The End of Summer (Kohayagawa-ke no aki) (小早川家の秋)

1961 Arts Festival Entry

A Takarazuka Pictures Production

The End of Summer

Produced by Sanezumi Fujimoto

Masakatsu Kaneko and Tadahiro Teramoto

Screenplay by Kogo Noda and Yasujiro Ozu

Cinematography by Asakazu Nakai

Art Direction by Tomoo Shimogawara

Original Music by Toshiro Mayuzumi

Sound by Koichi Nakagawa and Hisashi Shimonaga

Assistant Director Jyukichi Takemae

Production Design by Okamura Tamondo

Set Decoration by Kitagawa

The Cast

Setsuko Hara

Yoko Tsukasa Michiyo Aramata

Keiju Kobayashi

Akira Takarada Daisuke Kato

Reiko Dan Yumi Shirakawa

Kyu Sazanka Yu Fujiki

Haruko Sugimura Yuko Mochizuki

Chieko Naniwa Chishu Ryu

Haruko Togo Michiyo Tamaki

Masahiko Shimazu Tatsuo Endo

Tomoo Uchida Kyoji Hayakawa

Hisaya Morishige

Ganjiro Nakamura

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

The City of Osaka

So meticulous. Let me see that.

Hey, does my eye look strange today?

Looks the same to me.

Someone got you a nice gift.

I bought it myself.

He's here.

- Welcome. - Good evening.

You came alone?

She'll be here soon. I told her to come at seven.

I'll have a whiskey on the rocks.

She said she had to deliver a painting before coming here.

I see.

Listen. You say she's a real catch. I hope you know what I'm looking for.

Oh, I'm well aware.

Your late wife was very pretty...

...and when we went to Arima this past spring...

No need to mention that.

There's a slight catch though.

What's that?

She had a son with her late husband.

I don't mind. I'm in the same situation.

What did her former husband do?

- He taught at Osaka University. - A professor, huh?

He didn't run a sake brewery?

He said the family business wasn't for him.

A professor's widow...

A member of the intelligentsia.

She should be here any minute.

Wouldn't it be better if I wasn't sitting here?

- Oh? - I'll stay out of sight for now.

When she arrives, I'll act like I ran into you by chance.

- Where will you be? - Just right over there. Okay?

- It's a great idea. - Hey, Mr. Isomura.

If you like her, give me a signal.

Okay, I'll rub my nose.

Here you go.

Where did he go?

- What's all this about signals? - We were just talking baseball.

Right over here.

- Welcome. - Sorry to keep you waiting.

Please have a seat.

Would you like anything?

I'm fine, thank you.

- Maybe later. - Enjoy your stay.

Thanks for coming out here tonight.

Not at all. What did you wish to discuss?

Well, I haven't seen you in ages, and the anniversary of Mother's death is soon.

I just wanted to catch up. Hello there.

- Hello, Kitagawa. - It's been a while.

Yeah, not since Rokko.

Please, have a seat. Please.

Just for a little while, then.

- Who's this? - She's from my wife's family.

- The Kohayagawas. - I see.

I've heard about your family. From around Midosuji right?

I work at my friend's art gallery.

I see. That's great.

Here's my card.

I run a small steel mill over by Sakaigawa.

Mr. Isomura has always helped me out.

It's very nice to meet you.

Your job seems very elegant.

I suppose so...

Do you have any paintings of oxen at your gallery?

- Sorry? - You know, cows.

I collect cow related things. You see, I was born in the year of the ox.

This is a cow too.

If you had a cow painting lying around, I'd love to take a look at it.

A Japanese painting? Or perhaps a different style?

What do you think? Should I leave it up to her?

- Good idea. - I'll leave it up to you.

I'll look for one.

I think that Noriko may be visiting today.

Please excuse me while I use the phone.

Is there a phone?

- What do you think? - Looks good. Very good.

- Wonderful. - She's great.

You do know my tastes. She's the right age too.

- Hey, I'm counting on you. - Oh?

We should grab dinner. First, let's have a drink. Hey.

Gin fizz sounds good right? Three gin fizzes.

- This is great. This is better than great. - Glad to hear it.

This calls for a celebration. A toast.

I'm home.

- Welcome back. - Hi.

I'm sorry I kept you waiting.

I was invited out, but I declined and hurried home.

Does this look correct? Try again.

This goes here, right? So this won't work this way.

Think it over.

What did you want to discuss?

Well?

I was told to meet with a prospective husband again.

Again? You're so popular.

Not like that one. This one is serious.

Even Fumiko is encouraging me.

What's he like?

His father is the president of a bank...

...but he works for a beer company.

Sounds good.

- It's not that easy. I'm stuck. - What do you mean?

I don't really want to get married yet.

You'll have to eventually though.

- Why don't you meet him, at least? - But...

If you don't like him, just say no.

Neither Father nor Fumiko will force you into something that you don't want to do.

- You think so? - Of course.

The thing is, the store isn't doing so well...

...so Father really wants me to marry him.

I understand.

I have to go.

Is it that late? If you hurry you can...

...catch the train that leaves at 16 past the hour.

I'll come again some other time.

Thanks for talking to me, Noriko.

You're welcome, anytime.

Oh, I bought some sweets.

I'll have some the next time I visit.

- See you later, Minoru. - Goodbye.

You should hurry.

I'll see you later.

Take care.

Bye.

I heard that Okaden is going to merge with Katsura Masamune.

Oh? I heard that rumor.

Who'd you hear the news from?

Do you know Kaneko?

- From Katsura Masamune. - Yeah, I know him.

I ran into him yesterday, and he mentioned it.

So I got him drunk to get some details.

Hello? Yes, he's here.

It's your wife, sir.

- Any response from Mr. Yamayoshi? - Not yet.

Hello? Hello?

Yeah, it's me. What do you need?

My uncle from Osaka just arrived.

If you have some time, I wanted you to stop by.

Okay, see you then.

- He said he'll be right over. - I see.

So, how do they feel about the situation?

He met her 2 or 3 days ago.

- Seemed very interested. - I see.

What has Akiko said?

Well, I haven't explained it to Akiko yet.

So Akiko met her prospective husband without even knowing it?

- That's right. - That's not going to work.

Do you think Akiko will like him?

I think it's a pretty good match.

What do you think?

Hopefully she'll find him attractive.

Thing is, he's not a scholar like Koichi.

I'm worried about that.

He runs a steel mill.

That might not bother her too much.

Agreed.

That's for her to decide.

He's home.

Welcome.

- It's good to see you again. - Good to see you.

It's been a while.

Yanosuke has a prospective husband for Akiko.

- I see. - I think it's a good opportunity.

I see.

We've also got Noriko to deal with.

If they both got married, it would be ideal.

Indeed.

- See how Akiko feels about this. - And you, Father?

Well, I'll certainly encourage her...

...but do talk to her.

- Where are you off to? - I forgot an errand.

If you're going out, I'll tag along.