"When I was a child winter didn't feel so cold." " It's nearly two months since I moved home from Tokyo." " It's been an awkward time." "( In Mourning)" "This way." " Excuse us." " Please accept our condolences." " We are here for the encoffinment." " May we offer incense?" " Please do." " She looks alive." " Suicide by charcoal." " How do you know?" " No agony." " And they probably found her right away." " Too bad... she's beautiful." " Want to do it?" " All right." " The rite of encoffinment is to prepare the deceased for a peaceful departure." " Please come closer and watch." " I will now wipe the body." " She's got one." " Got what?" " A thing." " What thing?" " A 'thing'!" " Excuse me..." "Yes?" " Once the departed is dressed, we will apply make-up." " We have make-up for women, or for men..." "Oh... just a minute." " How'd you like Tomeo made up, Sis?" " Boy, or girl?" " What'll it be?" " If I'd only had him as a girl at the first, none of this... would've happened." " Girl, then?" " Yes." " As a girl, please." " Certainly." " Tomeo!" " Departures" "Another empty house." " We should advertise more." " I know!" " An orchestra website." " My wife's a web designer." " She'd do it for free." " Forget that, Daigo." " Are you OK?" " Huh?" " Your next gig." " Next?" " You'll need a job to pay off a cello like that." " Well done, everybody." " The audience was a little sparse, but you played wonderfully." " However, as it turns out... the owner of this orchestra, Mr Sonezaki, has a few words to say." " So if you would please give him your attention..." "The orchestra is dissolved." " See you." " The orchestra job" "I'd finally managed to land... in a flash was not history, only a memory." " It wasrt the cello's fault." " I shouldn't have bought it." " Now I'd lost my job." " In many ways that cello... had been too much for me." " Thank you!" " Goodbye." " I'm home!" " Hi." " I got an octopus." " From the neighbor." " Caught this morning." " What's the matter?" " We're dissolved." " Who?" " The orchestra." " Oh..." "You'll find another one." " There won't be one." " I'm not good enough." " And I owe for that." " How much?" " That's OK." " I'm working." " We can pay off a million yen." " 18 million." " 18 million yen!" " That's what all the pros pay." " Maybe even more." " Why did you hide that?" " I thought you'd say no." " But something that important..." "why didn't you tell me?" " I'm sorry." " I'll make supper." "' The world's cities will be our home." "' Come tour with me.'" " That's how I proposed." " But reality was harsh." " No." " I should have realized the limits to my talent." " What's wrong?" " It's alive!" " Yeah!" " What should we do?" "!" " Don't get caught again." " Huh?" " I should quit." " What?" " Cello." " And do what?" " Go back up to Yamagata." " Agreed!" " You don't mind?" " We can live free in the house your mother left you." " It's really OK?" " This was my great turning point... but in a strange way, selling the cello was a relief." " I felt freed from ties that had bound me for so long." " What I'd always taken as my dream maybe hadrt been one after all." "' Harmony'" "This was all my mother had left me when she'd died two years before." " My father had run a coffee shop here... but I hardly remembered it." " After he deserted us... she ran it as a small bar... and raised me alone." " Supper's ready!" " Coming!" " I thought you'd hate it here." " No!" " Everything's so new." " Rice tastes better." " Maybe it's the water." " Maybe I should open a shop..." "What kind?" " Hey!" " This ad." "' No age restriction, good salary." "' Short working hours, full-time employee.'" "' NK Agent'... what's that?" "' Working with departures.'  A travel agency, maybe." " A tour guide?" "' No experience necessary.'  I'll give them a call." " Here." " NK Agent" "Hello?" " Is this NK Agent?" " Yes." " I'm Kobayashi." " I called earlier." " For the interview?" " The boss'll be right back." " Have a seat." " Thank you." " I was against the boss putting an ad in the paper." " It's hard finding people for this." " What sort of company would this be?" " You mean you don't know?" " It said 'departures'..." "No?" " The mars here about the job." " Hello." " I phoned this morning." " Oh, you..." "So you're not depressing..." "Thank you." " I knew an ad would work." " Make some tea." " My resume..." "Good." " Sit down." " Thank you." " Will you work hard?" " Uh... yes." " You're hired." " What's your name?" "' Daigo Kobayashi'." " Get him some cards." " OK." " But what about salary and stuff like that?" " Oh... how about one hand to start?" "' One hand'?" " 50,000?" " 500." " 500,000?" "!" " Too low?" " You pay that much?" " In cash, if you want." " What does the job involve?" " Well..." "At first, being my assistant, I guess." " Specifically..." "'Specifically'?" " Casketing." "' Casketing'?" " Putting bodies in coffins." " It bloomed!" " You mean 'dead bodies'?" " That's really funny." " Uh, no, I mean..." "The ad said 'departures', so I thought it meant... a travel agency." " That's a misprint." " It's not 'departures', it's... 