The Sea and Poison (1986) - full transcript
Downed American fliers in WWII are vivisected by Japanese surgeons in cruel medical experiments.
Nippon Herald Films, Inc.
The Sea and Poison Production Committee
THE SEA AND POISON
Production by
Keiichiro TAKISHIMA
Original Novel by
Shusaku ENDO
Produced by
Kanou OTSUKA, Takashi MIYAGAWA
Cinematography by Masao TOCHIZAWA
Lighting by Yasuo IWAKI
Art Direction by Takeo KIMURA
Music by Teizo MATSUMURA
Editing by Osamu INOUE
CAST
Eiji OKUDA
Ken WATANABE
Kyoko KISHIDA
Toshie NEGISHI
Mikio NARITA, Ken NISHIDA
Masumi OKADA
Shigeru KOYAMA, Yu KUSANO
Yumi KUROKI
Noriko SENGOKU, Kazunaga TSUJI
Masane TSUKAYAMA
Takahiro TAMURA
Written and Directed by
Kei KUMAI
Let's
pick up where we left off yesterday.
Give us details.
Yes.
Back then,
around May 1945,
what did you do at the
University every day?
In Med School,
as an intern at First Surgery
waiting for immediate service
I spent my days
between wards and labs...
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
What time is the Old Man's
round changed to?
Half past three.
Conference as usual?
We're out of carbol-fuschin.
Whose sputum is that?
Obahan (the old lady)'s.
What?
Are you still... ?
Why don't you give up on it?
Always going to extra trouble
for that welfare case.
It doesn't take any trouble.
She's a dead duck anyway.
It's just a waste of carbol.
She might have a chance to survive.
No way.
Cut that sentimentality.
Do something for one and so what?
This place is filled with patients
who don't have a chance.
Why this fascination with her?
I'm not fascinated with her.
She reminds you of your mother?
Not at all.
I see her as my very first patient.
I...
don't like seeing her there
every morning in that ward,
with that yellowed hair she has.
You're a real softy.
You sound like student nurses.
Such compassion
in a time like this
is not only of no use
for a doctor, but is
harmful!
Today, everybody's on the way out.
Those who don't die in hospital
would die in an air raid on any night.
What's the point of
pitying one old lady.
You'd be doing better
to think of a new way of curing TB!
The conference's over.
I wish it turned out okay.
Otherwise,
the Old Man will take it out on us.
What a sordid world.
How come everybody wants
to be Dean of Medicine?
Dr. Gondo.
What time do we expect you back?
I have no idea.
Army Commander wants
to see me as well.
Best of luck, sir.
'Everybody wants to be
Dean of Medicine.'
What do you mean by that?
A month before that,
the Dean of Medicine,
Dr. Osugi, had a stroke.
Doctors held daily conferences
regarding this vacant chair of Dean.
However,
Dr. Hashimoto of First Surgery
being the logical choice
to succeed to the post
in terms of experience
within the hospital,
things have suddenly changed,
and Dr. Gondo of Second Surgery
became the prime candidate.
The Gondo faction started to associate
with the Western Command for foothold.
What do you mean
by 'foothold' ?
Rumor has it,
Dr. Gondo promised
the Western Command that
he would take care of
their wounded soldiers
if he became Dean of Medicine.
And so
Dr. Hashimoto became anxious, right?
Yes.
How was the conference?
Don't ask me.
By the way,
I'm still waiting for the report on
Toki Maebashi's stomach fluid.
What if the Old Man asks for it today?
Thank you for coming, sir.
Please.
Turn your back.
The rash is the same, but
pus is coming out of the ear.
Fever?
Gone up above 100 since
the pain in the ear started.
It doesn't hurt anymore.
It's nothing.
No way.
Doctor,
will I be all right?
Don't worry, old lady.
We'll give you some pain killer.
That's good enough.
No patient in crisis, is there?
You're tired, sir. Let's call it a day.
Then...
Suguro-kun's been checking a patient.
Who?
The welfare case over there.
Actually, we've already
had her consent.
Since she's dying soon,
how about an experiment?
A good opportunity.
Two diseased areas in the left,
and an area of permeation
in the right lung.
Perfect for an experimental
operation on both lungs.
Dr. Shibata said he would
certainly like to give it a try.
Yes.
So,
I'll have Suguro-kun
do preliminary exams.
After that it's for you to decide, sir.
Okay with you, Suguro-kun?
Yes.
Obahan.
Why did you agree to the operation?
Well...
Dr. Shibata,
he said that
it had to be done.
Otherwise,
there's nothing else to do.
Doctor...
Is this operation
going to
cure me?
- Bring her to me for examination.
- Yes.
Her heart is getting weaker.
An operation might not be advisable.
I know it wouldn't be advisable.
We've only had two of such
operation on both
lungs in our hospital.
Well, there's a 95% chance
that we would kill her.
Then instead of inflicting pain
on the patient through operation
can we wait for her
cardiopulmonary function to recover
and reconsider operation?
Can't you see that
she is too debilitated and will
eventually die within a half year?
She won't make it,
with or without operation.
No need for you to worry about it.
I'm going to be the one with the knife.
Anyway, that woman
is only a welfare patient.
Suguro-kun's concerned
because he's in charge of her.
I used to be the same way myself.
Suguro-kun.
Sir.
What I would like to try
with that welfare patient
is not the usual Schmidt technique.
Have you read Coriro's thesis?
Uh...
It'll be a variation of his method.
Have a listen.
First,
make a wide incision
below the upper rib.
Then cut the 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st ribs.
This is Coriro's method.
My version will...
My steth...
My steth...
Where the hell is my stethoscope?
Hey, let me use yours.
What for?
One more patient for operation.
Dr. Asai and I are in charge
of the examination.
You know who?
No idea.
Mrs. Tabe in the
private room upstairs.
A relative of the late Dean, Dr. Osugi.
That lady.
Out of the way.
Looks good.
Where's your husband now?
In Taiwan.
I received a letter from him last month.
Doctor, how would you
describe
my condition?
You have a short history
of this illness.
A small cavity and some infiltrate
in the right upper lobe.
But
pneumothorax therapy is impossible
due to pleural adhesion.
You will be fine.
I will operate on you and cure you.
I'm only happy
to be able to show my
gratitude to Dr. Osugi.
It was originally scheduled for fall,
but was suddenly moved forward.
- That's the point.
The Old Man's often out of focus
when doing his rounds these days.
I have an idea
that this operation
has something to do
with him getting the Dean's chair.
- Election of Dean?
- Yeah.
He has to gain a lot of credit from
a successful operation on that woman.
See?
The election for the Dean's in August.
The patient's a relative of the Osugis.
The disease is limited to the
right upper lobe,
and she's still young.
Instead of
waiting until fall, do it this month
so by August the stage
will be well set.
In this way,
doctors from Internal Medicine in the
Osugi faction will be in his favor.
The Second Surgery and Dr. Gondo
can be overpowered before election.
That's the story.
I don't get it.
Get what?
Obahan's a lab rat,
and Mrs. Tabe's a career opportunity.
Of course they are.
What's wrong with that?
Besides,
why are you so attached
to that Obahan?
What's so bad about it?
I don't know how to put it...
Doctors killing their patients
isn't so solemn a matter.
It's nothing new in the
world of medicine.
That's how we've made our progress.
And...
now people are dying in the air raids,
so nobody thinks twice about it.
Rather than have your
Obahan die in an air raid,
why not kill her at the hospital,
there'd be some meaning in that.
What kind of meaning?
Why it's obvious!
If she dies in an air raid,
her bones will be just
thrown into the Naka River.
But if she
gets killed during an operation, she'd
be a human sacrifice for medicine.
To think that
she'll help countless TB victims
to be cured in the future...
she will not die in vain.
You've got a tough mind.
Sweetness and sentimentality are
forbidden luxuries for a doctor.
Doctors aren't saints.
They want success.
They want to be full professors.
And when they want to
try out new technologies,
they can't limit their experiments
to monkeys and dogs.
This is the world.
You ought to take a closer look at it.
I can get the picture too.
I can, but...
I can't be like that myself.
Sometimes I looked out
at the sea, here from the roof.
Then things like the war,
the hospital ward,
and daily hunger
seemed to fade a little bit.
The changing colors of the sea
gave rise to a variety of daydreams.
Something ordinary, like
going to a small town somewhere
once the war was over,
and have a little hospital,
making house calls for
patients in my neighborhood.
Then I will be able to
take care of my parents
back home.
On a day the sea is sparkling blue
I find, strangely enough,
this poem on my mind:
'When the clouds like sheep pass'
'When the clouds swirl like steam'
'Sky, your scattering is'
'white'
'White like streams of cotton.'
'Sky, your scattering is'
'white'
'White like streams of cotton.'
Next Friday morning,
the Old Man himself will
operate on Mrs. Tabe.
Then a week later,
I'll operate on the welfare case
whom Suguro-kun's been charge of.
You two are to take part
in both operations
as assistants.
All right?
Doctor,
is everything all right
about my daughter's operation?
No worries.
It'll be done while she is
sleeping under anesthesia.
I've heard
there'll be pain after surgery.
The night after there'll be a
certain amount of discomfort.
And you may feel thristy.
But it'll be a matter of 2 or 3 days.
But as for any danger...?
What an opinion you must have
of Dr. Hashimoto's skill
and all our efforts.
Even we will be able
to do it and succeed.
