Original subtitles

In Japan there is a chest called the nagamochi...

that treasures are kept in.

Favorite clothes from childhood...

or things that a girl takes with her when she gets married.

Most people keep the chest locked.

It's usually kept in the back of the closet.

Memories are sealed in the chest.

Cherished memories and glittering times...

live forever in the corner of darkness.

Are you ready?

No, not yet.

OSEI. OSEI. WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

I'M GOING SHOPPING.

Mister, let's play hide-and-seek.

So come on. Let's play.

Are you ready?

Kakutaro, who suffers from an illness...

did not work and stayed home all day.

- Are you ready? - Yes, we are.

Lying down in a dark space...

inside a large nagamochi that smelled of camphor...

he was filled with a nostalgic sweetness...

that almost moved him to tears.

Can you come out, mister?

I can't find him.

It's no fun. Do you want to go outside and play now?

"I should come out now."

Kakutaro wanted to come out to surprise the children.

But the tightly closed lid did not budge an inch.

I'M HOME.

When Osei came home, Kakutaro was no longer able to talk...

as he became more suffocated every moment in the nagamochi.

OSEI.

HELP ME.

IT'S ME.

What happened to you?

Oh, you were playing hide-and-seek.

You're so mischievous.

Keep your chin up, ma'am. It must have been hard for you.

What bothered her most...

was the memory of the weak feel of her husband...

when she closed the lid of the nagamochi.

NOT APPROVED

BEGINNING OF THE SHOWA ERA

"Notification: Name of the author, Rampo Edogawa.

"Real name, Taro Shirai.

"Current address, Tokyo-city, Hongo-ku, Tsumagoi-cho 3.

"Occupation, novelist.

"Publication of 'Osei Tojo'...

"the work written by the above person...

"shall be banned as a result of censorship.

"The authority found that the novel...

"is likely to be detrimental to public morale.

"In case you do not obey the authority's decision...

"the author, Rampo Edogawa...

"and the publisher, Masashi Yokomizo...

"are to be immediately arrested and jailed."

Is there anything you would like to say regarding this decision?

I will obey the decision.

"Furthermore, any published works by Rampo Edogawa...

"must not be reissued...

"until further notice is given...

"by the officer in charge of this case.

"When you write a new work..."

Here I am again...

"THE PHANTOM WITH TWENTY FACES" WRAP PARTY

Mr. Tagawa, the producer, is over there.

Sir...

thank you very much for taking time to come to the party.

In this business, we are obligated...

to hold a party like this even if we don't want to.

This is how the life goes.

The movie turned out to be a good one. Have you seen it yet?

No, not yet.

You would rather see it now than complain about it later.

I heard that the publication of "Osei Tojo" has been banned.

In times like these...

you are better off writing "The Phantom with Twenty Faces."

It really is a bad time, isn't it?

Could you please give a speech to the guests now?

No, I prefer not to.

You don't have to take it that seriously.

No one likes to give a speech in front of many people.

Director, this is Mr. Rampo Edogawa.

How do you do?

And this is Mr. Akechi in the next series.

This is Mr. Twenty Faces.

How do you do? Pleased to meet you.

Excuse me, can we go through? Excuse me.

This way, sir. Yes, this way.

Sir, could you please pose for the camera?

Could you hold the microphone?

That's good.

Ladies and gentlemen...

Mr. Edogawa is here tonight, and he will make a speech.

Please welcome Mr. Rampo Edogawa.

I am Rampo Edogawa, who wrote the original book of this movie.

I am particularly fond of Kogoro Akechi, and...

I am not used to talking to people like this, but...

Just now, I was introduced to the actor...

who plays Akechi in the next series...

and he was great, and...

Thank you very much.

Thank you for making the speech.

Mr. Yokomizo is waiting for you there.

If you don't mind, please take this with you.

Thank you very much.

Sir, it was a good speech.

Here I am again.

I felt somewhat cold presentiment and I was scared.

Dull darkness has covered my entire world...

and I wondered if I might walk in this darkness...

in a large circle forever.

I was not scared of the outside world...

but I was scared of my own uncertain strides.

Where does this darkness in the forest that confines me end?

Are you roasting sweet potatoes, sir?

I am burning something useless.

What are you going to do with the heroine?

You haven't even introduced her yet.

That was her destiny.

I am not going to write anything for a while.

I think I will go on a wandering journey for a while.

Please don't look for me.

Please have a look at this article.

"Accident or Murder?"

The woman's name is Shizuko.

The more you read this article...

the more similarities you find with your novel.

As publication of this novel was banned...

the woman could not have read it.

