"When I started this film, there were 86 301 Yakuzas in Japan, spread over a number of crime syndicates." "Yakuza is a professional gambling word." "Literally ya-ku-za means eight-nine-three." "So, how is your son Naoki?" "At the moment, he's at home." "But I did want to speak to you about him." "I thought so." "In trouble again?" "He's always in trouble." "The police keep calling." "I don't knowwhat to do." "He doesn't even have a job?" "No, he does nothing all day." "Here's what I propose..." "You may think it odd but, you could send him to the boss." "He's a yakuza, no?" "Yes, he is." "No, I don't want that." "If it were another yakuza clan," "I would never have suggested it." "But everyone knows Kumagai here." "We've all known him forever, we know how he climbed the ladder to get where he is." "You can't go wrong." "But I could never admit it to my parents, or the people I know." "The yakuza world can be a place where he can learn good manners and perseverance." "Then he can decide iif he wants to be a yakua." "He's no Ionger a child." "He can decide himself what he wants for his future." "In any case, this apprenticeship will only last a year." "It goes by quickly." "I would never do anything without your permission." "But if you wish, I will speak to your son." " I'II go." " Fine." "May we come in?" "please excuse me." "This is Naoki, Mrs. Watanabe's son." "Delighted." "My name is Watanabe." "Sit down." "He told me about you." "You know your mother, you and I, are all from the same neighbourhood." "It's as if we were all the same family." "But tell me, what do you think of our milieu?" "To be honest..." "I don't really know any yakuzas." "I have ifriends who are ifamiliar with yakuzas from fiilms or books." "But I'm not really." "Until now, I know nothing about the milieu." "At the moment," "I don't have a steady job." "I do nothing all day." "I spoke with M. Imai who said this was a good chance..." "He advised me to come here as an apprentice." "I was just thinking that it was time to change." "I couldn't just go on doing nothing." "So, I thought that this was a good opportunity for me." "During your apprenticeship, you will see many things." "I am warning you, they will not all be positive." "Human relations are not always easy." "Of course, it is an apprenticeship, and your fiirst experience." "And everything you see, what you feel, every experience you have... whether it is good or bad, can be a lesson." "What you deem to be good, you will take on board, and what you deem to be bad, you will reject." "You will be your own judge." "Trust your instinct." "Good luck." "By the way, how old are you?" "20." "20?" "And that haircut is fashionable, for young men of your age?" "No, not really." "But I didn't have time to get a haircut." "If you want to be an apprentice here, you need to be free to move." "You can't have messy hair." "You need to have short hair to be able to react immediately." "Go to the barber tomorrow, get your hair cut." " Is that clear?" " Yes." "We will leave you now." "Goodbye." " Good luck." " Thank you very much." " How old are you?" " 20 years old." "You're so lucky!" "." " You think?" " Yes." "At 20, I was in a motorcycle gang." "Is that so?" "What about you?" " Yes, when I was 16." " Really?" " Just for a day." " One day?" "What put you off?" "In fact, what happened was... my friends absolutely wanted me to join." "They kept bugging me..." "I was going to say yes." "But then they wanted me to curl my hair." "A perm?" "I didn't want to." "I said if that was the condition, I would quit." "And you left after one day?" "Get changed." "You can't wear your own clothes anymore." "You wear this uniform." "You can throw out the rest." ""please excuse me."" "You have to bow low down." "Your arms by your sides, and really mean what you say." ""please excuse me."" "Again." "Yes, not too bad." "But really mean what you say." "When you're leaving you say'." ""Excuse the interruption."" "Yes, that's it." "In the morning, when the boss arrives'." ""Good morning, boss."" ""Good morning, boss."" "In here, are the boss's cups and glasses." " AII these?" " Yes, this is all for the boss." "Here, are the guest glasses, and here, the H.Q. chief's things." "Here, are the guest cups, and here, are our ones." "And all the dishes above, belong to the boss." "The shibori below right are the boss's." "Those are for the deputy chief, those for the H.Q. chief." "Here, there are less than usual." "They're for the guests." "Tht's the boss's kettle." "This one is ifor us." " Be very careful." " OK." "That's the boss's fridge." "Everything in there, is for the boss." "Can you get