Amagi Pass (天城越え)

TSUNEHIKO WATASE

YUKO TANAKA

MIKIJIRO HIRA

MINATO PRINTING

OFFICE

Uh...

How can I h-

MATSUNOJO TAJIMA CRIMINAL AFFAIRS, SHIZUOKA POLICE

AMAGI PASS

BASED ON A NOVEL BY SEICHO MATSUMOTO

YOSHITARO NOMURA HIDESHI MIYAJIMA

HARUHIKO MIMURA TAI KATO

YOSHIMASA HAKATA YUTAKA YOKOYAMA MITSUAKI KANNO

DIRECTED BY HARUHIKO MIMURA

Well, let's take a look with the camera.

Is it bad?

There's no need for worry - but I'm sure you'll be reassured.

If you feel like you see something off, I'll take it out for you.

Welcome back.

Hi.

Um, just before...

a guy called Tajima from the prefectural police just..

..Tajima?

Prefectural police?

What division?

Criminal Affairs.

"Matsunojo Tajima, part-timer".

Just like a period drama. Here.

Said he needed 300 of these. - What?

THE MOUNT AMAGI LABORER MURDER CASE

MT. AMAGI

I, too, like in Yasunari Kawabata's famous novel

"The Izu Dancer",

have traveresed the Amagi Pass before.

In my case, however,

I was not a high school student,

but the 14-year-old son of a blacksmith

in my first year in the advanced course of senior elementary school;

wearing not the typical 'takageta' footwear

but rather a rubber-lined 'zouri' sandal,

and in complete contrary to the novel,

I climbed up the ridge back from Shimoda.

Furthermore,

I kept it quiet from my family.

It's a pit viper! Don't disturb it.

Stay still.

It'll lunge out and try to bite you.

Stay still!

The snake's the one that's scared, you know!

Coming out of your hole, face to face with a guy you don't know,

not knowing what they'll do!

It's best if they know you won't do anything.

Where you headed? - Shizuoka.

Shizuoka? On foot?

I'll camp outdoors when it gets dark.

How old are you? - 14.

14, eh?

What do you sell? - Sweets.

Got any jam buns? - Sure do!

Let me show you something cool, sport.

Just one peek!

Well, I've business to attend to here.

Safe travels!

Where you headed, boy? - Shizu-

Shuzenji!

Let's head there together then! - Sure.

So you go to all sorts of places?

I'm just a regular draper.

Stayed in Shimoda last night, heading through Amagi today..

..no idea about tomorrow.

Ever see anything scary?

Hmm...

Now that you mention it, everything's scary, really.

What's the scariest?

The scariest are -

humans, of course.

Humans? - Yep.

Humans.

Running away from home, then?

You're better off going home.

Are you helping your father out?

I don't have a father.

He died a long time ago.

It's just my mother.

Wild horse, huh.

Medical work?

We're a blacksmith family. I hate it.

I hate Shimoda too.

I want to visit my brother working in town,

and become a printer.

Kids around your age...

..everybody more or less thinks about those things, but..

unfamiliar places and the world at large

just aren't that forgiving...

When I was in my teens, too, I...

You left home? - What do you think?

Well, you've come this far.

I'll let you stay at my brother's in Shuzenji,

so you can go home tomorrow.

Let's make a move, shall we?

It'll get dark if we don't hurry.

It'll rain around here tonight too, I'm sure.

Don't worry - I'll pay for them!

Well then..

How much? - 20 sen.

Thanks very much.

That's a laborer.

Those types tend to wander around.

They're usually up to no good.

Well, boy,

I've got something to do here. - What?

So long. - You're not going to Shuzenji?

Thanks for the meal!

I started to have regrets.

Plunging alone into unknown country

filled with unknown people

left me vaguely fearful.

If I turned back and walked all night,

I could be back at Shimoda by morning...

I began to think thus.

Someone's downstairs..!

He's seen us...!

He's not coming back!

What should we do? This kind of thing...

Don't worry...don't worry!

I've sent a telegram...

..to Shizuoka as well...

He doesn't have any money!

What should we do?!

What do we do?

It's alright!

Kenzo!

Kenzo!

THE MT. AMAGI LABORER MURDER CASE

CONDITIONS AT TIME OF INCIDENT

29TH JUNE 1940

10 A.M.

KAMIKARI NOMURA ,

YUGASHIMA POLICE BOX

Criminal Affairs here.

Yes, Shimoda office.

What?

What? Speak louder!

A murder?

Understood.

Who's the victim?

Unknown, sir! - Unknown?

You can't call it a murder if there's no body!

Inspector!

As I mentioned on the phone, the person who discovered...

My name is Kuroda, truck freighter from Shimoda.

ON-SITE INSPECTION

Right here.

Let's take a look. - Yes, sir.

It rained last night, too.

That means the footprints will..

There's more over there, sir. - After you.

You. -Yes?

What were you doing all the way out here?

Well, I'd been having diarrhea problems since this morning, and-

OK, got it.

These pants, someone's tried to..

The loincloth as well...

Seems like an incident then..

It smells.

Do you smell it, sir?

I'm terribly sorry!

You went around here?

No, further that way..

Be more careful!

Let's check his belongings.

Doesn't seem like a thief.

A little unlike suicide, too.

So it is a murder! - Listen.

Where's the body then?

Did you actually look around for it?

If it were a Ranpo Edogawa novel,

it'd be a bodiless murder! - This ain't a detective novel!

How do you kill someone without a dead body?

Look - tobacco.

Sir!

A thief wouldn't leave this...

There's no way this is a robbery!

The tobacco in his pocket is all cut up,

yet there's no sign of a pipe anywhere!

Which means, there should be something we're missing further downstream!

Get looking! There must be a body somewhere!

A little further up, there's an ice manufacturing storage facility.

Usually nobody goes anywhere near..

Why didn't you say so earlier?!

Did you check it out?

After you.

I can't see, it's so dark. - Leave it to me!

Excuse me.

It's nice and cool. - That's because there's ice here.

I know!

Footprints. - Eh?

They're fresh.

These are barefeet.

Usually you wear sandals when treading on ice.. You wouldn't go barefoot.