"What time does it leave?" "23 past." "Soon, then." " Here." " Good luck." "Not yet?" "Mr Nireno!" "Mr Shoji!" "Going somewhere?" "My daughter's off to college." "Oh, really?" "Where?" "In Tokyo." "College in Tokyo?" "Isn't that something!" "Living alone in Tokyo?" "!" "That's right." "That's a big decision." "I guess you'll miss her, won't you." "Don't say that now!" "Why not?" "A Shunji Iwai Film" "Starring Takako Matsu" "APRIL STORY" "Uh, excuse me..." "Is Sakuragaoka Block 2 around here?" "This is Block 2." "Sakuragaoka 2, um... ...2-4-5..." "Oh, there..." "go straight ahead and turn left." "Could you back up a bit?" "Back, Back!" "Sorry to keep you waiting..." "hurry!" "Sorry we took so long." "Watch your step." "Don't hit your head." "Careful..." " Yes?" " We are here to deliver your stuff." " Thanks." " Could you prop the door open?" "Yes" "There...down on the floor." "Just wait here." "I'll help." "There's lots of it." "Just wait here." "OK..." "Hey hey hey hey!" "Small stuff later." "Big stuff first." "Let's go!" "No, no, the big stuff!" "Come on!" "The second floor..." "Newlyweds, I guess." " Do you want to come this way?" " No" " Excuse me..." " Look out..." "Oh, sorry...it won't all fit." "No, it won't." "Let's take some out." "Anything here you don't use?" " Um..." " Refrigerator..." "You'll need it, I'm sure." "Do you want to use this bed?" "Uh, yeah..." "How about this sofa?" "It's pretty big..." "You've got the bed." "So you might not need it..." "Mm..." "Dump it!" "You'll watch TV, won't you." "There's bedding for two..." "She won't need two." "She lives alone!" "What if a friend comes?" "No one comes." "No one ever stayed at my place..." " I need your signature here." " Huh?" "Oh, yeah..." "What should we do with this chair?" " You must like it a lot..." " Sure!" "Keep it!" "Sure." "Thanks a lot!" "Yes?" "My name's Nireno." "I just moved in next door." "This isn't much..." "It's just some beans from Asahikawa, Hokkaido." " Thank you." " Nice to meet you." "Same here." "Nice to meet you." " Are you a student?" " Yes." "I see." "Well, good luck." " Thanks." " See you." "Enjoy the sparkling beauty of the Cherry Blossoms falling in the wind." "But you are more sparkling than those flowers!" "The President will speak." "...no matter how global a perspective we take the 21st century will bring many problems and the ability to solve them..." "I'm Yumiko Kikuta." "I went to girls' schools, so I'm happy to be here." "My hobbies are piano for indoor, and tennis for outdoor activity." "Nice to meet you." "I'm Haruki Yazawa, from Tokyo." "My hobbies are American football and travel." "I was born in Osaka and moved to Tokyo three years ago..." "Saeko Sano." "I graduated from Nakano Municipal High.." "My hobby is fishing." "That's all." "Hi." "I'm Kei Takyo." "I went to school abroad." "Nice to meet you." " Nice to meet you too." " You speak English?" " Yes..." " Do you have any boyfriend?" "Not right now but do you know anyone special?" " Yeah, how about me?" " Sorry, you're not my type." "Come on!" "Just kidding!" "I'm Taro Ochiai, from Tochigi Prefecture." "I do judo." "I don't throw people around, though, so don't be afraid to talk to me." "You're next." " I'm from Fuchu, Tokyo..." " I'm from Tokyo..." " I'm from Tokyo..." " I'm from Fuchu, Tokyo..." "I'm Go Jibiki, from Fuchu, Tokyo." "I live alone, so..." "My motto is, 'get bigger everyday.' I'm Tadayuki Kawasa." "I'm Uzuki Nireno, from Asahikawa, Hokkaido." "I'm...cheerful by nature." "I like listening to records." "Nice to meet you." "Any questions?" "Is it cold in Hokkaido?" " Yes." " Everybody knows that!" "Are you good at skiing?" "Uh, no..." "Can't everyone up there ski?" "Well, not me..." "Why did you apply to this school?" "Sorry?" "The reason why you came here..." "Uh, well..." "I don't know...various reasons..." "It's a nice campus...maybe..." "Sorry." "Aren't you hot in that sweater?" "She is from Hokkaido, you know." " OK, you're next." " Who?" "Me?" "Can I sit here?" "What second language are you taking?" "Is French easy?" "I don't know..." "What was your name?" "It's Nireno." "Ms Nireno..." "Uzuki." "Uzuki Nireno..." "I'm Saeko." "Ms Saeko..." "Saeko Sano." "Saeko Sano..." "This