me a coaster?" "Is there a special way of folding the shibori?" "Yes." "We'II go in together." ""please excuse me."" "First, put down the shibori." "The name should be on this side." " The name on the cup?" " Yes, facing him." "You place the shibori on the right." "Then you say'." ""Excuse the interruption."" " How old are you?" " 26 years old." "I'm only 20." "You look older." "I get that a Iot." "You look much older." "Really?" "That old?" " Have I met everyone yet?" " Not yet." "It's stressiful." "At the start, that's normal." "It's stressiful." "Are there any scary ones?" "Scary ones?" "No, I don't think so." "Really?" "You'd think in a place like this, there would be." " Really..." " You're sure?" "It happens in the dirty city" "The concrete jungle" "You wander, bad boy solitaire" "Full of dreams You land in Tokyo" "In a state You understand nothing" "Freezing wind whips your cheeks" "In this shitty town You show your teeth" "You fight your demons At the crossroads, you must choose" "Life or death All or nothing" "Your life on the line No room for error" "In this concrete valley You're petrified" "You lose your bet Your dreams collapse" "It's a dead end Totally lost" "Left, right?" "No one to help" "Dead or Alive Always" "Wandering With no end" "Dead or Alive In this labyrinth" "Follow your path to get there..." "Companies and businesses use these stickers." ""No entry for criminal organisations."" "The police give them out." "The police bring together business owners and managers." "They're doing it everywhere." "They organise meetings in rented halls, or in their offiices..." "Anyway, it doesn't matter..." "In these meetings, the police... give out information... on the clans operating in such and such a zone." "In addition... the police give instructions to businesses." "They tell them not to give in to the demands of criminal organisations." "I think they give people" "lots oif iniformation they wouldn't normally have." "The fiirst time I saw that," "I was raging." "I thought:" ""Are they trying to abolish us?"" "Now, I don't even notice it anymore." "They made these stickers, they stick them up and won't let us in." "Let them!" "We'II fiind other ways of getting by." "The fiirst time I came to this neighbourhood," "I must have been 9 years old." "This shopping mall is the cheapest in all of Shinagawa." "At the time," "I lived in Oimachi with my family." "I remember we would come here by train to do our shopping." "I would never have thought that years later," "I would be the boss here." "Your tea." "Excuse the interruption." "Given his position in relation to mine, he can't come to see me to talk about his future." "I must make the fiirst move." "I'II choose the right time." "It doesn't seem like it, but when I'm in the offiice," "I watch the young guys myself." "It's stinging my eyes!" "." "Ikeda-san, you have a tattoo?" "Yes." "What's it like?" "Like that?" "No, mine isn't fiinished." "Only the outline." "It's crazy to be so tattooed." "It's cool." "It's really cool." " Do they mean something?" " Yes." "Everyone here has a tattoo?" "Yes, quite a few." "Do you want a tattoo as well?" "I don't know yet." "I have a small one." " A western one?" " Yes, a western one." "please excuse me." "That will be all." "Tht's fline." "According to my philosophy and that of my clan," "there's no point in forcing someone." "If a young guy wants to leave, it means he has his own reasons, of course." "Sometimes, I ask them for an explanation, but not always." "It depends on the person." "Each time is different." "In fact, it depends on his behaviour." "If 'it's a young guy who has really tried hard, who made a real effort, I ask him why he wants to leave." "If he's sure, I accept." "But in that case, there are rules to be respected." "I give him the conditions and he must disappear." "He must never use the clan's name, and never say he was in the clan." "It depends on the clan but I think there's no point in making them stay." "That's my philosophy and I don't intend to change." "Before, the custom was to cut off their little fiinger." "But if a yakuza did that today, he wouldn't be able to rejoin normal society." "If he's missing a fiinger, he will have problems fiinding a job." "I do not ifollow this practice." "But I order the man to forget everything he has seen." "Even to forget the name Kumagai." "Not to regret his choice." "And never to look back." "If he is ready to accept the consequences, he can leave." "He must never pronounce one syllable of our name." "And leave the neighbourhood." "Those are the rules to be respected." "Compared to before, I think it's easier." "Head into