"Joyu to shijing (The Actress and the Poet)" "Original Music by Kyosuke Kami" "Cinematography by Hiroshi Suzuki" "Directed by Mikio Naruse" "Help!" "Someone help!" "Shut up, you double-crosser!" "Forgive me, please." "It's a mistake, it's a mistake." "What do you mean it's a mistake?" "I'm going to stick this through your heart." "Please, forgive me!" "Forgive me!" "What do you think of that?" "It's gotten a lot better." "It's very good." "OK, let's run through it again." "You two remember your cues, right." "Yes, we do." "Good morning." "It's the butcher." "We don't need anything today." "Good day." "Anything for me?" "Oh, it's the cleaner's." "Today the weather is nice, so I did it all myself." "You washed that all yourself?" "Yeah, that's nothing if you were in the army." "You were in the army?" "Me?" "I was in the infantry." "You in the infantry?" "I heard all the gimps were in the infantry, right." "If you think so, go and tell them about it." "You sure work hard." "Ah, the woman from next door." "Hello there." "It must be hard." "Well, if you had been in the army, you wouldn't think anything of it." "Are all the people at your place today actors?" "I think so." "So then it is Yoshida Goro?" "That good looking guy." "Are they rehearsing a play?" "It must be hard for your wife, too." "There aren't too many people like you around." "You're so nice." "You're the talk of the town." "Why, the other day in the bath, we were all talking about you." "Talking about me?" "The women?" "Yes." "They were all wondering just what it is you do for a living." "I said that you were a poet, and that you wrote things for children, children's songs." "The woman on the corner, the one who runs the sweet potato place —" "You know the one who was caught that time with the counterfeit five yen note?" "Well, anyway it amounts to fooling kids however you look at it." "The people in the neighbourhood are such talentless folks." ""The Sparrow School chii pa pa"" "That's what the kids sing on the way to school." "Anyway, when she heard that she finally accepted that that was what you did for a living." "But the people around here are such rumour mongers." "That's why it's not at all like the swallows in "The Sparrow School"." "Sing about Meiji Chocolate!" "We're looking for children's songs!" "First prize: 100 yen" ""The Sparrow School" on the organ." "Geppu!" "Geppu!" "Could you go and get some cigarettes for us. 2 "Cherries."" "I'll have some, too." "If they have them, I'll take a pack of "Bats"." "If they don't, some "Cherries" will do." "Yoshida-san, do you want anything?" "OK, I'll get some, too." ""Hope" please." "Could you get me some sweet potatoes?" "That's not very glamourous." "Come to think of it, I think I'd like some tangerines." "Get two "Cherries", a pack of "Bats", and a "Hope"." "If they don't have the "Bats" get three "Cherries."" "Got that?" "And get some tangerines and sweet potatoes." "Yes." "And take off that apron before you go." "Two "Cherries", a "Bat", and a "Hope" plus sweet potatoes and tangerines." "Master, just a minute." "It looks like someone is finally moving in." "They're supposed to be coming today." "I wonder what sort of people they'll be." "Looks like there'll be a bath tonight." "Are you going out shopping?" "Yes." "Just out to the tobacconist." "Popular Novel" "Prize money: 5,000 yen" "Deadline: 1935.3.5" "Is Baid?" "in?" "Mr. Nose?" "These past two or three days he hasn't come out at all." "He's writing a novel." "A novel?" "Baid?" "Novels are fine, but..." "He's posted a sign on his door" ""Writing a manuscript:" "No Visitors" and he won't answer the door." "He hasn't paid his rent for half a year." "He's caused me a lot of trouble." "What's going on?" "I owe money." "I can't let her see me so I can't go down the stairs." "Match, give me a match, will you." "And some cigarettes, too." "I bought these for someone else." "You can give me one, can't you." "No, I can't." "If you're going to be giving me one anyway," "I'll take the pack of "Hope."" "What about your job?" "I quit at the end of last month." "I want to do some writing." "I want to write something for the Yorozu Shinpa popular novel contest." "The prize money is 5,000 yen." "I'm going to send in a story and cause a big sensation." "I already have the title!" "What is it?" ""The Kumaso Life."" "Are you sure that's a good title for a popular novel?" "Absolutely." "Are you writing anything