Kawapperi Mukolitta (2021) - full transcript
Takeshi Yamada arrives in a small village in the Hokuriku region. There, he begins to work at a small factory which makes shiokara (salted fish paste). Through the introduction of the CEO of the factory, he begins to live in at an old and cheap apartment building. One day, his apartment building neighbor Kozo Shimada visits Takeshi and asks to take a bath in his bathroom. Since then, Takeshi begins to make relations with the residents at the apartment building and he becomes friends with Kozo. Later, Kozo learns the secret on why Takeshi came to the village.
Mukolitta
A unit of time in Buddhist writings,
equivalent to 1/30th of a day,
2880 seconds or 48 minutes.
A setsuna is the smallest unit of this time.
Riverside Mukolitta
Rivers flood with every typhoon.
There are moments when your life
is turned upside-down.
We're constantly under threat
and living on the edge.
Squid Shiokara (salty fermented squid)
Sawada Fishery Products
Yamada?
Yes.
Hey. Glad you're here.
Take your time.
Just do it carefully at first.
OK.
Here's more.
Hey. Getting the hang of it?
Yeah.
It’s monotonous work.
A lot of people quit right away.
But if you keep at it,
I’ll think about giving you a raise.
OK?
Anyone who's determined
deserves the chance to rejoin society.
Keep at it.
MUKOLITTA APARTMENTS
Excuse me.
I'm Yamada.
Reffered by Mr. Sawada, my boss.
I've heard.
There are six-mat and four-mat rooms,
a kitchen and a toilet with bath.
The electricity and gas are ready.
This is east. So this is west.
This is north, and south.
And I'm Minami, your landlord.
It's 50 years old.
Lots of people have lived here.
But no one has died, so don't worry.
Hey. I'm Shimada from next door.
Oh... I'm Yamada.
Usually the one who moves in
says hello and brings snacks.
But it's alright.
Actually, can I use your bath?
My water heater's broken
and I haven't bathed in three days.
It's getting really hot...
You're thinking I should
go to the bathhouse.
I knew it. I knew it!
It's all over your face.
Those places cost 420 yen.
What a rip-off!
I'm a minimalist,
so I can't really afford that.
I know you just took one.
What?
You hear everything through these walls.
I need a bath...
No?
Well...
Just today. Please.
No. I said, no!
Y'know boy...
When it comes to sukiyaki,
I like mine Kansai style.
You put the beef tallow in the pot,
and first grill the meat.
That brings out the flavor.
Flip it over and grill it
till it's about 80% done.
Give it lots of sugar.
Leave it for a moment,
then add soy sauce.
Sizzle...
Hey, can't you just hear it?
The sound of the meat
soaking up the soy sauce and sugar.
Yeah. I can.
Yes?
Hello.
Oh!
It's hot every day.
Are you in good spirits?
Are you some religion?
Oh, no. I'm here with a special offer.
During this sale,
they're up to 40% off
the regular price.
Rest assured. No one lives forever.
Making arrangements now
will eliminate all your worries.
We put our heart into our service.
No thanks. And using your child
like that is pathetic.
Here's more.
Welcome.
Um, hello. My name is Takeshi Yamada.
I received your letter...
Huh?
This is City Hall.
We found your father’s body.
He had been dead for several weeks.
He was found after
his neighbors sensed a foul odor.
7 times 9 is 63.
7 times 8 is 56.
7 times 7 is 49.
7 times 6 is 42.
7 times 5 is 35.
7 times 4 is 28.
Yamada?
Hey. Yamada?
Yamada!
You OK?
Hey, are you alright?
Ah, you're alive. You scared me.
I thought you were dead.
But this heat could kill you.
It'd suck if my neighbor died.
These are vegetables from my garden.
I'll leave them for you.
Oh, Yamada?
Here. Good work.
Hey, glad you're here.
Lots of guys quit
after a day or two.
See you.
Oh, and here's your uniform.
Brand new.
Take home some shiokara.
Stick with us next month. OK?
Hi.
Oh, you're eating?
Yeah.
Good timing then. Here.
- Thanks.
- Not at all. Dig in.
Say, if you want to thank me,
could you let me use your bath?
You just took a bath, didn't you?
I'm filthy from working in the field.
Well, I'd rather...
The bathhouse is 420 yen.
That's a lot.
Let me. Please.
But I'm not ready...
You don't have to be.
The bath's ready.
- But wait...
- It's all ready.
No, no...
Kayo!
Dinnertime!
OK!
Hi.
Can I have this?
How long you gonna sleep?
Oh! You bought a fan?
You bought one!
That's a shame. You should have
bought an air conditioner.
I found it.
Then find an air conditioner! Silly.
What?
C'mon, get up. It's nice out.
Don't sleep through the day.
- Get up!
- Knock it off!
I grew those.
In this tiny garden.
Aren't you impressed?
Can you help a little?
Help me out.
No.
A little!
I'm tired.
Just a little.
I said no!
I grow lots of things here.
Eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes.
The green peppers are pretty good.
I give them to neighbors.
Look.
You see how poor I am.
I'm just scraping by.
So I'm self-sufficient in the summer
to save money for winter.
You're the ant from
"The Ant and the Grasshopper."
I'm not an ant! I'm a minimalist.
A minimalist.
It's a simple life,
abandoning status and wealth.
So that means...
No. I'm not a bum.
Lots of people make that mistake.
I have a philosophy.
A philosophy...
But you need some money.
Philosophy won't fix your bath.
No, no. I’m not good with people.
But look. All these beautiful vegetables.
Feeling the soil and sweat.
Eating the vegetables I've grown
makes me happy to be alive.
That cucumber. Just cut it and
add mayonnaise, and it's amazing.
Yama-chan,
all you eat is salted squid every day.
How do you know?
Hey!
Gan-chan! This is Yama-chan.
Yama-chan, this is Gan-chan
My old friend.
Hi.
Good work.
You drink milk after a bath, not beer?
You’re like a little kid.
