Madadayo Page #6

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and now this!

I brought some baby mackerel.

Professor, congratulations.

This is from my boss.

My thanks to all of you.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

He needn't have taken it

so seriously after all.

Cats do come home.

It turns out they were wrong.

It wasn't Alley.

I'll get it.

That's right.

Who the hell is this?

I'll beat you to a pulp!

What was that?

Son of a b*tch!

"Alley became a shamisen

a long time ago."

Then the bastard played one.

Here, kitty.

Here, kitty.

This was for Alley,

but it's yours now.

Go on, eat it.

Have some more.

Is it good?

You like baby mackerel,

just like Alley.

That's a good cat.

The professor seems

to have recovered.

His wife called about the cat.

- They found Alley?

Calm down. It isn't Alley.

That black-and-white,

or black-on-white, or white-on-black -

Calm down yourself

and spit it out.

- Some water.

- Right here.

- So that's that.

- What's what? Calm down.

What's this black-and-white cat?

Oh, right. Remember the cat

his wife was feeding?

It's there to stay.

The professor plays with it now.

Kurz.

What's "Kurz"?

How could you forget

such a simple German word?

"Kurz" - "short" in German.

It has a short tail.

- What tail?

- The cat's tail!

That black-and-white cat

has a short tail,

so the professor named it Kurz.

Now that he's named it,

it's there to stay.

That's great!

She wants us all

to come by tonight.

I'll pick up Kiriyama.

You pick up Sawamura.

- Phone them.

- Ah, right.

The phone's over here.

Calm down.

Kuru, Kuru...

You're such a nice baby.

Leave it to my wife

to turn "Kurz" into "Kuru."

Kuru - like "come" in Japanese.

"Welcome to come, and free to go."

It's pronounced "kitaru"

in that saying.

Well, never mind.

In my case, you know,

Alley wasn't "free to go" at all.

I caused you all so much trouble

on that account.

- Don't be silly.

- I'm really ashamed.

Where's Kurz?

- Sleeping in Alley's bed.

I never know when to give up.

I always wallow in regret.

Just look at this.

It isn't mosquito repellent.

It's a charm to bring back

missing cats.

I'm still at it.

It's truly pitiful.

But I'm all right now.

I've always been like

the hare of Inaba

saved by Daikokuten,

the god of wealth.

Don't you know that song?

He sees

the white hare of Inaba

Skin peeled off

As naked as can be

Now I remember.

A large bag

slung over his shoulder

Who might Daikokuten be?

That's the fourth verse.

It's quite a long song.

It's about a hare

who gets injured

and is then saved

by the god of wealth.

I am that hare.

Who might Daikokuten be?

It's nobody.

Rather, it's all of you.

When it came to losing Alley,

the people who sent kind letters,

the people who called,

the people who worried

about Alley with me -

they are all Daikokuten.

A large bag

slung over his shoulder

Daikokuten's large bag...

is filled with everybody's kindness.

That kindness

is what saved me.

A large bag

slung over his shoulder

Daikokuten comes

around the bend

He sees

the white hare of Inaba

Skin peeled off

As naked as can be

Daikokuten sighs with pity

And teaches the hare

To bathe in pure water

And wrap himself

in woven cattail leaves

The hare does as he's told

He bathes in pure water

And wraps himself

in woven cattail leaves

And once again becomes

a white hare

Gentlemen.

Who might Daikokuten be?

Memorial stones to Alley and Kurz

were erected in the garden.

Alley was never found.

Kurz enjoyed a long life

and now rests here in the garden.

And the willow tree

has grown to a great height.

THE 17TH NOT YET FES I'm remembering now the time

when I turned 60 years old.

At the time...

I thought I'd become

a genuine old geezer.

But now that I'm 77,

an auspicious age,

I realize that when I was 60,

I was nothing but a young punk.

Now, at last,

I'm a genuine old geezer for real.

At one time,

when you asked me

if I was "ready yet,"

I thought,

just so I'd be able to say yes...

that I might go out

to the willow tree in my garden

and hang myself from it.

But the willow was still

too small and slender.

There was no way

it could hold my weight.

But now that willow's

grown big and strong.

It's definitely up to the job.

Yet here I am, still standing,

so I have

no more excuses to offer.

My good friends,

ladies and gentlemen,

I thank you all

for this occasion.

As is our custom,

I will empty this large glass

of beer in one go.

What's this?

The glass got smaller again.

Dr. Quack,

was that your idea?

The glass gets smaller

every year.

It's not even

especially large anymore.

Even that's too big for you now.

Stop complaining and drink up.

Not yet!

A toast to the professor!

Happy birthday!

With this we conclude

our customary ritual.

I would now like to proceed

to the celebration

of our professor's 77th birthday.

First, the presentation

of flowers.

Your students' daughters.

Happy birthday.

Thank you.

Next...

from the Not Yet Association,

a birthday cake.

You can't be serious!

Will it have 77 candles

for me to blow out?

I can't do it.

You mustn't be so cruel

to an old man.

We couldn't fit all 77 candles on.

There are only seven.

I don't even know

if I can blow out seven.

Some of my teeth are missing.

When I blow,

the air goes in all directions.

Who are these children?

Your students' grandchildren.

How adorable.

I could gobble them all up.

I'd like to give this cake

to the children who brought it up.

Children...

come here.

Along with this cake,

there's something else

I want to give you.

Something I want to tell you.

Please find something

you really like.

Find something

you'll be able to treasure.

When you find it,

work for it as hard as you can.

You're sure to find

a treasure worth the effort.

That will be your calling,

the work you put your heart into.

Did that just go over their heads?

I'm sorry.

Here, take it.

Thank you.

We'll have it later.

Now, all you grandpas

and grandmas,

dads and moms,

let's drink up and have

a great time as always.

Professor...

we haven't done "One-Two"

in a while.

As you say, it's been one

annoying thing after another these days.

Graft and bribery are at large

One, two

Let's pour out into the streets

singing that.

Right, Professor?

Professor!

As the professor's family doctor,

I assure you

there's nothing to worry about.

It's just one of his chronic bouts

of arrhythmia.

I suggest he go home

and get some rest.

It's all right.

It's nothing.

Not yet!

The association officers

will escort the professor home.

Don't worry, and please

continue the party for his sake.

His cane.

Why are you so unconcerned?

You filthy priest.

Don't worry.

He isn't ready for me yet.

It's all right.

Thank you.

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

There's nothing to worry about.

With a good night's rest,

he'll be fine.

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