these days?" "You know Kaeru no Gakk?" "(The Frog School)" "I read it when I was a kid." "Do they pay you for your poems?" "Well, they haven't paid me yet." "When you do get your money, lend me some will you?" "Sure." "Hey, look at the kites." "They're really high up there." "Look." "They are way up there, aren't they." "I used to fly kites all day long when I was a kid." "Hey, do you know that song "Fly kite, fly"?" "Sure." "Could you sing it for me?" "I'm not a kid anymore." ""Fly kite, fly"" "They're here, they're here." "Who?" "The new people." "Oh." "They've moved in?" "It's a couple." "They're young and really close." "The wife was singing "Fly kite, fly."" "That's a children's song, isn't it?" "Well, yes." "Well, come here and take a look for yourself." "The straw matting is all rough." "You're right." "We'll really have to clean it up" "But we don't have anything here." "Our stuff hasn't arrived yet." "What a mess!" "Their stuff probably hasn't arrived." "You really are learning the game." "You'll master it pretty soon." "Excuse me." "I live across the way." "My name is Futatsuki Geppu" "I see." "I thought you might need some things to clean with." "Thanks." "I put some rags in here." "The weather is nice and dry around here." "I'm a writer." "Poems and songs." "And you might know my wife, Futatsuki Chieko." "She's an actress." "She's in plays." "I've seen a couple of her plays." "Is that right?" "Geppu!" "Geppu!" "Well, take your time with the stuff." "He's nice, isn't he." "Yes, but it was a bit of a shock, him barging in like that." "Where did you go after coming back from shopping?" "They didn't have anything so I brought them some things to clean with." "Don't be stupid." "You shouldn't poke your nose in other people's business." "I'm going out." "Make sure you clean up upstairs while I'm out." "I don't have much..." "Money?" "When I get my money tomorrow, I'll give you some." "Futatsuki-san, you have a parcel!" "Oh, thank you very much." "Frog School" "Certificate of Appreciation" "Futatsuki Geppu" "I'll go and get him." "Ouch!" "Good evening." "Good evening." "You haven't eaten yet have you?" "No, I haven't." "Why don't you come over and eat with us?" "Not that we have anything really great, but you're welcome to come over." "At your place?" "Yes." "My husband is having a bit to drink, and he says that it's no fun if there's no one to drink with him." "He's been telling me to go and get the guy next door." "Is that right?" "I guess I'll go." "Bring that along, why don't you." "OK, let's do that." "Ah, you have lots of stuff that would go well with sake." "We could take this, right?" "This looks good." "This too." "Ah - eggs." "I can take these, right?" "Don't be so shy, have some more to drink." "Don't be so reserved." "Have some more." "People say you're a good guy." "You have a quite a reputation." "Your wife is always calling you "Geppu, Geppu."" "At first I thought that she had chronic indigestion." "Every time I hear that I worry about my clothes." "I feel like running away." "Don't hesitate." "Have some more to eat." "Hey!" "Ah, I see." "Eat up." "It's about time for the soba to arrive isn't it?" "Soba?" "You're having soba delivered." "No, no." "Didn't I tell you about that before?" "The couple that moved in?" "Ha Ha." "Oh, those two." "They probably don't have anything." "I don't think those two are like that." "From what I saw of them, they have a bit of money." "Don't you think?" "Why don't you get those two to buy some insurance?" "Sounds like a good idea." "I mean tonight." "There are times when you should hurry." "Tonight?" "Come on!" "You should respect people's private lives." "That's one of your weak points, you know." "You need to get more subscribers." "But I was looking forward to doing some drinking tonight." "I'll go tomorrow." "But what if a salesman from another company gets there before you do?" "This is your chance.." "So see you later." "I'll keep things going over here." "It won't work anyway, but I'll go and give it a try." "Sorry, I'll be back soon." "Good evening." "Good evening." "Excuse me for coming at night." "I know this is quite bothersome, but my name is Hanajima Kintar?" "I live across the way." "I wanted to give you my business card." "I hope we can be good neighbours." "I hope so, too." "I know this is really annoying, but actually, I came on business. ." "I didn't want to, but my wife insisted." "Ha