Could you stay out of my refrigerator?
Oh, whatever.
And please don't take a bath
before I do.
Whatever. Have a seat.
I partake.
Right?
Good, isn't it?
It's really good.
This is happiness, right?
Um...
It is. Right?
If you find these little bits of joy,
they’ll give you the strength to endure.
Even when you're just scraping by.
If you’re poor and lonely, then you’re stuck.
But if you yell,
“I don’t have any money!”
then it'll be alright.
Is he also... what was it...
Minimalist.
No. Gan-chan is a monk
from the local temple.
You'd be surprised.
He knows the chants.
But people nowadays don't ask monks
to do funerals, so he's struggling.
He's a monk...
Why?
How much does it cost
to call a monk for a funeral?
Could be anything. Why?
I got a letter from the city office.
Asking me to pick up remains.
Whose?
My father's. Or so they say.
Huh?
My parents divorced when I was 4.
I don't even remember his face.
And?
I was confused.
I just left it...
That's no good.
What?
That’s not good. It really isn’t.
But he's almost a stranger.
If I take them, I'll have to pay
for the funeral and grave.
That doesn't matter.
I have no obligation to accept them.
Whatever he was,
you can't pretend he didn't exist.
Social Welfare Section
Hello. I'm Tsutsumishita
from the Social Welfare Section.
Right this way.
Your father's body was found
on the 20th of last month.
These are his personal items.
His autopsy was completed,
and he has been cremated.
Acceptance of Human Remains
These are your father's remains.
These are all..
Wandering spirits.
We store them for a year, and if
no one claims them we bury them together.
Some of the names are unknown.
That means...
Homeless people, and the like.
Sir...
Were you present when
my father was cremated?
Yes. I sent him off.
Was anyone else...
Just me, aside from the crematory staff.
I see.
How did his face look at the end?
It's very hard for me to say...
Part of it is the season...
He was in very poor condition.
It was hard to determine
the look on his face,
or anything else.
Oh... But after cremation,
his Adam’s apple stayed intact.
That means he did good deeds
in his lifetime.
Oh...
Would you like to see?
Huh?
I should show you his Adam's apple.
It's rare to see one
in such a good state.
Look.
Doesn't it look like the Buddha
with hands folded in prayer?
Making arrangements now
will eliminate all your worries.
We put our heart info our service.
You know...
It's not the season,
but can you imagine
feasting on fugu blowfish sashimi
in that nice house?
Yeah. Sounds good.
Crystal-clear cuts of fugu sashimi,
arranged beautifully.
Take three cuts with your chopsticks.
Dip it in citrus sauce with ground radish
and bring it to your mouth.
Its texture is plump and firm.
It's irresistible.
Can you hear it?
Crunch, crunch...
Yeah. I can.
Can't catch anything.
Hey, you.
It won’t be long.
The light purple flowers will bloom.
The perennial asters.
Little flowers blooming everywhere.
They'll look pretty if you tend to them,
or turn into weeds if you don’t.
But that's true with everything.
Yes?
What is it?
For this month.
It's all here.
Here. For you.
Huh?
Most people don't pay on time.
Oh.
Be well.
Aah, the smell of freshly-cooked rice!
What do you want?
A meal tastes better
when you eat with someone else.
I'm taking this to work tomorrow.
OK. I'll just eat one bowl then.
Oh, this...
I got them.
Good.
Dad, please watch over Yama-chan.
I’m sure he’d forgotten about me.
You don’t know that.
There were lots of them
in the city office.
The remains of those
thought not to exist.
Oh, really.
Homeless people by the river.
Some get swept away in typhoons.
But it never makes the news
because they're unidentifiable.
Well, that's almost me too.
I made these pickles myself.
I partake.
Delicious!
You've got talent for cooking rice.
Say, our landlord...
Minami?
Right.
Where's her husband?
What? You're interested?
It's not that.
Give up on her.
She's crazy about her husband.
I don't mean that.
He passed away.
What?
He had cancer. Cancer.
Took him instantly.
About five years ago.
But even now,
she's devoted to him, adorably.
How do you know?
It's obvious.
I wonder.
What is it, Yama-chan?
You think I can't understand women?
Hey! Stop!
You said you'd just eat one bowl!
I wonder what your father was like.
I’m sure he led a worthless life.
Even caused trouble after he died.
He was all alone.
He died alone and no one found him.
There were maggots everywhere, all slimy.
The room was full of flies.
His body was oozing fluids.
He left a black stain
on the tatami floor.
Aren’t you going to eat?
7 times 9 is 63.
7 times 8 is 56.
7 times 7 is 49.
7 times 6 is 42.
7 times 5 is 35.
7 times 4 is 28. 7 times 3 is 21..
Hello, this is Life Line.
Hello?
Is something wrong?
Hello?
You've got the hang of it.
Right, Ms. Nakajima?
If you stay devoted to your work
every day like that,
next month will come,
then next year,
and before you know it,
five or ten years will pass.
Is it worth it?
It is. It really is.
But to understand why,
you'll need ten years' experience,
unfortunately.
They say do your best every day.
But you won't understand
without that experience.
Take some Premium.
Yamada, want some ice cream?
Want some? Or not?
I saw a pregnant woman.
I can't stand them.
When I see that big belly,
I want to give it a kick.
What...
It depends on how they stick out.
The one today made me want to kick it.
A pregnant woman has another,
different person inside her. How beastly!
It's a visceral thing,
but it reminds me
people are originally animals?
The thought of that
makes me sick.
I know it's strange.
I was pregnant once.
It's alright. I've never done it.
Babies are adorable,
and I know I'll never cross that line.
But it scares me to think
those feelings are inside me.
People can be scary.
I...
My mood's much lighter now.
HOLIDAY SALE
No one lives forever.
Prepare now and
you will have no worries.
We put our heart into our service.
What?
I'm selling tombstones.
Would you like to buy one?
I can't afford it.
Of course not.
Ah, that felt nice.
Hey!
