"MORNING'S TREE-LINED STREET" "Please take care of yourself." "You can come back anytime if things go wrong or you don't find a job." "Don't think about staying in Tokyo too long." "That's how people go wrong." "Not everyone is a good person over there." "So you must be careful." "Don't worry." "I'll be fine." "Where is Chiyo going?" "She wants to work in Tokyo." "She got a job there?" "She doesn't have one yet." "You know Murai's daughter Hisako works in Tokyo." "She's a good friend of Chiyo's so she's counting on her for finding a job." "Hisako works for a big company in Marunouchi!" "Oh, is that right?" "Here's the bus." "Mom, Dad, please take care of yourselves." "Take care." "And please say hello to Brother." ""1-78 Shirogane-dai cho, ShibaWard, Tokyo"" ""Cafe (bar)"" "Excuse me, I'm looking for Mrs. Okada's house..." "Well, there's a Mrs. Okada living in that house right there, if that's the one you are looking for." "What's her first name?" "Actually I don't know her full name." "I've come to see Murai Hisako, who lives in Mrs. Okada's house." "Murai Hisako... the name doesn't sound familiar to me..." "Well, thanks anyway." "Wait!" "I'm going to ask them so just wait here." "Shigeyo!" "Isn't your real name Murai Hisako?" "Someone's here to see a certain Murai Hisako." "Yeah?" "Who could that be?" "Chiyo!" "Hisako!" "You must be surprised to find me in a place like this." "What brought you here all of a sudden?" "Sorry I didn't tell you that I was coming." "I wanted to surprise you." "I see." "Anyway let's go somewhere so we can talk." "I'll take this inside for now." "I'll be back in a second." "Who is she?" "A friend from my hometown." "Hey, can you lend me 50 sen?" "I've been feeling bad not sending you and my family any news." "It's not that I wanted to become a hostess, you know." "I spent a lot of time looking for a job, but there wasn't really anything else for a woman coming from the country." "Is it that difficult to find work here?" "They don't bother to hire country girls like us when there are already plenty of people desperate for work in Tokyo." "I see." "It's no good being a hostess..." "At first you tell yourself that it's just a temporary job, that you have no choice because you need to earn your living." "But then at some point you realize you are trapped and can't get out of it anymore..." "Can you make money working as a hostess?" "I wish I could." "It's actually pretty miserable." "But I've also learnt many things doing this job." "Don't you think I've changed a lot?" "I think you'd be better off at home and getting married there..." "I don't want to stay in the country." "Life is hard over there." "Besides, once my brother gets married I'll be quite useless at home." "I'd rather be poor in Tokyo than in the country." "But if there's no job for me here..." "Don't be discouraged yet." "You might find something if you try." "I'll ask Mrs. Okada so you can stay with us for the time being." "She is a nice person." "Her husband is there only once in a while." "It's not a very quiet place, but you would find it interesting there." "I'm thinking to become a dancer." "Maybe that's a good idea for you." "Hey, how do you write "to meet" in kanji?" "Writing a letter to him again?" "'Cause he hasn't shown up at all these days." "Are you sure that's how it's written?" "Why don't you write in kana then!" "You can't play here!" "Huh!" "You stingy ass!" "Get lost!" "Excuse me." "Is the manager here?" "Madam!" "Come on in." ""Hostess Wanted"" "Can't find it!" "Business is slowing down here too, but I'll take you if you want." "Thank you!" "Shigeyo!" "She's new from today." "Please introduce her to everybody." "What's your name again?" "Teruko." "Okay then, show her the place, Shigeyo." "Come this way." "Shigeyo, your client looks bored." "Why don't you ask if he wants some more tea?" "You can keep your stuff in here." "She's my friend Chiyo." "This is Teruko, she just got hired today." "You must be bored, Chiyo." "You can hang around downstairs if you want." "But I don't want to bother you at work." "Don't worry." "We are not busy at all now." "Come downstairs and listen to some music." "You can drop in and get hired just like this?" "Well, she looks quite used to it." "Who knows, tomorrow I might pack up and go somewhere else just like her!" "Madam, can I have a cigarette?" "You are not too bored staying here?" "No, not at all." "Business is so slow these days!" "We only get cheapskates like him over there!" "Look!" "He's trying to win