'the departed'." " The departed?" "!" "' NK' stands for [nokan], 'casketing'." " Anyway, fate brought you here." " Give it a try." " Quit if you don't like it." " Today's pay." " No, I couldn't..." "It's fine." " No, no..." "I'm back." " Hi." " Here." " What's that?" " You said you wanted sukiyaki." " Yonezawa beef?" "!" " Grade A." "That's expensive!" " I got an advance." " You got the job?" " Sort of." " So we're celebrating!" " So what's the job?" " A tour guide?" " No..." "Sales?" " What?" " It's not a travel agent." " So what is it?" " Ceremonies." " Like weddings?" " Maybe you can play cello for them." " I'll get the sukiyaki ready." " OK." " I won't be too late." "' Bye." "' Morning." " Here I am." " Use the boss's desk till yours comes." " Your business cards are done." " No misprints." " They're just coffins." " They're the first I've seen." " The first?" " My grandparents died before I can remember." " I was abroad when my mom died, so I missed her funeral." " And your dad?" " He left us when I was six." " That must have been hard for your mom." " Can someone who's never seen a corpse actually do this job?" " You'll get used to it." " To corpses?" " It's slow now in the summer, but when the seasons change..." "I'll help." "... it's one job after another." " Who hires us?" " Undertakers." " Undertakers?" " It used to be that families prepared the bodies." " Then undertakers took it on... and places like ours started up." " It's a niche market." " They're heavy." " There's different types." " 50,000." " 100,000." " 300,000." " They're that different?" " That's plywood, this one has gold fittings and carved sides." " And this one's pure hinoki cypress." " So it's the wood and the fittings..." "Yep." " They burn the same way, into the same ashes." " Your last purchase, and someone else chooses it." " It's ironic." " NK Agent..." "Yes, he's here." " The Minatoza?" " He'll be right there." " The boss?" " A job." " A job?" "( Minatoza Theater)" "NK Agent?" " Yes." " He's here." " Oh, good." " This is my new assistant, uh..." "'Kobayashi'." " Kobayashi." " He'll be our model today." " Model?" " We'll start shooting as soon as you get changed." " Costume and make-up's over here." " Make-up?" " Sir..." "It's fine." " Let's start." "( Casketing Procedure)" "The model's ready!" " Good." " Where will this be shown?" " It's fine." " It's just for the trade." " No one'll see it." " The first step in casketing is washing of the body." " This washes away the weariness, pain, and cares of this world... and represents the first bath for one newborn in the next." " In olden times, a wash-cloth was used for this, but now, for reasons of hygiene, a sterilized cloth is used" "to wipe... the body." " To preserve dignity, take great care that family members do not see the bare skin of the deceased." " Once the body is dressed, the face is shaved before make-up is applied." " Especially with men, facial hair will be more apparent due to tissue contraction and drying of the skin so great care must be taken." " Necrotic skin is extremely fragile." " Even the pressure of a finger can break it." " For this reason, we must proceed... with very great care..." "Ow!" " Ow!" " Ow!" " He's bleeding!" " Ow!" " It's fine." " It's just a scratch." " Hi." " What?" " Your face..." "The boss wanted me shaved." " You shaved at work?" " But you only ever use an electric razor." " The boss said to." " It's just a scratch." " That's weird." " Yeah, it's a weird place." " Suddenly, my first case." " What should I do?" " Today... just watch." " All right." " But it's one of those." " You picked a bad one." " What do you mean?" " You'll see." " Don't scare me!" " Here we are." " Ah, good." " Where's the body?" " Old lady, lived alone." " Dead two weeks." " She's in pretty bad shape." " See you later." " Who's that?" " The undertaker." " Our employer." " Let's get to work." " It stinks!" " Come on." " Give me a hand." " Get her legs." " Her legs!" " Right." " You said just to watch." " Gently, gently..." "Hold her tighter!" " Take the day off." " That was a bit much for your first job." " Did you eat something weird?" " No." " Something stinks." " Your scarf!" " It does not!" " No?" "  Hey..." " What?" " That guy in the suit..." "Next stop, Minami-Ginza." "( Tsurunoyu Public Bath)" "It's still here!" " Just leave it there." " 300 yen." " Thanks." " Towel's 100 yen." " You'll get a good