"They're foryour daughter-in-law, right?" "I've heard she's very pretty." "According to our Mr. Fish Kite's report." " They lookwonderful." " I'm all dizzy." " They makeyou that happy?" " So happy." "To buy them myself, I'd have to live on sardines for lunch for three months." "But why did you buy them for me?" "In a word, your stockings had holes." "But the holes in my stockings don't botheryour legs." "It's just that I..." "No, no." "I didn't mean that." "I know how kind you are." "But right now, I feel kind ofawkward, so I made that awful remark." "I'm sorry." "Want to hear something good?" "Something good?" "I got so bored I had to give everyone at work a nickname." "Want to hear them?" "Sea Slug." " Sea Slug?" "Can you guess?" "Someone who's slippery and evasive." "Ohno-san, the sub-section chief." "Sea Slug... indeed." "Ditch-cover-board, damp and soggy all year round." " Would that be Ohbara?" " Bingo!" "Next comes Flypaper." " Flypaper?" " You know, sticks to everything." "Get it?" "Noguchi-san." "Next is Saito-san, the manager." "See ifyou can guess his nickname." "Saito, huh." "Saito would be..." "Saito's main feature is that he's so featureless." "I don't really know..." "Daily Special." " Daily special?" " At the cafeteria." "Then what about Kimura?" "Rice noodles, always timid and trembling." "Say, I had a nickname foryou, too." "But I'm not going to tell, 'cause I had you all wrong." "No, don't worry,just tell me..." "Oh, dear." "No, I'd ratheryou broke it to me." "Okay, then." "The Mummy." "I'm sorry." "Oh, no..." "In otherwords, I'm..." "I'm going." "Thankyou so much." "Doyou really have to tender your resignation today?" "Ifyou could make it tomorrow, why not spend today..." "You're not eating anything." "No, it's just..." "You look so tired." "But I had a truly marvelous day today." "Butyou snored through the best part ofthe movie." "It's just that I overdid it a little last night." "Kimura-san..." "I really can't..." "This isn't the sort ofthing" "I can tell just anyone." "It's quite embarrassing, but..." "In otherwords, the reason" "I worked like a mummy these last 30 years..." "Oh, no, it's not that I mind you calling me a mummy." "Because that's exactly right." "In otherwords, I don't blameyou." "It's just that the reason" "I made myselfinto a mummy..." "In otherwords, I did it all for my son's sake." "But as it turned out, my son doesn't seem to give a whit." "Butyou can't blame it all on your son." "Isn't that right?" "Not unless he asked you to make a mummy ofyourself." "Parents are all the same." "My mom gives me the same kind ofline sometimes." ""The things I've suffered foryou."" "And I'm grateful she had me." "But it's not myfault I was born." "What's the matterwith you, bad-mouthing your son to me?" "It's just..." "You knowyou still adore him." "No end in sight forthe electricity shortage." "Is that a fact?" "They saywe haven't had such a heatwave in 30 years." "I see." "The thing is, there's something" "I'd like to tell you." "I know I should have told you sooner, but it's notvery pleasant business." "Father, let's drop it." "You see, I discussed it with Uncle today, and we have to address this to avoid complications later." "For instance, we have our rights as your heirs." "To avoid misunderstandings..." " Mitsuo!" " Fact is, she's fleeced you out of 50,000 yen in a few days." "Young girls these days..." " What areyou..." "Father, we respectyour right to freedom of expression." "We acceptyour degenerate behavior." "But we do have some basic conditions." "Think of Kazue or, putting her aside, ofher family back home." "How dareyou bring a woman like that home." "And holding hands with her in your room." "I could hardlyface the maid." "It's been tw.o w.eeks now.since ourprotagonist abandonedhis spot." "During that time, various rumors andspeculations have sw.irled around our Watanabe-san." "All these rumors and speculations coincide perfectly w.ith the notion that our Watanabe-san is being very foolish indeed." "But Watanabe himselfhas never taken his actions so seriously in his entire life." "This isn't the city office, where you waste a whole day on an hour's work." "It's more serious." "It's just, I..." "Every minute I waste here costs me money." "Then I'll seeyou tonight..." "I'm exhausted at night." "I'd rather sleep than go out." "Besides, why areyou always taking me out?" "It's just..." "Let's stop doing this." "It doesn't feel right." "But, then,just one more night, okay?" "No, it'll never end." "I'm sorry." "After tonight, no more, okay?" "Shall we go for a stroll?" "I've had it." "Next it'll be a sweet shop, then a sushi or