"AKINDAl EIGA KYOKAl PRODUCTION" "THE HOLE..." "DEEP AND DARK..." "ITS DARKNESS HAS LASTED SINCEANCIENTTIMES" "ONIBABA" "Produced by HISAO ITOYA, SETSUO NOTO, TAMOTSU MINATO" "Original Screenplay by KANETO SHINDO" "Director of Photography KIYOMI KURODA" "Music HIKARU HAYASHI" "Sound TETSUYA OHASHI" "Art Direction KANETO SHINDO" "Edited by TOSHIO ENOKI" "Starring" "NOBUKO OTOWA" "JITSUKOYOSHIMURA KEl SATO" "JUKICHI UNO TAIJI TONOYAMA" "Directed by KANETO SHINDO" "Ushi, are you there?" "Yes." "Get something?" "Nothing but junk." "Is this the best you can do?" "Kyoto's been burned down." "They say the emperor has escaped to Mount Yoshino." "So no more big battles." "Just skirmishes now." "Can't do any business." "This is good millet." "One more bag." "Take it or leave it." "Say, you want one more bag?" "Sleep with me." "I'd never sleep with you, you bastard!" "Hachi!" "What are you doing here?" "I'm hungry." "Give me some food." "Get him a bowl." "It's a wonder you made it back!" "Where's my husband?" "Wait a minute." "You came back alone?" "I escaped." "Where's my son?" "It was the Ashikaga army that forced us go with them." "We fought in two of their battles." "In the third, we got caught by the Kusunoki army." "My son too?" "Yes, both of us." "So we became Kusunoki men." "All the same to us." "It's the generals' war, not ours." "We didn't even know what they were fighting about." "There are two emperors now." "Kusunoki fights for the emperor at Mt." "Yoshino, and Ashikaga for the emperor in Kyoto." "It means the two emperors are quarrelling." "At first, we wanted to be heroes, but killing's not easy." "I could have gotten killed myself." "Once I stabbed a man in the back with a spear." "He was taking a shit in the bushes, and I killed him." "What happened to my son?" "It was three days ago." "The Kusunoki army got clobbered at Minatogawa." "Ashikaga's men wiped them right out." "It was hell." "We couldn't tell friend from foe." "It lasted two days and two nights." "We tried to keep out of harm's way." "The general ordered us to advance, but we ran around till they chased us into a paddy field." "There was nothing to do but play dead in the mud." "We fooled them." "We waited for our chance and then ran for the mountains." "We hid in the bushes all night and thought we'd starve." "So we went hunting for food." "We thought we'd steal from farmhouses, but they were empty." "There was no food." "Pretty soon, some farmers with sticks came from out of nowhere and beat us up." "They beat Kichi to death." "I barely escaped with my life!" "My son was killed?" "And then?" "What happened to the samurai who took you two?" "He was killed right afterwards." "An arrow right through his throat." "He flailed around like a madman and then keeled over." "Right here." "Serves him right!" "He had it coming." "They took my son so suddenly that we had a hard time surviving." "I was looking forward to the day he would return." "Only you made it back." "It's a wonder you're still alive." "How do you eat?" "There was frost last summer." "Hail fell." "Frost and hail in summer, mind you!" "All our crops failed." "Strange things going on in Kyoto too." "A horse gave birth to a calf." "The sun rose black in the sky." "Day was dark as night." "How horrible!" "As if the earth had been turned upside down!" "All the farmers are starving." "With all the fighting, they can't work." "The fields turn to weeds without men to till them." "How do you eat?" "Never you mind!" "We're beggars." "Kyoto's been burnt to the ground." "Not even a dog around." "Everything becomes food - snakes, even earthworms and mice." "You're wearing nice things." "Did you steal them?" "You're dressed oddly yourself." "I killed a priest on the way back and put on his clothes." "People trust a priest." "Makes it easier to get around." "What'll you do now?" "Is my hut left?" "I suppose so." "I see." "I'll get some good sleep." "I'm very tired." "I'm sorry I came back alone." "What is it?" "It's sad!" "Fine day." "Makes