You'll be out by fall.
Then, take a rest in countryside
for a few months,
and you'll return to health
by the end of the year.
Thank you.
Be brave now.
Mother's here with you.
Your sister will soon be here too.
The operation will be over
before you know it.
Doctor will
take care of everything.
Dr. Hashimoto will.
Anesthesia?
Depth is enough.
- Sterilizer forceps.
- Yes.
All set?
Yes.
All right.
Let's begin.
Scalpel.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Suture.
Scissors.
Here.
Doctor.
126 over 70.
Yes.
- Retractor.
- Yes.
Hold firmly.
Hooklet.
- Raspatory.
- Here.
Transfusion?
It's ready.
Blood pressure?
Normal.
Gauze.
Rib-grasping forceps.
120 over 68.
Gauze.
- Kidney dish.
- Yes.
Gauze.
- Rongeur.
- Yes.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Kidney dish.
- Pulse?
- 100.
Under tension.
Blood pressure?
Normal.
Now to the first rib.
The most critical point
in thoracoplasty had come.
Pull harder.
Yes.
Gauze.
Kidney dish.
I noticed that her blood had darkened.
Any abnormality?
Blood pressure...
Blood pressure's down.
It's bleeding.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
Suction!
- Suction!
- Yes!
- Suction, suction!
- Yes.
- Hemostat!
- Yes.
Transfusion!
Yes!
- Quick!
- Yes!
Come on, come on!
Mask... mask!
Oxygen!
Gauze.
Hemostat.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Gauze.
There's sweat in my eyes!
Gauze!
Gauze.
- Doctor...
- Come on, quick!
Gauze!
Gauze.
Hurry up, quick!
- Hold firmly!
- Yes.
I'm sorry.
Come on! Hold it!
I am!
Gauze.
Pull!
Pull harder!
Come on!
Gauze.
Gauze!
Hemoptysis!
It's hemoptysis!
Hemoptysis!
Scrape it out.
Quick, scrape it out.
Forceps?
Mask, mask!
Quick with the mask!
The mask!
Oxygen, oxygen.
Oxygen!
Blood pressure?
Blood pressure?
It's down... 70.
Pull harder!
Gauze. Hemostat.
No! Hemostat!
Hemostat!
Gauze.
60.
50.
Pulse...
none at all.
She's dead.
Operating room.
Yes.
Dr. Asai, it's for you.
This is Asai.
What is it?
I'm busy here, okay?
Got no time for that!
Anyway she's past help.
Inject her with 2cc opium.
Do what you can.
Doctor.
Dr. Hashimoto.
We have to put thing in order.
Put things in order...?
Yes.
Of course, yes...
Here.
Let's wipe the body with alcohol
and close the incisions.
Wrap it thoroughly with
gauze and bandages.
Listen.
Take the patient's body
back to her room.
Not one word to the family
about the operation.
Once in the room, put her on a drip.
And everything else,
as after any operation.
The patient's not dead.
She will die tomorrow morning at 6 am.
Doctor.
The operation was a success.
But tonight will be a difficult one.
Just to be on the safe side,
we've got to forbid
visitors for two days.
Does that include us?
I'm sorry but it does, according
to the hospital's rules.
Today,
chief nurse and I will
spend the night by her bed.
So
don't worry.
Then please take good care of her.
You.
Hey you.
Keep a look out here and make
sure everything stays hushed up.
(... Mr. Saito at bed no. 5,)
(no serious effects are reported.)
(Bed no.6...)
(... last night around 11:20 pm)
(vomited about 100cc blood)
(so was injected with...)
(due to persistence of cough...)
What a comedy.
I mean really...
It was a real comedy.
Comedy?
Sure.
He has it all worked out.
If a patient dies during operation,
it'd be the Old Man's responsibility.
But...
if she dies after the operation,
it's not the fault of the
man with the knife.
You can make out a case
for him at election time.
I beg you please, let me see her
just for a moment....
I'm sorry, it's against the rules.
Will she be all right?
We have no choice then.
Is this what it means to be a doctor?
Is this the nature of medicine?
But...
my thoughts turned sluggish,
and knew that thinking
would lead me nowhere.
Any day now I would be
called up for my term of service.
I had this feeling that
nothing mattered.
By then,
US Army had taken over all of Okinawa.
Obahan.
How are you doing?
Right where you are.
Here.
Medical dextrose.
Is it good?
It's good.
Fifty
six
aeons,
seven
thousands
eras is...
the age
of
Bodhisattva
Nikin.
Buddhist chant?
Oh no.
It's a prayer written by
the Holy Shinran.
This woman here
asked me
to read her something
from this holy book about Buddha.
She feels down at the mouth
about her operation lately.
She agreed to the operation
so she can see her boy again.
You have a child?
Yes...
a boy.
He went to Manchuria.
Doctor,
would you too please
write something for him?
(It is now a full-grown cedar forest)
(Like a child from a patriotic family)
(It is strong, tall and robust)
When is her operation?
(A big cedar tree, a big cedar tree)
(What will become of a big cedar tree?)
(A ship that carries our soldiers)
(A house where our)
(wounded soldiers rest)
(Bookshelves, desks and clogs)
(Chopsticks to eat our delicious bento)
(Pencils and pen cases and other things)
(What a joy it is to be able to serve)
(To be able to serve our people)
(Let's work as hard as the cedar tree)
(Bereaved children of brave soldiers)
"VICTORY"
As a matter of fact...
Have a seat.
About the operation on your patient...
We'll postpone for a few months.
Postponed?
Yes.
If we follow the Old Man and have
a second death during operation,
the reputation of First Surgery
will be shot to pieces.
Those on the faculty of
Internal Medicine are
all criticizing First Surgery for
disregarding their opinion
and hurrying the operation.
The Second Surgery must be
greatly pleased at heart.
Well, at any rate,
all hope of their recommending
the Old Man for election as Dean
seems to have died.
Evacuate!
Evacuate!
Hurry!
Evacuate!
21st Squad!
Everybody in position!
21st Squad! All in position!
Target,
the enemy aircraft ahead!
Evacuate!
Hurry up!
Evacuate!
Hurry up!
Hey, are you all right?
Sit up! Hold it there, let's go!
Obahan!
Obahan?
(Namu Amida Buddha...)
Obahan, on your feet!
On your feet! Come on quick!
Aliens are aboard those planes.
They have blue eyes
and red hair
with pointed nose like goblins.
They have these horrifyingly
accurate bombs and take aim...
Both Japan and...
this First Surgery are...
in shambles.
Yeah...
So be it!
You'll be off soon
as a medical cadet
and be done with this place!
So be it, huh?
Me,
I don't care what happens.
But you,
why haven't you asked
to be called up?
Who?
Me?
Yeah.
To hell with that.
If you don't do it,
you'll be a private.
I'll see what comes.
Dying a private's
as good as any other way.
Why is that?
Now,
it all comes out the same
no matter what you do.
Today everybody's on the way out.
What's that sound?
- The sound of collapsing buildings?
- Oh, no.
It's like...
the sound of people groaning.
Is that the voices of those
dying from the raid?
Doctor Suguro.
Just now,
Mrs. Kuwabara passed away.
Obahan,
I'll join you soon.
Let's get back inside.
Let's get back inside.
I wonder
where they're going to bury Obahan?
Don't ask me.
So with that, your illusion passes.
Every attachment is an illusion.
Now for the first time
I felt I understood
why I had been attached
to that old woman
for such a long time.
She was the one thing
in the midst of Toda's pessimistic
"everybody's on the way out"
that I was going to
make sure didn't die.
Yes.
Toda, your research topic is
cavity induction treatment.
Yes.
How's it going?
Nowadays it's hard to
get anything done.
Any new documents on that?
Um...
Suguro-kun.
It looks like I lost out.
Lost out?
That ward patient died
before I could get to her.
I was going to try that new method.
Feeling like letting
your prey get away?
Oh no, it's like having lost at love.
Isn't it, doctor?
Well,
actually,
we've talked with Dr. Hashimoto
whether of not we would
have you two participate.
This is in fact
a very rare opportunity.
Besides,
Dr. Gondo and his Second Surgery
have gained the upper hand lately.
On this occasion,
we'd join up with the Western Command
and work with medical officers.
I mean...
there's no need to refuse
their friendly proposal and
hurt their feelings.
Anyway,
if you don't feel like doing it,
we won't force you.
Is that an operation
that you want us to participate?
No forcing.
But even if you refuse,
you'll have to keep your
mouths shut about it.
What is it then?
We'll perform vivisections
on eight American prisoners.
See?
Will you participate?
Yes.
Are these eight prisoners
B29 airmen?
Yes.
They're responsible
for the random bombing the other day
and for as many as
a dozen others throughout Japan.
They've confessed.
Random bombing is
in breach of international law
and is regarded as felony
under special wartime measures.
The Imperial Headquarters has
ordered the Western Command to
send the capitain who has information
to Tokyo and
dispose of the others accordingly.
There's nothing to worry about.
And as a medical scholar,
this is, in a sense
the best of dreams to come true.
How's it going?
Have you made up your mind?
How about you, Suguro-kun?
You're free to choose.
I mean it.
Western Command sentenced
them to be shot to death.
They'll die anyway, so who cares how?
Here they'll get ether
and die in their sleep.
How's that?
Hey you.
Why would you take it so seriously?
You should be eager to participate
as a medical student during wartime.