noodlejoint." "What's the point ofit all?" "I feel badlythatyou keep treating me, but I've had it up to here." "Besides, we've both run out ofthings to say." "There's that face again." "The truth is, you give me the creeps." "What's going on?" "Why doyou chase me around like this?" " In otherwords..." " In otherwords, what?" "In otherwords, I really enjoy spending timewith you this way." "Keepyour old man's infatuation." "No, it's just that I..." "Why can'tyou spit it out, instead ofalways dribbling?" " Areyou mad?" " No." "I don't even know myself why I keep following you around." "It's just, all I do know is..." "You see, I'm going to die soon." "I've got stomach cancer." "It's right here." "Can you understand?" "No matterwhat I do, I've only got six months or a year left." "Ever since I've known that, the way I felt aboutyou became like..." "I know." "I nearly drowned in a pond once when I was a child." "I felt exactly the same way then." "Everything seems black." "No matter how I struggle and panic, there's nothing to grab hold of, exceptyou." " And your son?" "Don't talk to me about my son." "I have no son." "I'm all alone." " But..." "No, you really don't understand." "My son is somewhere far, far away." "Just as my parents were when I was drowning in that pond." "It hurts me even to think about him now." "But why is anyone like me so..." "It's just that, that, you're, I mean..." "When I look atyou, it warms me up right here." "This old... this old mummy..." "In otherwords, you're like, you seem like my family..." "No, that's not right." "You'reyoung and you're healthy, so that's why..." "No, that's not right." "In otherwords, in otherwords, why areyou so incredibly alive?" "You're just so alive." "That's why I'm envious." "This old mummy envies you." "Before I die, I want to live just one day likeyou do." "I'll live thatway before I die." "Until I've done it, I can'tjust give up and die." "In otherwords, I just..." "I justwant something to..." "I want to do something." "But it's just that, I don't know what." "Butyou do know." "No, maybeyou don't, butyou..." "But I don't..." "No, tell me, how can I be likeyou?" " But all I do is work and eat..." " And what else?" "That's all." "I mean it." "All I do is make these little things." "Even making these is so much fun." "Making them, I feel like I'm playing with every baby in Japan." "Why don'tyou try making something too?" "What can I possibly make at that office?" "You're right." "It's just impossible to make anything there." "So quit and go..." "It's too late." "It's not too late." "No, it's not impossible." "I know I can do something there." "I just have to find the will." "There is something I can do..." "It's a matter oftime before he resigns." "His son cameyesterday about his pension." "Which means you'll finally be section chief." "Well, you never know." "Good morning." "Section Chief." "Ohno, I'd likeyou to..." "PETITION BYTHEWOMEN'S COMMITTEE TO REPAIRAND FILL IN CESSPOOL" "THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT IS HEREBY DESIGNATED IN CHARGEOFTHIS MATTER." "Butthis belongs to Engineering." "No, this isjust the sort ofmatter that PublicAffairs must take the lead on." "This isn'tjust Engineering's problem." "Parks and Sewage also have a responsibility." " Say, get me a bicycle." " Yes." "I'm going out to survey the site." "Put together a report today." "I think that's a little impossible." "No, not ifyou setyour mind to it." "Five months later." "Theprotagonist ofourstoryhas died." "Let us see the deputy mayor." "He's here, right?" "Five minutes." "Just five minutes, please." "What should I tell them?" " But why press it when nothing's wrong?" " Areyou sure?" "Our claim is based on thorough research." "Deputy Mayor, sir." "Although technicallythe Parks Dept." "and theWard Committee built that park with your backing, wasn't it really Watanabe-san who built it?" "That's theword." "ButWatanabewas section chief of Public Affairs." "The Park Department builds parks." "Sure, we understand that." "But actually, we're talking about the man who kept the plan alive and saw it through." "The community residents believe thatwas Watanabe-san." "They're all worried aboutwhy Watanabe-san died in the park he created." "What doyou mean?" "Well, they had reservations long before this." "You never mentioned Watanabe-san in the speech you gave at the park's opening ceremony." "They don't even call it a speech." "What was it, then?" "Electioneering." "And also, that Watanabe-san was snubbed at the ceremony and seated in the back row." "In otherwords, general sympathy forWatanabe-san has given rise to a special