Original subtitles

MUJO (THIS TRANSIENT LIFE)

"...transient and changing fast... ...time waits for no man..."

The weather is really nice today.

Yes, it's springtime already.

Did you see Masao?

He is in a rush these days.

Today, too.

Father is coming back today, but...

Let me find him.

Thanks, you don't need to.

I'll take a walk. I'll come back in a bit.

We're going to hold a high school reunion in April.

You think you'll be able to come?

Yes, if I am free.

How long has it been since you graduated?

5 years.

Mr. Ogino, you're a really excellent head monk.

How's your wife?

I am not married yet.

And you?

Me neither.

But my parents keep urging me.

I am looking for Masao. I'll see you later.

NO TRESPASSING

This one, this one.

What are you doing?

I learned kendo when I was young.

Once I spent 10 days trying to beat someone.

Father is coming back today.

He's really getting on my nerves.

When he comes home, he always talks about my marriage.

If you are going to get married...

...I'll run away from home.

What are you talking about?

You are the only son of the Hino family.

I'll get married one day anyway.

Sister...

Can you just run away?

Listen, Masao...

...where did you get all these silly ideas?

Stop it! Stop it!

Father's face must be dead serious when he comes home...

It's so good just to mess around with those people!

What are you talking about? Are you trying to lecture me?

You're terrible, Masao!

Everything has to be done in good order.

You should remember that.

You are already 21.

Don't you think it's too late? That is why you ask those matchmakers...

...to find a man for sister and marry her off as soon as possible.

Are you a fool or just acting stupid?

Masao, what are you talking about?

Why would a smart boy like you keep his sister from getting married?

Aren't you just causing your sister trouble?

It's because I can't find anyone to marry me.

That's why Masao thinks this way.

Well, your father mentioned introducing you to a man.

Do you want to meet him?

It's not at all about sister.

I said that because I don't want to be in this business.

Trading stuff from here to there just to make money.

I'd hate that.

I don't want to hear this anymore. Get out!

You and Yuri, get out!

- Masao. - Masao.

You are so stubborn but I've got my plans, too.

I'll give you a month.

If you don't change your mind,

I won't see you as a member of our family anymore.

I am going to Tokyo.

Moriyama's son is getting married.

Oh, Moriyama's son...

I was planning to have all four of us go to Tokyo later.

Now I think I'll just go with you.

I see.

Goodnight.

What are you going to do a month from now?

I don't know.

How many men have you met through those matchmakers?

Three?

A hundred?

Take care.

See you.

So, Iwashita, you should go back to your family for a few days.

Right. I'll get myself ready.

Why didn't you go see them off?

Where are you going?

To Kyoto. I want to visit a bookstore.

I hope you'll come back soon.

Iwashita is on holiday for a few days.

I am all alone at night. I'll be lonely.

Ogino-san!

Oh, Hino-kun.

Are you going to Kyoto?

Yes,

I wanted to get some photos of Buddhist statues through an old book store.

It's ironic...

Though I grew up in a Buddhist monastery, I don't like monks:

Yet you, a son of a businessman, are very interested in Buddhism.

Do you want us to exchange identities?

But that's impossible, isn't it?

I see Yuri is about to get married?

That's right.

But why don't you go to college?

You come from such a wealthy family.

You're missing good opportunities.

My father has been bugging me about it all the time.

I don't like studying anyway.

It's hard for me to understand.

Where are you going, Ogino-san?

The Kannon statue we commissioned two years ago is almost ready.

I am going to pay for it now.

You can come and have a look, if you like.

YASUTAKA MORI BUDDHIST SCULPTURE ARTIST

Help yourself.

- You've spent two years on it? - Yes.

Perhaps I'm getting old.

It's becoming difficult for me to work.

You're just very diligent, Master Mori!

Can I ask you something about sculpting?

Does it require much faith?

Yes, of course.

It couldn't be done if you're only half-hearted.