ha" ""Showa Life Insurance Ltd."" "Ah you work at Showa Life Insurance." "I've heard of them." "Yes, how would you like a policy?" "Life insurance is" "Insurance?" "I understand." "We'd like to get a policy very soon." "Really?" "Are you sure?" "Yes, please." "Ah, this is a bit sudden, but" "You were right after all!" "It was OK?" "They really understand what I said." "What I said about them was right, wasn't it?" "No, it's because I'm a good salesman." "It doesn't matter why, just the result." "In any case, this is a cause for celebration." "Go to the liquor store and get some more." "What about beer?" "Do you drink beer?" "Beer?" "Sure." "And get something to eat." "Get some sashimi." "Got you." "Let's live it up tonight!" "Do you have any records besides "Naniwa Bushi"?" "No, that's all I have." "I'll get some more when some more money comes in." "I've learned that one by heart." "I'll get some good ones from my place then." "There's something wrong with your record player." "Well, I got it at a discount, so there's probably something wrong with it." "Have another." "Top it off, will you?" "Are we running low?" "Get some more." "Ohama, get some beer!" "Beer!" "Bring me more beer!" "Hey, you!" "Get me some more beer." "Beer!" "36 bottles of beer ...sleep soundly ...you idiot!" "Ohama!" "Beer!" "More beer!" "You're going to have more beer?" "Stop your complaining and get me more beer." "But you've already had more than enough." "You're a real pain." "Just shut up and get me more beer." ""The husband is lord of his castle." Haven't you heard that?" "That's right." "A husband is a husband and a wife is a wife." "Ohama-san, beer!" "Get some beer!" "Beer." "More Beer!" "Are you really alright?" "Oh yes." "Thanks for everything!" "Good night." "Good night." "Hey, your husband's home." "Chieko!" "Where's Chieko?" "You know, I don't like this." "I don't like it at all." "It's your husband." "Your husband is your master." "Don't you know the saying "The husband is the lord of his castle"?" "What's that look on your face." "What are you doing?" "That really gets to me." "I'm not afraid of that face you make." "Making a face like that isn't going to scare me." "I don't like this." "Get me some water!" "Water!" "Water." "Mrs!" "Mrs!" "Is the Mrs. in?" "Who is it?" "She's still sleeping." "Oh, it's the neighbour lady." "Thanks for everything last night." "It was all very good." "Oh don't mention it." "Is your wife still sleeping?" "Yes." "So you're cooking?" "It must be difficult for you." "That's right." "Excuse me, could you tell me if I have enough water?" "It looks like you have too much." "Is that right?" "What about this?" "You still need to take more out." "Really?" "How about this then?" "That's about right." "Is it really alright with this little water?" "I don't know..." "I brought over some stewed some radishes." "There isn't much, but why don't you have some?" "That's some colour!" "Ohama I stewed them with brown sugar." "It's better that way." "At our place we put in some barley, too." "Where my husband's from, they only put in fried tofu, but's that just a little too cheap." "Let's see, let's see, what can I put this in?" "Don't worry about the bowl, you can return it anytime." "Do you need something else?" "Your wife is really still sleeping." "She had a rehearsal for her next play that went late last night." "I suppose theatre is a tough business to be in." "I saw her last play." "I got a ticket from my husband." "It was a lot of fun." "Tomorrow is opening night, right?" "It seems that way." "You're going, aren't you?" "No." "In fact, I've never seen any of my wife's plays." "Oh is that right?" "But you do have tickets." "What a waste!" "It would be, but I gave them all away." "To whom?" "I gave them to the landlord for taking one yen off our rent." "I see." "Could you put those radishes in something?" "I'd like that bowl back now." "Is that right. ..." "Let's see." "This won't work." "This one's dirty." "This one's no good, is it?" "Here's your bowl back." "Sorry to have bothered you." "I lost out on that deal!" "Geppu!" "Geppu!" "Is breakfast ready?" "Where was the pickled radish?" "You're getting up?" "It's still early for you." "We've never had a fight, right?" "That's why I don't understand how people feel when they do it." "You don't need to understand that, do you?" "No, but I need to understand it for my next play." "I'm having a hard time learning my