interpretation ofhis death at the park." "Meaning that his was an act ofsilent protest against city officials." "Soyou're saying thatWatanabe committed suicide, or at leastwas prepared to, when he froze to death there?" "More or less." "Itwas snowing last night." "Sounds like a scene right out ofa play." "However, the truth is, an autopsy has clearly established Watanabe's cause of death." "He neither committed suicide norfroze to death." "He died ofstomach cancer." " Stomach cancer?" " Right." "Intestinal hemorrhaging." "Watanabe died suddenly, when he himselfhad no idea." "Ifyou've any doubts..." "Ohno, referthem to his hospital." "It doesn't sit right." "These newspapermen and their lack ofsensitivity." "Actually, it applies to the general public." "Theirfundamental antipathytowards city officials will never do." "Theyjust don't understand howwe function." "Take that little park in Kuroe, for instance." "Apparentlythe public seems to believe thatWatanabe built it." "But that's ridiculous." "I hate to saythis at his wake." "And maybe I shouldn't, in front ofhis family and relatives, but I'll go ahead because I know Watanabe himselfwould disagree." "Watanabe certainlywent to great pains to make that park." "I take my hat offto his passion." "But all his efforts were in the context ofhis office." "The idea that he went beyond the scope ofhis office to facilitate citizens' desires, and actually made the park himself, is nonsensical to those who understand our bureaucracy." "I'm sureWatanabe himselfis wincing." "However, given that such rumors are surfacing, perhaps we may have been remiss." "Everyone focused on that historic project that rushed through construction." "Maybe we should have singled out someone's service." "For instance, section chief ofthe Parks Department." "Or his superior, the division chiefin Engineering." "That's whatyou say, Deputy Mayor, but here's what I think." "All the Parks' section chiefand I did was follow the dictates of our office." "But when you bear in mind your own struggles to rein in that notoriously political City Council, and realize the park's construction, it's you, Deputy Mayor, who should be singled out." "None ofthat, now." "Some people have even criticized my speech at the opening ceremony." "Isn't that right, Ohno?" "Some even say I was electioneering." "Excuse me." "The residents of Kuroe are here asking to burn incense for the deceased." "Dear." "Mitsuo-san." "It sure is cold." "May I pour one foryou?" "Oh, no, I'll go get warm sake." "What doyou say?" "Why don'tyou all move closer down here?" "Why not?" " Over here, please." " Thanks." "Hayashi-san." "Here, Ohno-san." "Have all the big shots gone to a meeting?" "Yes." "No, they couldn't stand to stay here." "I don't care what anyone says." "It was Watanabe-san who made that park." "In their hearts, the deputy mayor and his people know..." "That's going too far." "As the deputy mayor said..." "That's right." "I'm not saying this because I'm in the Parks Department, but we planned, budgeted and built that park." "No, that's notwhat I mean." "Let it go." "I can understand yourfeelings, but..." "The point is, hewas in Public Affairs." "How dare he even think about making a park." "Violating our bureaucratic turf." "No, ifyou've got to credit something, itwas coincidence that made that park." " But in that..." "Just listen." "City council members had an upcoming election to consider, and the concession owners sniffed a possible restaurant row, and all that sure sped upwork on that landfill site." " That's right." " Yes." "That's exactly right." "But I just can't figure it out." "Whywould anyonewith his personality suddenly up and change like that?" "Right, it's a total mystery." "That's right, exactly." "In otherwords, with the benefit ofhindsight, it's obvious." "Watanabe-san must've known he had stomach cancer." "That's why..." "Oh, we were just discussing whether or notyour father knew he had stomach cancer." "Well, ifhe'd known, I'm sure hewould have told me." "I see." "But I believe myfatherwas fortunate to diewithout realizing he had cancer." "Because that disease is a death sentence." "I see." "Well, that knocks out Saito's theory." "What's that theory?" "It's just that five months ago, something transformed him." "You're right." "And none of us could make heads or tails ofwhat had changed him." "Well, that's thewoman's touch." "Ayoung mistress' hormones can temporarily revive an old man." "Happens all the time." "Put a real sheen back on his cheeks." "The truth is, he'd recently found a wayto buffthat sheen." "Right." "That explains that rakish hat." "You're right." "Frankly, that