war seem far away." "That's a big fish you caught." "I have nothing to eat." "What do you do for food?" "You don't seem to grow anything." "What do you do?" "You steal?" "I see." "That's it?" "Everyone does where there's fighting going on." "They all steal in Kyoto." "You steal too?" "Right?" "Why didn't you save my husband?" "I had no time to." "About 20 farmers attacked us." "I barely got away myself." "You've been waiting for him?" "Poor girl." "What are you gonna do?" "He's dead." "No use staying with the old woman, is there?" "Mind your tongue!" "You're young yet." "How about coming to see me?" "Nice day." "Hachi, what are you doing here?" "Catching fish." "Got to eat." "You have it." "Take what's offered." "It looks good!" "What did Hachi say?" "Nothing." "That damned good-for-nothing!" "Not even sorry he came back alone." "Might have killed my son himself." "No different than an enemy." "Don't be too friendly with him." "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Get the one floating away!" "He's still alive!" "We can eat now!" "This is expensive stuff." "How about it?" "A good buy?" "Is that all?" "The farmers are all hiding in the mountains." "Had a hard time finding this much." "It's risky work." "Bring me some sake." "You were lucky." "It's a wonder you're back." "Good business you have here." "Only while the war lasts." "Don't know how much longer." "They won't quit for a long time yet." "Not until one side's beaten." "They'll go on even if it ruins the country." "It's a business with them." "I'll take these birds too." "Bring me some good stuff." "Ushi's got himself a good business." "Armies will snap up swords, halberds and armor." "There's not enough to go around." "Nothing for common soldiers, so they use spears of wood or bamboo." "A good business, all right." "I've heard you two do good work." "How many have you killed?" "That's our business." "You stay out of it!" "Don't you think you should let me join you?" "I've been trained in war." "I'll come in handy." "Mind your own business." "We can manage on our own." "You hate me for returning alone?" "I don't care what you do." "You're on your own." "How about making me her husband?" "Idiot!" "Don't be stupid!" "We're turning in." "Go on home." "That no-good bum!" "He's after you." "You see his eyes?" "Like a dog after a bitch." "Sniffing after you." "Stay away from him!" "That louse wants a woman!" "I want a woman." "Come to my hut." "I'll be waiting tonight." "Hachi's after you." "Don't let him catch you." "Who's there?" "Who's there?" "So it's you." "You came." "Hachi!" "Hurry!" "I get scared running through the reeds." "Silly." "What are you saying?" "You kill people for a living." "Good-for-nothing bastard, enjoying his nap!" "Oh, it's just you." "You like to sleep?" "Yes, it's nice to have a little nap." "It's too hot." "Best to sleep in the daytime." "Want to sleep with me?" "An old woman like you?" "Stupid!" "I'm not old on the inside." "Come on." "Try me." "I'm gonna go have a swim." "Hachi, wait!" "What is it?" "Something good?" "Don't act so innocent!" "What are you doing with my daughter-in-law every night?" "What do you mean?" "I'll slap you!" "I saw you both!" "What do you plan to do with her?" "She's the one who came to my place." "You asked her to." "What's wrong with that?" "I'm a red-blooded man." "I can't stand it." "She's another man's wife." "Your son's dead." "You worthless bastard, coming back here alone!" "You'd take your friend's wife?" "She's not your daughter-in-law anymore." "Your son's dead." "She needs a man." "And no wonder - she's still young." "It's natural." "Not if you leave!" "Go away!" "If I left, they'd take me back to the war." "I'll stay here." "Then leave her alone!" "I'll make you an offer." "Let her be my bride." "You've got nerve!" "My poor son must be turning in his grave!" "You can't ask a young man and woman who are neighbors not to be friends." "If my son's dead, she's all I've got!" "I can't get along alone." "I couldn't