town Tokyo, capital" "Concrete walls baryour way" "Jump straight in" "Follow your path Don't stop" "Yo mother fuckin' Tokyo" "To the end of the world To the end of life" "Let's go..." "Hello everyone." "We'II start with the end of year clean-up." "To begin the New Year cleanly, and enable our boss and our executives to work well," "I will ask that you work hard and be effective." "Tomaru, Katsuhisa and Naoki, do the boss's offiice." "Someya, Shiraishi, Harada and Takagi, do the living room." "Shimoda, Nakahara and Kobayashi, do the cadet's room and the kitchen." "I want everything clean." "Hey, Kosuke, do you have posters at home?" "Before yes, but not anymore." "Tht's not really a poster..." "But usually, you put up posters of stars." "It's unusual to put a poster of yourself on the wall." "Well, I think so..." "But in the offiices of the other clans, they are even bigger." "Would you Iike to be like him?" "Become like him..." "Kumagai-gumi New Year's party" "I am Takashima." "Next year, I will try to be the best driver." "I am Sato." "Next year I will work hard." "I am Someya." "I will endeavour to take the honourable path." "You may talk among yourselves." "I now hand you over to M. Hideyuki Ishii of Kumagai-gumi." "It's been a busy year, and we thank the boss warmly for the precious time he has given us." "We will do three rounds of applause." "One of my men who was once my secretary was in court." "The judge asked his profession, and he answered yakuza." "He was asked:" ""What does that mean?"" "The term "yakuza" exists in the dictionary, but it is not listed as a profession, I think." "I was happy that my young guy said that." "In general, in court, we say we have no profession, or that we are self-employed." "But when we say that, we get:" ""But aren't you a yakuza?"" "Why bother saving face?" "It's no better to be unemployed or self-employed." "In that case, you might as well tell the court proudly: "I'm a yakuza."" ""I am a yakuza by trade." It's quite manly, no?" "The judge asked him: "What does the yakuza profession involve?"" ""Proving one's manhood."" ""You can do that in other jobs", said the judge." "I thought it was a good answer." "Whatever our job." "But I would have liked to know how he proves his manhood." "Our kind ignores the Iaw, or more precisely, we turn our backs on it." "We watch society from the shadows." "Today, yakuzas need to think about how they can go on doing what they do." "We yakuzas are now also involved in legal activities." "It has become more and more common in our milieu." "Despite this, we are still living in a parallel world, a world of shadows." "And that world... is still run by its own laws." "Even if national laws are getting stricter and stricter, the rules of our society still exist." "There is an offiicial society, and then, there's a line." "From the start of this filim, we agreed that we wouldn't show or mention what happens on the other side of that line." "I wish to begin the year with a few words." "Year 18 of the Heisei era begins today." "The situation is not good and we have to admit that things are getting harder every year." "But we, the members of the Kumagai-gumi clan are convinced that united we stand." "We will all give our very best." "We rely on your advice and your encouragement." "To fiinish up, Iet me wish you the very best for the New Year." "January 1st, year 18 of the Heisei clan." "New Year's greetings." "Chiyozo Ishii." "We rely on your goodness." "I'm counting on all of you to take care of your health and to do your best." "Come here!" "." "From Aniki." "I'm counting on you." "Now the service men." "Thank you." "Excuse the interruption." "Outlook average" "You're not eating my New Year dishes?" " Pass the meat." " You eat meat all year!" "." "Eat the sweet beans instead." "So?" " So?" " What?" " Are you happy with your life?" " Pfff." ""Pfff"?" " Nothing new." " What do you do all day?" "Housework." "What do you mean, housework?" "Where do you clean?" "What a question!" "Where do you think?" "You never cleaned here!" "Well sometimes, at night." "I have no choice." "Are you any good?" "I do the shopping." "I buy the ifood... for the meals." "You cook?" "What do you cook?" "I don't do the main course." "I couldn't." "You've never cooked, except for frying a few vegetables..." "I cut my fiinger, the other day." " How?" " Cutting Ieeks." " Can you do that?" " No." "To the right, the one with the gun." " The old bald guy?" " That's me." "Shhh, be quiet!" "How cool!" " You really like Sho Aikawa?" " I Iove him." " Really?" " I'm crazy about him." " I prefer Riki Takeuchi." " Oh no!" "In yakuza movies, there