hat was quite a shocker." "Section Chief, I think that's a little impossible." "No, not ifwe set our minds to it." "But..." "My point is, therewas something extraordinary about his dedication." "Yes, that's right." "I don't mean to argue, but a woman's touch alone can't account for..." " But..." " Dear." "The thing is..." "Just doesn't..." "Not to change the subject, but there were times when his dogged dedication threatened to derail it all." "That's city hall foryou." "Gotta guard yourturf." "What I just can'twrap my head around is why a 30-yearveteran ofthe place suddenly..." "That's because Watanabe-san..." "In any event, hawking that park proposal ofhis around every section practically guaranteed everyone would dig in their heels." "Including our own section chief." "Parks were our business, notWatanabe's." "We have our own proposals for new parks." "Can'tyou reconsider?" "This site is really terrible." "But making a park isn't as simple as you outline in your proposal." "No, this proposal is just a..." "I understand." "I'll take mytime and go over it thoroughly." "But the thing is, ultimately, the parks' section chief caved in to his peculiar determination." "You've got a point there." "Our section chief gave in, too." "Hewas something." "Watanabewaited days forthe answer hewanted." "Our section chiefused to sneak around, trying to avoid him." "That's right." "Engineering Section Chief, Section Chief." "Couldn't believe he stooped to flattering peons like me." "Won'tyou please..." "Isn't there a way..." "Finally, we took pity on him." "That's right." "In the end we all took pity on him." "But, hey, you guys in Administration, you were theworst ofall." "That's not..." "No, I always wentwith him, so I know." "You made us beg for two weeks." "How could I forget?" "I'm sorry." "But then, remember that shocker?" "Yeah, what a shocker." "DEPUTY MAYOR'S OFFICE" "Butyou know what was even more shocking?" "The thing with the deputy mayor?" "I heard, I heard." "What a shock." "A lowly section chief openly defying the deputy mayor." "Made history at City Hall." "About that new park." "It's one thing to show initiative, butyou don't want people to think ofyou as self-aggrandizing." "And the City Council's got problems ofits own." "I think it's bestyou give up that proposal." "Last night, wewere treated to a geisha party." "Man, geisha these days are appalling." "One of'em spent thewhole evening sulking and clammed up." "The madam said shewas a student, a moonlighter." "That's a laugh." "Won'tyou please... reconsider this proposal..." "What did you just say?" "Yes." "Um..." "About that park, won'tyou reconsideryour decision?" "But the thing is, when you think back, was it worth his taking it that far?" "Hewas crazy." "It's just that in City Hall everyone's guarding his own turf." "But afterthat, the deputy mayor did reconsider." "So..." "No, because the City Council rode him." "Coincidence, in otherwords." "It's too sentimental to attribute it all toWatanabe-san's dedication." "Sentimental..." "Is that so?" "I don't see it that way." "The point is, the world is a dark place ifhis dedication was pointless." "It is a dark place." "First ofall, just the sight ofWatanabe-san." "Itwas like he kept himselfgoing with nothing butwork." "Wasn't that how it seemed?" "Sometimes he even gave me the chills." "When was that?" "I was..." "It reminds me ofseeing him at that construction site." "How can I put it?" "Theway he gazed out overthe site," "like a father or grandfather tenderlywatching a favorite child..." "Of course it was." "BecauseWatanabe-san cherished that park." "So, in that case..." "It's exactlywhat I told you before." "Whatever anyone may say," "Watanabe-san built it..." "But ifthe City Council and deputy mayor hadn't been facing an election, they'd have ditched the proposal." "Watanabe-san had nothing to do with the crucial decisions." "No, that's not actuallytrue." " Oh, really?" " Really." "The folks whowanted that restaurant row hated having Watanabe in theirway." "The thing is..." "Section Chief." " Hey, you Section Chief of Public Affairs?" " Yes." "Just the man I wanted to see." "Old man, you keepyourfat trap shut." "What on earth areyou trying to..." "Don't fuckwith me." "No hard feelings." "Just shut up and back down." "Hey, say something." "You're risking your life." "This is him, Watanabe." "I just don't get it." "Whywould anyone like him just..." "I just don't..." "No." "Watanabe-san knew he had stomach cancer." "I'm positive." "But..." "I just suddenly remembered..." "This is just inexcusable." "We've been at this for two weeks." "At least they could