You see, your novel has power to change even reality.

The police concluded it was an accidental death...

but it is too similar to the novel.

Her sick husband at home played hide-and-seek with children...

while both the wife and the maid were not home.

He was suffocated to death in a nagamochi.

Everything that happened...

was almost identical to what you wrote in the novel...

the novel no one is supposed to know...

as if details are compared with each other.

What happens to that woman now?

How should I know?

You should keep writing.

The woman you wrote about could not be eliminated.

She has appeared in this world. Who cares about the censorship?

You should not turn your main character adrift in the street.

ANTIQUES, BOOKS

I am just looking...

That one is dead.

It has been broken for a while, producing no sound.

Is that right?

If you like, you can take it.

It is not for sale anyway.

I displayed it in the shop...

because I wanted to give it to someone who liked it.

No, I cannot take it for nothing. How much is it?

I really don't want to charge anything.

I have been taking good care of it since I was a child.

If you don't mind, please keep it.

I promise that I will take good care of it.

Thank you very much.

You should not buy anything from a shop like that.

That woman, who was picked up by her husband...

killed him and took over the shop.

How can she stay there as if nothing has happened?

Mind your own business.

WE ARE CLOSED DUE TO UNAVOIDABLE CIRCUMSTANCES

GET OUT OF HERE, MURDERER

UGLY WOMAN, YOU SHOULD BE EXECUTED

I have to find a way out of the forest.

Beyond the darkness...

I don't know if the sun shines or cold wind blows...

but I must find a way out of the forest.

Why are you here?

Did you follow me?

I am terribly sorry.

I had a feeling...

that you were going to disappear for some reason.

I could not help following you.

You are Mr. Rampo Edogawa, aren't you?

Please look after the music box. I must go.

To be frank with you, I am writing a novel about a woman.

But when I try to think about the heroine...

the picture of you always comes up in my mind.

A piece of the picture of you instantly expands in my mind...

and I cannot help it.

Something like this has not happened to me for a long time.

It has come to the stage...

where I cannot continue to write unless I think about you.

That is why I followed you.

Please don't worry about me, and leave me alone.

So long.

DETECTIVE KOGORO AKECHI SERIES "THE PHANTOM WITH TWENTY FACES"

I am a master of disguise who has twenty faces.

People call me The Phantom with Twenty Faces.

You have quietly witnessed the history of some 5,000 years.

If you have a soul, I want you to talk to me about it.

Hold up, Twenty Faces.

Who the hell are you?

I am nobody. I am Kogoro Akechi.

What? Kogoro Akechi is supposed to be in the U.S. now.

Akechi returns to Japan from the U.S. within a day...

if there are any villains.

Sir, have you met Shizuko yet?

Yes, I have.

So, what happened?

So, then...

I found a nice mirror in her antique shop.

Can you go there and buy it for me?

You'll know which one, as it is the only one.

Sorry to ask you a favor of a private matter.

I have been too busy.

- Is that all you want me to do? - That's right.

How do you like it? It's turned out to be good, hasn't it?

Look how handsome Akechi is.

You said he was your other self.

We had to be very careful with him.

Can't you change that line?

What line?

You can't make an unreasonable request...

as this has already been completed.

That's why I asked you to see it as soon as possible.

You know, with movies, directors have the creative right...

and actors have the portrait right.

Things become more complicated once a movie has been completed.

Excuse me.

"I came to deliver what you ordered.

"I waited for a while and then decided to leave.

"I am looking forward to your excellent work."

TO MR. RAMPO

"Dear Mr. Rampo Edogawa, I would like to see you...

"and I will be waiting at Nezu Shrine at 3:00.

"Shizuko."

I didn't think I could see you again.

I am sorry to have asked to you to come.

I wanted to apologize for what I did the other day.

I have to apologize to you, too.

I was almost delirious, and I am really sorry about it.

The other day...

Mr. Yokomizo brought me your novel, and I read it.

After reading it, I found my mind at wonderful peace...

as if I was protected by someone I loved.

Thank you so much.

Can you follow the car ahead?

It is getting dark, isn't it?

In the soundless, fragrantless...

and feelingless darkness in the forest...

I felt all my senses, hearing, smelling, and feeling...

were converging into a single sense.

This is my other self, Kogoro Akechi.

On that day, Akechi received a strange anonymous letter.

The letter mysteriously requested him...

to investigate this lady.

How can she behave that prudishly?

She is only a mistress.

Do you know her?

She is the one who is said to have killed her husband.

Instead of being caught, she now enjoys the life...

as a mistress of a duke, with her own driver.

Wealth, rumor, and madness were involved.