are never any offiice scenes." "Just one, in general." "What's a scene?" "It's too hard to explain." "You know, there's often a scene with someone who visits the boss." "But we don't see the yakuzas' daily life." "Well, I don't watch many yakuza fiilms." "I do." "What do you think?" "It's true, you're right." "The action all happens outside..." "Does it work?" "Naoki, speak to check." "Hello?" "Can you hear me?" "Yes." " So it's OK?" " Yes." "Thank you." "It's OK." "You all have one?" "Yes, all the security guys." " You too, one day, you'II have one." " Really?" " I'm off." " Bye." "When we shot the scene at the Shinto sanctuary, people thought I was an actor." "They asked for autographs." "I signed my name." "You know, Mum, it would be good if we saw your face at the end of the fillm." "Young people who join our milieu are often in need of love." "More than a new father, what they look for in people like me... with whom they have no family ties, is what they didn't get from their natural parents." "For them, we are" "like substitution parents." "And in exchange for our affection, the love we provide, a feeling of devotion is created that we call "giri"." "Hello, boss." "The Godifather died on May 29th." "As a personal gesture, I visit his grave, on the 29th of each month." "This is a souvenir oif the Godifather." "It belonged to him." "The Godifather was born... in the year of the dragon." "He had a dragon motif embroidered on this sweat suit." "I was given it after his death." "It goes together." "The Godfather was very elegant." "He was better built than me, but seeing as I have the honour of wearing this..." "I've already worn this sports gear, but not this shirt." "These souvenirs are dear to me, but this one..." "When I became the "direct son" of the godfather, he gave me this cup." "It means a Iot to me." "Of course, I am not alone." "AII of the Godfather's "direct sons" and all the clan leaders probably keep their cups careifully." "I imagine that the Godfather is alive in all our hearts." "I'm sure oif 'it." "In our milieu, it should be so." "When I became a yakuza," "I decided to leave my family, to cut all ties." "I gave everything to the organisation." "The fact of receiving souvenirs... and keeping them carefully" "reminds me of my real father whom I had forgotten." "Even though I own nothing of his." "Thank you." "Thank each other." "It's ifull downstairs." "W'ill we tell them to come up?" "Go open the door so that people can come up." "It's busy." "It's full here." "We should get people to go up." "Go to the foot of the stairs, open the door and let people up." "Public baths" "Hello." "Hello." "It's been a while." "Thank you for having the boys." "You're welcome." "I should thank you for the experience." "They are very happy." "Good." " Do you have some time?" " Yes." " Would you Iike some tea?" " Thank you." "Things are bad for public pools at the moment." "I even have time to have tea with you." "The clients arrive a Iittle later." "And don't your boys go to the public pools?" "You know, today, certain pools ban yakuzas." "Well, not all." "In any case, there is no problem here." "Come back any time." "You are welcome." "The other day my son told me he was doing the music for this filim." "I really don't understand young people's music today." "They call it hip-hop or something." "What is that music?" "I understand." "The boss is leaving." "You realise a person counts" "The dayyou lose them" "I was working at fifteen" "I took hits and I knew" "He showed me the way When times were bad" "He didn't speak, stayed calm" "Never easy answers" "You had to wait For a simple allusion" "That was the man's pride" ""One day, you'll understand"" "He seemed to say" "His huge shadow His strangely clear eyes" "Now I'm 22 I need to step up" "My name is N. O.F.E.A.R" "And I want to say How much I appreciate..." "It's nice today." "We're lucky." "It always rains for Sanja festival." "You know why?" "According to the deputy director, rain symbolises divine water." "The goddess Kannon-sama?" "She's always crying then?" "Maybe." "I don't know." "You think she does this out of love for us?" "Perhaps..." "I don't get it, I'm catholic." "It's about Naoki." "His uncle is not well," "I let him go an hour ago." "He'II keep in touch." "I gave him the day off." "please excuse him." "It's a pity, as he worked so hard," "I wanted to bring him to the Sanja festival." "Well, never mind." "I understand." "Stay at the offiice in case." "Yes, boss." "Hey!" "Which unit are you from?" "The 3rd or the 4h?" "They are 3rd grade students!" "Right, left!" "The local police can't handle it." "They've asked