The Ditch (どぶ)

DITCH

Produced by Kozaburo Yoshimura

Written by Kaneto Shindo, Goro Tanada

Photographed by Takeo Ito

Music by Akira Ifukube

Starring

Nobuko Otowa

Jukichi Uno, Taiji Tonoyama So Yamamura

Ichiro Sugai, Kamatari Fujiwara Takashi Kanda, Tsutomu Shimomoto

Yoshi Kato, Kinzo Shin Bokuzen Hidari

Chieko Nakakita, Mayuri Mokusho Chyoko Iida, Tamae Kiyogawa

Ranko Akagi, Yumi Takano Noriko Honma

Directed by Kaneto Shindo

The moon is coming out...

Game!

Double!

Let's get together...

One seat for two...

Is that a six? I win.

Hey.

Hey there.

Wait.

Wait.

What is it?

It's daytime. Don't scare me like that!

...ungry

What?

I'm... ungry.

You're hungry?

ON STRIKE

What's up? A strike?

What's wrong with you? It's been two days!

Oh? So you're taking a break?

Hi.

Defend our nation's freedom,

Rise! Workers of our nation!

Defend the tradition...

of our glorious revolution.

The blood of justice...

strike up the beat.

Traitors who sell our country...

are like dogs.

Forward march!

We stay together firmly.

Action Group for National Independence

Forward! Forward! March!

What?

Hi Toku. Doing great?

Remember? You owe me 13.

I'll bet on 1-3.

That's 14!

1-4.

Pray to your «Bomb» lucky charm,

see if you can win it big.

I really should.

Oh! Where's...

Hokke...

Knows bad... Knows good...

Knows me...

Hell. Heaven.

Do they exist on earth?

Their sacred names in the world...

become truthful hearts.

When did you get you back?

You went to Mito?

How was it?

Nothing.

You lost everything?

I dropped my «Bomb» lucky charm.

How unlucky I was!

I lost the last 1-4.

The first day in Mito was great.

I won every game.

Bastard! You did good?

Morita and Amamiya were very close at finish.

So intense!

And then?

3rd race. 5 laps. 2,000 m.

4th curve. Takahashi was 1st. Saito was the 5th.

I thought that's how it'd end.

And?

Takahashi had a flat, 20 m before finish.

And Saito got to 1st!

There really is a god for gambling!

Yes!

My «bomb charm» is not bad either.

It saved my life.

Mar 10, 1945. The Great Tokyo Air Raid.

Shrapnel from a bomb fell beside me.

Oh God.

I dropped it.

From 4th race on it rained so hard...

Rain?

Rainy days are worse than my mom's death anniversary.

It all went wrong at once!

Toku.

What?

Someone to see you.

She followed me!

The Bomb?

Pin! This!

God has not forsaken me! Because I have this!

But today's 1-4...

You want some water?

She's so dirty!

Is that scum on her neck?

No bath for 10 days!

Why were you there this morning?

I was sleeping. I was hungry.

Where are you from?

There.

What is «there»?

Enough.

She's...

What a nice view!

Like the Sungari river.

Sungari? What Sungari?

You don't know?

Sungari River. In Manchuria.

You were in Manchuria?

It was horrible!!!

Bam! Bam! Bam! The bombs kept falling!

Like rain!

I escaped! It's true!

Then I got sick, and they all worried about me.

Dead...

Who?

Of course! Mom!

This is shabby?

I came back to Japan.

And stayed at my uncle's. In Chiba.

We were poor.

It was like this place.

But I can't let them take care of me forever.

Right?

I was working!

The textiles factory, you know? In Chifu.

But it was no good.

Because it's «tax»-tiles. Got it?

They went on strike.

Strike!

Much ado about nothing.

I got 1, 000 yen for severance.

And then?

They told me there was a factory in the hills.

I went there on my own.

Very bad guys.

And then?

I lost all my money. I was going to walk home on foot.

I was hungry. I was really hungry.

I didn't eat for 3 days.

And then?

I went to Ueno.

I can't go back to my uncle's.

It hurts!

He cheated me.

I was careless.

He sold me to Uchitsura,

Your dad is top brass!

My dad is a blast!

They treated me badly.

If I got sick, they wouldn't let me see a doctor.

And then?

I ran away with friends.

Aki, who ran away with me, lives in Kawasaki.

So I came here.

And then?

I don't know where I am.

Days passed, and I got hungry.

Then I fell asleep.

Until dawn.

I was so hungry, my stomach was flat!

He gave me bread.

So happy!

«The long trip has come to an end».

Ah... hungry.

Supper time!

- Supper! - Who do you think you are?

You keep listening to boring stuff! Go start a fire!

Yes.

Asako. Make supper.

Yes.

Takeshi, don't stand there.

Something to eat?

Leftover from lunch. Some grilled sardines.

Without heating them?

You took so long to start a fire!

Why are you standing there?

That looks good!

Very fresh fish.

Wow!

Asako, go buy some rice.

Yes.

What's she doing?

Don't know.

Don't let her in. She's dirty.

Rice... Let me eat...

What?

Rice.

I'm hungry.