Ikiru Page #2

you can eat whatever you like.

Does that patient have a year?

No, I'd give him six months.

- Six months?

- Yeah.

What would you do if you had only

six months left to live, like him?

What about you, Aihara?

The barbiturates are over there.

Is there a blackout?

The street lights

and neighbors are lit.

How strange.

I wonder if Dad's out.

Where's the key?

In your handbag.

Did Hayashi-san forget to lock up

when she went home?

She's only a part-time maid.

Full-time would hardly break the bank,

but a thief sure would.

That's just like Dad,

the petty bureaucrat.

Man, it's freezing.

Just as cold inside as out.

I just hate Japanese houses.

Have a great time out and come home

to this dump. We need a modern home.

- Honey...

- Yeah.

A house of our own would

cost 500,000 yen, right?

Use father's retirement bonus

as collateral...

Yeah, it ought to be worth

6 or 700,000 yen by now.

Plus a monthly pension of

12 or 13,000 yen.

And another 100,000 in savings.

But you think he'd agree?

If he doesn't, we'll tell him

we're moving out. That'll clinch it.

Besides, even Pop wouldn't want to take

all that money to his grave.

What's wrong, Dad?

Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.

That was strange.

Listen, honey.

It's not fair.

What isn't?

He heard our whole conversation.

It's really not fair.

It may be his house,

but this is our room.

I can't believe he snuck in here

while we were out.

Besides, if he's got a gripe,

he should come out with it.

Not go around acting

like a crabby kid.

Stop being so moody.

Forget about your dad.

He has his life.

We have ours.

Love me.

How sad.

She was so young,

and to leave such a sweet

little boy behind.

She must have regretted dying.

Cut it out.

The same broken record.

Hurry, hurry.

Mommy's leaving.

You can't use Mitsuo

as an excuse

not to marry again.

As soon as that boy grows up,

he'll never love you

the way you loved him.

And when he gets married,

they'll squeeze you out.

You've got to think about

your own future.

I'm telling you,

find another wife now.

Besides, my wife says,

the thought of you

and your oily skin

keeping up with the laundry

is too disgusting to bear.

Dad.

Mitsuo.

Good night.

You'll lock up down there, right?

Mitsuo.

What do you say?

What a great hit.

You know, the batter is my...

Mitsuo, Mitsuo.

That idiot.

What's he thinking?

Mitsuo.

Mitsuo, be brave.

It's only your appendix.

No worse than pulling a tooth.

Can't you stay for the operation, Dad?

Well, I've got some other things

to do and...

Mitsuo, Mitsuo.

Banzai, Banzai.

Banzai, banzai.

Dad.

CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION

IN RECOGNITION OF 25 YEARS

OF DISTINGUISHED CIVIL SERVICE

Watanabe-san left for work as usual.

What?

But he hasn't been in at all.

It's been five days now,

but he hasn't called in sick either.

The sub-section chief asked me

to check up on him.

Madam. Madam.

What? Impossible.

But it's true.

The man from his office said so.

What could Father be doing?

It's incredible, but it's really true.

The people at his house

were flabbergasted.

What a bother.

When the section chief s out,

I can stamp your paperwork.

But he has to approve

any resignations, right?

Don't tell me you want to quit?

I don't belong here.

Uncle, he even withdrew

50,000 yen from his account.

That miser?

Maybe he's got a woman.

That would be quite something.

- Now, dear.

- Never.

Oh, there's no telling

when it comes to love.

The least likely ones

have the highest risk.

If you ask me, he's actually

always been a real lech.

What they call a sullen lech. But he's

stayed single these 20 years for you.

It makes sense

he'd explode sooner or later.

Oh, no. He's lost

a lot of weight recently,

and his skin's

strangely dry and flaky.

I bet there's another explanation.

You saw him recently?

Four days ago.

He turned up that morning.

I thought there was definitely

something wrong.

But you know your uncle.

He just said, "Why the glum look?

If it's a loan, forget it. "

Hey, don't tell me he had good news.

Not with that long face.

Now, honey, it's just that

my husband thinks all men

are self-indulgent, like him.

Say, Mitsuo-san.

Did something happen at home?

No... nothing in particular.

Hey.

Deliver this to my place.

My editor's waiting outside.

And get some sleeping pills

at the drugstore.

There's a prescription

in my name.

But sir, the drugstore's

already closed.

Is it that late?

Around here, they close up

shop after dinner.

What to do?

I can't get to sleep unless

I take them with my nightcap.

Um, I don't mean to be rude.

But I happen to have

some sleeping pills with me.

Well, much obliged.

May I pay you the official price?

No, no.

I was planning to throw them away.

- But...

- No, really.

Really?

Then let me pick up your tab.

Oh, no.

You can drink, right?

Please, have another.

You hardly seem tipsy.

Why, thank you.

I throw up everything anyway.

In other words, my stomach...

I have stomach cancer.

- Stomach cancer?

- Yes.

That's a shock.

But then, what you're doing is crazy.

Yes, it's embarrassing, but...

But...

It's suicide to drink

when you have stomach cancer.

But... I can't die.

I'll just up and die on them.

I want to, but...

I can't... die.

In other words,

I can't bring myself to die.

I don't know what I've been doing

with my life all these years.

No children?

Your stomach hurts?

No, it's not my stomach...

It seems you're carrying

a heavy load indeed.

No...

It's just...

I'm such a fool.

I'm just...

so furious with myself.

Until just a few days ago,

I'd never even bought a drink

with my own money.

It's only now that I don't know

how much longer I've got to live

that I finally...

I understand.

I understand.

But drinking is plain crazy.

Besides, does it even taste good?

No, it doesn't.

But...

for a little while,

I can forget my cancer,

and all the other painful things.

Drinking...

this expensive sake

is like paying myself

back with poison

for the way I lived all these years.

In other words,

I mean,

it feels awful,

but it feels good at the same...

I can understand.

Oh, why...

Actually, I...

I have 50,000 yen here with me,

which I'd like to spend all at once.

But embarrassingly enough,

the thing is, I don't even

actually know how.

So what I'm trying to say is...

You want me to show you

how to spend it?

Yes, I realize

it's terribly forward of me...

But...

No, this money...

It took me dozens of years

to set aside this money.

All the more reason now to...

What I'm trying to say...

I understand.

But please put your money away.

Tonight's on me.

But that's not... I...

Just leave things to me.

Truly fascinating...

I realize it's rude

to call you fascinating,

but you're an extremely

rare individual.

I'm a half-baked fool

who writes meaningless novels.

You've really made me think tonight.

I realize what they say about

the nobility of misfortune is true.

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