"Since my birth, I've slept more than 10,000 times." "But I've never had a dream of myself flying like a bird." "This is the sound of a moving train in Yun Nan, China." "The news is: this is where I am now." "Ah...for the past few days" "I had to cope with both my former assignment, and the new one which jumped in." "It's been so chaotic that I haven't had time to record my diary." "Things have finally settled a bit now, that's why I am recording this." "This business trip was decided about a week ago." "Ah..." "I guess it was about then." "Originally, concerning the stones in Asia." "Mr. Okamura was in charge." "Mr. Okamura was rushed to the hospital." "what lead to that concerns Mr. Okamura's privacy" "So I will refrain from recording it." "The fact is, I've been chosen to replace him and have been sent to Yun Nan." "I don't know how it will turn out." "but when the manager begged me" "I couldn't refuse." "But concerning stones such as jade" "I have very limited knowledge about them." "I would be lying if I said I were confident about it." "I've been busy as hell and don't remember what I've been doing these past few days." "I even had a wild wish that the airplane would fly slower." "Anyway, I came to China for the first time and am now on a train." "If I keep riding this train, it would go to Cheng Du." "I am..." "I am suppose to get off at..." "I don't know how to pronounce it." "There I am supposed to meet the guide who knows about the vein of jade." "I hear his English is hopeless, but is fluent in Japanese." "I'll ask him to record later." "Bye for now." "PS, judging from what I ate a while ago food here seems to be high in fat." "I might have to watch the calories." "Maybe..." "Japanese?" "From your fine attire, I presume you are Mr. wada." "Mr. Shen?" "Please speak into it." "It's running." "I am Shen," "I have met Mr. wada for the first time." "I will give him wholehearted treatment." "This is okay?" "I'm bashful." "Thank you very much." "You are pervert." "Mr. wada has arrived." "Mr. Shen..." "Please, please get in." "Thank you." "Hey, you. when you expect to eat?" "Oh, ah... whenever you two are hungry." "Okay, okay." "what?" "Stop!" "Move over!" "You're the one." "My, my." "How nice to see this!" "Best memory of that summer!" "So you brought along a companion with you after all." "You must tell me beforehand or else I would be confused." "Close it." "Excuse me. who are you?" "My companion?" "Mr. Shen." "Get out." "Don't be fucking cute." "You're supposed to welcome me and show me around, huh?" "why are you doing this?" "I don't know what's going on." "I really don't know." "Heard you." "I know what's's going on." "But I don't." "You guys..." "I came to make sure you're not eating the candy alone." "Candy...?" "That's a metaphor you dummy." "Is your brain fucked up?" "Because your company doesn't pay back the money we loaned" "I come to collect." "Comprendez?" "I have to deal with this idiot." "Okamura isn't faking his illness is he?" "No." "He's really in the hospital." "I've got one of my men watching him." "So if you're lying..." "I'm telling the truth." "It's the truth." "why did he suddenly get the hernia?" "If you're lying, I'll make you have hernia too." "I'm telling the truth." "Excuse me... what?" "what is this debt you're talking about?" "You're company kept stalling the payment with some fucking excuses." "But finally gave us word that you'd pay back with this precious stone or something." "You brought us this story about a vein of precious stones." "Then you suddenly said it was no good." "wait a bit more my ass!" "Are you talking about jade?" "Yeah, that." "You know about it." "But, listen to this." "After a while in the same area where they found the stones." "a major jeweler found a different vein, a big one." "Oh yes, you mean that American jeweler." "Did you sell the information and get a kickback?" "No of course not." "I don't give a fuck." "but my boss and other members of the family firmly believe so." "He doesn't want that to happen again." "That's why I ended up here." "Hey, Ujiie." "You like Chinese food, don't you?" "Don't you?" "Comprendez?" "Huh?" "Think of it as a chance to enjoy genuine Chinese food." "Chinese food." "Hey." "The door is gone." "why is a door...?" "It is this car's door." "The door." "The door." "Door." "Door." "Terrific way to start out." "Hey that...." "Hey why is he starting the car?" "what about the door?" "The door." "The door." "It is because he has no rope today." "Rope?" "Hey, hey. wait a minute." "wait." "Dammit." "Okay, okay." "Nobody will steal that door." "Possibility is very low." "Dammit." "I'm not worried about the fucking door." "what the fuck!" "I saw that." "Did you see what I saw?" "." "I saw it too." "The dead-beat driver