I'd rather you just took a bath.
Thank you, always.
I partake.
It's so good. You really
have a talent for cooking rice.
I wish I had other talents.
It's something!
What's this? Premium squid?
Oh, wow!
It's from my boss.
Nice boss.
guess.
They glow at night.
What?
The remains.
Seriously?
It's creepy.
He must be here.
Cut it out!
But make sure you have a memorial
after 49 days.
A service?
Do I have to?
Of course.
But I don't have money for a grave.
You can't just toss them somewhere.
By the way, I saw
the old lady next door the other day.
What?
You...
You saw her?
You really saw her.
Minami was also saying
the old woman still lives there,
so she can't let anyone move in.
Really?
She's been dead for two years.
Crap. I won’t sleep tonight.
Whoa.
This is bad luck.
What's wrong?
- Hello?
- Maron? What is it?
Settle down.
Maron.
Hello?
What?
Yes?
Good day.
It's hot every day.
Are you in good spirits?
May I help you?
7 times 9 is 63.
7 times 8 is 56. 7 times 7 is 49.
7 times 6 is 42.
7 times 5 is 35. 7...
No. No.
Not the toilet.
I'm sorry.
I heard.
I heard you almost
tossed him into the river.
That's a crime.
Up to three years in jail.
Don’t you know that?
Throwing away remains is a crime.
But if you pulverize them
and scatter the powder,
then it's not a crime.
Really?
Powder. Powder, Yama-chan!
But why?
I have no idea.
Oh. What's that?
Something smells good.
Really good.
Yama-chan! Come here.
That’s sukiyaki, isn’t it?
Um, er... No!
You should have told me!
I would have brought pickled vegetables.
But...
Sukiyaki's great! Isn't it, Yoichi?
This is awful!
We can’t survive
if we don’t help one another.
I don't have any money!
Um, stop!
Yama-chan! Don’t just stand there.
But I...
You may never get another chance
to eat meat this good.
Guys, come on!
The eggs?
In the fridge.
Wait!
Shimada!
Is that any way to act?
I don't have any money!
l partake.
Argh!
But why are you eating sukiyaki
when you haven't paid rent in months?
I sold a high-grade tombstone
for the first time in half a year.
That's good. They must be rich.
Well...
The woman in the mansion on the hill.
How much does one of those cost?
More than two million yen.
Two million?
And...
It's for her dog.
Right, boy?
Woof!
This is so good.
I thought I smelled something good.
That's sukiyaki?
You're six months behind on rent
and eating sukiyaki?
Is that so.
Kayo, go get chopsticks
and eggs from our house.
OK.
Good.
Excuse me.
Oh, did you hear?
Yama-chan saw Mrs. Okamoto
the other day.
Really?
I don't know if it was her...
What was she wearing?
A purple cardigan.
Even though it was a really hot day.
She was smoking
and her voice was raspy.
It was her!
Without a doubt.
I knew she was still there.
Did she say anything?
She said the light purple flowers
would bloom soon. Near the flower bed.
That's her!
She loved tending the flowers.
What are you so happy about?
That was a ghost!
Even if she's a ghost,
I want to see her!
What kind of person was she?
She had a beauty salon in this area.
I'm not sure how long she lived here.
She was here when I was little.
So about 40 years.
That long?
In the evenings, she'd talk with
the landlord under the oak tree.
Right. They'd put out a bench.
I have no idea what was so funny,
but they'd talk and laugh,
on and on.
Nothing could stop them!
Let's walk the goat.
Mrs. Okamoto must have
forgotten that she died.
Hey, old lady! You're dead!
If you see her again,
tell her to come to me, too.
Um... OK.
Let's go, Asuka!
That's a nice song.
Bach.
I can’t kill bugs.
Especially spiders.
My dad died when I was 10.
But I have one vivid memory of him.
I think I was about 3 or 4.
There was a typhoon.
I was too scared to sleep
because of the howling wind.
So my dad said,
"I'll tell you a story."
And for some reason it was...
"The Spider's Thread".
It's about people in hell
who think they can climb
a spider's thread to heaven.
But...
When they're almost at heaven,
the thread snaps
and they all fall back into hell.
After hearing that,
the wind outside
just sounded like hell to me.
I had a son. I lost him though.
What?
Just kidding.
Pretend you didn't hear that.
You can't just wait.
We have to call them.
Ah, this is too much.
Let's rest someplace cool.
Gan-chan!
Gan-chan!
Don't be scared. He's a good guy.
This is like my garden. Just relax.
The cicadas here...
They're louder than other cicadas.
Look at that huge slug!
Hey, Yama-chan.
Let's get drinks after it stops raining.
I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
Forgive me! I'm sorry!
Let's go, boy.
What are you doing?
Communicating with aliens.
Huh.
Shimada.
I’m about to eat.
Nice day, isn’t it?
Yeah.
Need help with anything?
Sure.
What's the matter?
Nothing. You're working hard.
Not really.
It's too hot to sleep.
I thought moving would distract me.
Yeah.
Say, Yama-chan. I heard about you.
That you were in jail.
What did you do?
I conned people.
I stole their money.
Oh.
Is that so.
What's wrong?
For you.
Thanks.
Are you OK?
Totally fine.
Is being good-for-nothing genetic?
My mother was trash.
My father died a pitiful death.
Is worthlessness handed down?
It's not.
You don't inherit things like that.
But if she'd known my past...
Ms. Nakajima wouldn't
have done this for me.
She's known all along. I told her.
What?
She's careful with her words.
I've depended on her for decades.
I completely trust her.
Don't quit now.
If you quit...
you'll be back to nothing.
You'll be roaming around
wondering if life is worth it.
I've seen lots of people like that.
Use your hands, not your head.
That's an order.
Hello, this is Life Line.
Is something wrong?
It's OK. You can talk about anything.
So...
You're that thing, right?
The line that people call last
when they want to kill themselves.
Well, it's true that many callers
wonder if life is worth living.