What is there to hold you back?
Farewell.
And you accepted it, just like that?
You could have given them a clear no.
But at the time...
At the time,
the Western Command's word was law.
That's part of it, but...
The prisoners
were B-29 airmen who
bombed the city
and you had a profound
hatred against them.
So that's how it was?
No, it wasn't.
It wasn't?
It wasn't?
No.
Back then,
I never had any interest
in those prisoners
whatsoever, let alone hatred.
That can't be possible, you liar!
It's true!
Then why did you accept?
I was...
extremely hesitant about it.
But
at that time
I was truly exhausted
both mentally and physically.
I just
couldn't
think any harder.
Nothing mattered anymore.
Thinking didn't
help anything.
It was way beyond
the capability of one man.
That's how I persuaded myself.
Are you certain about that?
Yes.
At first,
Dr. Hashimoto was
for me, nothing more than
a professional doctor.
I had no personal interest in him.
To me, as it is
to any other nurses,
professors and assistant professors
are great men
who are not only
superior to us in rank but
also in birth,
living in a different world.
And so
the one thing that tied me up
with Dr. Hashimoto was
ironically enough,
his wife,
Hilda-san.
How are you doing today?
Here are some biscuits I've made.
Please eat them.
She came regularly to the hospital
three times a month.
Today, I came to do
some laundry for you.
You,
you got some?
No, I don't have any.
No, please.
Haven't got any.
I don't have any, no I don't.
I don't.
You.
I'm sorry.
Children are susceptible
to TB, you know?
I always disinfect my hands
before leaving the hospital.
I am...
asking you to tell me the reason
why you've agreed to
take part in the vivisection.
What does Hilda-san
have to do with your decision?
It has to do with a few things...
Was there a conflict between you two
in a professional situation?
I can...
never forget what happened that day.
Nurse, please.
What's the matter?
Mrs. Maebashi is suffering, quick!
Please call Dr. Asai for her.
Hello?
This is First Surgery.
May I talk with Dr. Asai?
Then put me through to OR.
It's urgent.
Dr. Asai, it's for you.
This is Asai.
What is it?
I'm busy here, okay?
Got no time for that!
But she's
suffering from
spontaneous pneumothorax.
Anyway she's past help.
Inject her with 2cc opium.
Opium?
2cc?
Do what you can.
Hurry up, nurse!
Hurry!
Hurry!
What is it you have there?
O... opium.
That much?
Quick, the equipment and the doctor.
Why did you try to inject
that much opium?
Did you want to kill her?
I had been a nurse myself,
so I know what that means.
But...
anyway,
that patient was going to die
anytime soon.
Can't you help a person
by letting them die easier?
Even though a person is going to die,
no one has the right
to kill that person.
Aren't you afraid of God?
Don't you
believe in
God's punishment?
Who are you?
Doctor,
how was the operation?
Oh,
it's just you.
The operation?
We killed her!
The family doesn't know a thing yet.
The Old Man just doesn't
have it anymore!
Oh great.
When the election comes off,
Dr. Gondo will beat him hollow!
It seems that...
there goes my success in career too!
Where do you live?
So...
you've been to Dairen?
I came back just a month ago
all alone.
Your husband?
He left me for a female clerk
with Manchurian Railways.
Although he begged me to marry him
he ended up dumping me.
That's a terrible story.
He took you away to Manchuria
and dumped you. Awful.
But then...
if only I could have a child...
my life
would have been a bit nicer.
What happened with the child?
For some...
reason or other,
the baby had died inside me.
And what's more...
What's more?
in order to save my life,
they cut out my womb altogether.
He would have been 5
if he were alive now.
I wonder how she is in bed
with Dr. Hashimoto?
Who? Hilda?
She really gives, I'll bet.
Underneath the
plaster saint business...
just take a look at her body.
Hey.
Why don't you try your luck
with the Old Man?
That would really fix old Hilda.
What a thing for you to say.
Doctor, you've just been engaged to
Dr. Hashimoto's niece.
I called it off.
The Old Man's on the skids now.
The next morning...
What have you been up to
with the ward patient?
The ward patient?
The one with spontaneous pneumothrax.
I got a call from Hilda-san.
She wants you to quit.
I just did what you said on the phone.
Me?
Did I say something?
I didn't say anything.
Should I
give notice?
Hey, nobody said you're fired.
But look,
when Frau Hilda comes to hospital
it might be a bit awkward.
Take about a month off,
will you?
Leave it to me.
I'll fix everything up.
Okay?
Dr. Asai's responsible, too.
He telephoned
and tried to fire me.
I hated Hilda-san so much.
That woman
is ignorant about
how much trouble she's causing
to patients and nurses
by playing a saint.
Then one day,
a while after that incident...
I need to talk to you.
I've been fired.
No, it's something more serious.
To me there's nothing more serious
than getting fired.
As far as it goes...
I want you back at the
hospital for some help.
Something that a woman
like me can help out with?
If you want a nurse to
kill patients, here I am.
What kind of help you need?
Operations on American prisoners.
How come you need my help for that?
The operations will kill them.
Dr. Hashimoto will do that?
Yeah.
We're having a hard time
looking for nurses to help us.
That's why
you came to me, I see.
Don't take it like that.
This is for your country's sake.
They've all been condemned
to death anyway.
It'll also do good for the
advancement of medical science.
Will you do it for us?
Hey.
Will you?
Oh, please.
I'm asking you.
- Okay.
- Good!
- Thank you.
- But don't get me wrong.
I'm not doing it
for my country like you've said.
Nor for your medical researches.
I don't give a damn
if Japan won the war of lost it,
or if medical science
advanced or not.
Then what for?
I wonder if Dr. Hashimoto
told Hilda about this matter.
It's no joke.
He never will.
You'll also keep quiet, understand?
What's funny?
Sure.
Doctor will never be able to share
this secret with Hilda the Saint.
You know what she said?
'Aren't you afraid of God?'
'Don't you believe in
God's punishment?'
That's what she said
as she yelled at me.
Say.
Is a white person's skin
hard to cut?
Don't be silly!
This is
what we found
when we searched your room.
Do you confirm this
to be your notebook?
Let me read this to you.
Listen up.
'It isn't just a matter of
adultery with my cousin,
nor a matter of having a
deficient sense of sin.'
'My callousness extends
to another area.'
'To put it bluntly I am apathetic
to other people's suffering,
their pain, as well as to their death.'
In my years as a medical student,
I have
watched many sick people
suffer and in many cases, die.
Sometimes
I witnessed patients being killed
during operation.
But I cannot
let myself agonize over
every one of such cases.
This morning
at ten past six
she passed away.
Yuko...
Yuko, why did this have to happen?
But why?
I wish I had....
Someone dies in a hospital room.
I put on a sympathetic face
in front of the family.
But once
out in the corridor
that spectacle passes out of my mind.
It seems that before I knew it
my life in the hospital
has worn down any sense of
sympathy or pity
that I might feel towards them.
'I do believe such attitude
to be distasteful.'
'But that is
different from suffering
because of them.'
Why did you
think of keeping such diary?
Because it's creepy.
What's creepy?
I've come to find that
my own spirit is creepy.
I don't quite follow you.
Well,
'creepy' might be an overstatement.
'Strange' would be closer.
'Strange.'
I still don't follow you.
Then,
let me ask you.
Haven' t you too seen
many people die in the battlefield?
Of course I have.
At such moment,
weren't you, just like me,
unmoved by their
sufferings and deaths?
And then one day
doesn't there stir in you, too,
the thought that
you're a bit 'strange'?
No,
that not only applies to soldiers,
but also to deaths of noncombattants
like women and children.
To cut things short,
when atomic bombs hit
Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
a mass of people
were instantly killed.
You would have felt the same way
as I did, toward the
death of others...
Don't you have a human conscience?
Because your conscience was numb
you participated to the vivisection.
No.
I've never considered myself as
someone whose conscience is numb.
You've never considered yourself...
For me,
a remorse of conscience is
only a fear for
the eyes of others and
the punishment of society.
Maybe it was sheer luck that
nothing I ever did
seemed to merit punishment or
bring down upon me
the censure of society.
They've announced
the vivisection schedule
on the day before.
First Surgery
would be in charge of Day One.
I'm
leaving now.
Yeah.
Good night.
Wait.
Hmm?
What?
Sit down.
You're such a fool.
You still have time to say no.
Yeah.
Won't you refuse?
Nah.
Does...
God exist?
God?
Yeah.
Well, let me give it a try.
Men...
can never get away from
things like fate
that make them lose themselves.
The one who can
liberate them, you can call God.
Well...
I don't know.
For myself,
it makes any difference whether
God exists or not.
But come to think of it.
Maybe Obahan
was some sort of God for you.
Yeah.
Take a living person
and kill him alive.
Having done this
most fearful of deeds,
will I suffer for the rest of my life?
It's past two thirty.
Where are the prisoners?
Half an hour ago,
they were taken from the compound.
They'll be here any time now.
Today,
I'm thrilled to be able to
take some valuable photos.
That's a nice camera.
You must be confident in your skills.
Well at least it's German made.
By the way,
what about Lieut. Komori's
farewell party?
The vivisection will be over at five,
so we made it five thirty.
Is the food ready?
Yes, sir.
In case of need,
we can always dine on American liver.
What do you say, Lieut. Komori?
Let's then give it a try
at dinner today?