is whistling." "Change the car, how can I ride in this?" "God dam!" "Can you believe it?" "This is Yun Nan, and my butt is sore." "Now, behind a thin wall a yakuza is taking a shower." "I must sleep with him in the same room." "The piece..." "The piece..." "There's no hot water." "Shen!" "Shen!" "Dirtbag!" "The water is cold!" "You came all the way here. why don't you look around a bit?" "Tasteless bastard." "I'm here to work." "Must study a bit." "They're only stones." "You don't care about the quality of..." "Fuck you." "watch your mouth!" "Any complaints?" "Take it easy, this town will soon have airport." "Then work will be easy." "More ethnic costumes, more tourism." "Then you can give him special treatment." "next year." "There's one thing I'd like to confirm." "Our so-called destination... for us foreigners it's in the restricted area, isn't it?" "In such a place would it be possible to do business?" "Okay, okay." "It is restricted, but it's not a military zone." "Go and see if it is worth doing business." "If you think it is good anything is possible in recent China." "Then how come foreigners can't go in?" "Because it is a real remote place." "Committee doesn't know it well either." "There is old man who does not know Mao Tse-tung." "About him being dead?" "No, about such man existing." "Good evening." "Are you here on business?" "Good luck." "Hey." "He's Japanese." "You forgot something." "Thank you very much." "what is this?" "A man with wings." "Is it from ancient times?" "Yes, it was found in the upper part of Hakkaido." "Also in Kyushu." "At northern and southern tips of Japan." "I came to look for it here." "Here?" "I see." "Hey, let me see." "Did they find the same thing in China?" "well, not yet." "But they say Yun Nan area is the origin of Japanese culture." "Legends such as Hagamoro still remain." "what was that about?" "The beautiful woman?" "The woman who flew down from Heaven," "So that's why." "Great dreams." "For the romance?" "No, nothing like that." "Goodbye." "I hope you find it." "The woman from Heaven." "Yes." "Mr. Ujiie, I didn't know you... what?" "Ah..." "Nothing." "Hey, wait!" "The umbrella." "Dammit." "Come here." "God dammit." "It was fine. why rain all of the sudden?" "But I've got stomach trouble." "Can't quit now." "Dammit." "You want to take a crap too?" "Do it." "Join the fucking embarrassment." "why are you looking down on me?" "wanna die young?" "Ouch, goddam." "what're you stopping for?" "Oh my." "This is fucking terrific." "Road ends here." "Carry your own luggage." "After we enter the village we have to climb one mountain." "what the...?" "Okay." "Okay." "You already came 90% of the way." "Just a bit more." "Going through all this fucking trouble for money?" "If it weren't work, I wouldn't be..." "And you Mr. Ujiie?" "Fuck you." "Gotta set an example for my men." "God dammit!" "what the fuck am I doing?" "Don't fuck with me." "Don't fuck with me, you dirt-bag." "Don't fuck with me." "How is it?" "You've got your passport, haven't you?" "Forget about the things you can't find." "Forget it." "They're only clothes and things." "Our bags were blown away by the storm." "and the precious documents became breakfast for the goats." "The Village." "The Village." "we've arrived. we've reached the fucking village." "Fuck you all. we've made it." "Hello...hello...hello." "Sure have the balls to draw electricity to this place." "Fucking right?" "Hey..." "Now that we've reached the village see the fucking stones and leave." "I'll buy you clothes." "No thank you." "Come on." "No thank you." "Come on." "Don't be a sour puss." "You get on my fucking nerves." "You're a real smart ass." "Hey." "Hey." "Hey." "Sorry." "I'm sorry." "which is it?" "Are you sorry or not?" "I'm sorry." "I said I'm sorry." "Don't think you can boss me around all the time." "You Yakuza dick head." "I've had it with you." "Damn you." "You slimy bastard." "what the hell is that?" "Something to instantly blow your brains out." "Never heard the real thing, have you?" "No, no, no." "Love and peace." "Love and peace." "You have to be friends." "I got the boat." "A boat?" "what...?" "Floats on water and people get on." "I fucking know that." "Isn't this the destination?" "No." "Two more days." "Two more days?" "You said we've come 90 percent of the way." "Mr. Ujiie." "Came from Tokyo, huh?" "That doesn't fucking count, dammit!" "dammit!" "." "what the...what is going on?" "what in the world is this?" "with power." "Probably nicest power from Earth environment." "P...power?" "Power?" "..." "For what?" "For that, over there." "That's a fucking raft." "In Japan, we call that a "raft"." "Japan is so difficult." "what's with him?" "He is from around here." "He will never go downstream." "Upstream is where