"Episode 10" "Master Kikuhiko!" "I beg you, make me your apprentice!" "Please!" "I admire you so much!" "I want to learn rakugo from you!" "I will stay here until you accept me!" "Please!" "I beg your pardon." "Please, go inside without me." "Right." "Must be hard, being popular..." "Stop groveling already, and return to your parents at once." "I do not take apprentices." "The answer won't change, even until doomsday." "I don't have anything to teach anyone." "W-Wait!" "At least listen to my story!" "Please!" "I abandoned my parents and my village to come here!" "Everyone was against it!" "I don't have a home to go back to!" "If you can't even convince your parents, why would any audience listen to you?" "For your impudence, I will teach you one thing." "Today is a family performance." "What were you thinking, coming today?" "Yurakutei Yakumo  Kikuhiko Family Performance" "You ignored my master and embarrassed him." "That alone would be more than enough reason to refuse you." "Stage Door" "Authorized personnel only beyond this point" "That is what it means to be master and apprentice." "A respectable young man like you has no place in a vulgar trade like the arts." "This trade, as fragile as a soap bubble..." "That's a popular storyteller for you." "He's only been a shin'uchi five years and men are already coming to be his apprentice." "How very impressive..." "Master." "I'm so sorry about earlier." "There he is!" "Seventh Generation!" ""In a world full of falsehoods, the charm of a child remains the one consistent truth."" "Or so the saying goes, but..." "Master, are you here?" "Oh, the clerk!" "If you wanted to speak to me, I would have come to visit." "It's fine." "Are you free at the moment?" "Yes, of course." "Step right in." "My, it's quite a mess in here..." "Well, when a man lives alone..." "Master's "Kowakare"..." "What are you talking about?" "No one can tell this story better." "By the way, I had something to ask you." "What is it?" "The performance he's worked to perfection." "As you may have heard, my father wants to build a teahouse..." "The performance which Sukeroku nor I could ever hope to compete with..." "Yes, I've heard." "Are you Kinbo?" "Yurakutei Yakumo" "Daddy?" "Is that you, Daddy?" "!" "Kinbo..." "Look how big you've gotten!" "You've gotten big, too, Daddy!" "Don't get smart!" "Oh, I'm so ashamed!" "Who put this awful thought into your head?" "The mother finds the 50 sen he secretly got from his father..." "No, Mom!" "It's not bad money!" "She presses him over and over to tell her where he got it..." "Then what happened?" "Tell me at once!" "It was a gift!" "Who gave it to you?" "You won't tell me?" "Well, look." "Here's a hammer your father left here." "I'll give you a whack on the head!" "But it won't be Mom hitting you, this hammer is your father's own fist!" "It's just like your father hitting you!" "I really must thank you." "I'm so impressed that you raised Kinbo all by yourself..." "I give you my most humble thanks." "Really, I'm so grateful." "Isn't that nice, Kinbo?" "The three of us can live together again!" "Thank you so much, dear." "As they say, "Children are the clamp that holds a marriage together."" "I suppose it really is true..." "Master?" "I-I'm a clamp?" "Well then, Mommy..." "I guess that's why you hit me with the hammer, huh?" "What an excellent performance..." "Master!" "M-Master!" "Master!" "Master!" "His health's been so poor since his wife passed." "I hope it doesn't get any worse, but..." "Matsuda-san." "Your wife's not doing well either, is she?" "I'll look after him." "You go on." "I'm sorry to leave you at a time like this..." "Give the doctor my best." "Kiku." "It looks like this is the end." "It's all right." "I had a good life, with few regrets." "My name is the one thing weighing on my mind." "Now, don't be like that." "You really don't want to inherit it, eh?" "This name has too much history." "It's natural to find it too heavy, and to not want to take it." "I felt the same way, at first." "Let me confess something to you, Kiku." "Long ago, my father spoiled me." "I had no intention whatsoever of becoming a storyteller..." "Then, at the beginning of the Taisho era..." "An outrageous apprentice arrived." "You might be his son, but I'm gonna use my rakugo to make Master like me even more." "His rakugo was truly excellent." "As Father started to favor that man," "I hastily began studying rakugo." "But, I couldn't possibly compete with that man." "Blood has nothing to do with rakugo, you see." "On the contrary, it's an art where being too similar can hold you back." "So, I used my standing as his son to get my father to promise, in front of a crowd, that he would make me the next Yakumo." "I was convinced that by doing that, I could beat my rival in rakugo." "No one would speak up against a son inheriting from his father..." "However, everyone there must have known that man was more deserving." "I didn't know, back then, how much suffering this name would cause." "Soon after, the man left our house." "No one knows what happened to him after that." "His stage name was Sukeroku." "Sukeroku?" "Don't tell me..." "It's as you think." "The old man that raised him." "Did you know?" "His rakugo was a dead ringer." "I knew right away." "Since he told me he wanted to call himself Sukeroku," "I haven't known a moment's rest." ""Karmic retribution."" "Perhaps it was fate that he came to me." "I tried so hard to ignore it." "I told myself that he and Hatsuta were different." "But it was like a curse." "I became more and more stubborn..." "More determined that Sukeroku will never become Yakumo... and I lost one of my darling sons." "I truly am a weak man." "A sinful man, unable to forgive others." "To be honest, I don't really want to give the name Yakumo to you, either." "I know it's pathetic, so laugh if you want." "To be honest... that's something I've never liked about you." "Of course, there's much that I do like about you." "But that's one way in which I never want to be like you." "That's why I was able to do my own rakugo." "I couldn't become like anyone else, but that's why I am who I am now." "As an apprentice or a son, I'm glad I