tell us whether or not the funds are there." "Administration's just cruel." "They'll allocate the funds anyway." "It's not their personal money." "Now, now, there." "But doesn't it makeyou furious when theywalk all overyou this way?" "No." "I can't afford to hate people." "I haven't got that kind oftime." "Meaning..." "Say." "Speaking ofthat..." "I've got another one like that." "How beautiful." "How truly beautiful." "In the last 30 years, I'd all but forgotten about sunsets." "But I haven't got time forthis now." "Thought so." "Now I see." "Knowing he didn't have long left to live..." "It makes everything clear as day." "Otherwise, it makes no..." "Well, that explains his extraordinary passion and his outrageous behavior." "How else could he have been?" "Absolutely." "We'd have done the same." "But any one of us could suddenly drop dead." "Listen here." "Hey, Section Chief." "I mean you, the newly appointed Public Affairs Section Chief." "Don'tyou hear me?" "I haven't been promoted yet." "Hey!" "Ohno!" " Cut it out." "What the hell did you just say?" ""We would've done it, too?" "'" "Don't make me laugh." " Hey, cut it out." "You couldn't have done what Watanabe-san did." "Make me laugh." "Say, Ohara-san..." "The thing is..." "I may look like this..." " I only graduated middle school..." " Watanabe-san..." "So I'll never make section chief in my life..." "Compared to Watanabe-san, we've all just..." "We're just worthless scum." "Hey, you assholes, too..." "Why, that's..." "That's right, we're all scum." "But some of us were okay when we started out at City Hall." "But the longeryou stay..." "Even I didn't used to be like..." "You're not supposed to do anything there." "Doing anything but nothing is radical." "We have to act likewe're doing something but do nothing." " That's right." " That's exactly right." "The thing is, in orderto clean up a garbage can somewhere, you need a garbage can full ofpaperwork." "That's exactly right." "That's just an excuse." "We're robbing people ofvaluable time." "The public's upset by bribes and 40,000 cars and so on, but those arejust farts next to this invisible, colossal waste oftime." "Nowyou listen here." "I worry about these things, too." "But the thing is, inside that complex system, it's impossible." "Besides, there's nevertime to think in there." "Idiots!" "No, but the thing is," "Ohara-san, even within a system whereyou can't get a thing done, and battling stomach cancer at that," "Watanabe-san managed to accomplish so much." "That's it." "That's what I'm trying to say." "That's why I get so angry." "That's what I'm saying." "That Watanabe-san, with no expectations..." "Exactly." "When you remember how Watanabe-san staked his life..." "Who dares claim his achievements!" "The deputy mayor." "Spit it out!" "That's going too far." "Listen." "How doyou think he felt dying all alone in that park?" "Just thinking about it..." "A policeman brought this." "He said he'd found it in the park." "And he reallywants to light incense forthe deceased." "Thankyou fortaking the trouble." "Come in." "You don't have to go." "Thankyou foryourtrouble." "Let me pouryou one." "Actually, I..." "Last night, I was on patrol in the new park" "when I met him." "It was 1 0:00 o'clock- no." "Nearly 1 1 :00." "He was on the swing, and whatwith all that snow," "I just assumed hewas some drunk." "No, itwas a dereliction ofmy duty." "Ifonly I'd taken him in, like I first intended, he'd never have ended up..." "How can I apologize toyou?" "But he seemed to be so perfectly happy." "How can I explain?" "He poured his whole heart into that song ofhis." "His haunting voice... pierced... thevery depths ofmy own soul." "Life is brief" "Fallin love, maidens" "Before the crimson bloom" "Fades fromyourlips" "Before the tides ofpassion" "Cool w.ithin you" "For those ofyou" "Who know. no tomorrow." "Hey, last night, under the stairs, I found an envelope with my name on it." "It had Dad's bankbook and seal inside, along with forms for expediting his retirement bonus." "So he left it before hewent to the park?" "But Dad was so cruel." "Ifhe had stomach cancer, why didn't he tell us?" "Hey, his girl never showed up." "You think thatwas for real?" "I'lldo it." "I swear." " Line up behind him." "We can'twaste Watanabe-san's death." "I'll work at it like I'm a man reborn." "Sacrifice the selfto serve the many." " Don't forget this feeling." " I'll do it..." "PUBLIC AFFAIRS SECTION CHIEF" "Section Chief." "The sewage main break in Kisaki is overflowing intoTakao." "Engineering." "Your complaint is a matterfor Engineering, desk 8." "Kenbo, Yoko." "Yoko, Kenbo." "Suppertime."