It takes two or three years to complete a Kannon statue.

One needs a lot of patience.

I apologize for being so blunt.

From the time a statue is finished, in the following tens or hundreds of years,

how many different people will make different wishes to the deities?

I think about that, when I spend my time.

However, every time I work on a statue,

I feel that my life is being slowly drained into it.

Those people who do not have any belief and go to war...

...would only die meaninglessly on the battlefield.

I guess my work isn't very different from that.

Father, I'll be away for about a week.

Alright, please take care.

You'll have to do the housework now.

So you'd better get the statue done sooner.

Bye.

- Are you going? - Yeah.

Are you from the monastery too?

No, I'm his friend.

Really? You just look different.

You are looking for a beautiful young wife, right?

I am his second wife.

You must have other things to do...

Yeah.

- So please excuse me. - Wait a bit.

YASAKA HOTEL

- Where are you going? - Home.

Why? Aren't you going to stay for the night?

Ain't I free to go?

You don't like it here?

No.

I Paid for you!

You are just a commodity!

It's ridiculous for you to ask about this and that.

Am I only a commodity?

Hey, you there! Wait!

You said something rude to our lady, eh?

Not really.

You trying to fool around here?

Fucking bastard!

I'm back.

Masao?

Welcome back.

The bath is ready.

You can take the bath first.

I'm alone at home.

It's quite scary.

So you take the bath first. I'll wait here.

I'm done.

What happened to you?

You've acted so strange since you came back.

What's the matter?

Is the water warm?

Yeah.

I'll make it a little warmer.

KOUKICHI HINO

Masao, look what I've got!

It reminds me of the past.

There used to be one in our father's room.

Yes. Father often wore this mask and played with mother.

Masao, Masao, no!

Masao, no, no!

Masao...

I'm scared, I'm scared...

There's nothing to be afraid of.

This is natural.

It's natural for two people to be like this.

- Welcome back. - I'm here.

Father said he would go to Osaka.

So I came back straight from Tokyo on a train.

It's so fast!

What's the matter? You look pale.

I got cold in the bath last night.

Really?

I'll ask Masao to come over.

Masao, Masao.

Masao.

Mother's back.

You just have to stay calm.

"...life and death are a great matter, transient and changing fast..."

ARHAT, BETWEEN BUDDHA AND MAN

I want to be with you all day.

I can't take it anymore.

Sister, I didn't know you had such a nice body.

Good that you're not married yet.

I didn't know anything like this was possible.

It's so great.

"...life and death are a great matter... ...treasure your time..."

Yuri.

What's the matter? You scared me.

Father called and asked me to take his spring suits to Osaka.

Can you iron them for me?

Sure.

The car is here.

I'm sure about it.

We can't hide it any longer.

Mother seems to have noticed something.

Though she would never imagine that the other person is you.

But she went to meet father in a hurry.

You think so?

Masao, do you want to die?

To die with me...

Why? You don't have to die.

You are just too scared.

Masao, you...

If Iwashita has a crush on you...

...then everything would work out fine.

Iwashita?

You'd let me sleep with another man?

Let's be above all that!

We are bonded to each other in our hearts.

Even if you sleep with Iwashita, it won't change anything.

That's all.

What will you do after that?

You don't have to worry.

We shall never be apart.

There is nothing to be afraid of.

That's for sure.

I love you!

I love you!

Sorry to bother you.

Did you receive the statue of Kannon?

No, not yet.

Since we last met Master Mori, the pace of his work has slowed down a lot.

The statue will take at least one more year to finish.

Why do all Buddhist statues look like women?

How is Yuri doing?

She is going to get married.

Get married?

With whom?

With Iwashita, the houseboy.

Ogino-san,

are you in love with my sister?

No.

Could you write me a reference letter?

For who?

For Master Mori, the sculptor.

I want to work with him.

Are you leaving home?

It would be better for Iwashita.

Is it okay?