You will?
The prisoners have just come.
Shibata, where's Shibata?
He'll be here soon.
No need for hurry.
Why not wait over there, gentlemen?
Please... please.
Please.
They had to come, that bunch!
These military men...
They'll get noticed by the patients
and worse raise suspicion
among the prisoners.
They think
they were brought here to
get a medical check-up
before being sent to the camp at Oita.
I want you two
to take care of anesthesia.
Yes.
The Old Man and Dr. Shibata?
I'll call them in once the
anesthetic takes effect.
If everybody's here the
prisoner would be alarmed.
Suguro-kun.
Hurry up!
Ueda-san. What are you doing here?
Dr. Hashimoto has
married Hilda-san while he was
studying in Germany, right?
You're in the know,
though you're new here.
I actually used to work here before.
When was that?
Five years ago.
Bring me another kettle.
This place has changed.
My former colleagues have
all been drafted and
gone to war as military nurses.
So what?
Nothing.
Who told you to...
come here today?
- Are you ready?
- Yes.
Everybody.
Just think of it as a
regular operation.
There.
Is everything ready here?
Bring one in please.
Doctor,
officers are asking
if they can come in.
Not yet.
I'll let you know later.
Suguro-kun, get the
anesthetic mask ready.
I...
can't.
Asai-san.
Please let me go.
I want to get out.
I'll do it, Asai-san.
Hold him!
First stage.
No reflex in the cornea.
That does it.
It worked wonderfully.
I'll go get the Old Man
and Shibata-san.
Stop the ether for now.
Don't give him too much,
we don't want him to die yet.
Oba-san, get the instruments ready.
Come here.
Come over here and help.
There's...
no way I can.
I should have...
refused before.
Stupid.
Listen to yourself.
You had plenty of time
to refuse since yesterday.
Now, having come this far,
you're already more than half way.
Half way?
What do you mean
I'm more than half way?
We're...
in the same boat now.
No turning back.
Please.
Move a little further up, please.
I believe you officers are all
familiar with corpses.
Hey, you.
Can I take photos
during the operation?
Of course, of course.
We're also having the Second
Surgery taking a 8mm movie.
This is such a valuable experiment.
What's today?
Are you going to
cut here?
No, we won't remove the brain.
Tomorrow Dr. Gondo from
Second Surgery
will experiment on another prisoner.
Then with you it's
just the lungs?
Yes.
For your reference,
I'll explain briefly.
Today's experiment on the prisoner
will be, to make it short,
to investigate to what degree
it is possible to cut away
the lung in TB surgery.
That is,
how far
one may cut the lung
without killing him.
This has been
a longstanding problem for both
the practice of medicine in
wartime and TB treatment.
We intend to cut away
the entire right lung and the
upper section of the left.
Meanwhile, we will examine
cardiac arrest and return of
heart beat by cardiac massage.
You'll do the heart too?
That would be interesting.
Look how peacefully he's sleeping.
Little does he know
he'll be done for in half an hour,
huh?
Are you ready?
Yes.
Depth is enough.
All right then.
Shall we start?
Good.
The vivisection is beginning at...
Eight past three.
Toda-kun.
Put that in the record.
Yes.
Scalpel.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Suture.
Gauze.
Suture.
Gauze.
Suture.
130 over 60.
Now I am being
filmed, too.
Yes.
Filmed while I kill a man.
Suture.
What I have
hoped for today was
a more lively fear,
a heartache, and
fierce remorse.
What's the matter
with me?
Rib retractor.
- Pull harder.
- Yes.
Now to the
total removal of the right lung.
Silly bastards.
What silly bastards.
But...
who am I to say that?
What happened?
Secretion is flowing into
his bronchial tubes.
Not a big deal.
Should we use cocaine?
No need!
He is...
no patient!
Incisions are sutured.
Reposition of the body.
Help us.
Transfusion.
Won't you help?
- Hold it.
- Here?
Put your hand here.
Take the legs.
Ready?
One, two...
three! Good!
Good.
Are you ready?
Yes.
Let's start then.
Scalpel.
Gauze.
It's hot.
Rib shear.
Gauze.
Rib retractor.
Rib retractor!
Oh... here.
126 over 58.
Now we will
stop the heart for a while.
To stop it, we will apply pressure
to the upper part of the heart.
Take record of the down time.
Yes.
Cardiac arrest.
Five minutes.
Good.
Cardiac massage.
Gauze.
Kelly.
Doctor.
Stenosis.
Gauze.
Scissors.
As of now,
we are removing the upper left lung.
According to existing literature,
it is known that when half
of both lungs is removed,
the result is instant death.
Blood pressure dropping. 90.
70.
60.
Pulse, none at all.
He's dead.
So that's it.
What time is it?
It's four twenty-eight.
The operation began
at eight past three, so
the time taken was
1 hour and 20 minutes.
Toda-kun.
Tomorrow's consultation
will start at ten.
Please hand in your
test charts by then.
Would you cut out
the prisoner's liver?
For what?
Officer...
don't tell me you'll let your
junior officers have a bite.
Do me a favor.
Would you bring this up to
the conference room for me?
The military gentlemen are
having a farewell party up there.
What's... this?
Medical Officer Tanaka's order.
It's the prisoner's liver.
What's the idea?
Maybe pickled in alcohol
and make a good souvenir.
Not much to it, don't you think?
We've all got used to
looking at corpses, but
sentimentality is never too far off.
Tomorrow morning at ten.
Second Surgery and us.
Followed by another for us,
after the ward rounds.
- I'll be in charge this time. OK?
- Yes.
- Toda-kun.
- Yes.
I've something to tell you.
Have you thought
about staying on here
at the University?
- At the University?
- Yes.
As an assistant.
That is, if you feel like it.
Well...
There are others
better qualified than I.
- There's Suguro.
- Not Suguro.
He's hopeless.
Today, just at the critical
time, what was he on?
He was watching from the back.
He won't say anything,
that fellow, I hope.
If anything should leak out...
Don't worry.
He just wouldn't dare.
If that's so, I feel better.
Well, anyway,
think over what I said, will you?
Look...
The Old Man. He's already finished.
From now on,
I will work actively with
the Western Command
to get First Surgery
on its feet again.
So if you'd like to join in,
your recommendation as
assistant will be a mere trifle.
Also, with regard to today's matter
from now on we're going to
have to stick close together.
We're all in
just as deep.
(Blazing heat)
(melts the armor)
- Is Medical Officer Tanaka here?
- He'll be here soon. What do you want?
- Something he ordered.
- Thanks.
(Thousand miles of
wasted hills and rivers)
What is it, Lieut. Ebara?
The prisoner's liver.
(Thank you for fighting, father)
Enjoy your meal.
(My husband was a brave man)
(Chilled to the bones,
you stayed in a creek)
(Wet and cold, for three days)
We have just...
killed
a man.
Why?
Why is my heart so apathetic?
Don't I have any conscience?
Not just me, though.
Is everybody else
also like this?
To your left,
Ueda-san.
Oh...
shouldn't it go there
in the morgue?
Left.
I wonder why.
It doesn't matter why, do as I say.
Stop.
Chief Nurse.
About today.
Who asked you to come?
Did Dr. Asai?
As for myself,
it was Dr. Asai who
told me all about it.
In fact, Dr. Asai, he...
dropped over my place
at night three days ago.
I was so surprised.
You know, Dr. Asai was
drunk and then
we...
That will do!
Go home now.
Is it all right
if we leave it here?
Who's coming to pick this trolley up?
Ueda-san.
A nurse only needs to do
as instructed by the doctors.
You can... go home now.
It goes without saying,
don't speak...
about today to anyone.
If ever you should be loose mouthed...
If I'm loose mouthed...
what'll happen then?
There'll be a great deal of
trouble for Dr. Hashimoto.
Can you understand that?
Wow.
So we nurses have to
sacrifice ourselves for the
sake of these doctors, huh.
In my case,
unlike somebody else,
I didn't take part today
just because of Dr. Hashimoto.
(The red evening sun)
(Is setting over the sea)
(Where the ocean ends)
(Or is it the horizon)
(Another day, far away)
(On the Southern Ocean route)
Suguro, is that you?
What are you doing?
Doing nothing.
Tough day.
Today was really tough.
One more to go tomorrow.
What'll happen to us?
Nothing will.
As always.
Nothing's changed.
But...
about what happened today.
It doesn't bother you?
Bother me?
What do you mean, bother me?
What is there to be bothered about?
You're strong.
Today...
in the operating room,
I kept my eyes shut.
I don't know...
what to think...
even now.
What is it that gets you?
Killing that prisoner?
But
thanks to him
we'll now be better at curing
thousands of TB patients.
That wasn't a killing.
We saved lives.
The conscience of man
seems to vary a great
deal from man to man.
Still...
some day, we'll be punished.
Eh?
That's for sure.
We deserve...
to be punished.
What punishment?
Punishment of society?
If it's only of society,
nothing will change.
Both you and I
happened to be here
in this particular era,
and so we took part
in a vivisection
performed on a prisoner.
If those people who
are going to judge us
had been put in the same situation,
they would have done the same.
So much for the...
punishment of society.
Is that it, then?
Things are just the same
with us as before?
At the Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals,
twenty five medical personnel
involved in the vivisections
were all convicted, with five
sentenced to death by hanging.
However,
following the sudden shifts
in the international situation
such as the outbreak of Korean War,
all of them
were subsequently released.