even kill!" "Take her and I'll starve!" "Don't worry, I won't." "We'll just be friends." "She'll end up deserting me." "I'll tell her not to." "Hachi, I'm begging you!" "I can't kill without her!" "You ask too much." "Your son's gone." "It's selfish to hold on to her!" "When the war ends, I can farm and manage on my own." "Just till then." "No telling when it'll end." "If all you want is a woman, I'll do." "How about me?" "I'm not interested." "So you intend to take her?" "Don't you understand yet?" "I won't take her!" "We'll just be friends!" "You say that now, but she'll end up leaving me!" "That's not my problem." "Remember those words, you bastard!" "What are you gonna do?" "I'll stab the two of you in your sleep." "Then she'll be dead too." "Old bag!" "Where are you going?" "I can't sleep." "I thought I'd get some fresh air." "Yes, it's hard to sleep tonight." "No breeze at all." "No." "I dreamt that Kichi came back." "My son may return." "Hachi saw him die." "He won't be coming back." "Hachi's a bad man." "He might have been lying." "He wouldn't lie." "If Kichi were alive, he'd have come back." "There'd be no point lying about it." "Aren't you sad my son is dead?" "I am, but he's not coming back." "I'll find you a good husband." "Be patient." "When the war ends, the men will come back." "We'll find you a good husband and farm again like we used to." "Fighting!" "More prey coming our way." "I'll help you." "Is that a wild dog?" "Not much spirit for a wild dog." "It's after a mate." "Damned pest!" "We'll skin you and eat you!" "It's a terrible thing." "Once, in Kyoto..." "I heard a great priest talk." "Those who sin in this world go to purgatory when they die." "What's purgatory?" "The dead are just ashes." "No, that's not true." "They say hell really exists." "A hell of fire, a hell of fury, a hell for sinners." "The terrible mountain of needles, the lake of blood." "The punishment for sinful lust is the worst of all." "Souls with human faces grow four legs and fall into sinners' hell." "There they're tortured day and night with red-hot irons." "That's a lie!" "There is no hell!" "Hell must exist." "A great priest said so." "It's no sin what men and women do." "Everyone does it!" "If it's man and wife, it's all right." "With couples it's quite all right." "It's a terrible thing." "Merciful Buddha..." "Now let's go to bed." "Don't be afraid." "I'm a human being, not a demon." "I have my reasons for wearing a mask." "I'm a samurai from a good family." "As you can see, I've escaped from battle." "I got separated from my men." "I hope to return to Kyoto, but I'm lost in this field of grass." "Show me the road to Kyoto." "Go due north." "That will take you there." "Show me the way out of this grass." "After I show you the way, you'll kill me." "What good is there in killing the likes of you?" "Find the way yourself!" "." "Old woman!" "Do you refuse?" "All right." "I'll take you." "I've missed you so." "That old woman, trying to come between us!" "If we sin, do we go to purgatory?" "Sin?" "People have been doing this for thousands of years." "But I'm willing to go to hell for you!" "A vast field of grass." "There's no telling what demons and snakes live here." "And monsters like you that wander in." "That's right." "I'm a demon." "Why do you wear a mask?" "Makes me look fierce, doesn't it?" "You were defeated, and now you're running from the war." "No use looking fierce now." "You're right." "Many of my men were killed, and many others left me." "I was left alone." "I was left alone." "It's your punishment for starting the war!" "Old woman." "Would you like to know why I wear a mask?" "I feared marring my face." "My face is very handsome." "The most handsome face in Kyoto." "To protect it in the war," "I wore this mask into the thick of battle." "As a reward for showing you the road, show me your handsome face." "You wouldn't be able to bear it." "I've never seen anything really beautiful since the day I was born." "Show me your face." "You wish me