ifor back-up." "Really?" "There are buses oif riot police." "In any case, they're not funny." "If anything happens on the altar, they make people get down." "They're pretty rough." "They arrest people and beat them." "You will now head in the direction of... the 3rd district of Asakusa." "Good luck and be careful that everything goes well." "Yo mother fuckin' Tokyo" "To the end of the world To the end oflife" "Let's go..." "He's not here." "We're looking for Naoki since yesterday in the shopping neighbourhood." "We went to the pachinko, we looked everywhere, but can't fiind him." "And the offiice?" "He didn't come back to the offiice?" "No?" "I see." "Let us know if you hear anything." " He didn't come back?" " No." "Should we keep looking?" "Why don't we check the bars?" "I haven't seen Naoki ifor a while." "Is there a problem?" "I'm sorry." "We can't reach him since Sanja day." "He was a good worker." "What happened?" "I don't know." "I see." "I don't understand." "He left without saying a word." "I don't get it." "He just left, not a word." "I don't know..." "When a young man takes off, as we say in the milieu, in other words, he disappears..." "Of course, if I think about it seriously," "I think there's no point in running after him." "On the one hand, I consider it to be a betrayal." "At the same time, I feel like maybe I didn't do what I should to keep him." "I do some soul searching but in the end, he chose to leave while the others hang on and do their best." "Rules are rules and I must not be sentimental." "So, you could think that I'm insensitive, but I believe this coldness" "is necessary." "When a young guy leaves," "I have to think oif the clan fiirst." "A yakuza clan is an organisation like any other." "I am in charge of this organisation." "Even if I don't do everything from A to Z," "I have to think oif everyone." "It's like in politics." "As the boss," "I have to create this pyramid hierarchy." "Iif I act too quickly or if I am wrong about certain people," "I have to make it right." "As for Naoki, he was not an offiicial member of Kumagai-gumi." "His mother sent him as she didn't know what to do with him." "Tht's how he ended up here." "He was never a clan member." "His mother was tearing her hair out, and she asked me to step in." "I met his mother recently to apologise." "I didn't manage to educate him as I should, when he was my responsibility." "W'ill he come back or not?" "Truly, in this case, I don't know." "He is part oif this new generation." "They are another species." "Young people today have no reason to be attracted to our milieu." "Here, they have no freedom." "Financially, it's not worth it as they don't get paid." "And the hierarchy is very strict." "So, we have to reflect on how we can provide hope and dreams for the youth of today." "It's a real problem ifor us." "Summer days Time goes by slowly" "They are far away" "Those summer holidays" "We are still waiting For in our hearts" "Summer days Time goes by slowly" "They are far away" "Those carefree summer days ofyouth" "Buried in our memories" "The blinding light burns you" "The burning sun Gets hotter every day" "Soaring temperatures No pity" "I don't care about The tropical sun" "And everyone hopes For a midsummer's dream" "Nothing around me Lights my fire" "Just waiting in silence" "For the end of this lonely summer" "Sounds and images" "Bring back old memories To haunt me" "When I was a kid I ran barefoot" "Happy without a care In the hot days" "That summer won't be back" "You grow up The summer holidays are over..." "There they are!" "I have them!" "He ifound them." "Thank you." ""Mu"'. nothing" "There have been some changes in the clan." "Up until now," "I was an executive, in other words," "I had a management job." "I've always moved up and it happened quite rapidly." "But with these changes," "I've lost my position and now I'm nothing." "Of course... the reason I've lost everything," "is because... of the position I took that put my job on the line." "I am paying the consequences." "I was an executive and..." "I lost everything." "I am nothing now." "I have a clan," "I have men." "I want to start from scratch with them and rebuild." "Perseverance" "Father Toccoli, thank you so much for praying for me." "Tell me, you applied to become my secretary, didn't you?" "When one is a man, one has to move on." "The clan leaders discussed your application and the deputy director told me about it." "I answered that if you were really serious, if you were prepared to take on the role, then I agreed." "I accept your application." "Yes, boss." "So I'm asking you to become my secretary." "Good, boss." "Now