FIN
The Sea and Poison Production Committee
THE SEA AND POISON
Production by
Keiichiro TAKISHIMA
Original Novel by
Shusaku ENDO
Produced by
Kanou OTSUKA, Takashi MIYAGAWA
Cinematography by Masao TOCHIZAWA
Lighting by Yasuo IWAKI
Art Direction by Takeo KIMURA
Music by Teizo MATSUMURA
Editing by Osamu INOUE
CAST
Eiji OKUDA
Ken WATANABE
Kyoko KISHIDA
Toshie NEGISHI
Mikio NARITA, Ken NISHIDA
Masumi OKADA
Shigeru KOYAMA, Yu KUSANO
Yumi KUROKI
Noriko SENGOKU, Kazunaga TSUJI
Masane TSUKAYAMA
Takahiro TAMURA
Written and Directed by
Kei KUMAI
Let's
pick up where we left off yesterday.
Give us details.
Yes.
Back then,
around May 1945,
what did you do at the
University every day?
In Med School,
as an intern at First Surgery
waiting for immediate service
I spent my days
between wards and labs...
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
What time is the Old Man's
round changed to?
Half past three.
Conference as usual?
We're out of carbol-fuschin.
Whose sputum is that?
Obahan (the old lady)'s.
What?
Are you still... ?
Why don't you give up on it?
Always going to extra trouble
for that welfare case.
It doesn't take any trouble.
She's a dead duck anyway.
It's just a waste of carbol.
She might have a chance to survive.
No way.
Cut that sentimentality.
Do something for one and so what?
This place is filled with patients
who don't have a chance.
Why this fascination with her?
I'm not fascinated with her.
She reminds you of your mother?
Not at all.
I see her as my very first patient.
I...
don't like seeing her there
every morning in that ward,
with that yellowed hair she has.
You're a real softy.
You sound like student nurses.
Such compassion
in a time like this
is not only of no use
for a doctor, but is
harmful!
Today, everybody's on the way out.
Those who don't die in hospital
would die in an air raid on any night.
What's the point of
pitying one old lady.
You'd be doing better
to think of a new way of curing TB!
The conference's over.
I wish it turned out okay.
Otherwise,
the Old Man will take it out on us.
What a sordid world.
How come everybody wants
to be Dean of Medicine?
Dr. Gondo.
What time do we expect you back?
I have no idea.
Army Commander wants
to see me as well.
Best of luck, sir.
'Everybody wants to be
Dean of Medicine.'
What do you mean by that?
A month before that,
the Dean of Medicine,
Dr. Osugi, had a stroke.
Doctors held daily conferences
regarding this vacant chair of Dean.
However,
Dr. Hashimoto of First Surgery
being the logical choice
to succeed to the post
in terms of experience
within the hospital,
things have suddenly changed,
and Dr. Gondo of Second Surgery
became the prime candidate.
The Gondo faction started to associate
with the Western Command for foothold.
What do you mean
by 'foothold' ?
Rumor has it,
Dr. Gondo promised
the Western Command that
he would take care of
their wounded soldiers
if he became Dean of Medicine.
And so
Dr. Hashimoto became anxious, right?
Yes.
How was the conference?
Don't ask me.
By the way,
I'm still waiting for the report on
Toki Maebashi's stomach fluid.
What if the Old Man asks for it today?
Thank you for coming, sir.
Please.
Turn your back.
The rash is the same, but
pus is coming out of the ear.
Fever?
Gone up above 100 since
the pain in the ear started.
It doesn't hurt anymore.
It's nothing.
No way.
Doctor,
will I be all right?
Don't worry, old lady.
We'll give you some pain killer.
That's good enough.
No patient in crisis, is there?
You're tired, sir. Let's call it a day.
Then...
Suguro-kun's been checking a patient.
Who?
The welfare case over there.
Actually, we've already
had her consent.
Since she's dying soon,
how about an experiment?
A good opportunity.
Two diseased areas in the left,
and an area of permeation
in the right lung.
Perfect for an experimental
operation on both lungs.
Dr. Shibata said he would
certainly like to give it a try.
Yes.
So,
I'll have Suguro-kun
do preliminary exams.
After that it's for you to decide, sir.
Okay with you, Suguro-kun?
Yes.
Obahan.
Why did you agree to the operation?
Well...
Dr. Shibata,
he said that
it had to be done.
Otherwise,
there's nothing else to do.
Doctor...
Is this operation
going to
cure me?
- Bring her to me for examination.
- Yes.
Her heart is getting weaker.
An operation might not be advisable.
I know it wouldn't be advisable.
We've only had two of such
operation on both
lungs in our hospital.
Well, there's a 95% chance
that we would kill her.
Then instead of inflicting pain
on the patient through operation
can we wait for her
cardiopulmonary function to recover
and reconsider operation?
Can't you see that
she is too debilitated and will
eventually die within a half year?
She won't make it,
with or without operation.
No need for you to worry about it.
I'm going to be the one with the knife.
Anyway, that woman
is only a welfare patient.
Suguro-kun's concerned
because he's in charge of her.
I used to be the same way myself.
Suguro-kun.
Sir.
What I would like to try
with that welfare patient
is not the usual Schmidt technique.
Have you read Coriro's thesis?
Uh...
It'll be a variation of his method.
Have a listen.
First,
make a wide incision
below the upper rib.
Then cut the 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st ribs.
This is Coriro's method.
My version will...
My steth...
My steth...
Where the hell is my stethoscope?
Hey, let me use yours.
What for?
One more patient for operation.
Dr. Asai and I are in charge
of the examination.
You know who?
No idea.
Mrs. Tabe in the
private room upstairs.
A relative of the late Dean, Dr. Osugi.
That lady.
Out of the way.
Looks good.
Where's your husband now?
In Taiwan.
I received a letter from him last month.
Doctor, how would you
describe
my condition?
You have a short history
of this illness.
A small cavity and some infiltrate
in the right upper lobe.
But
pneumothorax therapy is impossible
due to pleural adhesion.
You will be fine.
I will operate on you and cure you.
I'm only happy
to be able to show my
gratitude to Dr. Osugi.
It was originally scheduled for fall,
but was suddenly moved forward.
- That's the point.
The Old Man's often out of focus
when doing his rounds these days.
I have an idea
that this operation
has something to do
with him getting the Dean's chair.
- Election of Dean?
- Yeah.
He has to gain a lot of credit from
a successful operation on that woman.
See?
The election for the Dean's in August.
The patient's a relative of the Osugis.
The disease is limited to the
right upper lobe,
and she's still young.
Instead of
waiting until fall, do it this month
so by August the stage
will be well set.
In this way,
doctors from Internal Medicine in the
Osugi faction will be in his favor.
The Second Surgery and Dr. Gondo
can be overpowered before election.
That's the story.
I don't get it.
Get what?
Obahan's a lab rat,
and Mrs. Tabe's a career opportunity.
Of course they are.
What's wrong with that?
Besides,
why are you so attached
to that Obahan?
What's so bad about it?
I don't know how to put it...
Doctors killing their patients
isn't so solemn a matter.
It's nothing new in the
world of medicine.
That's how we've made our progress.
And...
now people are dying in the air raids,
so nobody thinks twice about it.
Rather than have your
Obahan die in an air raid,
why not kill her at the hospital,
there'd be some meaning in that.
What kind of meaning?
Why it's obvious!
If she dies in an air raid,
her bones will be just
thrown into the Naka River.
But if she
gets killed during an operation, she'd
be a human sacrifice for medicine.
To think that
she'll help countless TB victims
to be cured in the future...
she will not die in vain.
You've got a tough mind.
Sweetness and sentimentality are
forbidden luxuries for a doctor.
Doctors aren't saints.
They want success.
They want to be full professors.
And when they want to
try out new technologies,
they can't limit their experiments
to monkeys and dogs.
This is the world.
You ought to take a closer look at it.
I can get the picture too.
I can, but...
I can't be like that myself.
Sometimes I looked out
at the sea, here from the roof.
Then things like the war,
the hospital ward,
and daily hunger
seemed to fade a little bit.
The changing colors of the sea
gave rise to a variety of daydreams.
Something ordinary, like
going to a small town somewhere
once the war was over,
and have a little hospital,
making house calls for
patients in my neighborhood.
Then I will be able to
take care of my parents
back home.
On a day the sea is sparkling blue
I find, strangely enough,
this poem on my mind:
'When the clouds like sheep pass'
'When the clouds swirl like steam'
'Sky, your scattering is'
'white'
'White like streams of cotton.'
'Sky, your scattering is'
'white'
'White like streams of cotton.'
Next Friday morning,
the Old Man himself will
operate on Mrs. Tabe.
Then a week later,
I'll operate on the welfare case
whom Suguro-kun's been charge of.
You two are to take part
in both operations
as assistants.
All right?
Doctor,
is everything all right
about my daughter's operation?
No worries.
It'll be done while she is
sleeping under anesthesia.
I've heard
there'll be pain after surgery.
The night after there'll be a
certain amount of discomfort.
And you may feel thristy.
But it'll be a matter of 2 or 3 days.
But as for any danger...?
What an opinion you must have
of Dr. Hashimoto's skill
and all our efforts.
Even we will be able
to do it and succeed.
You'll be out by fall.
Then, take a rest in countryside
for a few months,
and you'll return to health
by the end of the year.