But that's not all we're here for.
What else?
Well,
some people ask if it's OK to bury
their pet cat in the yard when it dies.
Children call us asking
if there are really ghosts.
Or where our souls go after we die.
Where do our souls go after we die?
Well...
this is my personal view,
and not as a counselor speaking...
But when I was a child, sometimes
I saw goldfish swimming in the air.
For a while they would
just float about in space,
and they seemed to be
swimming toward the sky.
I could see those goldfish.
Years later,
I realized
they must have been souls.
There was no doubt in my mind.
Damn.
Unknown Person A
Sorry to keep you waiting.
I'm sorry to bother you.
I need to ask you something.
Yes?
Um...
Did my father...
kill himself?
Pardon?
I checked the last number he called.
It was the Life Line.
Did he want to die?
I cannot deny that.
He died alone,
so no one came to visit him,
and he had no one to talk to.
He sat alone for a long time,
just listening to the TV...
Say,
would you like to see where he lived?
Your father's body was found there.
In my work, I've seen people
who died in various ways.
Many who die alone
are found fallen facing their doors.
Death comes to them suddenly.
To escape their pain,
they try to go outside.
But those who kill themselves
are often found facing
inside their rooms.
I was told that your father
was neither of those.
His room was relatively tidy.
As you can see,
he was growing plants on his veranda.
I bet...
he led a careful life.
Sitting by the window...
Oh, a half-finished milk
was on the table near him.
He may have just taken a bath.
That means...
He was my father.
We're here!
Daddy, here's some goldfish.
Takenori Minami
Visiting a grave, ma’am?
Yes.
I love tree burials. It's best
to give them back to nature.
It's nice to have
different ways to mourn.
They're all just ceremonies
to heal the ones left behind.
My wife, she danced in the night sky.
I was a fireworks operator.
When my wife died, I pulverized
her bones with a mortar and pestle.
I did them little by little
so I'd get them all.
My son was pretty creeped out.
He thought I'd lost my mind.
But she was the wife of
a fireworks operator,
so I wanted to send her off
high in the night sky.
I can't tell you how happy I felt
when I was grinding her bones.
I mixed her bones with explosives
and put them in a huge shell.
Then it went...
BOOM!!
Look.
Wow.
"Setsuna, tasetsuna,"
"robaku, mukolitta."
I didn't think you'd come back.
Why?
I just thought so.
I have nowhere else to go.
Eggplants...
They're art, aren't they?
The brightly shining light
illuminates the world
All beings that pray to Amida Buddha
are saved and never abandoned
Can you see the goldfish in the sky?
Someone told me once
she saw goldfish swimming in the air
when she was little.
She'd stare at them,
and they'd be floating
in space for a while.
They seemed to be swimming
toward the sky.
Those goldfish.
Years later,
she said she was sure
they were souls.
The souls of the deceased
were swimming in the air.
Oh.
What's that thing?
Wait for me!
Take me with you!
Take me with you!
Take me with you!
Take me with you!
Where does our soul go after we die?
Hey.
Yama-chan, are you in the bath?
That earthquake was big, wasn't it?
Scary stuff.
But I'm glad I wasn't
at the top of Tokyo Skytree.
Lucked out there.
But they say Skytree's
the second-tallest in the world.
That's a letdown.
I'm sorry about the other day.
Look...
I also...
have a past I don't want to talk about.
Sorry.
Yama-chan..
Say something!
You know...
I'm really glad a fella like you...
moved in next to me.
See, I'm not really bright.
I've been conned a lot.
People took my money.
So I got a little scared
when I heard what you did.
You know...
when I die...
if just one person is sad...
that'll be fine with me.
Yama-chan, would you be sad if I died?
Yama-chan?
Isn't it better...
to eat with someone than to eat alone?
Go ahead and eat first.
Can I? Thanks.
I partake.
Yama-chan! The squid!
It's...
It's coming.
7 times 9 is 63.
7 times 8 is 56.
7 times 7 is 49.
What are you saying?!
This is how I overcome fear.
say the 7 times table in reverse.
It really works.
Really?
Um... 7 times 9 is... 64?
Wrong!
I can't do it! That's the hardest table!
And backwards? No way!
When I was little, I got scared when
my mom left me home alone at night.
I'd pull the covers over my head
and say the 7 times table backwards,
over and over.
That made me less scared
so I could sleep.
I could say it if it wasn't backwards.
7 times 9 is 63. 7 times 8...
7 times 8 is... 54...
No! 7 times 8 is 56.
7 times 8 is 56.
7 times... 7 is 49.
7 times... 6 is forty-..
Two!
7 times 5 is 35.
7 times 4 is 28.
7 times 3 is 21.
7 times 2 is 14.
7 times 1 is 7. 7...
I wonder if the people
by the river are OK.
I hope they weren't swept away.
They're powder.
Yes, powder.
Doesn't that feel strange?
Not at all.
This used to be a person, right?
I...
I crossed that line.
One day when I was 15,
I came home and my mom
was waiting in front of our apartment.
She gave me 20,000 yen.
"This is the end for us," she said.
She was...
wearing lipstick that was
the wrong color for her.
All slimy like a slug. Gross.
I haven't seen her since.
Someone got me a good job...
but I ended up in jail.
But I was relieved.
In jail...
I didn't have to feel like I'd starve.
So I got out
and come to this apartment...
And this weird guy is next door.
He uses my bath and
eats my food without asking.
Sometimes I find myself laughing
when I'm with him.
But I know I shouldn't laugh
because after all,
I have no reason to live.
That's how I felt.
But I ended up laughing.
This guy...
he finds...
these little...
bits of joy. He has a knack for that.
It amazes me.
But he probably...
couldn't have survived
without doing that.
You know...
for an ex-convict...
someone like me...
those little bits...
of joy...
Do I deserve to feel them?
Of course you do.
Let’s have a funeral for your father.
OK?
MUKOLITTA APARTMENTS
Oh, thanks.