Fuji!" "Poor Fuji!" "Fuji's not as naive as you think." "What's going on now between Fuji and Mr. Ogawa?" "Looks like Mr. Ogawa is not interested in her anymore." "Mr. Ogawa is the best client we have!" "I want to have a client with lots of money!" "I wouldn't mind if he's old." "I'd seduce him!" "But you always end up falling for a guy first!" "Yeah, that's true." "I guess I'm too naive." "It would be hard for her to find a good job." "There should be something for her." "She's good-looking and well-behaved." "Why don't you ask her if she wants to work here for a while?" "This kind of work is not for her." "Have some tea with us." "Thank you." "I'll introduce you to my workmates." "Come." "This is Teruko." "She's going to work with us from tonight." "A nice kimono she's wearing!" "I wonder where she worked before." "So how old are you?" "I'm 22 already." "I stayed in my hometown too long." "I suppose there aren't many jobs for women of my age." "Well, you never know." "Here's a payment from Mr. Yamazaki." "One yen and twenty sens." "Is he leaving already?" "You should be careful." " I heard that he's been cruising you." "You're kidding!" "What did he say to you?" "He asked me to come to a spa with him!" "What does he take me for?" "Too bad it wasn't Mr. Ogawa asking you that!" "Oh, I wish it were him!" "Mr. Yamazaki seems quite generous to you but not to us!" "I heard he has a lot of money." "Then why don't you make him spend more for us!" "Is he the only client tonight?" "Yes." "I probably won't get a turn tonight." "It's still early though." "Chiyo, let's take a walk a bit and check out some stalls on the street." "It's your turn!" "You've got two of them!" "What would you like to drink?" "Two cups of coffee." "And will you leave us alone, won't you?" "We need to have a secret talk." "Hey, can we talk?" "Go ahead." "I'll catch up with you." "Do you have some money to lend me?" "No, I haven't got any." "Business is slow these days." "Can't you borrow some again for me?" "No, I can't." "I still owe them for the last one." "What's the matter?" "Who is he?" "Well, maybe I should tell you about it." "So?" "That man, he is my..." "Well, you know." "It's my fault." "He didn't trick me into all this, it's just my fault." "What does he do?" "He's just a loafer." "I'm such a fool." "I don't feel like changing my job anymore, and I can't go back home either." "I'm stuck." "Shigeyo!" "Shigeyo!" "Maybe we have more clients now." "I'll be fine by myself." "Okay, I'll see you later." "Fuji just stepped out but she'll be back in a minute." "Where's Fuji?" "I don't know." "I feel like drinking tonight." "Would you buy me a drink?" "Here she goes again!" "I'm in the mood too." "Let's drink all together!" "Excellent!" "You are going to get drunk like last time." "I'll be okay." "I feel more like eating than drinking." "You think about food all the time, don't you?" "That's not true." "I think about romance too." "Look, she's a beauty!" "Hey, you wanna have fun with us?" "What's the matter?" "I don't feel well." "Have you drunk too much?" "It's not good for you to drink like this, you know." "You are back already?" "There were drunks on the street and they started teasing me." "So I came back running." "I got so scared!" "You can go to bed if you want." "You don't have to wait for me." "How is she?" "Once she starts drinking she doesn't know where to stop!" "She just gets drunk easily." "She's so reckless." "I'll do it." "Thank you." "Come lie down here." "Fuji's not back yet?" "What happened to her?" "This is her stuff." "She didn't leave anything important here." "I guess she's gone for good." "I think she took off with Mr. Yamazaki." "Were you listening to our conversation?" "With Mr. Yamazaki?" "I can't believe it." "Well, who knows?" "She's clever enough." "Madam, it's closing time." "Okay, I'll go close the door." "I'm sorry, I was feeling very lonely." "Are you all right?" "I'm all right." "Oh, this is Mr. Ogawa's pen." "Can you bring it back to him?" "He should be still around." "Akiko!" "Akiko!" "Get up!" "Are you all right?" "I'm all right." "Where's Mr. Ogawa?" "He just left." "Why?" "This is his..." "Just keep it, he'll come back again." "Or if you go now you can still probably catch him." "Excuse me." "Here." "Shigeyo forgot to give it back to you." "Oh, thank you." "Do you feel sick?" "Do me a favor please." "Bring me some water." "Did you find him?" "Yes." "I came to get some water for him." "He's not feeling well." "So you are taking care of him?" "That's