The Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei) (たそがれ清兵衛)

A Tasogare Seibei Film Partners Production

Seibei Iguchi Hiroyuki Sanada

Tomoe Rie Miyazawa

Zenemon Yogo Min Tanaka

From Stories by Shuhei Fujisawa

Screenplay Yoji Yamada & Yoshitaka Asama

Producer Shigehiro Nakagawa

Producer Hiroshi Fukasawa

Producer Ichiro Yamamoto

Cinematography Mutsuo Naganuma

Art Director Mitsuo Degawa

Artistic Supervisor Yoshinobu Nishioka

Lighting Gen Nakaoka

Costume Design Kazuko Kurosawa

Editor Iwao Ishii

Sound Recordist Kazumi Kishida

Music Isao Tomita

Theme Song Yosui Inoue

Directed by Yoji Yamada

The poor dear!

Not that way.

No, no, no!

Thank you. You may go.

My deepest sympathies in your loss.

After a long illness my mother died...

when I was five.

She had consumption...

so from when I can remember I wasn't allowed near her.

Thus I have almost no memory of my mother.

Ito... Ito...

You poor little darling!

I am from Unasaka, in the northeast, in what is now Yamagata Prefecture.

Before 1868 it was the castle town of the Unasaka clan...

a small fief of 70,000 koku of rice per year.

Well done, one and all.

That's it for today.

Sakaguchi...

I've heard there's a good drinking place in Hakkenmachi...

Oh, you mean 'Hisago'?

Feel like a drink?

A fine idea.

Kawanami, will you come?

I will.

Iguchi?

For a change?

Not me, thanks.

We can't twist your arm?

If you'll excuse me...

Twilight's not very exciting, is he.

With a sick wife, two young daughters and an aged mother in his care...

my father was unable to drink with his colleagues.

He had to hurry home every evening at dusk.

I was told the men he worked with...

gave him the cruel nickname of 'Twilight Seibei'.

THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI

Ito...

Father!

Up you go!

Your face is dirty.

Father's back!

Welcome home.

Codfish stew tonight, Kayano?

Don't drop it.

I'm home, Mother. How are you this evening?

Of what household are you, sir?

I am Seibei Iguchi of the Unasaka Clan, Castle Stores.

I see...

She's getting worse. She doesn't even know her own son!

Kayano, I've simmered some burdock. Take some.

Thank you. You're always so kind to my daughters.

Naota... you can go home now.

Yup.

Good evening.

But Yazaki, can't we do something about Twilight?

His kimono's all ripped, and hardly ever takes a bath.

There's this smell when you get close to him.

It just won't do!

Yes, sir. We all find it very hard to stomach.

We've asked around about finding him a new wife...

but no woman would want his situation.

Indeed!

He's got two young girls, a senile old mother...

and 20 of his 50 koku gone in debt.

Any woman who went to him would have to take in work.

Yes, he owes money all over the place.

I don't know how he paid for his wife's funeral.

Not even selling your sword would pay for a funeral like that.

A funeral! That's something I have to worry about, too.

My father's not going to last much longer.

Kawanami's lucky. Young parents and a pretty wife!

You'd better go easy with her. It could hurt your work.

Is that why you're always cat-napping on the job?

I am not!

Listen to him!

O-Kumi...

Welcome!

Isn't she gorgeous!

O-Kume...

Bed-time, Gran.

Good night, Seibei.

Good night.

It looks like she remembered me.

'The Master said: To rule a land of a thousand chariots...'

Kayano...

That's Confucius, isn't it? When did you start learning that?

At the end of last month. The teacher says...

from now on even girls will need book learning.

That's good.

When I was a boy I read Confucius over and over again.

Father...

If I learn to do needlework...

someday I can make kimonos.

But what good will book learning ever do me?

Well, it probably won't ever be as useful as needlework.

But you know...

book learning gives you the power...

to think.

However the world might change, if you have the power to think...

you'll always survive somehow.

That's true for boys and for girls.

All right?

Yes.

Keep reading, then.

Tseng Tzu said: 'Each day in three ways...'

'I ask myself...'

'if I have faithfully carried out what I undertook for another...'

My mother's illness had left my father deep in debt.

As Grandmother lost her wits, all the housework, the gathering of fuel...

and the field work fell to him.

Left with little time to attend to himself...

he gradually became unkempt and grimy.

As his daughter, I felt terrible about this.

Wipe off that dust!

They're coming!

His Lordship attends!

Kawanami! Quick!

'Provisions'.

Vital stores of food for when the clan must fight, or the castle...

is besieged.

Next we have the Salt Storehouse...

Here you have your beans, green, soy and red...

We pay particular attention to keeping them dry.

Dried giant horse-radish, dried fiddleheads, miso paste...

Kusaka!

This is dried codfish...

very important provisioning in times of war.

How much have we got?

Iguchi...

'Iguchi'? You may answer directly.

By your leave. We have 760 strips...

by weight approximately 120 Kan.

How long does it keep?

Between five and ten years.

This here is the oldest we have.

It was acquired six years ago.

This dried cod from Kansaki is best. It holds its taste for ten years.

That strange smell I noticed... is it you?

Clan retainers must serve as examples to the common folk.

Keep yourself clean.

Yes, Milord!

Carry on.

Idiot!

Sir, I...

I'll speak to you later.

But...

Be quiet!

Iguchi!

You damn fool!

The story spread throughout the castle.

My father became a laughingstock.

My Great-Uncle came from the main house in a foul humor.

Hello!

Hello!

Seibei!

It's Uncle...

I'm in for it now.

Is anybody here? What, are you all dead?!

Coming!

Kayano, make some tea.

Who is it?

Great-Uncle!

This is pitiful!

You appeared before His Lordship unbathed, smelling like dried cod.

The unpleasant impression you created...

shames the house of Iguchi.

That was inexcusable.

I went to Senior Retainer Terauchi and apologized for you.

His Lordship is a generous man, so he did not find fault.

Had that been his father, though...

this would have meant hara-kiri!

I never dreamed it would cause so much trouble.

I beg your forgiveness.

Kayano?

How old are you now?

I am ten years old.

Are you working at your lessons?

I'm learning needlework and Confucius.

A girl has no need of the classics.

All you need is to write women's script.

Too much book learning and you'll never be a bride.