Harakiri

A SHOCHIKU PRODUCTION

A 1962 JAPAN ART FESTIVAL ENTRY

1630.

13th day of May. Fair skies.

Extremely hot from early in the day.

IYI CLAN JOURNAL

10:
00 a.m. - Master Bennosuke...

pays a visit to the Kandabashi mansion

of the Honorable Lord Doi

to present fresh river trout

from the Shirakawa River,

which arrived from our domain.

No other official business to record.

However,

at about 4:
00 in the afternoon,

a samurai claiming to be a former retainer

of the Fukushima Clan in Hiroshima

appeared at our gate.

HARAKIRI:

Produced by

TATSUO HOSOYA:

Original Story by

YASUHIKO TAKIGUCHI

Screenplay by

SHINOBU HASHIMOTO

Cinematography by

YOSHIO MIYAJIMA:

Music by

TORU TAKEMITSU:

Starring

TATSUYA NAKADAI:

AKIRA ISHIHAMA:

SHIMA IWASHITA:

TETSURO TAMBA:

MASAO MISHIMA, ICHIRO NAKAYA

KEI SATO:

YOSHIO INABA, YOSHIRO AOKI

RENTARO MIKUNI:

Directed by

MASAKI KOBAYASHI

SOTO SAKURADA-MACHI, EDO

OFFICIAL RESIDENCE OF THE IYI CLAN

You were a retainer of the former

Fukushima Clan in Hiroshima?

That is correct.

My name is Hanshiro Tsugumo.

Written with the character

tsu as in "harbor"

and gumo as in "cloud."

What is the nature of your visit?

My master's house fell in 1619.

I subsequently left the domain

and moved here to Edo,

where I found shelter

in a back-alley tenement.

While eking out a meager living,

I sought connections

for employment with a new master.

But try as I might,

we live in times of peace,

and my every efforit has been in vain.

Failing to find employment

and with little to do,

he finds himself in dire straits

and believes

he can endure it no furither.

Rather than live on

in such poverity and disgrace,

he wishes to die

honorably by harakiri

and asks for permission

to use our forecourit.

Such is his request.

Not again.

Will they never stop?

How shall I respond?

Fine. Show him in.

This is the room, sir.

Please go in.

Thank you.

I am a former retainer

of Lord Masanori Fukushima

of Hiroshima,

Hanshiro Tsugumo by name.

I respectfully beg your favor.

I am senior counselor

of the House of lyi, Kageyu Saito.

I am much obliged

for this immediate interview.

The purpose of my visit -

I've already been told

of your request.

Rather than live on

in endless poverity,

idly waiting for death,

you wish to end your life in a manner

befitting a samurai, by harakiri.

I believe that was the gist of it?

That is correct.

In these times,

it is a truly admirable resolve.

I can only express the highest esteem.

You mentioned

that you served

the former Lord Fukushima.

Did you happen to know

a man named Motome Chijiiwa?

Chijiiwa?

Yes.

Hmm...

You don't recognize the name?

I'm quite ceritain he said

he'd served the former Lord Fukushima.

In its prosperous days,

the clan's retainers

numbered some 12,000 men.

One could hardly know them all.

I see.

But never mind that.

Earlier this year,

perhaps around the end of January,

this ronin named Motome Chijiiwa

came calling,

and the purpose of his visit

was the same as yours.

He requested the use of our forecourit

to dispatch himself with honor.

Is that right?

Would you like me to tell you

what happened in that case?

I would indeed.

You say you were a retainer

of the former Fukushima Clan in Hiroshima?

That is correct.

I served the former

Lord Masanori Fukushima of Hiroshima.

My name is Motome Chijiiwa.

What is the nature of your visit?

After the fall of my master's house,

I moved here to Edo

and found shelter in a back-alley tenement.

While eking out a meager living,

I sought connections

for employment with a new master.

But try as I might,

we live in times of peace...

and my every efforit has been in vain.

So now it seems it's our turn.

How shall we respond?

Let me think.

It's amazing how such foolishness

can take hold.

Blame it on what

the Sengoku Clan did.

Say what you will, that was a mistake.

- I disagree, Yazaki.

That's not necessarily true.

- Why not?

The fellow who went to the Sengoku house

was serious about disemboweling himself.

There was nothing dishonorable

about his intent.

Precisely because

they were touched by his sincerity,

the Sengoku house decided

to take him in as a back-room retainer.

That was good.

They made the right decision in that case.

The problem

is the shameless imitators

who have followed.

They have no intention whatsoever

of performing harakiri,

and just because they're huriting a little

for food and clothing,

they show up at our gate

to practice their thinly disguised extorition.

We can't very well allow him

to disembowel himself in our gateway.

Our only choice is to follow

the example of other clans:

Give him a little something

and ask him to leave.

No.

That will not do.

If we give him money

and send him away,

he'll soon be followed by others.

One after the other,

like ants drawn to a mound of sugar.

Ever since the Battle of Sekigahara,

Edo has been teeming with ronin -

masterless samurai.

They're like wild dogs

roving about in search of prey.

Think what people will say.

"The House of lyi has gone soft

like the others.

Everybody thought they had backbone,

so until now, the ronin avoided their gate.

But look what they've done now.

They boast of their maritial valor,

but this is a time of peace,

so they're just

living in yesterday's dreams."

Would you have such laughable chatter

spreading all over Edo?

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