Twenty-Four Eyes (Nijushi no hitomi) (二十四の瞳)

OFFICIAL ENTRY 1954 FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS

A MINISTRY OF EDUCATION FILM SELECTION

SELECTION OF THE FIRST ANNUAL "MASTERPIECE APPRECIATION SERIES"

A SHOCHIKU FILM

TWENTY-FOUR EYES

Produced by RYOTARO KUWATA Based on the Novel by SAKAE TSUBOI

Director of Photography HIROSHI KUSUDA

Production Design KIMIHIKO NAKAMURA Sound Recording HISAO ONO

Lighting RYOZO TOYOSHIMA Music CHUJI KINOSHITA

Set Design KAKUZO SASU Set Decoration USHITARO SHIMADA

Starring

Children in First Grade HIDEKI GOKO, ITSUO WATANABE MAKOTO MIYAKAWA

TAKERO TERASHITA, KUNIO SATO, YUKO ISHII YASUYO KOIKE, SETSUKO KUSANO

KAORU KASE, YUMIKO TANABE IKUKO KAMBARA, HIROKO UEHARA

Children in Upper Class HITOSHI GOKO, SHIRO WATANABE JUNICHI MIYAKAWA

TAKEAKI TERASHITA, TAKESHI SATO SHISAKO ISHII, AKIKO KOIKE SADAKO KUSANO

KAYOKO KASE, NAHOKO TANABE TOYOKO OZU, MASAKO UEHARA

YUMEJI TSUKIOKA TOSHIKO KOBAYASHI, KUNIKO IGAWA

TAKAHIRO TAMURA CHISHU RYU as the Gentleman Teacher

SHIZUE NATSUKAWA, KUMEKO URABE NIJIKO KIYOKAWA, CHIEKO NANIWA

USHIO AKASHI, HIDEYO AMAMOTO TOSHIO TAKAHARA

TOKUJI KOBAYASHI, TOYOKO TAKAHASHI, TOYOKO SHINOHARA

MAYUMI MINAMI, KIMIYO OTSUKA TAZUKO KUSAKA, KAZUKO MOTOHASHI

REI MIURA, YASUKUNI TOIDA YOSHIKAZU OTSUKI

TATSUO SHIMIZU YOSHIKO NAGAI

TOSHIYUKI YASHIRO NAOTORA KINOSHITA, KEIKO GOKO

HIDEKO TAKAMINE as Miss Oishi

Written for the Screen and Directed by KEISUKE KINOSHITA

AMONG THE ISLANDS OF JAPAN'S INLAND SEA,

THE SECOND LARGEST, AFTER AWAJI,

IS SHODOSHIMA.

IF A DECADE COUNTS AS "AN ERA,"

THIS STORY TOOK PLACE THERE TWO ERAS AGO.

CHILDREN IN THIS HAMLET

ATTEND A LOCAL SCHOOLHOUSE FOR THE FIRST FOUR YEARS.

FOR THE FIFTH YEAR AND ABOVE,

THEY MUST WALK THREE MILES TO THE MAIN SCHOOL.

The hammer rings out without pause

APRIL 4, 1928 Sparks fly and boiling water splashes

The wind from the bellows blows without end

The village blacksmith is hard at work

He's known by all as a stubborn old fellow

Early to bed, early to rise, and never sick a single day

He's proud of his arm, stronger than iron

Though his spirit is strongest of all

His labors earn him great rewards and he's far from poor

The blacksmith is famous and his business is thriving

Teacher!

Teacher!

Are you leaving now?

I said farewell to the cape. Now I'll say farewell to you.

I just said my good-byes at the boarding house.

You're moving on to the main school now.

Study hard!

What's the new teacher like?

She's very nice.

- A country bumpkin? - Not at all. She's a fine teacher.

But she's just a beginner?

Every teacher was a beginner once.

You plan to make her cry like you did me?

You'd better not. My daughter will be in her class.

- What's her name? - Miss Oishi.

"Big Stone"? Then she's very tall.

Names don't always fit.

Mine means "Little Grove," yet I'm quite tall.