that you are my secretary, you see nothing, you hear nothing, you say nothing." "I wanted you to know." "I'm counting on you to be a good secretary." "Thank you, boss." " I'm back." " Hi." "The fridge is empty." "Have a rest." "What are you doing?" "That's enough, Takahashi." " please." " You don't have to!" "I heard you answering the phone." "It wasn't bad." "But you are answering as my secretary." "You need to be more sure of yourself, and you calmly ask the caller:" ""Who is speaking?"" "If you are asked:" ""Are you Mr. Kumagai's secretary?"" "You answer confiidently:" ""Yes, that is the case."" "You have a Kansai accent." "There is no need to hide it." "Speak normally." "Be natural and use your own words." "Be sure oif yourselif." "I'm counting on you." "Iif today... a young guy came to the door and joined the Kumagai-gumi," "I don't think I would change much in my way of working." "Maybe I would change one thing." "Up until now, I must admit that I have rarely put myself in their place, even though I was once young myself." "I acted without thinking about them." "As a river flows downstream," "I thought it normal that decisions came down from the top." "I have to change that." "I think we need to give young people hopes and dreams for them to follow." "That is the problem I iface today." "It's not Iike the old days." "But like I said before, as clan leader," "It's up to me to make the decisions and I have to make all my men follow me without question." "At the same time," "I need to show my affection." "It is in that spirit that I wish to run my clan." "That is what I must do." "Oh!" "I shouldn't say "Oh!" but "Hey!"." "Otherwise, no one will come." "Hey!" " Bring me some tea." " Yes, boss." "Size XL, that should fiit him, no?" "We should get him warm trousers." " What about the top?" " A Iong-sleeved t-shirt." "It's better to open them." "It's a real shame about Ikeda." "When you're secretary, you should avoid hurting people." "How long has he been secretary?" "Three months, I think." "Is that all?" "I thought it had been longer than that." "It's such a shame." "He shouldn't have..." "Well, it's hard to say." "We weren't there." "It was a personal thing?" "Yes, I think so." "But we don't know." "Did the guy get out of hospital?" "I don't know." "Anyway, I think he went over the top." "It's such a pity." "Let's hope he gets out as soon as possible." "It won't be before the end of the year." "And now it's cold." "He'II be fline with this!" "Trousers, t-shirts..." "He'II be prepared for the cold." "Well, Iet's go?" "No Parking" "Boss, Ikeda was caught in the act by the cops." "But what exactly happened, according to him?" "He told me" "that a flight broke out between him and the victim." "But he says... that the victim started the flight." "He knows that... as he belongs to a criminal organisation, he must not attack civilians, or be violent towards them." "But the problem is that the victim was badly injured and he's currently in hospital." "Ikeda injured the other party, that's a fact." "So there will be damages." "Counsellor, do you think that the detention period will be lengthened and that there will be a court case?" "There's a 99%% chance, yes." "Because he's a yakuza." "And of course, because of the seriousness of the injuries." "Had the guilty party been a respectable person, in other words, not a yakuza... for this type of misdemeanour, he might just have had to pay a fline." "Things would have stopped there." "But Ikeda has a 99%% chance of going to court." "Of course, Ikeda did hurt this man, and he's a yakuza." "But did he overtly show that he's a yakuza?" "Did he mention the clan's name, during the altercation?" "No, not at all." "It seems to me that the fact that he didn't admit to being a yakuza is an important detail." "There's another problem." "He has a criminal record." "A criminal record?" " He was on parole." " When he was younger?" "No, recently." "For a misdemeanour he committed before joining the clan." "What did he do?" "Obstructing a public offiicer." "He spent a year in prison and had a 3 or 4 year suspended sentence." "So he's currently on parole." "He's on parole?" "I didn't know that." "Is that all?" "He also has an assault and battery conviction, but he just got a fline." "So he's a repeat offender?" "And this could have a serious effect on the sentence this time." "As you know, I work hard to educate my younger men." "But they don't always obey." "If we're talking numbers, day 1 corresponds to the day he was arrested, and day 22, to the end of his remand period." "I think it all depends on what we do during this period." "I heard ifrom