Okuribito

---

When I was a child winter

didn't feel so cold.

It's nearly two months since

I moved home from Tokyo.

It's been an awkward time.

(In Mourning)

This way.

Excuse us.

Please accept our condolences.

We are here for the encoffinment.

May we offer incense?

Please do.

She looks alive.

Suicide by charcoal.

How do you know?

No agony.

And they probably found her right away.

Too bad... she's beautiful.

Want to do it?

All right.

The rite of encoffinment

is to prepare the deceased

for a peaceful departure.

Please come closer and watch.

I will now wipe the body.

She's got one.

Got what?

A thing.

What thing?

A 'thing'!

Excuse me...

Yes?

Once the departed is dressed,

we will apply make-up.

We have make-up for

women, or for men...

Oh... just a minute.

How'd you like Tomeo made up, Sis?

Boy, or girl?

What'll it be?

If I'd only had him as a girl

at the first, none of this...

would've happened.

Girl, then?

Yes.

As a girl, please.

Certainly.

Tomeo!

Departures

Another empty house.

We should advertise more.

I know!

An orchestra website.

My wife's a web designer.

She'd do it for free.

Forget that, Daigo. Are you OK?

Huh?

Your next gig.

Next?

You'll need a job to pay

off a cello like that.

Well done, everybody.

The audience was a little sparse,

but you played wonderfully.

However, as it turns out...

the owner of this

orchestra, Mr Sonezaki,

has a few words to say.

So if you would please

give him your attention...

The orchestra is dissolved.

See you.

The orchestra job

I'd finally managed to land...

in a flash was not

history, only a memory.

It wasn't the cello's fault.

I shouldn't have bought

it. Now I'd lost my job.

In many ways that cello...

had been too much for me.

Thank you!

Goodbye.

I'm home!

Hi.

I got an octopus.

From the neighbor.

Caught this morning.

What's the matter?

We're dissolved.

Who?

The orchestra.

Oh...

You'll find another one.

There won't be one.

I'm not good enough.

And I owe for that.

How much?

That's OK.

I'm working. We can

pay off a million yen.

18 million.

18 million yen!

That's what all the pros

pay. Maybe even more.

Why did you hide that?

I thought you'd say no.

But something that important...

why didn't you tell me?

I'm sorry.

I'll make supper.

'The world's cities will be our home.

'Come tour with me.'

That's how I proposed.

But reality was harsh.

No. I should have realized

the limits to my talent.

What's wrong?

It's alive!

Yeah!

What should we do?!

Don't get caught again.

Huh?

I should quit.

What?

Cello.

And do what?

Go back up to Yamagata.

Agreed!

You don't mind?

We can live free in the

house your mother left you.

It's really OK?

This was my great turning point...

but in a strange way, selling

the cello was a relief.

I felt freed from ties that

had bound me for so long.

What I'd always taken as my dream

maybe hadn't been one after all.

'Harmony'

This was all my mother had left me

when she'd died two years before.

My father had run a coffee shop here...

but I hardly remembered it.

After he deserted us...

she ran it as a small bar...

and raised me alone.

Supper's ready!

Coming!

I thought you'd hate it here.

No! Everything's so new.

Rice tastes better.

Maybe it's the water.

Maybe I should open a shop...

What kind?

Hey!

This ad. 'No age

restriction, good salary.

'Short working hours,

full-time employee.'

'NK Agent'... what's that?

'Working with departures.'

A travel agency, maybe.

A tour guide?

'No experience necessary.'

I'll give them a call.

Here.

NK Agent

Hello?

Is this NK Agent?

Yes.

I'm Kobayashi. I called earlier.

For the interview?

The boss'll be right back. Have a seat.

Thank you.

I was against the boss

putting an ad in the paper.

It's hard finding people for this.

What sort of company would this be?

You mean you don't know?

It said 'departures'...

No?

The man's here about the job.

Hello. I phoned this morning.

Oh, you...

So you're not depressing...

Thank you.

I knew an ad would work. Make some tea.

My resume...

Good. Sit down.

Thank you.

Will you work hard?

Uh... yes.

You're hired.

What's your name?

'Daigo Kobayashi'.

Get him some cards.

OK.

But what about salary

and stuff like that?

Oh... how about one hand to start?

'One hand'?

50,000?

500,000?!

Too low?

You pay that much?

In cash, if you want.

What does the job involve?

Well...

At first, being my assistant, I guess.

Specifically...

'Specifically'?

Casketing.

'Casketing'?

Putting bodies in coffins.

It bloomed!

You mean 'dead bodies'?

That's really funny.

Uh, no, I mean...

The ad said 'departures',

so I thought it meant...

a travel agency.

That's a misprint.

It's not 'departures', it's...

'the departed'.

The departed?!

'NK' stands for [nokan], 'casketing'.

Anyway, fate brought you here.

Give it a try. Quit

if you don't like it.

Today's pay.

No, I couldn't...

It's fine.

No, no...

I'm back.

Hi.

Here.

What's that?

You said you wanted sukiyaki.

Yonezawa beef?!

Grade A.

That's expensive!

I got an advance.

You got the job?

Sort of.

So we're celebrating!

So what's the job? A tour guide?

No...

Sales?

What?

It's not a travel agent.

So what is it?

Ceremonies.

Like weddings?

Maybe you can play cello for them.

I'll get the sukiyaki ready.

OK.

I won't be too late.

'Bye.

'Morning.

Here I am.

Use the boss's desk till yours comes.

Your business cards

are done. No misprints.

They're just coffins.

They're the first I've seen.

The first?

My grandparents died

before I can remember.

I was abroad when my mom

died, so I missed her funeral.

And your dad?

He left us when I was six.

That must have been hard for your mom.

Can someone who's never seen a corpse

actually do this job?

You'll get used to it.

To corpses?

It's slow now in the summer,

but when the seasons change...

I'll help.

...it's one job after another.

Who hires us?

Undertakers.

Undertakers?

It used to be that families

prepared the bodies.

Then undertakers took it on...

and places like ours started up.

It's a niche market.

They're heavy.

There's different types.

50,000.

100,000.

300,000.

They're that different?

That's plywood, this one has

gold fittings and carved sides.

And this one's pure hinoki cypress.

So it's the wood and the fittings...

Yep. They burn the same

way, into the same ashes.

Your last purchase, and

someone else chooses it.

It's ironic.

NK Agent...

Yes, he's here.

The Minatoza? He'll be right there.

The boss?

A job.

A job?

(Minatoza Theater)

NK Agent?

Yes.

He's here.

Oh, good.

This is my new assistant, uh...

'Kobayashi'.

Kobayashi. He'll be our model today.

Model?

We'll start shooting as

soon as you get changed.

Costume and make-up's over here.

Make-up?

Sir...

It's fine.

Let's start.

(Casketing Procedure)

The model's ready!

Good.

Where will this be shown?

It's fine.

It's just for the

trade. No one'll see it.

The first step in casketing

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