Madadayo Page #2

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at the military academy

where I taught.

It stared at me

with narrowed eyes as if to say...

"What in the world

are you buying there, sir?"

I was so ashamed.

I wished the ground

would open up and swallow me.

By the way, gentlemen...

horses have big eyes,

don't they?

Well, let's eat.

The meat should be ready.

Professor, your odd tale

made me lose my appetite.

Just imagine it's all venison.

Besides,

the two meats are all mixed up.

You can't tell which is which.

Bon appetit!

It's good.

It really is delicious!

If the lights go out

in an air raid,

this "stupid stew" will turn

into a "blind stew."

I hate air raids.

I don't like turning off the lights.

I've been afraid of the dark

since I was little.

I even have to sleep

with the lights on.

- Even now, sir?

- Yes.

Aren't you afraid of the dark?

- Of course not.

We aren't kids anymore.

What's so scary about the dark?

You gentlemen are impossible.

Why's that?

Anyone not afraid of the dark

is a deeply flawed human being.

You lack imagination.

Take a proper human being.

He can't see

anything in the dark,

so he imagines

that there's something there.

He doesn't know

what's lurking there.

It might pose a threat.

That's why he's afraid.

It's quite obvious.

In my case...

if I hear there are

raccoon dogs somewhere,

everyone I meet there

begins to look like a raccoon dog.

Or rather, I suspect

the raccoon dogs have disguised

themselves as humans.

It's only natural

for a normal person with imagination.

It may be natural for you

because you're pure gold,

but for us -

To the pure gold professor!

Cheers!

We stand in awe

Of our teacher's kind favor

How quickly

the years have passed

In this garden of learning

How quickly they've passed

The months and years

And now we say...

Our professor's house

was one of those burned down

in the air raids.

This was the professor's

next house.

It won't all fit in.

Thanks for coming.

My, my.

The most important thing of all.

Indeed, like rain in a drought.

May I put this bag there?

You coming inside?

There are too many people.

- Are you all right?

- I can't budge.

Now I know

how canned sardines feel.

- Anything to pass over here?

- Yes, this.

- Watch your head.

- Don't worry about that head.

Would you take this too?

Ma'am, if you need anything,

please let us know.

Thank you very much, everyone.

We're always such a bother.

Not at all.

I want an umbrella.

Keep that one, sir.

Our washroom

is that new building over there.

It has no roof.

So on rainy days like today,

we can't use it.

Listen...

this place is a little -

We have to find them

another place.

No.

It's a miracle this place

didn't burn down.

Finding it was an unexpected

stroke of good luck.

Besides, the owner's

an acquaintance. A baron.

- What's a "baron"?

- A nobleman.

- He lived here?

- Don't be an idiot.

This was...

the shack for the baron's

elderly groundskeeper.

His mansion and our house

burned down at the same time.

That morning,

when we fled our home,

we found this shack

and decided to rest here.

The baron came

to inspect the remains.

I asked him if we could rent it.

"Absolutely," he replied.

We were very lucky.

You're familiar with this, aren't you?

HOJOKI:

Yes, sir.

Books are so heavy.

I fled with this one book,

my favorite.

The author, Kamo no Chomei...

lived in the capital

during the Heian Era.

He experienced many calamities

such as war, fire and famine.

He grew weary

of the impermanence of worldly things

and secluded himself

in a hut in the mountains.

Recently, I must say,

I've come to understand

exactly how he felt.

For the time being,

I intend to settle down here

and think of it

as a hut like his.

Well, gentlemen,

I wish I could invite you in,

but I'm afraid I can't.

It's crowded enough

with just my wife and me.

Don't worry.

Care for a cigarette, Professor?

We had so many birds,

but most burned to death.

My wife said that

if we couldn't take them along,

we should

at least set them free.

But a bird freed

from its cage at night

would just fly right

into the fire.

If they're going to burn anyway,

they might as well meet

their fate in their familiar cages,

so we left them behind.

This white-eye

was caught by a neighborhood child

and given to us.

It must have fallen

from its nest.

It was just

a tiny fledgling at first.

Since my wife had raised it

from the very beginning,

she refused to let it die

and ran out clutching the cage.

What you see here

is all we could take with us.

But you know,

the only resemblance between

this hut and the one in the Hojoki

is that it's small.

It lacks that elegance.

There isn't the sound

of clear mountain water

running through bamboo pipes.

The only sound of water here

is that of people urinating

against that clay wall.

But really...

why does everyone

pee in the same place?

They all do it right there.

The "No Urinating" sign

has no effect.

Even a picture of a shrine

isn't enough.

Well, I came up with an idea.

I devised a special

good-luck charm.

I think it just might work.

Go take a look.

It's on the other side

of the wall.

Oh no!

URINATING FORBIDDEN

It's brilliant!

The one thing you don't want chopped off.

- He's a genius at these things!

The rainy season

should be ending.

That reminds me.

You think the professor's all right?

Where's the professor?

You see how he is.

He's hopeless

once it begins to rumble.

That's why I always keep

this lucky incense on hand

to ward off lightning.

You brought

so much stuff here,

so I hesitate to say this,

but people accumulate too many

things in the course of living.

Everything burned in the air raid.

It actually lightened the burden.

But even in this hut,

things have begun to pile up.

I sometimes wish the B-29s

would pay us another visit.

Still, it's a relief

that the war's over.

I wonder.

I feel just the opposite.

How has anything become easier?

At least we had food rations

during the war, however meager.

Now they're gone...

and we're reduced

to living like beggars.

Long ago,

when I was a kid,

we had a vacant lot behind our house.

We built a hut there

out of bamboo and straw.

I just loved sitting in it.

When my grandmother

found me there,

she couldn't stop crying.

"What in the world

is this boy doing?

He'll surely grow up

to be a beggar."

She wept and wept.

And now...

it's exactly as she said.

Professor!

What are you saying?

Didn't you want to be like Chomei?

Have you forgotten his spirit?

This isn't like you.

"The flowing river never stops,

and the water is never the same as before.

Bubbles floating on stagnant pools

form and disappear.

They never linger for long.

So it is with the people

and dwellings of this world."

I understand.

It's just an old man's grumbling.

I apologize.

Actually, that's what

we've come to talk about.

We can't have you

living here forever.

We all plan to build a house

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