Thank you.
Be brave now.
Mother's here with you.
Your sister will soon be here too.
The operation will be over
before you know it.
Doctor will
take care of everything.
Dr. Hashimoto will.
Anesthesia?
Depth is enough.
- Sterilizer forceps.
- Yes.
All set?
Yes.
All right.
Let's begin.
Scalpel.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Suture.
Scissors.
Here.
Doctor.
126 over 70.
Yes.
- Retractor.
- Yes.
Hold firmly.
Hooklet.
- Raspatory.
- Here.
Transfusion?
It's ready.
Blood pressure?
Normal.
Gauze.
Rib-grasping forceps.
120 over 68.
Gauze.
- Kidney dish.
- Yes.
Gauze.
- Rongeur.
- Yes.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Kidney dish.
- Pulse?
- 100.
Under tension.
Blood pressure?
Normal.
Now to the first rib.
The most critical point
in thoracoplasty had come.
Pull harder.
Yes.
Gauze.
Kidney dish.
I noticed that her blood had darkened.
Any abnormality?
Blood pressure...
Blood pressure's down.
It's bleeding.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
- Gauze!
- Yes.
Suction!
- Suction!
- Yes!
- Suction, suction!
- Yes.
- Hemostat!
- Yes.
Transfusion!
Yes!
- Quick!
- Yes!
Come on, come on!
Mask... mask!
Oxygen!
Gauze.
Hemostat.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Gauze.
There's sweat in my eyes!
Gauze!
Gauze.
- Doctor...
- Come on, quick!
Gauze!
Gauze.
Hurry up, quick!
- Hold firmly!
- Yes.
I'm sorry.
Come on! Hold it!
I am!
Gauze.
Pull!
Pull harder!
Come on!
Gauze.
Gauze!
Hemoptysis!
It's hemoptysis!
Hemoptysis!
Scrape it out.
Quick, scrape it out.
Forceps?
Mask, mask!
Quick with the mask!
The mask!
Oxygen, oxygen.
Oxygen!
Blood pressure?
Blood pressure?
It's down... 70.
Pull harder!
Gauze. Hemostat.
No! Hemostat!
Hemostat!
Gauze.
60.
50.
Pulse...
none at all.
She's dead.
Operating room.
Yes.
Dr. Asai, it's for you.
This is Asai.
What is it?
I'm busy here, okay?
Got no time for that!
Anyway she's past help.
Inject her with 2cc opium.
Do what you can.
Doctor.
Dr. Hashimoto.
We have to put thing in order.
Put things in order...?
Yes.
Of course, yes...
Here.
Let's wipe the body with alcohol
and close the incisions.
Wrap it thoroughly with
gauze and bandages.
Listen.
Take the patient's body
back to her room.
Not one word to the family
about the operation.
Once in the room, put her on a drip.
And everything else,
as after any operation.
The patient's not dead.
She will die tomorrow morning at 6 am.
Doctor.
The operation was a success.
But tonight will be a difficult one.
Just to be on the safe side,
we've got to forbid
visitors for two days.
Does that include us?
I'm sorry but it does, according
to the hospital's rules.
Today,
chief nurse and I will
spend the night by her bed.
So
don't worry.
Then please take good care of her.
You.
Hey you.
Keep a look out here and make
sure everything stays hushed up.
(... Mr. Saito at bed no. 5,)
(no serious effects are reported.)
(Bed no.6...)
(... last night around 11:20 pm)
(vomited about 100cc blood)
(so was injected with...)
(due to persistence of cough...)
What a comedy.
I mean really...
It was a real comedy.
Comedy?
Sure.
He has it all worked out.
If a patient dies during operation,
it'd be the Old Man's responsibility.
But...
if she dies after the operation,
it's not the fault of the
man with the knife.
You can make out a case
for him at election time.
I beg you please, let me see her
just for a moment....
I'm sorry, it's against the rules.
Will she be all right?
We have no choice then.
Is this what it means to be a doctor?
Is this the nature of medicine?
But...
my thoughts turned sluggish,
and knew that thinking
would lead me nowhere.
Any day now I would be
called up for my term of service.
I had this feeling that
nothing mattered.
By then,
US Army had taken over all of Okinawa.
Obahan.
How are you doing?
Right where you are.
Here.
Medical dextrose.
Is it good?
It's good.
Fifty
six
aeons,
seven
thousands
eras is...
the age
of
Bodhisattva
Nikin.
Buddhist chant?
Oh no.
It's a prayer written by
the Holy Shinran.
This woman here
asked me
to read her something
from this holy book about Buddha.
She feels down at the mouth
about her operation lately.
She agreed to the operation
so she can see her boy again.
You have a child?
Yes...
a boy.
He went to Manchuria.
Doctor,
would you too please
write something for him?
(It is now a full-grown cedar forest)
(Like a child from a patriotic family)
(It is strong, tall and robust)
When is her operation?
(A big cedar tree, a big cedar tree)
(What will become of a big cedar tree?)
(A ship that carries our soldiers)
(A house where our)
(wounded soldiers rest)
(Bookshelves, desks and clogs)
(Chopsticks to eat our delicious bento)
(Pencils and pen cases and other things)
(What a joy it is to be able to serve)
(To be able to serve our people)
(Let's work as hard as the cedar tree)
(Bereaved children of brave soldiers)
"VICTORY"
As a matter of fact...
Have a seat.
About the operation on your patient...
We'll postpone for a few months.
Postponed?
Yes.
If we follow the Old Man and have
a second death during operation,
the reputation of First Surgery
will be shot to pieces.
Those on the faculty of
Internal Medicine are
all criticizing First Surgery for
disregarding their opinion
and hurrying the operation.
The Second Surgery must be
greatly pleased at heart.
Well, at any rate,
all hope of their recommending
the Old Man for election as Dean
seems to have died.
Evacuate!
Evacuate!
Hurry!
Evacuate!
21st Squad!
Everybody in position!
21st Squad! All in position!
Target,
the enemy aircraft ahead!
Evacuate!
Hurry up!
Evacuate!
Hurry up!
Hey, are you all right?
Sit up! Hold it there, let's go!
Obahan!
Obahan?
(Namu Amida Buddha...)
Obahan, on your feet!
On your feet! Come on quick!
Aliens are aboard those planes.
They have blue eyes
and red hair
with pointed nose like goblins.
They have these horrifyingly
accurate bombs and take aim...
Both Japan and...
this First Surgery are...
in shambles.
Yeah...
So be it!
You'll be off soon
as a medical cadet
and be done with this place!
So be it, huh?
Me,
I don't care what happens.
But you,
why haven't you asked
to be called up?
Who?
Me?
Yeah.
To hell with that.
If you don't do it,
you'll be a private.
I'll see what comes.
Dying a private's
as good as any other way.
Why is that?
Now,
it all comes out the same
no matter what you do.
Today everybody's on the way out.
What's that sound?
- The sound of collapsing buildings?
- Oh, no.
It's like...
the sound of people groaning.
Is that the voices of those
dying from the raid?
Doctor Suguro.
Just now,
Mrs. Kuwabara passed away.
Obahan,
I'll join you soon.
Let's get back inside.
Let's get back inside.
I wonder
where they're going to bury Obahan?
Don't ask me.
So with that, your illusion passes.
Every attachment is an illusion.
Now for the first time
I felt I understood
why I had been attached
to that old woman
for such a long time.
She was the one thing
in the midst of Toda's pessimistic
"everybody's on the way out"
that I was going to
make sure didn't die.
Yes.
Toda, your research topic is
cavity induction treatment.
Yes.
How's it going?
Nowadays it's hard to
get anything done.
Any new documents on that?
Um...
Suguro-kun.
It looks like I lost out.
Lost out?
That ward patient died
before I could get to her.
I was going to try that new method.
Feeling like letting
your prey get away?
Oh no, it's like having lost at love.
Isn't it, doctor?
Well,
actually,
we've talked with Dr. Hashimoto
whether of not we would
have you two participate.
This is in fact
a very rare opportunity.
Besides,
Dr. Gondo and his Second Surgery
have gained the upper hand lately.
On this occasion,
we'd join up with the Western Command
and work with medical officers.
I mean...
there's no need to refuse
their friendly proposal and
hurt their feelings.
Anyway,
if you don't feel like doing it,
we won't force you.
Is that an operation
that you want us to participate?
No forcing.
But even if you refuse,
you'll have to keep your
mouths shut about it.
What is it then?
We'll perform vivisections
on eight American prisoners.
See?
Will you participate?
Yes.
Are these eight prisoners
B29 airmen?
Yes.
They're responsible
for the random bombing the other day
and for as many as
a dozen others throughout Japan.
They've confessed.
Random bombing is
in breach of international law
and is regarded as felony
under special wartime measures.
The Imperial Headquarters has
ordered the Western Command to
send the capitain who has information
to Tokyo and
dispose of the others accordingly.
There's nothing to worry about.
And as a medical scholar,
this is, in a sense
the best of dreams to come true.
How's it going?
Have you made up your mind?
How about you, Suguro-kun?
You're free to choose.
I mean it.
Western Command sentenced
them to be shot to death.
They'll die anyway, so who cares how?
Here they'll get ether
and die in their sleep.
How's that?
Hey you.
Why would you take it so seriously?
You should be eager to participate
as a medical student during wartime.
What is there to hold you back?
Farewell.
And you accepted it, just like that?