living things are born." "Downstream is where things die, he thinks." "But it is okay." "Because of that belief almost nobody knows this route." "what the fuck." "what the fuck." "what the fuck." "what the fuck." "what the fuck." "Okay." "It is only superstition." "what the fuck. what the fuck!" "whaddya know." "This is fucking elegant." "where...where am I?" "Shen, you dirt-bag." "You fucking bastard." "They're delicious." "Aren't they toadstools?" "It is local delicacy." "You fool." "You're fucking right." "Come to think of it, Yun Nan..." "Yun Nan province is not at all bad." "Right, kid?" "Yun Nan is paradise." "Kid, come over here." "Come on, eat this toadstool." "You fucking wimp, eat this." "Eat the toadstool." "You could be in trouble eating that." "Please stop it." "Eat it by yourself." "I'm not hungry yet, I can hang on for a while." "Then I'll feed you." "Eat it" "All right, I'll eat it." "You want me to eat it?" "I'll eat it." "How is it?" "Delicious huh?" "wow." "Here it comes." "Ain't it fucking exotic?" ""Exotic"?" "where in the world is this anyway?" "Serves you fucking right." "what day of the week is it today?" "My, my." "Shen, Shen!" "You'll catch cold." "Mr. Shen, how much more will it take?" "what will?" "The village." "The jade village." "Uh...ah...there..." "Bit more, bit more." "Okay." "It is okay." "Have you been told where to go?" "Only as far as you tell me to." "Know the destination?" "You haven't told me anything." "why in the world are we here?" "Mr. Shen..." "Mr. Shen." "where is this?" "where are we supposed to go?" "I can not remember anything." "Don't fuck with me!" "wrack your brains, you bastard!" "what the fuck?" "Say it in Japanese!" "I said, "say it in Japanese"." "I'll kill you!" "what are you doing?" "Mr. Shen, search your memory." "In Japanese." "In Japanese!" "Please..." "Please stop it!" "His memory's back." "You dirt-bag!" "Anyway... we can go back to where we got off the car." "Remember the mountain trail?" "It was fucking confusing." "I knew this was the land of death!" "we've come to the land of death." "Ah...hello...excuse me." "Anyway, let's go back the village and..." "Hey!" "wait!" "Excuse me!" "Oh, it's you!" "I'm so glad to see you!" "Hey dirt-bag!" "Is this it?" "Are we here?" "Is this the Jade?" "Huh?" "what is that?" "Get a grip of yourself." "Is this the jade village, huh?" "we've arrived huh?" "They want you to wear it." "Thank you." "I appreciate it." "He's the mayor." "How do you do?" "My name is wada." "These old people do not understand Mandarin." "I think so." "Good evening." "Says welcome for coming so far." "Hey..." "Hey..." "I am Ujiie, how do you do?" "First time I met a mayor." "Huh?" "Hey, hey." "Pop?" "we are not welcome." "Please sit down." "Anyway, that is how we were miraculously saved." "There are more things I want to record but I'll do that when I return." "I lost my things in the mountains and there are no spare batteries in this god forsaken place." "The piece..." "The yakuza is having nightmares again." "would you like a break?" "what is that?" "I do not know how to translate..." "They are students of school to become...flying people." "we call them bird people." "There's such a school?" "Old superstition...shame of village." ""Shame" ?" "Mr. Ujiie." "where is that school?" "On the other side of this mountain?" "She teaches what her grandfather taught her." "But she doesn't understand well." "when her grandfather died, village elders wanted her to continue school." "Couldn't your grandpa fly?" "Ask her." "She has never seen." "Then what do you think?" "Can you fly with these?" "Come on." "Ask her." "Does not know." "But you said before you could fly." "This legend about flying..." "Has it been here from long ago?" "Yes, in real long ago." "But not in recent long ago." "But then, her demented grandfather came to the village and again..." "Since he came?" "where did he come from?" "Out of sky." "Her grandfather..." "From the sky." "Hello." "No use talking to him." "He had fever two years ago, and can not hear since then." "He was master lute player." "No good now." "Poor man." "Mr. Ujiie, let's go." "Jade, precious stones." "You go." "I won't understand them anyway." "This place is fantastic." "Mr. Ujiie." "Mr. Ujiie." "where did you get that?" "Gave it to me." "Asked to borrow it, but gave it to me." "They used to use rope before." "It often wore out and people died." "Tell me that later." "Look at this." "It's jade." "This, of course, is in the rough." "This is the best quality jade." "The sparkles are so different." "This could be an extraordinary vein of jade." "It was really worth the trouble." "Mr. Ujiie, let's go together tomorrow." "Come on." "This is more fun for me." "Mr. Ujiie, what would you be doing around