food sucks." "You busy tomorrow?" " Huh?" " Tomorrow." "Sunday." "Uh..." "Want to go shopping?" " I can't tomorrow." " You're busy?" "I just moved here." "I've got to get everything sorted out." "Next time, OK?" "Sorry, what was your name?" "Uzuki Nireno." " Sorry to have kept you waiting." " Thanks." "Excuse me..." "I'm looking for a bookstore around here..." "It's called "Musashino-do"..." ""Musashino-do"?" "Straight ahead at the corner." " Left." " Left..." "Thank you." " No, no, that way!" " That way?" "Thank you." "Um..." "Yes?" "How late are you open?" "Till 6." " I see." "Tokichiro, that villain!" "We're all but done for!" "I can go no further..." "My lord!" "You must not give in to weakness!" "My rule was short, but I regret nothing!" "The time is changing." "This age of war will end." "One day a time of peace will come." "And that is my dream, My prayer!" "That is the reason you killed Lord Nobunaga at Honnoji Temple!" "Tokichiro is but an upstart." "No son of his will succeed him." "And so who will rule in the new age of peace..." "Yes." "Ieyasu Matsudaira." "A shame to commit my dream to him, but he will make it come true." "Mitsuhide!" "Who goes there?" "!" "A dream like that sits ill upon one such as you!" "Lord Nobunaga!" " This cannot be!" " A ghost!" "You think I did not expect treachery?" "What?" "!" "How could Tokichiro so quickly take the field?" "Then the man who died at Honnoji Temple was a double?" "Not a double." "That was Ieyasu." " Ieyasu?" "!" " Ieyasu, you say?" "!" "Lord Ieyasu?" "!" "He died for me as Nobunaga Oda." "And I will take power and rule under his name." "You will be Ieyasu?" "!" "But why such an intrigue?" "When this era ends, Ieyasu will rule as Shogun in Edo." "There was no other way I could take power." "How do you know that?" "Enough!" "You can think about that in hell." "It is my own sword that will send you there." "Prepare to die!" "Keep away!" "Damn empty cans!" " What day are you closed?" " Tomorrow." "Hey!" "Here!" "Here!" "Look!" "This is yours!" " Have you decided what club to join?" " Not yet." "How about fishing?" "Fishing?" "You mean fishing as in...fishing?" "It's fun." "'The Japanese Economy and the Movement to Direct Investment'." "Turn in your reports next class." "There's different kinds of fishing." "What we do is 'fly-fishing'." "Have you ever heard of it?" "It's a kind of stream-fishing, but you use these artificial lures." "Could you touch a worm?" "Of course not!" "You're a girl." "But even a girl won't have any problem with these lures." "It suits you." "I'll give it to you." "Did you see the film 'A River Runs Through It'?" "Brad Pitt was in it." " I saw it." " You did?" "That's fly-fishing." "Doesn't Brad Pitt get killed by a bear at the end?" "No, he doesn't get killed by a bear..." "Anyway, if you join now, you get your own brand-new free fishing rod." "Wow!" "An Obis #4!" "That's not a beginner's rod, you know." "Well?" "There they are!" "What are they all fishing for here?" "They're practicing!" "You've got a real arm there." " I do?" " Yeah." "Let me see..." "You should have a different reel." "It's like rhythm gymnastics." " Like that..." " Thank you." "An Obis #4 needs a CFO #3 reel." "This is the best of the best." "I'll lend it to you for a while." "Do you have any friends who might want to fish?" "Sorry?" "You can have that reel for free if you introduce a friend." "Saeko..." " 'Morning." " 'Morning." "What's your first class?" "Cultural Anthropology." "Mine's History." " I can't come to the club today." " Oh..." "Sorry." "See you later." " Do you want to quit the club?" " No." " You sure?" " Yes." "Excuse me..." "Sorry..." "Sorry again..." "Here it is." "5,000 yen change." " Would you like a cover?" " No, thanks." "OK." " Yes?" " Would you like to have dinner with me?" "Sorry?" "I made too much curry..." "Sorry." "I've already eaten." "Oh...all right, then." "Yeah...fishing." "Strange?" "You think so?" "I just wanted to do something new." "So I figured it might be good." "Here?" "It's warm." "It's like summer." "It cools off at night." "Someone's at the door." "Just a minute." "Coming!" "Is something wrong?" "I just thought I shouldn't have said no like that before." "That's