Miss "Big Stone" is shorter than me - only up to my shoulder.

Then she's a pebble. Miss Pebble!

But she won't cry like I did.

I told her, "You might see children

on their way to the main school.

If they tease you, just pretend they're monkeys.

And if they're mean, pretend they're squawking birds."

Monkeys and birds, get flying! You're late for school.

Ding-a-ling!

Ding-a-ling man!

Good-bye! Be well!

Be a good wife!

Good morning.

- She looks tough! - A woman riding a bike!

Good morning.

She's tough! A "modern girl"!

Good morning.

A woman in Western clothes!

Must be the new teacher.

On a shiny new bike!

Good morning.

A woman in Western clothes just went by on a bike!

Must be the new teacher.

Looks like a man's jacket!

What's the world coming to?

Riding a bicycle and wearing a suit! A real tomboy!

Stop pushing!

Stop it!

It's pretty!

Haven't you ever seen a bicycle before?

Who wants a ride?

My house is over by that smokestack.

It's 50 minutes by bike, though it looks so close.

Yes, it's fine weather. Not too hot, not too cold.

And it's barely April.

I think I'll go have a look.

What am I going to do?

What's wrong?

That new teacher's got a teaching license and degree and everything.

Not like the bumpkins we usually get around here.

Is she smart?

Seems to be.

You didn't expect her to ride in on a bike.

Why send such a classy teacher here all of a sudden?

What's the principal thinking?

It's the opening ceremony. My speech has to be good.

- Keep your head high. - Okay.

Better wear shoes today.

You're right. I better look Western today.

Everybody line up!

You hear me?

Attention!

You're all starting first grade, right?

Let's line up. Come over here.

Are they all here? One, two, three, four...

Are there 12?

Yes, all 12 present.

Let's line up here.

Come on.

Everyone over here, quick.

I'll be your teacher starting today.

Make a straight line.

Good.

Look straight ahead. Where are you looking?

Look at me.

Arms out in front.

That's it.

When I call your name, answer in a loud voice.

I want to learn all your names right away.

Isokichi Okada?

Is Isokichi Okada not here?

He is.

Answer "here" when I call your name.

Isokichi Okada?

Sonki, answer!

Everybody calls you Sonki?

All right then. Sonki Isokichi?

Next... Takeichi Takeshita?

That's a nice clear answer.

Next... Kichiji Tokuda?

- Kit-chin! - Here!

So, you go by Kit-chin?

K-I-T-C-H-I-N

Tadashi Morioka?

Tanko!

Only answer if I call your name.

Tadashi Morioka?

So, you're called Tanko?

Nita Aizawa?

You're a little busybody, aren't you? And no need to shout.

What's your nickname?

Nikuta.

Nikuta? Does that mean you're a bully?

It's not nice to tease others.

Matsue Kawamoto?

What do they call you?

Mat-chan.

Misako Nishiguchi?

Do they call you Misa-chan?

Mi-san.

Mi-san? That's a cute name.

Masuno Kagawa?

Yeah.

"Yeah" sounds odd.

Say "here," Masuno.

She's Ma-chan.

Fujiko Kinoshita?

Your family used to be village heads, right?

Sanae Yamaishi?

Kotoe Katagiri?

Kotsuru Kabe?

Your father's the delivery man, isn't he?

The ding-a-ling man!

That's why people call you a bully!

Good-bye.

Big stone, little pebble!

Good-bye.

Big stone, little pebble!

She wrote down all their nicknames.

She said Mi-san was a cute name.

Playing favorites already! They probably gave her a present!

She asked Fujiko if her family

used to be village heads, like it was some big deal.

Village heads? They're nearly broke!

Class, where does the emperor live?

Nikuta.

The emperor lives in the closet.

Why do you say that?

Isn't he hiding in the school closet?

That's not the emperor. That's just his picture.

This little school doesn't have a proper place for his picture,

so we fixed up the closet to keep it in there.

It doesn't mean the emperor himself is in there.

The train chugs along puffing white smoke

Choo choo choo choo choo choo