this time?" "I'm usually having some drinks." "I often think on such trips that since the birth of the earth would there be any place mankind has not set foot on?" "There may be places like that." "If so, imagine the repetition of day and night." "Don't you think it's terrific?" "Day and night, day and night for billions of years." "Even so, I have to go back to work." "Do you want to go back the same route we came?" "Better wait for dirt-bag to regain his memory." "where are you going?" "For a night stroll." "Fucking yakuza routine." "Find the turtles!" "Not even one left." "Yes..." "I see that." "when we are forsaken by luck, we are unlucky all the way." "Even turtles have forsaken us." "Ah..." "I understand how you feel, but please try to be calm." "Could I have been gay?" "Teacher!" "Please teach us!" "It's nobody's fault." "we weren't fooling around or anything." "Yeah, it's nobody's fucking fault." "we might have to wait for two or three days." "Here you are." "How is it going?" "we are all trying." "It is very complicated story." "First, her grandfather found book-like thing about village legend from long ago." "And it had method of flying in it?" "And...ah...villagers thought it was only some fairy tale." "Grandfather found evidence." "He dug it out of ground outside of village." "And wings you seen now were recreated from this book of legends." "And this is that book of legends." "How do you read such a thing?" "This is what grandfather rewrote." "Is it in English?" "Her eyes are blue because..." "I've heard this tune before." "Continue on, continue..." "Continue on." "It's..." "Is it popular now. what is..." "Hey, is it English?" "I think she has an accent." "She says there's something connected to her grandfather in pond over there." "It came from India." "India?" "It was a British colony." "This is a fucking Royal Air Force plane." "I know more about such things than you fucking business elites." "Then he was flying here on some mission." "And fucking crashed." "And lived in this village since then." "Grandfather." "Grandmother." "Father and mother." "They're...all dead?" "The fucking grandpa died last." "The grave's still new." "what is this?" "Person...of...bird." "Bird person?" "I wonder what kind of life it was?" "Hmm..." "I don't know." "Do not know about myself." "I know less about other people." "Hey, you can translate English, can't you?" "well, so so." "I still have my dictionary." "Your dictionary?" "Electronic dictionary." "Then do it?" "This notebook seems to be a diary." "This batch must be the translation of the ancient book." "I see." "But how did he translate the book?" "Maybe he was decoding for the intelligence." "And the grandfather seems to have had trouble with the translation." "It must have been some kind of a manual." "Imagine a foreigner with no such background trying to..." "Could translate it completely wrong." "That's why if I try to translate that it may end up being quite different from the original." "You have a point, but..." "Oh, yes, and that diary." "It's quite touching." "I only had a quick look the writing gets smaller and smaller towards the end." "The last passage... what is it?" ""This is the end." "From tomorrow the mornings will be different."" ""This is the end." "From tomorrow the mornings will be different."" "Probably...from the next day the grandfather ceased to be British." "That's...a real man." "This place... where could this be?" "This is a god." "A god." "A god!" "Tough luck." "Yan Si-chang" "Yes, that's right." "Don't worry." "It's okay." "Please." "It wasn't "neat"." "Not "neat"." "It's "nee..."" ""which never forgot will be."" "Means "never, never forget." ""Ne'er." It's the abbreviated form." "So it's "which ne'er forgot will be."" "The batteries...please don't give up now." "How is it?" "Can we fly?" "Let's talk about that later." "Pity falls and dies." "Mr. Shen!" ""Like dew on a flowery field."" ""She walks like a fairy."" ""Like sweet winds of the summer."" ""She whispers low and sweet."" ""I can no longer hear her voice."" ""what she says is all the world to me."" ""And for bonnie Annie Laurie."" ""I can almost die."" "It's not an accurate translation." "Embarrassing words." "Can not translate." "Please." "I know why..." "You must have fallen in love." "It's nothing of that sort." "The rain's coming!" "Promise, vow, pledge..." "Pro..." "Si-chang." "Si-chang." "Si-chang." "Si-chang." ""Gave me her promise true..."" "Grandfather probably had a sweetheart back home." "Doing well over there?" "Mr. wada!" "Mr. wada!" "Hey, Mr. Shen!" "what happened?" "Okay, okay." "I presume you are Mr. wada." "I know you!" "I..." "Did you...?" "Yes!" "I have risen like a phoenix." "I was totally lost in this cruel, cruel world!" "I now remember