very nice of you." "Thank you." "What's your name?" "My name is Chiyo, but I'm not a hostess there." "Oh, I didn't know that." "Excuse me." "It doesn't matter." "I'm staying with them." "Is that so?" "Well, thank you very much." "I guess I'll see you again soon." "Good bye." "Don't worry, I'm not going to eat everything." "What is good for hangovers?" "I've got a terrible headache." "The best cure for it is to drink more." "Really?" "I'm only kidding." "Go to the pharmacy and ask them." "It's kind of embarrassing." "How about this one?" ""Female clerk." "Several positions available."" "Sounds good, I'll write it down." "There are not many jobs around." "No job but instead there are many people killing themselves these days." "Like this one here." ""A business man and a hostess commit double suicide."" "How horrible!" "The guy embezzled money from his company." "Really?" "I wouldn't mind committing double suicide if the man is someone I love." "No way!" "I don't want to die." "If you truly love each other you can live happily even if you are poor." "It doesn't always work like that, unfortunately." "Do you want me to wash that too?" "No, it's okay, I can do it myself." "Well, actually, I'll let you do it." "Compared to Michiko, Fusako is way too naive with men." "You don't know how many times she's been dumped by men!" "And she doesn't seem to have learned her lesson!" "Fuji, the girl who ran away last night, is quite young but already shrewd and knows what she's doing." "They didn't choose to live like that, you know..." "Akiko is a sad case." "Her parents beg her for money all the time, so even though she's the least experienced of all you never know what will become of her in a few years." "I'm only a country girl so these stories are beyond me..." "I feel scared." "It's actually good that you can still feel scared." "You must be careful." "You see, you meet a man that you find honest and sincere, and he'll turn out to be only a coward." "And if he looks reliable and you trust him, then he'll cheat on you at some point." "That's how men are." "But I hope you will find someone good and get married before it's too late." "If I were to marry, I wouldn't mind being poor as long as I can get along with my husband and be happy." "What's wrong?" "The cook got on my nerves so I ate all the rice he had." "What a girl!" "Did you get anything?" "They gave me this." "What is it?" "Medicine?" "It's for headache." "Oh, not for stomach?" "I'm going now." "Good luck." "How many places are you visiting today?" "What are you doing here?" "Thank you for your help last night." "What's up?" "I'm looking for work." "Oh yeah?" "Well good luck." "Do you work around here?" "Yeah." "Why don't we go for tea somewhere?" "Well..." "Are you in a hurry?" "Then let's go." "Don't think about becoming a hostess." "It's not good for someone like you." "But there aren't many jobs these days." "I'm sure you can find something." "I'll help you out." "Thank you so much." "You see, I go to bars because I'm single and sometimes I feel lonely." "But honestly, some of the hostesses I see in those bars are pretty sad I find." "I head some stories too and they were very shocking to me." "I got terrified." "I'm such a country girl..." "I like country girls." "Much more than those from Tokyo." "Don't end up working in that bar." ""Hostess Wanted"" "I thought we just took off the old ad but now we are putting up a new one already!" "We'd better make a signboard so we don't have to write on paper each time." "Who wrote it by the way?" "I did." "Not bad, eh?" "There's something strange..." "I don't think the kanji for hostess is correct." "Of course it's correct!" "It's got to have the "woman" radical since it means hostess, and..." "Are you sure?" "It looks strange to me..." "When do you think you get answers from the places Mr. Ogawa found for you?" "Well, there were two places and one of them said no already." "They wanted someone younger than me." "You still have the other one." "I don't think I have much chance for that one either." "Don't be so pessimistic." "Where are you going now?" "I think I'm going to do some shopping." "Okay, so see you later." "What are you doing here?" "Oh, nothing." "Did you find anything yet?" "Not really." "I asked the other place but they said they had already taken someone." "Thank you anyway." "Don't be discouraged yet, there are some other places we could check out." "I don't want to go back home now." "I'm starting to think that I should work as a hostess