Akechi smelled death there.

The place of the smell of death was the mansion of Duke Ogawara.

Are you all right?

What were you doing in a place like this?

You can see what I was doing.

I was experimenting with parachuting.

Come this way.

Hello, master.

Tend to his wound.

- I am sorry to trouble you. - What are you talking about?

That is my late mother.

She is beautiful.

I love this painting.

I see the transient glow of life in her.

I used to enjoy watching my mother standing in the forest.

How is your wound?

There is nothing to be worried about.

Thank you very much for treating me.

I am holding a small festivity...

to celebrate my 60th birthday on the weekend.

Would you like to stay here until then?

I'd love to, if I don't cause any trouble. Thank you.

It is my way to have the game cooked in front of me.

I hope you don't mind.

The fresher the food is, the better it is.

I like you, young man.

It is also my way not to pursue those who go away...

and not to refuse those who come.

So if you don't want to stay anymore...

don't oblige yourself to stay.

Pollen of Mandoragora...

A deadly poison...

that kills you within a minute after licking it.

But it makes a good aphrodisiac if you smoke it.

I like taking poisonous substances...

into my body like this.

That one is dead.

I have been taking good care of it since I was a child.

It has stopped producing any sounds since I moved here.

It is my job to watch him ride a horse from here.

Day after day, for hours, I have to watch him from here.

Mr. Akechi...

If you give me some time, I promise that I will...

Mom!

Don't look at me!

Your daytime job must have finished.

Sleeping with you every night...

does not bring me pleasure any longer.

Why do you think I picked up a woman like you...

who killed her husband?

Have I ever asked you to behave like a good person?

All I want is the night dream that is possessed by a demon.

For you, a stranger to any sweet dreams...

I'll show you something special tonight.

The only thing I lack...

is the smell of a young woman's skin.

A telegram.

A telegram for you, Mr. Rampo Edogawa.

May I come in?

How could this happen?

Someone is probably harassing me.

These are the traces of my husband's nails.

Please... please help me.

I don't want to be on my own.

Please hold me.

There is nothing I can do for you.

I know that I should not rely on you...

but I thought you would stay close to me.

I have to keep writing my novel.

I am sorry I have to go.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for coming.

I would like to call this party "One Night Dream."

Let me read aloud my beloved poem by Poe...

to express my sincere gratitude.

"By a route obscure and Ionely...

"Haunted by ill angels only...

"Where an Eidolon, named Night...

"On a black throne reigns upright.

"I have reached these lands but newly...

"From an ultimate dim Thule...

"From a wild weird clime, that lieth, sublime...

"Out of Space... out of Time.

"Bottomless vales and boundless floods...

"With forms that no man can discover...

"for the dews that drip all over.

"Their Ione waters, Ione and dead...

"Their still waters, still and chilly..."

That body has already been returned...

to the earth and the heaven.

"Time passes by...

"just like a sleepless night that chokes me up.

"I want to drift somewhere far away...

"where no one can reach me...

"being embraced by someone's voice who is calling me.

"I want to drift to somewhere far away like a dream."

Mr. Akechi.

I was so occupied with this that I didn't notice you were there.

I was so occupied with this...

that I didn't notice you were there.

My pleasure in life...

is to control the minds of other people.

You should try, too.

He loves the grass here.

It seems I made a mistake by letting you stay.

She seems to be very fond of you.

Since you came, she has regained her natural self.

Now it is time for an entertainment.

Once the funeral arrangements have been made...

I will leave here, too.

Most likely, we will have to close this mansion soon.

Mr. Akechi.

May I speak with you for the last time?

I am the one who killed the duke.

You knew that, didn't you?

Why didn't you wait a little longer?

I would like to ask you a favor.

I lost my husband in this nagamochi.

You want me to go in there, don't you?

Will you go in there?

Akechi, you should not go in there.

I don't need any instructions.

Instructions...

Hello, can I help you?

Where is Shizuko?

- What? Shizuko? - Where is she?

She is staying at a duke's place in Atami.

A duke...

Look...

Today she sent us another article left by the duke.

Where is the nagamochi?

Nagamochi?

That must have been sent to Atami when she moved there.

Sir?

Sir?

Yes, I will go in there.

You said you would get me out of here one day.

If I thought I could start a new life somewhere far away...

I couldn't be happier.

I thought, if I could live in a dream of a person I love...

how happy I would be.

But... why did you leave me all alone?

Don't, Shizuko!

I wanted to be embraced...

by Mr. Rampo.

Akechi...

You finally made it.

I'm happy you came to see me.

It is all right if I keep everything inside me, isn't it?