No matter what you do, you can't restore order to this town.

We have to get rid of the Matsuo faction.

It won't take long.

Give me policing power for one night.

I can't do that.

Sure you can. Appoint us as a vigilante group.

Just sign here.

I won't.

Then we'll just have to fake it.

Stop.

You'll put me in an impossible position.

Get out of here.

Officials are a timid lot.

If you're scared, go home and hide.

Do you think you can get the license like this?

I'm going to kill everyone who's in the way.

Chief. I'm making this our headquarters.

So please retire to the servant's quarters.

Please!

Please.

We have to do something to stop this outrage.

I know this is a bit late in the game but please help us. Please.

All right. I'll go and notify the main station.

I'll round up the men who were chased out of town.

I'll gather up the ranch hands.

What the...

We're here to pick you up.

We won't go.

Shut up. This town is dangerous.

We're taking you into protective custody.

We're not interested.

We've been appointed vigilantes for the day.

Come quietly or else.

Kazami.

Daikin has taken over the police station.

Did you know?

Your friends have all been confined.

They'll all be killed.

If I were you, I would go on the offensive.

Kazami...

I hoped you would come back.

I came back because the stars were shining.

The Ainu call this woman cold.

On nights like these, men are cold

and they want to snuggle up to their women.

Kazami.

What are you doing?

I'm a reporter.

So what? Get out of here or I'll blow you away.

Go.

Help us.

Reinforcements will be here shortly.

Don't give up.

I said get out of here.

I'm taking a leak... too cold... taking some time.

Boss! The Matsuo girl is here.

The girl?

I'm Yuki, daughter of the former union rep, Matsuo.

I want to talk to Daikin.

Raise your hands.

Shit!

Shit!

Daikin! I want to talk.

Where are you?

I've drawn up the papers.

Sign here.

I relinquish all claim to union rep licensing.

If I refuse?

You'll die, like my father.

Can you, a woman,

kill an unresisting person?

It's not like shooting a bird or a rabbit.

Go ahead, shoot.

What's the matter?

You don't have the guts to kill me?

Yuki.

Yuki!

Guess I'll go back to Tama.

Use these stocks any way you like.

Kazami... won't you stay in this town?

I don't want to see the horse market.

Miss. Why are you dressed like that?

I'm going on a trip.

Trip?

Here is the union rep license and the Kazami stocks.

Please take them.

Miss!

Now is the time for us all to work together.

Miss.

I killed a man, even if he was a criminal.

You are the ones who are the future of this town.

If I remain, I will be the cause of trouble.

I must go my own way.

Please understand.

Nishipa.

Take care.

You take care of yourself.

Miss. So you're going to China after all?

It will be a lonely world without you.

Miss!

Where are you going all alone?

Just ask the wind.

THE END

Subtitled by Marukomu