lines and tomorrow is the dress rehearsal." "Oh, you're talking about your play?" "Will breakfast still be awhile?" "Yeah, we have to wait for the rice to finish." "Never mind about that." "Could you help me?" "Read me my cues." "I'm worried and I don't feel like eating anyway." "You're always the same, you can never learn your lines until the night before opening night." "That's not a good way to do it." "But tomorrow is the day you get paid so I'll keep quiet about it and do what you ask." "Don't joke around." "Here." "There sure are a lot of lines here." "You have to learn all these?" "Of course not, just the parts where I'm talking to Takamura-san." "The place where I've marked." "Oh, here." "Yes." "From the part where the husband says: "No one's using the second floor anyway."" "I see. "Husband:" "No-one is u-sing the se-cond flo-or any-way." "Why d-on't we rent it out to someone? "" "No, not like you're reading a sutra." "Put a little feeling into it." "This is an argument between husband and wife, so do it like your angry." "Like I'm angry?" "OK." "Here we go." ""No one is using the second floor anyway." "Why don't we rent it out to someone? "" "let someone put it to use..." ""No way!" "Renting it out means we get money for it."" "Is the rice alright?" "It's OK." "Do the next line." "Where are we?" "Where?" "Here." ""But he's in a real bind." "He doesn't have any money." "That's why he asked."" "That's why..."Your friends are all worthless." "They're all freeloaders."" ""When they need help we should help them." "What's wrong with letting a friend in need upstairs? "" ""You have a big mouth for someone in your position." "'Have one of them come live with us' you say." "Well, just who do you think is paying the rent around here every month? "" "Hey, don't say that so loud." "Oh, was that in the script?" "No, that's not a line from the play." "Come on, just read the lines in the script!" "I'm trying to learn my lines." "OK "Just who do you think pays the rent around here every month? "" ""You do."" ""That's right, I pay it."" "Couldn't we do this in a quieter voice?" "I don't want people to think this about us." "But it says to say this in a loud voice." "I don't like this play." ""Do you think I could put up with having a long term guest now? "" ""But if a man makes a promise to another man, is it possible for him to go back on it because his wife doesn't give permission? "" ""Man to man promise?" "Well, then be a man and earn some money." "Then you can have one or two hundred of your friends stay as long as they want." "You say big things, but could we live on your earnings as a writer? "" "Bill Collector!" "I'm going to stop." "Come on, do a bit more." ""Let's hear you say that again."" ""You're always saying your a writer, but you hardly ever get any money for what you write."" ""When you write for magazines you only get 2 or 3 yen in book stamps or a box of sweets that costs 1 yen." "We would be better off if we just gave your manuscript to the paper collector."" "That's a lie." "It's just a little more." "Do it quickly." "Quickly." ""What are you saying?" "Takes top of teakettle and throws it."" "Here's the kettle." "There, I threw it." ""Ouch." "How can you hit me with that." "You beast!" "There! " I hit you back." ""What are you doing hitting your husband? "" ""What's that scary face you're making?" "You look like King Kong's younger brother."" "You idiot"" ""That hurts!" "Ouch." "That hurts."" ""Cry why don't you!" "Cry!" "Cry more! "" ""This is too much! "" "What are you doing?" "Don't be so rough?" "If you're mad at her, just tell her with words." "She'll understand." "Don't hit her!" "Hunh?" "This is strange." "Are you hurt?" "No." "That's good." "No one comes to help you in the script." "I don't know, but you shouldn't get excited." "It's not becoming of a man." "What?" "Your argument." "What argument?" "Nose-san, you're funny!" "Don't get mad." "Chieko and I were just practicing a play with a fight between man and wife." "Oh, you're rehearsing a play, are you?" "I took it for the real thing." "Hey, is the rice burning?" "Oh, no!" "There wasn't enough water in it." "I asked the neighbour woman if there was enough, and she said yes." "I'm never going to listen to her again." "There's nothing to be done about it now." "Well, just leave it." "Since Nose-san is here, why don't you order out for something." "I'm worried about my lines, so I'm going