deputy director that one of your men was arrested." "I hate to bother you..." "What's the problem?" "Tomaru, my cadet." "The one with the glasses, who lost them at the barbecue?" "Yes, exactly." "What's this about attempted racketeering?" "There's a petrol station he's always gone to." "One of the girls there... got pregnant." "But the man she was seeing did not accept his responsibility." "She called and called, but he didn't want to know." "So, she asked Tomaru for advice as she often sees him at the station." "Tomaru went to talk to the guy and naturally, they talked money." "It's natural, as there are medical fees to be paid." "The police arrested him on the spot for attempted racketeering." "I am so sorry." "This affair could have a bad influence on the other young guys." "Right now, when one man's in trouble, everyone is worried and it's hard for them." "I know you, I know how much you respect the family." "But recently, a number of our young guys have been arrested one by one." "Even Ikeda was arrested because he happened to be... involved in an altercation with assault and battery." "He's single." "He doesn't have a family to support." "When you have a family to take care of, things take on another dimension." "Does Tomaru have a ifamily?" "You know the situation." "And you're close to the young guys, you have to tell them to be careful not to be arrested for nothing." "She's here." "Are you OK?" "Come in." " This is for Tomaru's birthday?" " Yes." " What is it?" " A belt." "Can I borrow it in the meantime?" " No way." " Why?" "I want it to stay new." " Can I help myself?" " please do." "I hope he gets out." " Are you seeing him Monday?" " Yes." "My men will go with you." "Can you give him this?" "It's the case for his favourite glasses." "And something to clean them." "Put this with it." "So, how are you?" "Same as ever, OK." " What do you mean, same as ever?" " OK." "Even without your man?" "I'm just a Iittle lonely." "You feel lonely?" "She feels lonely." "Are you eating?" "Yes, I'm eating." " What are you having tonight?" " Pike." "You eat that on your own?" "She's unbelievable!" " You grill it?" " Yes." "Let him do it." "He's a cheif." " Did you talk to the lawyer?" " No." "According to him, it's delicate as Tomaru admitted openly to being a yakuza." "Initially, the prosecutor asked for fiive years." "Iif there's a suspended sentence, he will be sentenced immediately." "But because he said he was a yakuza and he's my adopted son... it could damage his chances." "We would love to help him, but it's impossible." "Yes." "If this happened to an ordinary citizen, he would be the one winning damages." "He would never have been arrested." "We have to see if we appeal or not." "I need to talk to Aniki." "Whatever happens, this must not cause trouble for Aniki or the clan." "Do you want to move in with us while he's away?" " No, thank you." " Does this bother you?" "She's refusing tactfully." "Not tactfully, but nicely." "I'm going to the prison." "Come in, please." "Mum, it's Hiro!" "What brings you here?" "I came to burn some incense for Shingo." "Can I come in?" " Did you remember the package?" " Yes, I brought it." "May I?" " What time are you going for?" " One thirty." "One thirty?" "Did you come alone?" "No." "Are my men with you?" "I'II go out to them." "It's cold." " Are you OK, holding up?" " Yes." " And how's Tomaru?" " Fine." " We went to see him, he was happy." " In good shape." "He was all smiles." "He's put on weight." "He seemed nice and warm, in this cold." "Everyone's bringing him sweets." "I hear he's getting tons." "Yes, every day." "He has spots all over his iface." "It's disgusting!" "It's because he's eating too much chocolate." "Really?" "Typical Tomaru." "He's so funny." "I hope he gets out." "It's touch and go." "He has a 50/50 chance." "Tell him I'm really worried about him." "Yes, I'II tell him." "Lay it on thick." "OK." "But you know, I just have 8 mn." "Tht's short." "8 mn alone, is quite long, no?" "There were three oif us." "We had no time and my mother kept talking." "I wanted to have a laugh with him." "We had a laugh." "But then," "I went serious, I had important things to tell him." "I told him and the time flew." "What are you talking about so loudly?" "About visiting Tomaru." "In any case, it gives him time to think and he seems fline." "He's thinking and constantly eating." "Cakes." "And he has the best wishes from Aniki and the boss." "Bring him this package from them." "Fine." "Tell him not to get down." "And that you are the lonely one." "Iif I can." "I only have 8 mn." " I have everything." " What did you get?" "Playboy," "Mapple