price now!" " I'm not quitting!" " Go away!" " It's for your own good, Ma!" " Get back to your city hall." " I'm not that old yet." " Am I, Shiori?" " Can I come again for the big bath?" " Of course!" " I'll keep this bath-house going just for you!" " Daigo?" " Yamashita..." "Why didn't you tell me you're back?" " Sorry." " It's been a bit crazy." " Well!" " If it's not the Kobayashi boy Daigo!" " It's been a while." " That it has!" " That's quite the job you found yourself!" " Huh?" " Uh, yeah..." "What's that thing he plays?" " The cello." " A great big violin." " That's it, a cello!" " That gentlemars really something." " He plays the cello in Tokyo!" " Wow!" " I wish my son had talent!" " Ma!" " This isn't a good time." " We'll have a drink." " OK." " Bring the wife along." " You're married, aren't you?" " Yes." " When this fool's not here." " And who gave birth to this fool?" " Anyway, I'm not selling!" " There!" " Mate?" " Mate." " I win." " Anything wrong?" " Let's eat." " Mrs Fujii next door gave us this." " Fresh-killed this morning." " You could eat it raw." " Not quite yet..." "Are you OK?" " Are you OK?" " What?" " What's the matter?" " What's wrong with you?" " Hey!" " No, Daigo, don't!" " Not here!" " Daigo?" " Hey..." "Mika!" " Was this a trial I was being put through for not looking after my mother?" " Where was I going?" " I suddenly wanted to play the cello." " I just wanted to play the cello and let memory rewind." " It's tiny!" " Salmon?" " Oh... yes." " There, by those rocks." " Go!" " Go!" " Sad, isn't it." " Coming all this way just to die." " It doesn't seem won'th it." " They want to come home." " Back to where they were born." " Let's go eat." " The boss says to." " Why... did you take this road?" " Fate." " Yeah, right!" " You were born to do this." " That's fine for you to say!" " I'm very, very sorry!" " He's mad!" " Mr Sasaki, please!" " I'm sorry." " You're late!" " Five minutes late!" " I'm very sorry." " You make your living on the dead." " Stop it!" " Move it!" " I apologize." " May I have your wife's favorite lipstick?" " Huh?" " One grown cold, restored to beauty for all eternity." " This was done with a calmness, a precision and above all, a gentle affection." " At the final parting, sending the dead on their way everything done peacefully, and beautifully." " Thank you." " I will now affix the lid." " Naomi!" " Naomi..." "Naomi!" " Excuse me!" " I'm sorry about what I said." " No." " We were late." " Please have this." " Thank you." " She'd... never looked so beautiful." " Thank you very much." " Nothing." " Come in." " Good evening." " Good evening." " Don't tell me..." "Yes." " My wife." " How do you do." " Isn't she a dear!" " You're too kind." " Go into the bath and get warm." " Thank you." "' Evening." " Oh, hello." " You always come here?" " For 50 years." " I see... well..." "It's nice the water's so hot." " She pumps up groundwater and heats it with wood." " That softens it." " It's hot, but it doesn't make you itch." " I see..." "Best in the land!" " Good night, Tsuyako." " Thank you." " Shall I help you?" " It's bad luck to put a customer to work." " You do it all yourself?" " Yes, for years." " Since I lost my husband." " My civil-servant son wants me to sell the place for condominiums." " But what would my customers do?" " So while I'm still healthy..." "You still have a long time." " Look after him." " Daigo's a dear boy." " He takes it all on himself." " When his folks split up, he'd never cry in front of his mom." " But he would when he was alone in that bath." " The poor little thing, his shoulders shaking..." "So that's how he is." " Please understand him." " I will." " How was the water?" " So-so." " The kerchief suits you." " It's all white!" " The cold's set in." " Here." " Thanks." " Let's have a drink." " I know a fine place." " Let's go!" " Let's be off." " OK?" " OK." " We're off!" " That's good!" " We haven't done this in ages." " It's like an old song." " Your mom liked this?" " They were all dad's." " Right, this was your dad's coffee shop..." "Don't remind me." " I don't even remember his face." " Would you like to see him?" " No." " But if I did..." "If you did..." "I'd hit him." " Dad liked this piece." " I bet... your mom stayed in love with your dad." " No." " Then she'd have thrown his records out." " Not kept them so nice." " Go ahead." " Right now." " Right now?" " Someone hanged himself in a hotel." " Where's the boss?" " He just left on another call." " Can you handle it alone?" " All right." " Off you go." " See you." " Good morning." " Good job last night." " The police were impressed." "' He's so young,' they said." " It was all a blur." " Oh?" " Isn't it cold!" " Here." " Thank you." " Your eyes are