until I find something better." "Do you think that's a bad idea?" "No, I don't think it's bad to become a hostess." "Not all hostesses are bad after all." "It all depends on the person." "Won't you despise me though?" "Well, as I said, it depends on the person." "Will you still talk to me?" "Of course I will." "But with my salary I won't be able to see you in the bar too often." "It's not a good place to go very often anyway." "She's pretty good, that new girl." "I wonder if you think she's better than Michiko!" "Oh, don't bring up that thing again!" "Aren't you getting used to the job now?" "Well, I still feel a bit strange though." "That's normal, it hasn't been a month even, you know." "I wonder if I'll end up staying like this." "Don't worry, you can get out of here as soon as you find a better job." "Mr. Ogawa is helping me out to find a job." "I've noticed that he's been here almost every night these days." "I bet he has a crush on you!" "You like him too, don't you?" "You'd be happy with someone like him..." "Shigeyo, do you know how much he makes?" "Well, well!" "That's a strange question to ask!" "What have you got in mind?" "Because he comes to the bar every night." "Are you worried about his money?" "He must be making a decent income." "Did he ask you anything yet?" "What do you mean?" "I mean did he propose to you?" "Oh, Shigeyo!" "But actually he said to me the other day;" ""If I were to marry I'd like to marry someone like you."" "Oh, I'm jealous of you!" "But...you know you still have to be careful." "Hey, don't!" "Get out of here!" "Get out!" "Damn you!" "You'd better go!" "Go!" "I'm scared!" "I wish I were there to see their fight!" "They made a big scene." "Too bad we are not going to see Michiko anymore." "Their fight is not over yet!" "Should we make a bet on this?" "Hey, go away!" "By the way, Chiyo is a nice girl." "Can I ask her to come join us here?" "Oh, forget it." "You behave yourself." "If you can bring her here I'll buy you a drink." "Well, then..." "Don't do it, Fusako!" "Listen, I'd miss you but I think it'd be better if you came less often than you do now." "Why?" "You are spending a lot of money here." "Don't worry about it." "While I have money I want to see you as much as possible." "That's very nice of you." "Wow, I've drunk so much!" "Are you all right?" "I feel a bit hot." "But feels good." "I told Shigeyo about you today." "What did you tell her?" "Well, I feel shy..." "What?" "Tell me." "Ah, forget about it." "Would you like more drink?" "Yes, please." "Listen, Chiyo..." "Hey, stop it!" "Your face is all red!" "Did you drink a lot?" "I feel so good." "Shigeyo, let's drink!" "Why don't you take off your hat?" "I'm so happy." "Really happy." "We will be the happiest couple and everyone will envy us." "We'll find a house once we get back." "I wouldn't mind living in an apartment, but we'd feel much more comfortable in a house, even if it's small." "What's wrong with you?" "Nothing." "You seem to be in a bad mood." "Oh, it's nothing really." "Don't worry about it." "Listen, let's get off at the next stop." "Why?" "From there we'll take a car." "It's nicer to travel by car." "But if we do that we'll waste our train tickets." "It's not a big deal." "And we'll have to take a car anyway once we get there." "Well..." "Let's forget about it." "We'll stay in the train." "Good." "It's better like this." "You know, Fusako and Shigeyo were envious of our trip." "I'm surprised myself to see how things turned out for me." "I didn't know Chiyo was going out with Ogawa." "Well, too bad for you." "Oh, I don't really care." "But you look disappointed!" "So Chiyo is going out with Ogawa..." "Shigeyo!" "What's the name of the guy Chiyo's going out with?" "Is it Ogawa?" "I need you for a minute." "Yes, his name is Ogawa." "Since when has he been coming here?" "I think since April, but I'm not so sure..." "Does he come here every day?" "Not at the beginning, but recently he's been here almost every night." "Thank you very much." "You may go now." "What's going on?" "There's a detective asking about Mr. Ogawa." "Room fees are 3, 4 or 5 yens depending on the services." "We'll take the best one." "What about supper tonight?" "We already ate on the way." "Chiyo, do you want to eat something?" "No, I'm fine." "Just bring us some beer and snack." "And...do you have many guests?" "Yes, we have quite a few tonight." "The bath is ready for you." "We could've taken a cheaper room." "Oh, it's all right." "Let's just enjoy our luxurious trip!" "We