upstairs to memorise them by myself." "If he asks about this money, you have to refuse." "There's nothing he won't ask for." "Understand?" "This is great!" "Excuse me Nose-san, but I have to go." "See you." "You know, if you make that burnt rice into rice balls it's pretty good." "No, it's not." "Aren't you hungry?" "You must be." "I had some bread before." "Me too - last night." "I'll order out for something later, but for now, have one of these." "They're good." "There's ple- plenty." "Have one." "I meant have one now." "Yes." "Hey, those people who moved in yesterday still haven't gotten up." "I wonder if there's something wrong with them." "Nah." "Why do you get worried about little stuff like that." "You're a moron." "You're going to leave the tobacconist's?" "What are you going to do?" "I'm thinking of renting the second floor." "The second floor?" "Where?" "Your place." "What?" "My place." "Yeah." "When I get my money for my novel, I'll pay the rent." "There's no need to consult with Chieko about this." "After all you're the boss around here, right?" "That's what I..." "That's it." "All you have to do is cook for me." "Tokaku Itsugoro said "get up early", but as you know, it's my policy to get up when I want to." "Thanks." "See you later." "Where are you going?" "To get my stuff." "There isn't much, so I'll be right back." "If you wish you can store stuff on the second floor." "Thanks." "Maybe I will." "Oh, yes." "I filled out a change of address form, so there might be some mail for me coming here." "Just keep it for me." "Mail?" "For what?" "You know, requests from magazines for articles." "That kind of thing." "So that means that you decided even before you came to talk to me." "I guess that might be true." "What do you mean you 'guess'?" "Never mind about that." "I'll be back soon." "Oh, you don't have to clean up upstairs." "I'll do it when I get back." "Has a young man moved into this neighbourhood recently?" "A young man, and..." "Excuse me." "My name is Nose Baid?" "I'll be staying on the 2nd floor at Futatsuki Geppu's place from today." "Pleased to meet you." "police The guy we were looking for is a modern looking, clean guy." "A modern looking clean guy..." "He might have been with a young looking woman." "A young woman?" "What happened to Nose-san?" "He went to get his stuff." "His stuff?" "He's moving." "Is he going to move again?" "He must have been chased out of his place." "But how can he move when he doesn't have any money." "They won't take you unless you can pay the rent." "That's right." "That's why I asked him." "Dear, you didn't tell him to come and live here did you?" "Right?" "He's coming here." "Coming?" "I decided to offer him the second floor." "What!" "This is the first I've heard about this." "But" "Well, do what you want." "You're the husband around here." "But I don't like this at all." "We're not using it." "What's wrong with renting it out to someone?" "Renting it out means getting money in return." "But I felt sorry for him." "He doesn't have any money." "That's why he asked." "Your friends are all worthless." "They're all freeloaders." "Freeloaders?" "Hey, this is just like the play." "Besides, what's wrong with helping out a friend." "You're in no position to say such grand things." "Have someone stay with us?" "Just who do you think pays the rent around here every month?" "You do." "That's right, I do." "Are you really angry?" "Don't play me for a fool!" "Do you think I could put up with someone staying upstairs now?" "But a promise between men is a serious thing." "I can't go back on it just because my wife says 'no.'" "Man to man promise?" "Well, then be a man and earn some money." "Then you can have one or two hundred of your friends stay as long as they want." "You say big things, but could we live on your earnings as a writer?" "What?" "Say that again." "This isn't the same as your play." "I'll say it as often as I like." "You're always saying you're a writer, but have you ever gotten any money for what you write?" "When you write for magazines you only get a box of sponge cake for it." "We would be better off if we gave your manuscripts to the ragman." "That's a lie!" "You hit me, you beast!" "What's with that scary look." "You look like King Kong's younger brother." "What?" "That hurts!" "You idiot!" "I came in around here the last time." "What?" "You're going to hit me?" "Geppu is a pretty good actor!" "Oh my, this