red." " Didrt you sleep?" " The job grows on you, doesn't it." " How did you get into this business?" " Thanks." " Things happened when I was young." " I had to leave my home town." " Obihiro." " I had a bunch of jobs and ended up in a little bar here." " But the owner... took a stroke and died." " Then the boss came." " I'd never seen casketing before." " I thought if I died," "I'd want him to put me in my coffin." " There's no one quite like him, is there." " So here I am." " It's funny how fate works." " You never know where you'll end up." " That's right." " This tea's good." " Hi, Yamashita." " A friend?" " Hello!" " Ignore him." " Stop it!" " Go on ahead." " People are talking." " About what?" " Get yourself a proper job!" " Let's go." " I'm home." " Huh?" " Mika?" " Mika?" " What's wrong?" " This is done in such a way that the family does not see." " The anus must sometimes be blocked." " The cotton wool is rolled and pressed deep into the anus." " This prevents seepage." " What's all that?" " You looked in my desk..." "Don't change the subject." " I just got this acting job..." "I checked what the company does." " So?" " Why didn't you say?" " You'd say no." " Of course!" " Arert you ashamed having a job like that?" " What's to be ashamed of?" " Touching dead people?" " Just get a normal job." "' Normal'?" " Everyone dies." " I'll die, and so will you." " Death is normal." " Spare me the word games!" " I want you to quit." " Please." " I haven't said anything so far, have I." "When you wanted to quit the cello and move back up here..." "I just smiled." " The fact is, I was all broken up over it." " But..." "I love you." " So... just this once... listen to me." " And if I don't?" " Will this be a career?" " I'm going home." " Come see me when you quit." " Mika!" " Don't touch me!" " You're unclean!" " No." " I'm sorry?" " That's not my daughter." " The color's wrong." " It's all wrong!" " That's Miyuki!" " What are you doing?" "!" " It's all wrong!" " Do it again." " Certainly." " What's the point now?" " You didn't raise her right." " That's why this happened!" " Don't talk like that." " What?" "!" " You didn't pay her much attention, either." " Who are you to talk?" "!" " You killed her on your bike!" " Have you no shame?" "!" " Stop it!" " Stop it!" " All of you!" " Get out." " It's your fault Miyuki's dead." " Can you make up for that?" " Well?" " Work all your lives like him at a job no one else would do?" " Well?" " I'm sorry." " I'm sorry!" " The boss'll be disappointed." " He likes you." " He does?" " Yes!" " You're the first one he's ever made full-time!" " He sure hired me fast enough..." "The man goes on instinct." " He knew as soon as he saw you." " Even still..." "Well, if you're going to quit, can you tell him yourself?" " He's upstairs." " Excuse me..." "Come in." " Are you eating?" " Your wife's still away..." "Yes." " Eat." " I'm probably a better cook than you." " Dig in." " What's that?" " Puffer roe, grilled with salt." " It's good." " My wife." " She died on me nine years ago." " One of you always goes first, but it's hard being left behind." " I made her beautiful and sent her off." " She was my first." " Then I started this business." " Even this... is a corpse." " The living eat the dead." " Unless they're plants." " Unless you want to die, you eat." " And if you eat, eat well." " Good, huh?" " Yes, it is." " So good I hate myself." " It's nearly two months since I moved home from Tokyo." " It's been an awkward time." " Can I really do this job?" " Want to do it?" " All right." " Lay the head down first, please." " Tomeo!" " We'll take our leave." " Thank you." " Once he went like he did, we did nothing but fight." " After that I wasrt seeing him." " But when I saw his smile, I remembered." "' He's my son." "' He may dress as a girl, but he's still my son.'" " Thank you very much!" " Mmm!" " Is it good?" " I hate myself." " You brought your cello?" " I want to hear it!" " Just a bit." " I've never heard one live." " You were in an orchestra?" " But it went broke." " When did you start playing?" " In kindergarten." " That long ago?" " This is a child's instrument." " My dad made me take lessons." " Good for him!" " He was a louse." " He had a coffee shop, and he took off with a waitress." " A real bastard." " Where is he now?" " Dead, probably." " So... what'll it be?" " Well, since it's Christmas..." "No problems of religious affiliation?" " It's fine." " Buddhist, Christians, Islam, Hindu, we handle anything." " All right, for a holy night..." "Hello, NK Agent." " Thank you for calling." " Tomorrow?" " And the name of the deceased?" " We will now prepare the deceased for her departure." " Slip them over the toes..." "Um..." "Grandma wanted to wear socks like