You could have given them a clear no.
But at the time...
At the time,
the Western Command's word was law.
That's part of it, but...
The prisoners
were B-29 airmen who
bombed the city
and you had a profound
hatred against them.
So that's how it was?
No, it wasn't.
It wasn't?
It wasn't?
No.
Back then,
I never had any interest
in those prisoners
whatsoever, let alone hatred.
That can't be possible, you liar!
It's true!
Then why did you accept?
I was...
extremely hesitant about it.
But
at that time
I was truly exhausted
both mentally and physically.
I just
couldn't
think any harder.
Nothing mattered anymore.
Thinking didn't
help anything.
It was way beyond
the capability of one man.
That's how I persuaded myself.
Are you certain about that?
Yes.
At first,
Dr. Hashimoto was
for me, nothing more than
a professional doctor.
I had no personal interest in him.
To me, as it is
to any other nurses,
professors and assistant professors
are great men
who are not only
superior to us in rank but
also in birth,
living in a different world.
And so
the one thing that tied me up
with Dr. Hashimoto was
ironically enough,
his wife,
Hilda-san.
How are you doing today?
Here are some biscuits I've made.
Please eat them.
She came regularly to the hospital
three times a month.
Today, I came to do
some laundry for you.
You,
you got some?
No, I don't have any.
No, please.
Haven't got any.
I don't have any, no I don't.
I don't.
You.
I'm sorry.
Children are susceptible
to TB, you know?
I always disinfect my hands
before leaving the hospital.
I am...
asking you to tell me the reason
why you've agreed to
take part in the vivisection.
What does Hilda-san
have to do with your decision?
It has to do with a few things...
Was there a conflict between you two
in a professional situation?
I can...
never forget what happened that day.
Nurse, please.
What's the matter?
Mrs. Maebashi is suffering, quick!
Please call Dr. Asai for her.
Hello?
This is First Surgery.
May I talk with Dr. Asai?
Then put me through to OR.
It's urgent.
Dr. Asai, it's for you.
This is Asai.
What is it?
I'm busy here, okay?
Got no time for that!
But she's
suffering from
spontaneous pneumothorax.
Anyway she's past help.
Inject her with 2cc opium.
Opium?
2cc?
Do what you can.
Hurry up, nurse!
Hurry!
Hurry!
What is it you have there?
O... opium.
That much?
Quick, the equipment and the doctor.
Why did you try to inject
that much opium?
Did you want to kill her?
I had been a nurse myself,
so I know what that means.
But...
anyway,
that patient was going to die
anytime soon.
Can't you help a person
by letting them die easier?
Even though a person is going to die,
no one has the right
to kill that person.
Aren't you afraid of God?
Don't you
believe in
God's punishment?
Who are you?
Doctor,
how was the operation?
Oh,
it's just you.
The operation?
We killed her!
The family doesn't know a thing yet.
The Old Man just doesn't
have it anymore!
Oh great.
When the election comes off,
Dr. Gondo will beat him hollow!
It seems that...
there goes my success in career too!
Where do you live?
So...
you've been to Dairen?
I came back just a month ago
all alone.
Your husband?
He left me for a female clerk
with Manchurian Railways.
Although he begged me to marry him
he ended up dumping me.
That's a terrible story.
He took you away to Manchuria
and dumped you. Awful.
But then...
if only I could have a child...
my life
would have been a bit nicer.
What happened with the child?
For some...
reason or other,
the baby had died inside me.
And what's more...
What's more?
in order to save my life,
they cut out my womb altogether.
He would have been 5
if he were alive now.
I wonder how she is in bed
with Dr. Hashimoto?
Who? Hilda?
She really gives, I'll bet.
Underneath the
plaster saint business...
just take a look at her body.
Hey.
Why don't you try your luck
with the Old Man?
That would really fix old Hilda.
What a thing for you to say.
Doctor, you've just been engaged to
Dr. Hashimoto's niece.
I called it off.
The Old Man's on the skids now.
The next morning...
What have you been up to
with the ward patient?
The ward patient?
The one with spontaneous pneumothrax.
I got a call from Hilda-san.
She wants you to quit.
I just did what you said on the phone.
Me?
Did I say something?
I didn't say anything.
Should I
give notice?
Hey, nobody said you're fired.
But look,
when Frau Hilda comes to hospital
it might be a bit awkward.
Take about a month off,
will you?
Leave it to me.
I'll fix everything up.
Okay?
Dr. Asai's responsible, too.
He telephoned
and tried to fire me.
I hated Hilda-san so much.
That woman
is ignorant about
how much trouble she's causing
to patients and nurses
by playing a saint.
Then one day,
a while after that incident...
I need to talk to you.
I've been fired.
No, it's something more serious.
To me there's nothing more serious
than getting fired.
As far as it goes...
I want you back at the
hospital for some help.
Something that a woman
like me can help out with?
If you want a nurse to
kill patients, here I am.
What kind of help you need?
Operations on American prisoners.
How come you need my help for that?
The operations will kill them.
Dr. Hashimoto will do that?
Yeah.
We're having a hard time
looking for nurses to help us.
That's why
you came to me, I see.
Don't take it like that.
This is for your country's sake.
They've all been condemned
to death anyway.
It'll also do good for the
advancement of medical science.
Will you do it for us?
Hey.
Will you?
Oh, please.
I'm asking you.
- Okay.
- Good!
- Thank you.
- But don't get me wrong.
I'm not doing it
for my country like you've said.
Nor for your medical researches.
I don't give a damn
if Japan won the war of lost it,
or if medical science
advanced or not.
Then what for?
I wonder if Dr. Hashimoto
told Hilda about this matter.
It's no joke.
He never will.
You'll also keep quiet, understand?
What's funny?
Sure.
Doctor will never be able to share
this secret with Hilda the Saint.
You know what she said?
'Aren't you afraid of God?'
'Don't you believe in
God's punishment?'
That's what she said
as she yelled at me.
Say.
Is a white person's skin
hard to cut?
Don't be silly!
This is
what we found
when we searched your room.
Do you confirm this
to be your notebook?
Let me read this to you.
Listen up.
'It isn't just a matter of
adultery with my cousin,
nor a matter of having a
deficient sense of sin.'
'My callousness extends
to another area.'
'To put it bluntly I am apathetic
to other people's suffering,
their pain, as well as to their death.'
In my years as a medical student,
I have
watched many sick people
suffer and in many cases, die.
Sometimes
I witnessed patients being killed
during operation.
But I cannot
let myself agonize over
every one of such cases.
This morning
at ten past six
she passed away.
Yuko...
Yuko, why did this have to happen?
But why?
I wish I had....
Someone dies in a hospital room.
I put on a sympathetic face
in front of the family.
But once
out in the corridor
that spectacle passes out of my mind.
It seems that before I knew it
my life in the hospital
has worn down any sense of
sympathy or pity
that I might feel towards them.
'I do believe such attitude
to be distasteful.'
'But that is
different from suffering
because of them.'
Why did you
think of keeping such diary?
Because it's creepy.
What's creepy?
I've come to find that
my own spirit is creepy.
I don't quite follow you.
Well,
'creepy' might be an overstatement.
'Strange' would be closer.
'Strange.'
I still don't follow you.
Then,
let me ask you.
Haven' t you too seen
many people die in the battlefield?
Of course I have.
At such moment,
weren't you, just like me,
unmoved by their
sufferings and deaths?
And then one day
doesn't there stir in you, too,
the thought that
you're a bit 'strange'?
No,
that not only applies to soldiers,
but also to deaths of noncombattants
like women and children.
To cut things short,
when atomic bombs hit
Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
a mass of people
were instantly killed.
You would have felt the same way
as I did, toward the
death of others...
Don't you have a human conscience?
Because your conscience was numb
you participated to the vivisection.
No.
I've never considered myself as
someone whose conscience is numb.
You've never considered yourself...
For me,
a remorse of conscience is
only a fear for
the eyes of others and
the punishment of society.
Maybe it was sheer luck that
nothing I ever did
seemed to merit punishment or
bring down upon me
the censure of society.
They've announced
the vivisection schedule
on the day before.
First Surgery
would be in charge of Day One.
I'm
leaving now.
Yeah.
Good night.
Wait.
Hmm?
What?
Sit down.
You're such a fool.
You still have time to say no.
Yeah.
Won't you refuse?
Nah.
Does...
God exist?
God?
Yeah.
Well, let me give it a try.
Men...
can never get away from
things like fate
that make them lose themselves.
The one who can
liberate them, you can call God.
Well...
I don't know.
For myself,
it makes any difference whether
God exists or not.
But come to think of it.
Maybe Obahan
was some sort of God for you.
Yeah.
Take a living person
and kill him alive.
Having done this
most fearful of deeds,
will I suffer for the rest of my life?
It's past two thirty.
Where are the prisoners?
Half an hour ago,
they were taken from the compound.
They'll be here any time now.
Today,
I'm thrilled to be able to
take some valuable photos.
That's a nice camera.
You must be confident in your skills.
Well at least it's German made.
By the way,
what about Lieut. Komori's
farewell party?
The vivisection will be over at five,
so we made it five thirty.
Is the food ready?
Yes, sir.
In case of need,
we can always dine on American liver.
What do you say, Lieut. Komori?
Let's then give it a try
at dinner today?
You will?
The prisoners have just come.
Shibata, where's Shibata?
He'll be here soon.