won't have any chance to make a trip like this later." "That's really nice, but we also have to think about expenses we'll have to pay when we get back." "We'll deal with that after the trip." "Forget about money now and try to enjoy yourself." "But we are going to save money after the trip." "I have many plans for our future." "We'll need to buy things for you, for our house, and and for our baby." "That's right, we'll have to save money." "We can still be happy living a frugal life." "What's important is that we love each other." "I'm thinking about our life 10 years from now, or even 20 years from now." "Oh, I can't wait!" "We'll have a wonderful family!" "Will you love me forever?" "Oh, don't be silly." "You know very well that I will." "I'm so happy..." "Come here for a second." "It's so beautiful!" "The landscape reminds me of my home- -town and school days in the country..." "I envy people who grew up in the country." "It's not fun to grow up in Tokyo." "Everything changes so quickly that I can't recognize my old neighborhood anymore." "We will visit my hometown together at some point, okay?" "That will make my parents very happy..." "Newspaper!" "Newspaper!" "Should we buy one?" "Yeah." ""Man and hostess abscond with public funds and hide in the Izu area."" "Get ready quick, we are leaving." "What?" "Why?" "I don't feel comfortable here." "I know a better place." "Quick!" "I quite liked it over there." "But there was something wrong with that hotel." "What's the matter with you." "You look pale." "Nothing." "I'm fine." "Stop!" "Stop!" "What's going on?" "What's going on?" "Tell me, what happened?" "Chiyo," "do you love me?" "Why do you ask me now?" "Chiyo, let's die together." "Please." "Why all of a sudden?" "I'm a bad man." "I'm a coward." "I took money from my company." "Lots of money!" "I have it with me now!" "I could not stand my life." "There was no hope, no joy." "The time spent with you is the only happy memory I'll have of my life." "So I want to die with you now." "This may upset you but I came here to die with you." "But I never lied to you." "I truly love you." "Chiyo, if you really love me, will you die with me?" "No!" "No!" "You can't ask me that!" "Please!" "Die with me!" "I don't want to die!" "If we live and love each other strongly, we can have all the happiness we want!" "So please go to the police." "Please." "However long it may be, I will be waiting for you." "For goodness' sake, please give up!" "Please die with me!" "I don't want to die!" "No!" "I beg you!" "Die with me!" "I don't want to die!" "I don't want to die!" "Chiyo!" "Chiyo!" "Are you all right?" "You looked like you were having a nightmare." "Oh, I was dreaming..." "I had a scary dream!" "You were groaning." "Really?" "What made you drink so much last night?" "Did I?" "Don't you remember?" "I sort of remember vaguely." "Mr. Ogawa kept pouring for you." "And you drank yourself asleep in the bar." "No way!" "And what about Mr. Ogawa?" "Oh, he was quite shocked to see you behave like that." "No, just kidding." "He was worried about you." "You shouldn't drink too much." "I don't even remember how I made it upstairs." "You sure gave us much trouble last night!" "Though I do the same once in a while." "Do you think I upset Mr. Ogawa?" "No, I don't think so, but he may not come here anymore." "Why?" "He's going to be transferred to Sendai." "He said so last night." "He said he had already known about it for quite a while but hadn't told us because that would make him feel sad." "He was very generous last night, ready to spend all the extra pay he got from work." "He said it's a promotion." "Shigeyo, have I changed since I started to work here?" "What do you mean?" "Do I look like a bad girl?" "What's wrong with you?" "Of course you don't." "Why are you saying that?" "Good morning." "Chiyo?" "Yes, she's right here." "Chiyo, Mr. Ogawa is waiting outside to see you." "Good morning." "I want to talk to you." "Chiyo, I'm sorry for coming so early, but I wanted to say good-bye before leaving." "I just heard about it." "I don't really want to leave Tokyo, but since it's a promotion..." "That's very good for you." "I wish you the best." "Find a good job so you can quit here soon." "Here's my new address in Sendai if you ever want to write me." "Well, so long." "Good bye." "Take care." "So what did he say?" "Nothing." "Are there lots of ads in the paper today?" "Yeah, sure." "There are many." "It's a beautiful day today, isn't it?" "I'll cheer myself up and look for a job!"