Hino-kun!

I... know about it.

So?

So? Don't you care about women's chastity?

Could you just stay at home and care about nothing at all?

You...

What you did with your sister is worse than animals.

So it would be better for me to leave home.

This has nothing to do with you.

Are you okay about the reference letter?

- Will you write it? - Yes.

You'd better not come back home.

I'll be here again tomorrow.

Thank you.

Welcome back.

Master and Madam are coming back today at around 9 in the evening.

Really? ls there anything important?

Does sister know about it?

No.

She said she's in a bad mood and left.

Iwashita, I want to talk to you.

Can I see you in your room after dinner?

I can come to you instead.

No, I'll come to you.

Yuri, father and mother are coming back at 9.

There's one chance before they arrive. That's our only chance.

There's nothing to ponder about.

So get up, wash yourself, and dress nicely.

You really won't leave me?

I won't leave you.

You shouldn't get so troubled.

Is it Masao?

Please come in.

Can I come in?

Yes.

O... okay.

There's only Masao at home.

Please close the door.

Masao said he's coming.

Masao is not coming.

He said it would be better if I come here in person.

Father is coming back tonight because of my marriage arrangements.

I know about it.

Where is he from?

Congratulations.

Iwashita, are you saying it from your heart?

- Yes. - Really?

Then, I must have thought too much.

I thought you would oppose my marriage.

I really thought so.

I've always cared about you...

I talked to Masao.

He said I should do as I please.

That's why I am here.

Are you serious?

Would a woman...

...come to a man's room alone just as a joke?

Iwashita...

Is it alright?

Where is Yuri?

She said she wasn't feeling well, and went back to her room.

Masao, did you notice anything?

What's the matter?

Yuri and Iwashita...

Sister?

I didn't notice anything.

Just get her an abortion and send Iwashita away.

Abortion?

She is already 25.

If she does it, she might have to wait until 30 to bear a child again.

There were only the two of you at home, how could you not notice anything?

Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Or maybe I'm helping them.

What are you talking about?

Father, isn't it nice?

Iwashita is an honest man.

I don't think he'll bring wealth to our family, but if it's Iwashita...

...there won't be any inheritance problems.

That poor bloke seduced my daughter! How can I not be angry?!

If that's what you really think, just go away and don't come back!

You really want to disown me?

Masao?

Don't worry about me.

I can live with it.

What are you talking about?

Nothing.

"...transient and changing fast... ...time waits for no man..."

I heard your sister had a child.

Yeah, it's a boy.

I've become an uncle.

No matter how children turn out to be, seeing them gives you faith in mankind.

Me and you have also been children once.

Children are a dream of adults.

But, after all, a dream is only a dream.

If you are not busy, you'd better go and see the baby.

It would be convenient if it were nearby.

But if it were nearby, you wouldn't be traveling back home.

I've decided not to go back.

I guess I should not go back home too often.

Really?

- I'm back. - Welcome back.

- You came by Shinkansen? - Yeah.

Good day. I thought you wouldn't be here when I came home this time.

How's your work?

It's tiring.

This is different from reading a book in a chair.

You think it's easy, easier than going to college.

That's not true.

I understand what it is like to make a Kannon statue over two or three years.

But if you were to become a Buddha yourself that would be different.

It's because one couldn't become a Buddha that one keeps making Buddhist sculptures.

Really? So you didn't enter college and became an artisan...

...because you couldn't be a Buddha?

That's right.

People should do whatever pleases them.

It is because of those who suppress their desires...

...that the world has become so complicated.

You are leaving this house and I'm staying here.

It hasn't been ordered by anyone.

If we just do whatever pleases us, everything will turn out fine.

- I'm back, mother. - Welcome back.

He's started to call me mother.

When did he start calling me mother? I'm surprised.

I'll make another dish now.

Masao, are you going out?

I'm going to see my sister and her baby.

I'll be back in two or three days.