to so badly?" "Show me." "You want to see a face you could fall in love with?" "I've never seen anyone so handsome that it would take my breath away." "Walk on, old woman!" "This is not a face to show peasants." "Get going or I'll kill you!" "Did you cause many soldiers to die?" "A cruel thing." "The dead died in vain." "The dead can never come back to life." "Don't talk!" "Walk!" "Serves you right." "Men like you killed my son!" "Now let's see just how handsome you are." "So this is the most handsome face?" "This is a samurai general's face?" "Rest in peace in this hole." "You have friends here." "You caused others to die." "You deserve this punishment." " Isn't it heavy?" " No, not very." "Shall I go along too?" "No, I'll go by myself." "But it'll be night when you return." "Once it's dark, it can't get any darker." "I'll be late." "Eat early and go to bed." "Be careful." "What's the matter?" "You'll catch cold sleeping over here." "What is it?" "Are you sick?" "Your face is pale." "Is anything wrong?" "No, it's nothing." "What's taking her?" "Are there really demons?" "Well, in hell, I guess." "They exist in this world too." "Did you see one?" "No, I didn't." "We've done nothing wrong." "No demon can come after us." "Might come after someone who's bad, though." "Shall we eat?" "Shall I go to Ushi's place?" "It's too hot in the daytime." "Night's the best time to go out." "Ushi's a sly one." "If I take too many at once, he knocks down the price." "Better to take a few at a time." "We'll make more that way." "Well, I'll be on my way." "Be careful." "What's the matter?" "Did you have a dream?" "What kind of dream?" "You woke me up." "Say." "You stood me up." "What's going on?" "You tired of me?" "It's raining." "Don't go." "Can't let Ushi put one over on me." "Last night he said he didn't have the millet on hand and that I should pick it up tonight." "It's just a shower." "It'll stop." "It'll be nice and cool." "I'll be on my way." "Hey!" "Hachi!" "What is it?" " A demon!" " What?" " A demon!" " Silly!" "There's no such thing!" "There's no such things as demons." "You just imagined it." "There is." "I saw it with my own eyes." "A fox or a badger, maybe." "Even weasels can fool people." "My head's clear again!" "I wish we could live together." "I told you so." "Come live at my place." "Ouch!" "There's a bug on my back!" "Set yourself free from that old woman." "I can't." "I might be punished." "For what?" "It's Buddha's punishment!" "There is no Buddha." "I'll come get you starting tomorrow." "Wait!" "It's me!" "I'm not a demon!" "It's me!" "It's me!" "It's you!" "It's me!" "It's your mother!" "Then that demon every night " "Yes, it was me!" "I was wrong." "Forgive me." "I wore the mask to scare you away from him." "Now I'm being punished for it!" "The mask won't come off!" "." "Why won't it come off?" "Why won't it come off?" "It got wet in the rain and won't come off." "Why won't it come off?" "Why won't it come off?" "Look at you!" "It's your punishment!" "Please get it off!" "." "Get it off!" "." "I didn't sin!" "This proves it!" "You turned into a demon for meddling." "This proves it!" "I was wrong." "I was wrong to meddle." "Get it off!" "." "You turned into a demon!" "Now stay that way!" "Please get it off me!" "I'm begging you!" "All right, but will you do everything I say?" "I will!" "Exactly as I say?" "Yes, I will!" "Can I see Hachi every night?" "Daytime too?" "You won't complain about us?" "No, I won't." "Day and night?" "Yes." "You sure?" "I'm sure!" "All right, I'll take it off." "It hurts!" "It hurts!" "Why is this happening?" "Hurry, take it off!" "." "Hold on, even if it hurts!" "It hurts!" " The rain did this!" " It hurts!" "You're being punished." "It hurts!" "It's that samurai's curse!" "What?" "It hurts!" "Hold on now, even if it hurts!" "I'm going to die." "It came off." "The mask came off!" "." "A real demon!" "Thank you for " "What is it?" "Wait!" "I'm not a demon!" "I'm a human being!" "Wait!" "I'm a human being!" "THE END"