was able to come to you." "Thank you for taking me in." "I see..." "I'm glad." "Funeral Service for 7th Generation Yurakutei Yakumo" "Master..." "Thank you for serving as chief mourner today." "It was a fine ceremony." "And you didn't shed a single tear..." "You're so strong." "I've been crying ever since the wake." "They say giving your father a fine sendoff means you're truly an adult." "Everyone who attended said that you did a fine job." "Just like a true storyteller." "They'd never seen such a fine ceremony." "I feel like I'm supposed to be getting ready for something." "By the way, er..." "I do regret to bring this up, truly..." "But, on the matter of your employing me..." "Yes." "It seems my wife won't be recovering..." "I was hoping to take some time off..." "Oh, I see..." "Forgive me for making you worry about me, after everything..." "No, by all means." "Matsuda-san." "Thank you for doing so much for my father." "Let me drive you home." "You should have a drink." "We can reminisce about my father, too." "We'll have our own sendoff party." "Yurakutei Kikuhiko" "Kiku-san?" "Yes?" "Why don't we give you a new entrance song?" "It would be a nice change." "What would you like?" "I'll leave it to you." "I see..." "What about "Itako"?" "It's gentle, like you." "Now..." "I truly am alone." "It's quiet." "Yurakutei Kikuhiko" "How beautiful..." "The audience is cold, but of course." "My master's funeral was just yesterday." "They're worried about me." "What will I say?" "How will I act?" "Every one of them is watching like a hawk..." "It would be easy for me to do a sentimental story now." "That wouldn't be my rakugo, though." "Hello, there." "Over time, things fall in and out of fashion, yet the world of the gods never changes." "Yurakutei Kikuhiko" "Who the hell are you?" "Filthy wretch..." "Yurakutei Kikuhiko" "I, you ask?" "I am a shinigami." "Oh, hell!" "That means I'm gonna die soon!" "Are you the one behind this, huh?" "Enough." "I just want to talk to you." "Come this way." "Amazing." "I can see the shinigami perfectly..." "Clear as day..." "You don't even have to take a pulse." "Let me tell you something useful." "When a patient has been bedridden, a shinigami will be with them, either by their head or their feet." "If they're by the feet, the patient has life left in them." "If they're by the head..." "their life is all but over." "I see..." "Yurakutei Kikuhiko" "If you speak the magic words, the shinigami will leave them." "You'll become a fine doctor indeed." "This tension in the air..." "The mood flickers with a finger's movement..." "So, what are the magic words?" "Listen." "You must never repeat this to anyone." "Oh, no." "My voice is cracking..." "Ajaraka mokuren kyuraisu..." "Tegeretsuno..." "That's just right..." "Pa!" "Each of these candles represents a person's life." "Go on, look." "And that one there, about to go out?" "That's your life." "What?" "!" "Blinded by money, you wasted your life away." "Sorry to tell you, but you're going to die, soon." "While it's still burning, transfer the flame to another candle." "If you fail, you'll die." "Understand?" "I-I get it." "Th-The flame..." "The candle flame... be very careful..." "Yurakutei Kikuhiko" "Oh no!" "I can't do it!" "My hands... my hands aren't working right!" "You're trembling." "If you tremble, it'll go out." "If you tremble, you're dead." "Stop that!" "Shut up!" "See?" "It's going out." "It's going out." "Better hurry." "It's going out." "It's going out." "Going out..." "See?" "It went out..." "This is the solitude I have longed for." "Oh, Mr. President..." "You did a fine job filling in for Yakumo." "Thank you, sir." "He was counting on you quite a lot." "That name can't stay unused forever." "There's no one who can become the 8th Generation but you." "I really can't, though." "There's something I still don't understand." "You've been quite determined about that." "Don't make your elders think so much." "That said, someone who can say that may become an interesting master." "Well, my turn's up." "Think about it carefully." "Kiku-san, stop it." "You can't get back what you threw out." "That's not funny." "As if I'd ever take them in anyway." "They left you in the lurch, too, didn't they?" "We need to settle things with them." "Do you feel responsible for what happened?" "Think about it." "You think those two could make a proper life together?" "It's certainly hard to imagine." "Right?" "And they're raising a kid together, too..." "I want to tell him about Master." "And you want to get the stolen money back, don't you?" "The association told me to take time off." "Once I see him and know he's safe, I'll come back." "Men truly are fools, aren't they?" "She didn't write the return address, but it's better than nothing, I suppose." "Oei-chan, Sorry it's been so long since I wrote last." "I'm doing well." "Don't worry about me." "I'll pay back what I borrowed, I swear." "Be well." "She's practically asking me to come looking for her." "Excuse me." "Is there anywhere here that I can go to listen to rakugo?" "Well, that's an unusual question for a youngster." "There used to be plenty of places around, but not so much anymore." "Now they've got their televisions." "The world sure has gotten boring." "But..." "If you go down that road, you'll find a soba restaurant." "If you go there, you'll see quite a show." "Maybe I'll go fish up some bones, too!" "Iya Soba" "Hey now!" "Don't just take my pole!" "Nozarashi..." "Well, let's see if I can fish up some bones!" "Come on, bones!" "Hey!" "Jeez, like you losers could fish up good bones!" "When that old bell rings, the incoming tide turns south." "The crow pops out, and la dee da..." "Sounding great!" "I'll find bones there, ta-daa..." "Hey!" "Su-chara-ka-chan!" "Su-chara-ka-chan!" "Okay!" "Pay your fee here!" "I said fee, not feet!" "Old man." "If you listened, you gotta pay." "Ten yen per show." "Eat some soba, too." "Because you took up space here." "Do not call me old man." "You learned that rakugo from Sukeroku." "Who are you?" "Me?" "I'm Konatsu." "Next time, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju Episode 11." "We appreciate your continued support."