"Setsuna, tasetsuna, robaku, mukolitta."
What is that?
Minami said the same thing.
Mrs. Okamoto used to say it a lot.
"Mukolitta."
I'm not sure what it means.
It's probably...
Like the color of the sky today,
appearing and fading away.
Maybe it's time passing like that.
A unit of time in Buddhist writings,
equivalent to 1/30th of a day,
2880 seconds or 48 minutes.
A setsuna is the smallest unit of this time.
Riverside Mukolitta
Rivers flood with every typhoon.
There are moments when your life
is turned upside-down.
We're constantly under threat
and living on the edge.
Squid Shiokara (salty fermented squid)
Sawada Fishery Products
Yamada?
Yes.
Hey. Glad you're here.
Take your time.
Just do it carefully at first.
OK.
Here's more.
Hey. Getting the hang of it?
Yeah.
It’s monotonous work.
A lot of people quit right away.
But if you keep at it,
I’ll think about giving you a raise.
OK?
Anyone who's determined
deserves the chance to rejoin society.
Keep at it.
MUKOLITTA APARTMENTS
Excuse me.
I'm Yamada.
Reffered by Mr. Sawada, my boss.
I've heard.
There are six-mat and four-mat rooms,
a kitchen and a toilet with bath.
The electricity and gas are ready.
This is east. So this is west.
This is north, and south.
And I'm Minami, your landlord.
It's 50 years old.
Lots of people have lived here.
But no one has died, so don't worry.
Hey. I'm Shimada from next door.
Oh... I'm Yamada.
Usually the one who moves in
says hello and brings snacks.
But it's alright.
Actually, can I use your bath?
My water heater's broken
and I haven't bathed in three days.
It's getting really hot...
You're thinking I should
go to the bathhouse.
I knew it. I knew it!
It's all over your face.
Those places cost 420 yen.
What a rip-off!
I'm a minimalist,
so I can't really afford that.
I know you just took one.
What?
You hear everything through these walls.
I need a bath...
No?
Well...
Just today. Please.
No. I said, no!
Y'know boy...
When it comes to sukiyaki,
I like mine Kansai style.
You put the beef tallow in the pot,
and first grill the meat.
That brings out the flavor.
Flip it over and grill it
till it's about 80% done.
Give it lots of sugar.
Leave it for a moment,
then add soy sauce.
Sizzle...
Hey, can't you just hear it?
The sound of the meat
soaking up the soy sauce and sugar.
Yeah. I can.
Yes?
Hello.
Oh!
It's hot every day.
Are you in good spirits?
Are you some religion?
Oh, no. I'm here with a special offer.
During this sale,
they're up to 40% off
the regular price.
Rest assured. No one lives forever.
Making arrangements now
will eliminate all your worries.
We put our heart into our service.
No thanks. And using your child
like that is pathetic.
Here's more.
Welcome.
Um, hello. My name is Takeshi Yamada.
I received your letter...
Huh?
This is City Hall.
We found your father’s body.
He had been dead for several weeks.
He was found after
his neighbors sensed a foul odor.
7 times 9 is 63.
7 times 8 is 56.
7 times 7 is 49.
7 times 6 is 42.
7 times 5 is 35.
7 times 4 is 28.
Yamada?
Hey. Yamada?
Yamada!
You OK?
Hey, are you alright?
Ah, you're alive. You scared me.
I thought you were dead.
But this heat could kill you.
It'd suck if my neighbor died.
These are vegetables from my garden.
I'll leave them for you.
Oh, Yamada?
Here. Good work.
Hey, glad you're here.
Lots of guys quit
after a day or two.
See you.
Oh, and here's your uniform.
Brand new.
Take home some shiokara.
Stick with us next month. OK?
Hi.
Oh, you're eating?
Yeah.
Good timing then. Here.
- Thanks.
- Not at all. Dig in.
Say, if you want to thank me,
could you let me use your bath?
You just took a bath, didn't you?
I'm filthy from working in the field.
Well, I'd rather...
The bathhouse is 420 yen.
That's a lot.
Let me. Please.
But I'm not ready...
You don't have to be.
The bath's ready.
- But wait...
- It's all ready.
No, no...
Kayo!
Dinnertime!
OK!
Hi.
Can I have this?
How long you gonna sleep?
Oh! You bought a fan?
You bought one!
That's a shame. You should have
bought an air conditioner.
I found it.
Then find an air conditioner! Silly.
What?
C'mon, get up. It's nice out.
Don't sleep through the day.
- Get up!
- Knock it off!
I grew those.
In this tiny garden.
Aren't you impressed?
Can you help a little?
Help me out.
No.
A little!
I'm tired.
Just a little.
I said no!
I grow lots of things here.
Eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes.
The green peppers are pretty good.
I give them to neighbors.
Look.
You see how poor I am.
I'm just scraping by.
So I'm self-sufficient in the summer
to save money for winter.
You're the ant from
"The Ant and the Grasshopper."
I'm not an ant! I'm a minimalist.
A minimalist.
It's a simple life,
abandoning status and wealth.
So that means...
No. I'm not a bum.
Lots of people make that mistake.
I have a philosophy.
A philosophy...
But you need some money.
Philosophy won't fix your bath.
No, no. I’m not good with people.
But look. All these beautiful vegetables.
Feeling the soil and sweat.
Eating the vegetables I've grown
makes me happy to be alive.
That cucumber. Just cut it and
add mayonnaise, and it's amazing.
Yama-chan,
all you eat is salted squid every day.
How do you know?
Hey!
Gan-chan! This is Yama-chan.
Yama-chan, this is Gan-chan
My old friend.
Hi.
Good work.
You drink milk after a bath, not beer?
You’re like a little kid.
Could you stay out of my refrigerator?
Oh, whatever.
And please don't take a bath
before I do.
Whatever. Have a seat.
I partake.
Right?
Good, isn't it?
It's really good.
This is happiness, right?
Um...
It is. Right?
If you find these little bits of joy,
they’ll give you the strength to endure.