is terrible." "Stop them." "Don't worry, this is a rehearsal for a play." "You should have a look, it's pretty good." "A rehearsal?" "Well, then I will have a look." "They gave my tickets to the landlord." "This is good timing." "I guess I'll settle for a rehearsal." "Hey, what's going on?" "Keep going." "I won't get in the way." "I'm just watching." "Please go on." "Never mind us." "I'd like to see it from the beginning." "You're wrong." "We were really fighting." "It's just a play." "No, we we're really fighting about having someone stay with us." "No, you weren't." "I've heard it all before." "No, this was a real fight." "She hit me." "Ohama, Ohama!" "What's got you so excited?" "That couple that just moved in - they committed double suicide." "What about their insurance?" "That might be a problem." "You lamebrain." "You're supposed to look at them and see if they might do that before you give them an insurance policy." "But they're not dead yet." "So where does the play start and reality begin?" "It was a play up until you left, and after that it was real." "You shouldn't get into such complicated arguments." "Just what was it that you were arguing about." "We were arguing about having someone stay with us." "That's in your wife's play." "It was also the reason for the real argument." "Who's the guest?" "You!" "Oh." "Me?" "You can have the upstairs if you want." "Upstairs, downstairs, it doesn't make any difference to me." "But before that there's the issue of whether to have you stay or not." "Hey, Chieko." "The long-term guest in your play, what happens to him in the end?" "He gets 3,000 yen in prize money for a novel he writes." "My prize money will be 5,000 yen." "That's a little different..." "Of course, the big difference might be that I don't get the prize in the end." "This is hard to say to a friend, but I clearly have to withdraw that offer to let you stay." "I may be the husband, but my wife pays the rent." "I don't know who pays the rent, but when you put it like that," "I'll withdraw my request to stay." "I'm really sorry about this." "Don't worry about it." "Mrs. Futatsuki, I'm leaving." "What are you going to do if they die?" "Do?" "What am I supposed to do?" "Either they get cold and stiff or they don't." "Don't be so lazy!" "Lazy?" "I didn't do it." "Hey let me go!" "Hey, they're having a great fight over there." "Hey you!" "I'm the husband around here." "Then act like one." "You don't even look like one." "Here's a husband for you." "I don't like women." "They're so difficult." "Even if a woman gave me seven kids," "I couldn't forgive her for being so much trouble." "A woman's heart is like the autumn sky." "In fact, the reason I've been single up to now is that I don't like dealing with women's emotions." "Yup, that's right." "Did it hurt?" "Sorry." "I was wrong about everything." "Nose-san." "I have to thank you." "Thank me?" "Yes." "You were the reason we fought." "Thanks to that," "I finally understood what it feels like to argue with your husband." "It helped my performance." "Is that right?" "And you are the first person to recognise my husband as the master of the house." "I earn the money around here, but he's still the master of the house." "That's great." "It's just a dirty little place, but will you stay here with us after all?" "Really?" "You have to ask him." "No, you ask him." "But you're the master of the house." "You ask." "No, you." "Domestic disputes are really something!" "Excuse me, is the master home?" "Who's there?" "He's still sleeping." "Oh, it's the neighbour woman." "You know, that couple who committed double suicide survived." "That helped us out, too." "They had just taken out an insurance policy." "That's right." "That man seems to have been in the insurance business himself." "He was using his company's money - for that woman, of course." "They were running out of money and didn't know what to do." "They say that the woman was a dancer!" "So if you think about it, what was that double suicide all about?" "But I think it's kind of sad." "I guess that they wanted to die in their own place, even if it hadn't been theirs for more than a day." "Is that right?" "I guess that is kind of sad." "That's right." "Ohama!" "Yes." "I'll be back later." "Is breakfast ready?" "In a bit." "It's still early." "Why don't you sleep some more?" "You should wear more clothes, dear." "You'll catch a cold." "Translated by Guy Yasko"