and Shukan Gendai." " W'ill I put them in the bag?" " Fine." "Are you coming?" "We'II wait here." "You won't have much time." "And you'II be more comfortable If you are alone." "OK." "See you later." " Say hello from us." " I will, don't worry." "This is the fiirst time we have taken the time to talk." "Recently, the Iaw has become stricter with us." "You've heard?" "There's a new law." "When the police see more than three yakuzas together, fiirst, they are asked to split up." "If they don't obey, they're arrested." "And then we are banned from public places like hotels." "In other words, the state is becoming more and more strict with regard to our milieu." "You should be OK." "Me too, of course." "What do you think?" "People don't know what yakuzas are like." "I'm much more serious since I've been a yakuza." "I don't understand why we are discriminated against." "We are human beings." "Of course, we're not choir boys." "We do sometimes resort to violence." "Our species is shrinking and the rope is tightening around our necks." "When I was your age, about twenty, things were different." "At night, we used to replace the police." "Shopkeepers and businesses relied on us." "They were the good old days." "If there's one thing I regret, it's that you never experienced that." "It's a pity." "But even if times are hard today, we have to get by." "The laws change and are becoming stricter, we need to fiind solutions." "How do you think we will make it?" "Hi, Naoki." "It's been a while." " It's good to see you." " It's been ages." " You lost weight?" " I lost 15 kg." " 15 kg?" " Yes, 15 kg." "Was it tough on your nerves?" "Thanks for coming out here." "I was worried about you." "You look good." " What about you?" " I'm fline." " W'ill we go?" " Yeah, Iet's move." " Do you have any smokes?" " Yes." " Is that tobacco?" " What do you mean?" "You like smoking something else, no?" "It's cold, huh?" "Are you working at the moment?" "Yes, with asbestos." " Asbestos?" " Yes." "I remove asbestos." " Still risking your life." " Yes." "I am covered ifrom head to toe." "From head to toe?" "I Iook like a cosmonaut." "Me too, but rapping at the same time." "Oh yeah, you're a rapper." "I work on a demolition site." "A bit like me then." "I hope to make a living ifrom rap." "I hope ifor you." "But tell me, since you left the Mafiia, you must feel freer?" "Day to day." "Freer?" "I don't think tht's the point." "No one forced me to do what I did." "When you were in the Mafiia?" "Let's just say that I have more free time." "To hang out with you, for example." "And your mother?" "What does she think?" "She must have been worried." "Yeah, I'd say so." "I'm sure." "I'd imagine she's relieved but we haven't discussed it." "Until now, I never really did anything good." "But you experienced things that others never will." "Maybe." "In any case, we need to hang in there." "In life, there are good and bad people everywhere." "Maybe some day, another shock will make you lose 15 kg." "Another shock..." "Well, in that case... it's a bit pretentious, but you can say:" ""The empire of beauty is greater than the moral world."" "Some will understand." ""The empire of beauty is greater than the moral world."" "Yeah, that's cool!" " Can I claim it?" " If you Iike!" " So, then you can't use it." " Why?" "Because it's mine." "I'II have to ask permission." "W'ill we go?" "You walk like a yakuza." "It's the Naoki style." "The Naoki style?" "I'II do it." "Hey, take it easy!" "A bit much there!" "It's as if I were saying:" ""Out of my way!"" "Where were you anyway all this time?" "The empire ofbeauty" "Is greater" "Than the moral world" "The dream future is far away" "Flee reality Like you turn your back" "To reject and flee everything" "He had a dream but he lost" "A denouement planned By God and time" "The dawn of despair Where no light shines" "A denouement planned By God and time" "The dawn of despair Where no light shines" "Night falls Light slides away" "He can't take it" "He shrinks down Curling up" "Just waiting for The day to end again" "Till he bleeds One last time" "Out of strength He follows his dream" ""I'll show them!"" "This type ofphrase Gone for three years" "He bravely faced His destiny" "And many things happened" "Was he wrong in the past?" "Was this the wrong place?" "Would he be shamed?" "Broke, without music" "A denouement planned By God and time" "Even in confusion Always endure" "Give him the strength to go on" "A denouement planned By God and time" "The dawn of despair Where no light shines" "A denouement planned By God and time" "The dawn of despair Where no light shines" "Adaptation:" "Tresi Murphy"