Even when you're just scraping by.
If you’re poor and lonely, then you’re stuck.
But if you yell,
“I don’t have any money!”
then it'll be alright.
Is he also... what was it...
Minimalist.
No. Gan-chan is a monk
from the local temple.
You'd be surprised.
He knows the chants.
But people nowadays don't ask monks
to do funerals, so he's struggling.
He's a monk...
Why?
How much does it cost
to call a monk for a funeral?
Could be anything. Why?
I got a letter from the city office.
Asking me to pick up remains.
Whose?
My father's. Or so they say.
Huh?
My parents divorced when I was 4.
I don't even remember his face.
And?
I was confused.
I just left it...
That's no good.
What?
That’s not good. It really isn’t.
But he's almost a stranger.
If I take them, I'll have to pay
for the funeral and grave.
That doesn't matter.
I have no obligation to accept them.
Whatever he was,
you can't pretend he didn't exist.
Social Welfare Section
Hello. I'm Tsutsumishita
from the Social Welfare Section.
Right this way.
Your father's body was found
on the 20th of last month.
These are his personal items.
His autopsy was completed,
and he has been cremated.
Acceptance of Human Remains
These are your father's remains.
These are all..
Wandering spirits.
We store them for a year, and if
no one claims them we bury them together.
Some of the names are unknown.
That means...
Homeless people, and the like.
Sir...
Were you present when
my father was cremated?
Yes. I sent him off.
Was anyone else...
Just me, aside from the crematory staff.
I see.
How did his face look at the end?
It's very hard for me to say...
Part of it is the season...
He was in very poor condition.
It was hard to determine
the look on his face,
or anything else.
Oh... But after cremation,
his Adam’s apple stayed intact.
That means he did good deeds
in his lifetime.
Oh...
Would you like to see?
Huh?
I should show you his Adam's apple.
It's rare to see one
in such a good state.
Look.
Doesn't it look like the Buddha
with hands folded in prayer?
Making arrangements now
will eliminate all your worries.
We put our heart info our service.
You know...
It's not the season,
but can you imagine
feasting on fugu blowfish sashimi
in that nice house?
Yeah. Sounds good.
Crystal-clear cuts of fugu sashimi,
arranged beautifully.
Take three cuts with your chopsticks.
Dip it in citrus sauce with ground radish
and bring it to your mouth.
Its texture is plump and firm.
It's irresistible.
Can you hear it?
Crunch, crunch...
Yeah. I can.
Can't catch anything.
Hey, you.
It won’t be long.
The light purple flowers will bloom.
The perennial asters.
Little flowers blooming everywhere.
They'll look pretty if you tend to them,
or turn into weeds if you don’t.
But that's true with everything.
Yes?
What is it?
For this month.
It's all here.
Here. For you.
Huh?
Most people don't pay on time.
Oh.
Be well.
Aah, the smell of freshly-cooked rice!
What do you want?
A meal tastes better
when you eat with someone else.
I'm taking this to work tomorrow.
OK. I'll just eat one bowl then.
Oh, this...
I got them.
Good.
Dad, please watch over Yama-chan.
I’m sure he’d forgotten about me.
You don’t know that.
There were lots of them
in the city office.
The remains of those
thought not to exist.
Oh, really.
Homeless people by the river.
Some get swept away in typhoons.
But it never makes the news
because they're unidentifiable.
Well, that's almost me too.
I made these pickles myself.
I partake.
Delicious!
You've got talent for cooking rice.
Say, our landlord...
Minami?
Right.
Where's her husband?
What? You're interested?
It's not that.
Give up on her.
She's crazy about her husband.
I don't mean that.
He passed away.
What?
He had cancer. Cancer.
Took him instantly.
About five years ago.
But even now,
she's devoted to him, adorably.
How do you know?
It's obvious.
I wonder.
What is it, Yama-chan?
You think I can't understand women?
Hey! Stop!
You said you'd just eat one bowl!
I wonder what your father was like.
I’m sure he led a worthless life.
Even caused trouble after he died.
He was all alone.
He died alone and no one found him.
There were maggots everywhere, all slimy.
The room was full of flies.
His body was oozing fluids.
He left a black stain
on the tatami floor.
Aren’t you going to eat?
7 times 9 is 63.
7 times 8 is 56.
7 times 7 is 49.
7 times 6 is 42.
7 times 5 is 35.
7 times 4 is 28. 7 times 3 is 21..
Hello, this is Life Line.
Hello?
Is something wrong?
Hello?
You've got the hang of it.
Right, Ms. Nakajima?
If you stay devoted to your work
every day like that,
next month will come,
then next year,
and before you know it,
five or ten years will pass.
Is it worth it?
It is. It really is.
But to understand why,
you'll need ten years' experience,
unfortunately.
They say do your best every day.
But you won't understand
without that experience.
Take some Premium.
Yamada, want some ice cream?
Want some? Or not?
I saw a pregnant woman.
I can't stand them.
When I see that big belly,
I want to give it a kick.
What...
It depends on how they stick out.
The one today made me want to kick it.
A pregnant woman has another,
different person inside her. How beastly!
It's a visceral thing,
but it reminds me
people are originally animals?
The thought of that
makes me sick.
I know it's strange.
I was pregnant once.
It's alright. I've never done it.
Babies are adorable,
and I know I'll never cross that line.
But it scares me to think
those feelings are inside me.
People can be scary.
I...
My mood's much lighter now.
HOLIDAY SALE
No one lives forever.
Prepare now and
you will have no worries.
We put our heart into our service.
What?
I'm selling tombstones.
Would you like to buy one?
I can't afford it.
Of course not.
Ah, that felt nice.
Hey!
I'd rather you just took a bath.
Thank you, always.
I partake.
It's so good. You really
have a talent for cooking rice.
I wish I had other talents.
It's something!
What's this? Premium squid?
Oh, wow!
It's from my boss.
Nice boss.
guess.
They glow at night.
What?