who I am!" "That's great!" "Congratulations!" "we can go back!" "we find one more turtle." "It won't be long!" "Leave it to us." "we want to do business." "we want our village to be wealthy." "The boat can be pulled by five turtles." "But he wants all six turtles." "That man..." "He is really pervert." "He seems to have a lot of affection for them." "where's Mr. Ujiie?" "I don't know." "I think..." "I'm going to die." "Please return that to me." "I was thinking of wearing that on the way back." "Going back?" "You really want to go back that bad?" "You fucking coward." "what do you mean "fucking coward"?" "You want to dig up the whole village all for money money money?" "How can you say that?" "You came to collect money." "I will leave it to the young people." "If I were young now." "I would probably choose the same way." "One knows not the value of what he owns until it is lost, and understands the luxury of giving it up." "I shall leave it to you." "what did he say?" "Have no idea." "we'll finally have electricity in our village!" "Si-chang." "Si-chang." "we are ready. we must leave." "The yakuza has reached the peak of insanity." "Mr. wada, what would you be doing?" "we wish to leave at dawn." "It took time for Mr. Ujiie to fall asleep." "Let us go." "Mr. wada untie the rope." "Okay." "what?" "I do not accept "forget something"." "No. we can't go now." "we can't leave a lunatic like that in the village." "I take you to be fool." "Do you wish to be killed?" "That fool has come!" "That fool has come!" "Mr. wada, hurry up!" "Hurry up Mr. wada!" "Mr. wada, where are you...?" "Mr. wada, hurry up and come back!" "Mr. wada!" "Mr. wada!" "Mr. Ujiie!" "Can't let rotten civilization enter the village what nonsense!" "No concern of yours, asshole." "This is the last stronghold." "Can't let this be a fucking country like ours." "This planet is finished!" "Please give back my kids!" "I'll protect this village." "Suppose the villagers don't want that." "They'll understand later." "Don't you understand?" "Yan wo lost his hearing and Si-chang lost her parents." "Tragedies would decrease if they have better medicine and tools." "Must make a choice!" "No matter what, we can't stop what will come in." "Give me back my kids!" "I understand how you feel" "but you must think why we are here in this village!" "why are we here anyway?" "wouldn't be here if not for planes and trains!" "I didn't stake my life to come here in search of the truth or anything!" "But I was able to meet all those people here in the Yun Nan mountains and came across that song!" "I really consider myself lucky!" "I owe it all to the things you try to deny, Mr. Ujiie!" "Then what can we do?" "Are you saying we should just watch this place wither?" "we can make a new tradition." "Establish a village owned company and set regulations to prohibit excessive digging and" "to protect what must be kept to reach an understanding." "when a dike is broken the water will gush in." "Never underestimate human softness!" "How do you teach that to those fucking kids?" "why don't we fly?" "Mr. Ujiie." "Do you really believe you can fly with those wings?" "If you believe so, let's do it." "If we fly and show them that'll be how things will be." "Then the clients have to abide by them." "This one has gone mad too!" "If we fly they will be convinced." "Hey, aren't there any fucking rules about the method of breathing?" "Might be better to hold our breath?" "Since then" "30 years have passed." "we stayed in the village until our visas almost ran out and then returned to Japan." "I'm sure it applies to everyone" "but for me, the past decades were neither smooth nor easy." "People's prospects and intuitions in general, become true" "more than you expect." "A while after that" "I returned to that village once again but was not able to settle there for the rest of my life." "And again I slept thousands of times but I have never seen a dream of myself flying." "Mr. Ujiie took the post of the village development advisor in exchange for one of his fingers." "He still stays in that village." "I received a letter from him yesterday." "I was so glad I thought my heart would burst." "Even though it may be rare to be able to" "experiencing such feelings makes me think my life is worth it." "I want to visit the village again." "This time, I want to take my wife and son along." "Since then, I haven't done it for such a long time but can I still fly?" "I feel it is so strange that I cannot dream of what I actually did." "I want my son to enjoy that too." "At that moment" "I suddenly remembered my father's smile." "Perhaps it was like the first time I was able to ride a bicycle." "P.S." "The tape with that girl's song burned in a fire and became ashes." "It no longer exists."