Don't be away for so long.

Think about me sometimes, okay?

I'll be very bored if you're not with me.

Sister...

come and get me!

If we were at home, I'd be afraid of being seen.

Even late at night... I wouldn't enjoy it.

You don't mind at all?

I'm alright.

Are you going?

You are right.

When we were in bed, Master Mori always peeped on us.

What are you talking about?

That would help him to regain his strength.

There is nothing to worry about.

He's know about it for a long time.

Even if he knows about it, he's never said a word.

He doesn't want to sleep with me anymore.

Well, then you didn't do anything wrong at all.

That's it.

Oh, it's you, Masao.

You're back!

If you called me first, I could have met you at the train station.

- How's the baby? - He's fine.

Is it Masao?

You're tired, aren't you?

He really kicks a lot.

Who does he look like?

People say he looks like his mother.

You're back, Masao.

I just came back, mother.

Father should feel relieved seeing the little boy...

Yes.

That's good.

Everything's fine now.

You're a good boy.

Where is Yuri?

She went to the monastery with Masao.

I see. Masao used to go there a lot.

Don't cry, come on.

You should go too.

You are a part of the family.

Right. I'll be going, then.

Little baby boy...

Sleep well and be a good boy.

Little baby.

Good boy.

Ogino-san...

How's the baby?

He is fine.

That's great. He'll grow up healthy.

Thank you.

Where are you going?

Masao came back to see the baby and went to the garden with Yuri.

I am here to pick her up.

Are you?

Masao likes the scenery here.

Please take care.

It's so good...

Masao, you are my real husband.

Right.

The baby boy must be mine too.

Yes.

That's how it is!

It's late!

You really didn't see him?

No, we didn't.

It must be your father.

I just told him on the phone that Masao is back.

So much like father and son!

Just let it be.

It's just a matter of time.

It's been a long while.

You are already an uncle.

Someone jumped on the tracks of Shinkansen and killed himself.

- A Suicide? - What's the matter?

Nothing. Iwashita hasn't been around since last evening.

Iwashita?

Why would he commit suicide?

He was crushed into pieces.

A leg fell into the river.

Only half of the body remained.

Do you need some rest?

Yeah.

Even with the warm spring in Kyoto...

...people always complain that the weather is too cold.

But I like it this Way.

I like it when spring comes and I can feel winter gradually melting.

I see.

Masao, let's stop sleeping separately from tonight onwards.

I know about everything that happened...

...between you and Reiko in these two months.

I wondered how long it would last, so I kept silent and watched until now.

But it was good.

The pleasure of young bodies writhing in bed...

Did you enjoy it?

Well, I know your good intentions too.

You let me peep on it clearly and spread Reiko's body wide open.

But that's enough.

If you two are going to be like husband and wife at night, just sleep in my room.

I see.

Master, if you allow me, how about the three of us doing it together?

- The three of us? - Yes.

I want to help you, Master.

I think Reiko and I would like you to join us.

Really?

- But... - Women are nothing.

Women are curious animals, they want immediate pleasure.

If the three of us don't do it together, she won't be satisfied.

I think Reiko is a good match for you, Master.

I see.

Please arrange it then.

That night, when his sister's husband jumped in front of the Shinkansen...

...they must have done something bestial in this monastery.

After seeing that monstrous scene, he decided to kill himself.

Really?

Does he do something like that in Kyoto, too?

It can't be forgiven.

But since my father is involved, I'm not saying anything.

The Kannon statue is made with the hands of a perverted person.

Yet no one cares.

Let's go and see him.

How could he do something like that?

Masao...

Someone is looking for you.

It's that monk.

What do you want me to do?

Leave this place and go back home, is that what you mean?

Going back home is just going back to the kind of bestiality you mentioned.

Go on a trip.

Sever all connections with all immorality, all people and all places.

Even if I go on a trip, Japan is such a small place...

Who killed Iwashita?