The remains.
Seriously?
It's creepy.
He must be here.
Cut it out!
But make sure you have a memorial
after 49 days.
A service?
Do I have to?
Of course.
But I don't have money for a grave.
You can't just toss them somewhere.
By the way, I saw
the old lady next door the other day.
What?
You...
You saw her?
You really saw her.
Minami was also saying
the old woman still lives there,
so she can't let anyone move in.
Really?
She's been dead for two years.
Crap. I won’t sleep tonight.
Whoa.
This is bad luck.
What's wrong?
- Hello?
- Maron? What is it?
Settle down.
Maron.
Hello?
What?
Yes?
Good day.
It's hot every day.
Are you in good spirits?
May I help you?
7 times 9 is 63.
7 times 8 is 56. 7 times 7 is 49.
7 times 6 is 42.
7 times 5 is 35. 7...
No. No.
Not the toilet.
I'm sorry.
I heard.
I heard you almost
tossed him into the river.
That's a crime.
Up to three years in jail.
Don’t you know that?
Throwing away remains is a crime.
But if you pulverize them
and scatter the powder,
then it's not a crime.
Really?
Powder. Powder, Yama-chan!
But why?
I have no idea.
Oh. What's that?
Something smells good.
Really good.
Yama-chan! Come here.
That’s sukiyaki, isn’t it?
Um, er... No!
You should have told me!
I would have brought pickled vegetables.
But...
Sukiyaki's great! Isn't it, Yoichi?
This is awful!
We can’t survive
if we don’t help one another.
I don't have any money!
Um, stop!
Yama-chan! Don’t just stand there.
But I...
You may never get another chance
to eat meat this good.
Guys, come on!
The eggs?
In the fridge.
Wait!
Shimada!
Is that any way to act?
I don't have any money!
l partake.
Argh!
But why are you eating sukiyaki
when you haven't paid rent in months?
I sold a high-grade tombstone
for the first time in half a year.
That's good. They must be rich.
Well...
The woman in the mansion on the hill.
How much does one of those cost?
More than two million yen.
Two million?
And...
It's for her dog.
Right, boy?
Woof!
This is so good.
I thought I smelled something good.
That's sukiyaki?
You're six months behind on rent
and eating sukiyaki?
Is that so.
Kayo, go get chopsticks
and eggs from our house.
OK.
Good.
Excuse me.
Oh, did you hear?
Yama-chan saw Mrs. Okamoto
the other day.
Really?
I don't know if it was her...
What was she wearing?
A purple cardigan.
Even though it was a really hot day.
She was smoking
and her voice was raspy.
It was her!
Without a doubt.
I knew she was still there.
Did she say anything?
She said the light purple flowers
would bloom soon. Near the flower bed.
That's her!
She loved tending the flowers.
What are you so happy about?
That was a ghost!
Even if she's a ghost,
I want to see her!
What kind of person was she?
She had a beauty salon in this area.
I'm not sure how long she lived here.
She was here when I was little.
So about 40 years.
That long?
In the evenings, she'd talk with
the landlord under the oak tree.
Right. They'd put out a bench.
I have no idea what was so funny,
but they'd talk and laugh,
on and on.
Nothing could stop them!
Let's walk the goat.
Mrs. Okamoto must have
forgotten that she died.
Hey, old lady! You're dead!
If you see her again,
tell her to come to me, too.
Um... OK.
Let's go, Asuka!
That's a nice song.
Bach.
I can’t kill bugs.
Especially spiders.
My dad died when I was 10.
But I have one vivid memory of him.
I think I was about 3 or 4.
There was a typhoon.
I was too scared to sleep
because of the howling wind.
So my dad said,
"I'll tell you a story."
And for some reason it was...
"The Spider's Thread".
It's about people in hell
who think they can climb
a spider's thread to heaven.
But...
When they're almost at heaven,
the thread snaps
and they all fall back into hell.
After hearing that,
the wind outside
just sounded like hell to me.
I had a son. I lost him though.
What?
Just kidding.
Pretend you didn't hear that.
You can't just wait.
We have to call them.
Ah, this is too much.
Let's rest someplace cool.
Gan-chan!
Gan-chan!
Don't be scared. He's a good guy.
This is like my garden. Just relax.
The cicadas here...
They're louder than other cicadas.
Look at that huge slug!
Hey, Yama-chan.
Let's get drinks after it stops raining.
I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
Forgive me! I'm sorry!
Let's go, boy.
What are you doing?
Communicating with aliens.
Huh.
Shimada.
I’m about to eat.
Nice day, isn’t it?
Yeah.
Need help with anything?
Sure.
What's the matter?
Nothing. You're working hard.
Not really.
It's too hot to sleep.
I thought moving would distract me.
Yeah.
Say, Yama-chan. I heard about you.
That you were in jail.
What did you do?
I conned people.
I stole their money.
Oh.
Is that so.
What's wrong?
For you.
Thanks.
Are you OK?
Totally fine.
Is being good-for-nothing genetic?
My mother was trash.
My father died a pitiful death.
Is worthlessness handed down?
It's not.
You don't inherit things like that.
But if she'd known my past...
Ms. Nakajima wouldn't
have done this for me.
She's known all along. I told her.
What?
She's careful with her words.
I've depended on her for decades.
I completely trust her.
Don't quit now.
If you quit...
you'll be back to nothing.
You'll be roaming around
wondering if life is worth it.
I've seen lots of people like that.
Use your hands, not your head.
That's an order.
Hello, this is Life Line.
Is something wrong?
It's OK. You can talk about anything.
So...
You're that thing, right?
The line that people call last
when they want to kill themselves.
Well, it's true that many callers
wonder if life is worth living.
But that's not all we're here for.
What else?
Well,
some people ask if it's OK to bury
their pet cat in the yard when it dies.
Children call us asking
if there are really ghosts.
Or where our souls go after we die.
Where do our souls go after we die?
Well...
this is my personal view,
and not as a counselor speaking...