OK." "If you've made too much, it seems like a shame to waste it." "No, that's all right." " Are you sure?" " Yes." "If there's any left over, I'd be happy to have some." "You would?" "Thank you!" "Yes, come in and have some, please." "Please." "Here." " Your door's a different color than mine." " It is?" "This way." "Thank you." "Oh, just a minute." "Please, sit down." "Here, I'll do that." "Thanks." "It's a nice room." "A real student's apartment." "Hello?" "Sorry..." "No." "The woman from next door." "I'll call you back later, OK?" "Yoshie?" "Yeah, I know her..." "Really?" "Fukatsu's cool, isn't he." "Which one is he?" "The club president!" " Oh..." " Well?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "You didn't have a boyfriend in Hokkaido?" "Someone you went out with..." "It was unrequited." "Same as me!" "What was he like?" " Really cool." "Smart." " Smart?" "Yeah." "Real smart." "You like smart guys?" "Not especially..." "Yamazaki went off to university in Tokyo last spring." "I was devastated." "Yamazaki" "Musashino University" "Have you ever heard of "Musashino University"?" "The one in Tokyo?" "It's famous." "Are you applying there?" "Musashino University, Tokyo." "My friend Onoda Natsuko said it was famous." "The sound of "Musashino" reminded me of him." "Musashino..." "Musashino..." "I read "Musashino" by Kunikida Doppo." "I didn't really understand it." "But after that, the place, the name "Musashino" rang in me like a summons." "Musashino..." "Musashino..." "Musashino..." "The image of him in an open field strumming his guitar was fixed in my mind like a picture in a frame that was screwed to the wall and wouldn't come off." "Uzuki!" "I spent the summer studying for my entrance exam." "A friend, Takizawa Mariko, who'd been down to Tokyo came to see me." ""Musashino" by Kunikida Doppo" "Guess who put the cover on that book." "Yamazaki!" "On the brown paper cover was the name of a bookstore:" ""Musashino-do"." "He's working part-time there." "Yeah?" "Thanks." "I love him..." "This writer, I mean." "Wandering in my own Musashino I'd stumbled on the place he was." ""Musashino-do" in Musashino." "I dedicated that last six months of my high-school years to "Musashino"." "Hello." "Um..." "Yes?" "Could I see this book, please?" "The one with the yellow back." "This one?" " Here." " Thanks." "Hi." "Excuse me, but..." "You didn't happen to go to North High School, did you?" "Yes, I did." "Yeah!" "You were a year behind me." "You remember me?" "Yeah...your name was..." "Uzuki." "Uzuki Nireno." "Why are you here?" " University." " Here in Tokyo?" "Yes." "Musashino University." "Yeah?" "Me, too." "What do you know!" "That's 2,930 yen." "From 3,030 yen." "You live near here?" "Yes." "Well, drop in again." "Yes..." "I will." "It's started to rain..." "Well, see you." "Umbrella!" "I'll lend you an umbrella." "Just wait there!" "That's OK, thanks." "It's not far." "Well, Sensei, let's have dinner sometime." "Mr. Kato!" "Do you have an umbrella?" " Is it raining?" " Yes, it's pouring!" "It's really coming down!" "No umbrella?" "Here, use this." "No, that's OK." "They'll have another one inside." "Could I borrow it for just a minute?" "I'll go buy one and come back here." "I'll be right back!" "Mr. Yamazaki!" "What's wrong?" "Maybe I will borrow an umbrella." "The rain's gotten worse." "You've already got one." "Oh, this..." "I borrowed it across the street." "Hang on..." "People forget them." "Take whichever you like." "OK, this one." "I knew it!" "I knew you'd take that one." "'Bye." "Wait a minute!" "That one's broken." "Don't worry." "No, wait a minute..." "This one's fine." "How about this?" "Too bright?" "This one's fine." "Really." "Are you still in a band?" "No." "How did you know I was in a band?" "You were famous back then." "I was?" "With me, at least." "I'll bring this back." "Forget it." "I'll bring it back." "OK." "Good thing you went to buy one." "They only had the one." "Thank you." "Did you find that on the street?" "Yeah..." "'Bye." "Thank you very much!" "When I made it into university Moriyama, my home-room teacher... congratulated me, saying "It was a miracle."" "But if it was a miracle I want to call it a miracle of love."