It was Iwashita's own heart.

I gave my sister to that man.

There's nothing much about dying or not dying.

It's just the body that dies.

Anyway, you must leave home.

Your presence will bring misfortune to each and every one.

I am not Christ so I can't bring salvation.

You are creating hell everywhere you go.

That's the kind of person you are.

But, Ogino-san, I think I've also made this world more colorful.

What?

Bringing misfortune to people, creating hell everywhere...

I don't agree with you.

Can a man do something like that alone?

A man changing another man...

I can't imagine such a thing.

When a person gets someone involved into something...

...he has to dig out what's buried deep inside the other person's heart.

There is no other way.

It's only you who worries about these things, Ogino-san.

Is this a kind of arrogance?

I didn't change my sister, Iwashita nor Master Mori.

These people only faced their own destiny when their lives crossed with mine.

If you insist on saying that it is hell I created, I'll take it as your opinion.

But to be aware of one's destiny...

...doesn't necessarily mean that it should affect one's well-being.

If seeing one's destiny means that he will be banished in hell...

...in order not to let him see that destiny...

...a giant hand will appear in front of his eyes and block his sight.

It's the hand of Buddha.

In any case, no one has the power to see his own destiny.

And what if someone really tries?

To help him overcome that desire is the duty for us monks.

Of course, I may not be strong enough...

No, I am in fact very weak.

Yet I've chosen to be a monk because my heart believes in it.

If we're talking about that, I think I'll tell you something too.

Ogino-san, after listening to my words, you'll have the responsibility to refute me.

Once, when I was a child...

...someone left in the storeroom of my house two old volumes of paintings of hell.

I discovered them when I was cleaning up the house.

I still remember how deeply I was shocked by them.

That night, I thought about many things.

What does it mean if such terrible things exist?

If there is really such a place, wouldn't it be better if humans never existed at all?

I kept asking myself countless times.

I had nightmares almost every night around that time.

Mother didn't know why I was like that, she just worried a lot.

Of course, the thoughts that obsessed me receded some time later.

But, at that time, I thought that, because there is hell, there must be heaven, too.

I always believed this.

That was around the time I entered junior high.

I was enthusiastic about Buddhism.

I got some books about heaven in Buddhism.

And again, I was deeply shocked.

Hell can be Abi Hell, Muken Hell...

While the suffering in hell is described in all kind of details...

...heaven, on the contrary, is very simple.

There is only Buddha and some lotus leaves.

That's all.

What I see is that heaven as it's described has no appeal at all.

No... Not only without appeal. What I can see there is just a pile of skeletons.

Learning about the punishments in hell, you can vividly feel the pain.

Yet seeing a painting of the Rising Sun and heaven you don't feel any happiness.

But that is...

Please let me finish.

As I kept thinking about it, I came upon an idea.

That's for certain:

The happiness in the paintings of heaven does not exist.

It is because happiness comes when one's desire is fulfilled.

But fulfilling one's desire is necessarily evil.

So there is no happiness in heaven.

You...

Simply put

this is your convenient way of bending Buddha's teachings to suit the world?

But aren't Buddha's teachings meant for the world?

If there is no happiness in heaven, then what else is there?

Ogino-san, what is there in heaven?

There is nothing, Ogino-san!

Nothingness is in heaven!

It is the happiness of nothingness.

But nothingness is nothing, so there is no heaven!

This is the conclusion I came to.

Buddhism is nothing besides that nothingness.

It's Nirvana, not nothingness!

It has no time, nor space.

It's a suspension in eternity.

So there is nothing besides happiness there!

Does one have consciousness when one is dead?

Does consciousness exist in Nirvana?

If consciousness is related to time and space, then it does not exist there.

And, of course, there can't be any consciousness of happiness!

Hino-kun, is this the principle behind what you do?

Yes, it is.

If there is no heaven, there is no hell.

What exists is this reality alone.

And in this reality I am caught in, there is no such thing as law.