But when I was a child, sometimes
I saw goldfish swimming in the air.
For a while they would
just float about in space,
and they seemed to be
swimming toward the sky.
I could see those goldfish.
Years later,
I realized
they must have been souls.
There was no doubt in my mind.
Damn.
Unknown Person A
Sorry to keep you waiting.
I'm sorry to bother you.
I need to ask you something.
Yes?
Um...
Did my father...
kill himself?
Pardon?
I checked the last number he called.
It was the Life Line.
Did he want to die?
I cannot deny that.
He died alone,
so no one came to visit him,
and he had no one to talk to.
He sat alone for a long time,
just listening to the TV...
Say,
would you like to see where he lived?
Your father's body was found there.
In my work, I've seen people
who died in various ways.
Many who die alone
are found fallen facing their doors.
Death comes to them suddenly.
To escape their pain,
they try to go outside.
But those who kill themselves
are often found facing
inside their rooms.
I was told that your father
was neither of those.
His room was relatively tidy.
As you can see,
he was growing plants on his veranda.
I bet...
he led a careful life.
Sitting by the window...
Oh, a half-finished milk
was on the table near him.
He may have just taken a bath.
That means...
He was my father.
We're here!
Daddy, here's some goldfish.
Takenori Minami
Visiting a grave, ma’am?
Yes.
I love tree burials. It's best
to give them back to nature.
It's nice to have
different ways to mourn.
They're all just ceremonies
to heal the ones left behind.
My wife, she danced in the night sky.
I was a fireworks operator.
When my wife died, I pulverized
her bones with a mortar and pestle.
I did them little by little
so I'd get them all.
My son was pretty creeped out.
He thought I'd lost my mind.
But she was the wife of
a fireworks operator,
so I wanted to send her off
high in the night sky.
I can't tell you how happy I felt
when I was grinding her bones.
I mixed her bones with explosives
and put them in a huge shell.
Then it went...
BOOM!!
Look.
Wow.
"Setsuna, tasetsuna,"
"robaku, mukolitta."
I didn't think you'd come back.
Why?
I just thought so.
I have nowhere else to go.
Eggplants...
They're art, aren't they?
The brightly shining light
illuminates the world
All beings that pray to Amida Buddha
are saved and never abandoned
Can you see the goldfish in the sky?
Someone told me once
she saw goldfish swimming in the air
when she was little.
She'd stare at them,
and they'd be floating
in space for a while.
They seemed to be swimming
toward the sky.
Those goldfish.
Years later,
she said she was sure
they were souls.
The souls of the deceased
were swimming in the air.
Oh.
What's that thing?
Wait for me!
Take me with you!
Take me with you!
Take me with you!
Take me with you!
Where does our soul go after we die?
Hey.
Yama-chan, are you in the bath?
That earthquake was big, wasn't it?
Scary stuff.
But I'm glad I wasn't
at the top of Tokyo Skytree.
Lucked out there.
But they say Skytree's
the second-tallest in the world.
That's a letdown.
I'm sorry about the other day.
Look...
I also...
have a past I don't want to talk about.
Sorry.
Yama-chan..
Say something!
You know...
I'm really glad a fella like you...
moved in next to me.
See, I'm not really bright.
I've been conned a lot.
People took my money.
So I got a little scared
when I heard what you did.
You know...
when I die...
if just one person is sad...
that'll be fine with me.
Yama-chan, would you be sad if I died?
Yama-chan?
Isn't it better...
to eat with someone than to eat alone?
Go ahead and eat first.
Can I? Thanks.
I partake.
Yama-chan! The squid!
It's...
It's coming.
7 times 9 is 63.
7 times 8 is 56.
7 times 7 is 49.
What are you saying?!
This is how I overcome fear.
say the 7 times table in reverse.
It really works.
Really?
Um... 7 times 9 is... 64?
Wrong!
I can't do it! That's the hardest table!
And backwards? No way!
When I was little, I got scared when
my mom left me home alone at night.
I'd pull the covers over my head
and say the 7 times table backwards,
over and over.
That made me less scared
so I could sleep.
I could say it if it wasn't backwards.
7 times 9 is 63. 7 times 8...
7 times 8 is... 54...
No! 7 times 8 is 56.
7 times 8 is 56.
7 times... 7 is 49.
7 times... 6 is forty-..
Two!
7 times 5 is 35.
7 times 4 is 28.
7 times 3 is 21.
7 times 2 is 14.
7 times 1 is 7. 7...
I wonder if the people
by the river are OK.
I hope they weren't swept away.
They're powder.
Yes, powder.
Doesn't that feel strange?
Not at all.
This used to be a person, right?
I...
I crossed that line.
One day when I was 15,
I came home and my mom
was waiting in front of our apartment.
She gave me 20,000 yen.
"This is the end for us," she said.
She was...
wearing lipstick that was
the wrong color for her.
All slimy like a slug. Gross.
I haven't seen her since.
Someone got me a good job...
but I ended up in jail.
But I was relieved.
In jail...
I didn't have to feel like I'd starve.
So I got out
and come to this apartment...
And this weird guy is next door.
He uses my bath and
eats my food without asking.
Sometimes I find myself laughing
when I'm with him.
But I know I shouldn't laugh
because after all,
I have no reason to live.
That's how I felt.
But I ended up laughing.
This guy...
he finds...
these little...
bits of joy. He has a knack for that.
It amazes me.
But he probably...
couldn't have survived
without doing that.
You know...
for an ex-convict...
someone like me...
those little bits...
of joy...
Do I deserve to feel them?
Of course you do.
Let’s have a funeral for your father.
OK?
MUKOLITTA APARTMENTS
Oh, thanks.
"Setsuna, tasetsuna, robaku, mukolitta."
What is that?
Minami said the same thing.
Mrs. Okamoto used to say it a lot.
"Mukolitta."
I'm not sure what it means.
It's probably...
Like the color of the sky today,
appearing and fading away.
Maybe it's time passing like that.