ours." " Certainly." " Grandma... bye-bye." " Thank you for everything." "... we pray in the name of Jesus Christ." " Amen." " He's getting old." " Papa..." "Thank you!" " Mika!" " Don't you ever clean?" " Sometimes." " Not even once." " Twice." " That's not 'sometimes'." " I guess you need me." " And I've got news." " What?" " I'm pregnant." " I'm going to be a father?" " So get yourself together, OK?" " Will you be able to tell a child what you do?" " The other kids will laugh." " I don't care about the money." " Let's be happy." " Hello?" " Hi." " Right now?" " What?" " I'll be right there." " Are you going to work now?" " The lady who runs the bath..." "she's dead." " My wife Mika." " She was carrying firewood." " She dropped dead." " Working right till the end..." "The town won't be the same without this bath." " If you would all wipe her face, and take your farewells." " Ma!" " Mother!" " Shiori..." "Grandma's leaving us." " Mother!" " Thank you for everything." " You work here?" " If you would place your hands together..." "I will now close the casket." " Thank you." " We'll meet again." " May I watch?" " Thank you." " People probably have a premonition of what's coming." " Last year we did Christmas Eve together." " Just like a young couple, at our age!" " But she insisted... so we bought a little cake, and lit some candles and celebrated together." " Then all of a sudden she asks me to help her heat the public bath." " Now I know why." " I'm good at fire." " Working here all these years," "I've often thought that maybe death is like a gateway." " Dying doesn't mean the end." " You go through it and onto the next thing." " It's a gate." " And as the gatekeeper" "I've sent so many on their way." " Telling them..." "'Off you go." "' We'll meet again.'" " Ma!" " Ma!" " I'm sorry!" " I'm sorry!" " I'm sorry!" " Ma!" " I'm sorry!" " What are you doing?" " This one." " Here." " What?" " A stone letter." "' Stone letter'?" " Long ago, before writing, you'd send someone a stone... that suited the way you were feeling." " From its weight and touch, they'd know how you felt." " From a smooth stone they might get that you were happy or from a rough one that you were worried about them." " Thank you." " What did you feel?" " Not telling." " That's a lovely story." " Who told you?" " My dad." " You mean... that big rock?" " Yep." " I got it from him." " I didn't know that." " He said he'd send me one every year, but that's all I ever got." " That jerk!" " Will you play for the baby every day till it's born?" " What a nice day!" " Hello." " Is this the Kobayashi residence?" " Yes." "' Kazuko Kobayashi'?" " Doesrt she live here?" " My mother-in-law died two years ago." " What?" "!" " Is that so?" " May I see that?" " No, don't..." "(Name of Deceased Kobayashi, Hideki)" "I'm back." " You forgot your cell phone." " Huh?" " It's at home... sorry." " Your father's dead." " Mine?" " Yes." " What do you mean?" " So I called the fishing port." " Our address was in his things." " But who cares now?" " I haven't seen him in 30 years." " His girlfriend can tend to him." " They said he was single." " They're cremating him tomorrow." " His body's at the Fishermers Co-op there." " He's not on our family register." " Tell them I can't sign for him." " Daigo!" " Go." " No, it's fine." " Please!" " I left... a son in Obihiro." " He was six." " I met someone." "' Mommy!" " Mommy!" "'  My son was crying." " I pushed his little hands away and went running out." " And since then?" " I'd love to see him, but I can't." " Why not?" " You could go there." " Are parents who dump their kids... always like that?" "!" " Please!" " You have to see him this one last time." " Daigo..." "Sir..." "Wait." " Take one." " It's fine." " I came in and he was dead." " It was a real shock." " He just turned up in town one day, all alone." " He worked so hard helping out at the harbor... that we let him live in the watchmars cottage." " I see..." "He was real quiet, hardly said a word." " I'm glad someone from his family came." " The undertaker's on his way." " So that's your father..." "I hate to say it but I don't remember... his face." " I wouldn't know him to see him." "( Hideki Kobayashi)" "So what was his life for, anyway?" " Living 70-some years and leaving one box of stuff?" " In here." " All right?" "' Scuse us." " Excuse us." " Can we get started?" " Let's get him loaded." " Um..." "Yes?" " Could I do that?" " No, no, we'll do it." " Offer him some water when we get him in." " One, two..." "What the...?" "!" " My husband is a professional." " Dad..." "Father..." "Dad..." "Masahiro Motoki" "Ryoko Hirosue" "Kimiko Yo" "Kazuko Yoshiyuki" "Takashi Sasano" "Tsutomu Yamazaki" "Directed by Yojiro Takita" "Subtitles lan MacDougall"