Law is something between crime and punishment.

But, in my kind of reality, there is no crime, nor punishment.

But that...

In your kind of reality there is nothing but disorder.

How can a human live on like that?

Humans don't necessarily have to live on.

We humans are too obsessed

with the irrational belief in reproduction and continuation.

And once this irrational belief is established,

all kinds of laws would come up.

I don't approve of those laws.

To oppose the nothingness in Buddhism, this is the only option.

You are mad.

In ancient India, the highest spiritual level was believed to be nothingness.

Believers would just live and die on their own,

their dead bodies would pile up like a mountain.

I am obsessed with Buddhist statues because...

...they all look at you with the same mysterious smile.

That is exactly the countenance of nothingness.

Gradually, you end up seeing only the smile of Buddha.

It's a smile of self-mockery, conscious that his teachings contain contradictions.

Buddha's smile is in fact a delicate balance.

It cannot be a tad colder, nor a tad happier.

You joined the making of that Kannon statue with such thoughts...

...and now you want to bring the statue into my monastery?!

The Kannon looks at you with a smile because

mine and my Master's life was drained into it.

I shouldn't have introduced you to him.

Ogino-san, this is the karma between you and me.

Ogino-san, you and I are very much alike.

Let's live in peace.

Ogino-san, you envy me, right?

Envy? What do you mean?

Isn't it nice?

You once fell in love with my sister.

Ogino-san, can my sister stay with you?

You can take my place and be with her.

Master, it's very well done.

I'm so tired.

I'm sure this Kannon statue will silently accept...

...any kind of people and any kind of wishes.

You have to go back in any case, right?

Yes.

I'm going back with the Kannon statue.

I have been with you all along.

I thought you were staying here for life.

Oh... come in.

Your lover is going but you are not seeing him off?

You know about it?

Look what you're saying!

Who put father's health at risk?

It's you and that guy... That bastard!

Your father is the happiest one.

Liar!

Father was dragged into all this.

You may say that but what's wrong with it?

There's nothing better than that.

How about it?

Do you like my smooth skin?

What... what are you doing?

What's wrong with it?

There is no one at home right now.

It's been some time since we were together like this.

Masao, you still want to make Buddhist statues?

Yes, I do.

Father said, in order to support the child, you'll continue to be his uncle.

Is that alright?

Alright.

If it's just a title...

Really?

Iwashita died without a reason.

It would be best if you could do the work in Osaka now.

How's the baby?

He's sleeping soundly with mother.

With mother?

That's good!

Yeah.

I knew you would come back home someday.

Father's making strange noises now. I'm afraid he's dying.

It's been getting strange since earlier tonight.

I told him to stop but he just wouldn't let go of me.

So, suddenly...

I hoped you'd never visit this monastery again.

I understand.

I just want to see the Kannon statue brought here.

I shall never come again after that.

It has arrived.

My father died.

Has he?

Last night, when I was making love.

Hino-san... It's you! I think it was you who killed my father.

No, that's for certain!

You did kill him!

When the Kannon statue just brought here was completed,

Master's strength was all used up.

He didn't have enough strength left to make another statue.

You shortened my father's life!

People die when they have no more energy to live.

I didn't do anything to shorten his life.

You are a murderer!

How's Reiko?

You have to take care of her now.

Perhaps this would have been Master's greatest wish.

Is that Master Mort's?

This chisel was to be donated to the monastery with the statue.

But...

Die! Die!

Why... me?

Masao!

Masao, come here!

Grandma! It's grandma!

I buried a carp fish here.

If you're hungry you can eat it.

It's for real!

A carp, a carp.

This carp can feed a lot of people.

It's a big one!

Grandma!

This is grandfather.

This is your mother.

This is your father.

Here is Iwashita,

and Reiko.

And Master Mori, too.

Where are you going, grandma?

It could eat more people. I'd better take it away.

I'll help you!