No need for hurry.
Why not wait over there, gentlemen?
Please... please.
Please.
They had to come, that bunch!
These military men...
They'll get noticed by the patients
and worse raise suspicion
among the prisoners.
They think
they were brought here to
get a medical check-up
before being sent to the camp at Oita.
I want you two
to take care of anesthesia.
Yes.
The Old Man and Dr. Shibata?
I'll call them in once the
anesthetic takes effect.
If everybody's here the
prisoner would be alarmed.
Suguro-kun.
Hurry up!
Ueda-san. What are you doing here?
Dr. Hashimoto has
married Hilda-san while he was
studying in Germany, right?
You're in the know,
though you're new here.
I actually used to work here before.
When was that?
Five years ago.
Bring me another kettle.
This place has changed.
My former colleagues have
all been drafted and
gone to war as military nurses.
So what?
Nothing.
Who told you to...
come here today?
- Are you ready?
- Yes.
Everybody.
Just think of it as a
regular operation.
There.
Is everything ready here?
Bring one in please.
Doctor,
officers are asking
if they can come in.
Not yet.
I'll let you know later.
Suguro-kun, get the
anesthetic mask ready.
I...
can't.
Asai-san.
Please let me go.
I want to get out.
I'll do it, Asai-san.
Hold him!
First stage.
No reflex in the cornea.
That does it.
It worked wonderfully.
I'll go get the Old Man
and Shibata-san.
Stop the ether for now.
Don't give him too much,
we don't want him to die yet.
Oba-san, get the instruments ready.
Come here.
Come over here and help.
There's...
no way I can.
I should have...
refused before.
Stupid.
Listen to yourself.
You had plenty of time
to refuse since yesterday.
Now, having come this far,
you're already more than half way.
Half way?
What do you mean
I'm more than half way?
We're...
in the same boat now.
No turning back.
Please.
Move a little further up, please.
I believe you officers are all
familiar with corpses.
Hey, you.
Can I take photos
during the operation?
Of course, of course.
We're also having the Second
Surgery taking a 8mm movie.
This is such a valuable experiment.
What's today?
Are you going to
cut here?
No, we won't remove the brain.
Tomorrow Dr. Gondo from
Second Surgery
will experiment on another prisoner.
Then with you it's
just the lungs?
Yes.
For your reference,
I'll explain briefly.
Today's experiment on the prisoner
will be, to make it short,
to investigate to what degree
it is possible to cut away
the lung in TB surgery.
That is,
how far
one may cut the lung
without killing him.
This has been
a longstanding problem for both
the practice of medicine in
wartime and TB treatment.
We intend to cut away
the entire right lung and the
upper section of the left.
Meanwhile, we will examine
cardiac arrest and return of
heart beat by cardiac massage.
You'll do the heart too?
That would be interesting.
Look how peacefully he's sleeping.
Little does he know
he'll be done for in half an hour,
huh?
Are you ready?
Yes.
Depth is enough.
All right then.
Shall we start?
Good.
The vivisection is beginning at...
Eight past three.
Toda-kun.
Put that in the record.
Yes.
Scalpel.
Gauze.
Gauze.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Clamp.
Suture.
Gauze.
Suture.
Gauze.
Suture.
130 over 60.
Now I am being
filmed, too.
Yes.
Filmed while I kill a man.
Suture.
What I have
hoped for today was
a more lively fear,
a heartache, and
fierce remorse.
What's the matter
with me?
Rib retractor.
- Pull harder.
- Yes.
Now to the
total removal of the right lung.
Silly bastards.
What silly bastards.
But...
who am I to say that?
What happened?
Secretion is flowing into
his bronchial tubes.
Not a big deal.
Should we use cocaine?
No need!
He is...
no patient!
Incisions are sutured.
Reposition of the body.
Help us.
Transfusion.
Won't you help?
- Hold it.
- Here?
Put your hand here.
Take the legs.
Ready?
One, two...
three! Good!
Good.
Are you ready?
Yes.
Let's start then.
Scalpel.
Gauze.
It's hot.
Rib shear.
Gauze.
Rib retractor.
Rib retractor!
Oh... here.
126 over 58.
Now we will
stop the heart for a while.
To stop it, we will apply pressure
to the upper part of the heart.
Take record of the down time.
Yes.
Cardiac arrest.
Five minutes.
Good.
Cardiac massage.
Gauze.
Kelly.
Doctor.
Stenosis.
Gauze.
Scissors.
As of now,
we are removing the upper left lung.
According to existing literature,
it is known that when half
of both lungs is removed,
the result is instant death.
Blood pressure dropping. 90.
70.
60.
Pulse, none at all.
He's dead.
So that's it.
What time is it?
It's four twenty-eight.
The operation began
at eight past three, so
the time taken was
1 hour and 20 minutes.
Toda-kun.
Tomorrow's consultation
will start at ten.
Please hand in your
test charts by then.
Would you cut out
the prisoner's liver?
For what?
Officer...
don't tell me you'll let your
junior officers have a bite.
Do me a favor.
Would you bring this up to
the conference room for me?
The military gentlemen are
having a farewell party up there.
What's... this?
Medical Officer Tanaka's order.
It's the prisoner's liver.
What's the idea?
Maybe pickled in alcohol
and make a good souvenir.
Not much to it, don't you think?
We've all got used to
looking at corpses, but
sentimentality is never too far off.
Tomorrow morning at ten.
Second Surgery and us.
Followed by another for us,
after the ward rounds.
- I'll be in charge this time. OK?
- Yes.
- Toda-kun.
- Yes.
I've something to tell you.
Have you thought
about staying on here
at the University?
- At the University?
- Yes.
As an assistant.
That is, if you feel like it.
Well...
There are others
better qualified than I.
- There's Suguro.
- Not Suguro.
He's hopeless.
Today, just at the critical
time, what was he on?
He was watching from the back.
He won't say anything,
that fellow, I hope.
If anything should leak out...
Don't worry.
He just wouldn't dare.
If that's so, I feel better.
Well, anyway,
think over what I said, will you?
Look...
The Old Man. He's already finished.
From now on,
I will work actively with
the Western Command
to get First Surgery
on its feet again.
So if you'd like to join in,
your recommendation as
assistant will be a mere trifle.
Also, with regard to today's matter
from now on we're going to
have to stick close together.
We're all in
just as deep.
(Blazing heat)
(melts the armor)
- Is Medical Officer Tanaka here?
- He'll be here soon. What do you want?
- Something he ordered.
- Thanks.
(Thousand miles of
wasted hills and rivers)
What is it, Lieut. Ebara?
The prisoner's liver.
(Thank you for fighting, father)
Enjoy your meal.
(My husband was a brave man)
(Chilled to the bones,
you stayed in a creek)
(Wet and cold, for three days)
We have just...
killed
a man.
Why?
Why is my heart so apathetic?
Don't I have any conscience?
Not just me, though.
Is everybody else
also like this?
To your left,
Ueda-san.
Oh...
shouldn't it go there
in the morgue?
Left.
I wonder why.
It doesn't matter why, do as I say.
Stop.
Chief Nurse.
About today.
Who asked you to come?
Did Dr. Asai?
As for myself,
it was Dr. Asai who
told me all about it.
In fact, Dr. Asai, he...
dropped over my place
at night three days ago.
I was so surprised.
You know, Dr. Asai was
drunk and then
we...
That will do!
Go home now.
Is it all right
if we leave it here?
Who's coming to pick this trolley up?
Ueda-san.
A nurse only needs to do
as instructed by the doctors.
You can... go home now.
It goes without saying,
don't speak...
about today to anyone.
If ever you should be loose mouthed...
If I'm loose mouthed...
what'll happen then?
There'll be a great deal of
trouble for Dr. Hashimoto.
Can you understand that?
Wow.
So we nurses have to
sacrifice ourselves for the
sake of these doctors, huh.
In my case,
unlike somebody else,
I didn't take part today
just because of Dr. Hashimoto.
(The red evening sun)
(Is setting over the sea)
(Where the ocean ends)
(Or is it the horizon)
(Another day, far away)
(On the Southern Ocean route)
Suguro, is that you?
What are you doing?
Doing nothing.
Tough day.
Today was really tough.
One more to go tomorrow.
What'll happen to us?
Nothing will.
As always.
Nothing's changed.
But...
about what happened today.
It doesn't bother you?
Bother me?
What do you mean, bother me?
What is there to be bothered about?
You're strong.
Today...
in the operating room,
I kept my eyes shut.
I don't know...
what to think...
even now.
What is it that gets you?
Killing that prisoner?
But
thanks to him
we'll now be better at curing
thousands of TB patients.
That wasn't a killing.
We saved lives.
The conscience of man
seems to vary a great
deal from man to man.
Still...
some day, we'll be punished.
Eh?
That's for sure.
We deserve...
to be punished.
What punishment?
Punishment of society?
If it's only of society,
nothing will change.
Both you and I
happened to be here
in this particular era,
and so we took part
in a vivisection
performed on a prisoner.
If those people who
are going to judge us
had been put in the same situation,
they would have done the same.
So much for the...
punishment of society.
Is that it, then?
Things are just the same
with us as before?
At the Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals,
twenty five medical personnel
involved in the vivisections
were all convicted, with five
sentenced to death by hanging.
However,
following the sudden shifts
in the international situation
such as the outbreak of Korean War,
all of them
were subsequently released.
FIN