"When the Last Sword is Drawn."
The City of Tokyo, Winter, 1899.
What are these?
Here. Make sure you pack this.
Yes, yes...
we'll never get done.
Sure we will.
Chiaki...
pack first, then drink.
Yes, dear.
We can't take half a bottle with us!
"Ono Clinic."
"This clinic is closed."
"We are moving to a new location."
"Chiaki Ono, M.D."
Yes?
Coming, coming!
I realize it's late.
My grandson has a fever that won't go down. Would you mind?
Come in.
We're moving, so the place is a mess.
Find an empty place and sit down.
Minoru...
There we go...
We have got a patient!
All right.
My wife handles the children.
Come in.
There's not much room. You go in alone.
I don't want a needle!
Minoru! Stop this nonsense!
There's nothing to be scared of.
I'm sorry.
It's all right. Just leave that there.
You've got a fever.
Don't be scared.
This gentleman...
Who?
Do you know him?
No.
How could I forget him? Kanichiro Yoshimura...
The man I hated most...
and in those mad days when the Shogun fell, my comrade in...
'the wolves of Mibu'.
WHEN THE LAST SWORD lS DRAWN.
The 'Newly Chosen Unit', or 'Shinsengumi', was formed in 1863.
Quartered in Kyoto's Mibu area...
this group of masterless samurai was charged with keeping the peace...
as the Shogun's power ebbed.
I first saw Yoshimura among a group of recruits...
selected by our Lieutenant, Toshizo Hijikata.
'Listed' swordsmen and above.
First, Kanichiro Yoshimura.
Sir!
From Morioka, Oshu Clan. North Star One-Sword School. Licensed.
He's in the same school as you, lto.
Never seen him.
Mr. Nagakura...
How about trying one with a real sword?
Okita!
It's all right. They're not sharp.
Your school doesn't train with real swords, does it..
That's right, sir.
Go easy on me.
He might miss. Wear a protector.
I might miss, too. You should wear one as well.
I won't need it.
Very well.
Starring Kiichi Nakai.
Koichi Sato.
Yui Natsukawa Takehiro Murata.
Miki Nakatani Yuji Miyake.
Story Jiro Asada.
Screenplay Takehiro Nakajima.
Music Joe Hisaishi.
Producers Hideshi Miyajima Nozomu Enoki.
Directed by Yojiro Takita.
He had killed. You could see that at a glance.
Enough!
Not bad!
My humble thanks.
Yoshimura!
Sir?
It takes a good man to fight Nagakura to a draw.
You will work with him as an instructor in swordsmanship.
All right, lto?
Hijikata?
Uh, you're making me...
an instructor...
for the Shinsengumi?
Well, thank you very much!
And now...
I have an announcement to make.
Tani...
Masatake...
Come forward.
Welcome.
I'll take your sword.
Sanjuro Tani's younger brother Masatake...
will be adopted into my Kondo family.
He will henceforth be known as 'Shuhei'.
I ask you all...
to give him your support.
I ask it, too.
The Tennen Sword school now has an heir...
to its leader!
What are you doing?!
Move.
What?!
Mr. Saito...
you could have just asked.
I will now entertain!
I have a special treat for you.
Kondo wasn't a bad man, but he was a snob.
His taste for distinguished families and promotion of glib fools..
Led to his adopting this younger brother...
passing over Okita, the natural choice to succeed him.
Saito-sensei... have a drink.
My name is Kanichiro Yoshimura.
I am a new man. Just so you will know who I am...
What land are you from, Saito-sensei?
'Land'?
Yes.
I was born in Morioka, in Nanbu, Oshu.
It's a beautiful place.
Please...
Away to the south is Mt Hayachine...
with Mt Nansho and Mt Azumane to the west.
In the north are Mt lwate and Mt Himekami.
Out of the high mountains flows the Nakatsu River...
through the castle town into the Kitakami below Sakuranobaba.
Ah, it's as pretty as a picture!
There's nowhere like it in all of Japan!
Oh, please... allow me.
Last night I dreamed about my little girl.
She's the image of her mother, who was the prettiest girl in town.
It's just been so long since I saw her...
An awful country samurai, bragging about home and family.
When I left home...
she was only five.
Even then...
she was such a sweet little thing it took your breath away.
It had been a month then since I had killed a man.
My son Kaichiro...
is a fine swordsman and scholar.
I don't just say that because I'm his father.
He'll be a fine samurai.
I had decided I would kill this man.
Please...
Could you walk me back to my lodging?
Sorry?
I'm drunk, and it's not safe to go staggering down the street alone.
Of course.
This should do.
Here?
A joke can go too far, sir. I ask you the reason for this.
There is no reason.
You'd kill for no reason?
I don't like you.
You're crazy!
Die!
I can't allow that to happen. I won't die.
I'm not serious. L just wanted to test you.
I ask that this be the last time you test me.
You don't want to die? What kind of samurai is that?
No one really wants to die. Are you any different?
I don't care. I'm only alive because no one will kill me.
I'm different. I kill because I don't want to die.
For violating the rules of our troop, Takito Seyama has been ordered...
to commit hara-kiri.
When he has cut himself open, you new men will remove his head.
What is his crime?
That doesn't concern you.
Do not fail.
I will obey.
Hurry it up.
No! Please! Stop!
I'm truly sorry.
Forgive me.
Payment.
Go have fun in Shimabara.
Don't you want it?
I can't accept this!
I see.
Hijikata-sensei...
as you're aware, the circumstances...
made the task quite difficult.
It caused a chip in the blade of my sword.
Could I perhaps ask for the cost of a new sword?
That should do. Your blade doesn't bear its maker's name.
You are too kind.
My most humble thanks!
What kind of a samurai is that?
He's really something!
Where's it chipped?
My sword is as worn down as I am.
The Shinsengumi was the sterile flower of the Shoguns' end.
And here was this miser squirreling away all he could.
We're checking to make sure it's nothing contagious.
Lt"ll take a bit more time.
I'm sorry.
I've come at a bad time.
Would you like a drink?
A lot of our patients pay their bills with alcohol.
We're moving tomorrow, and we have all that left...
Oh...
I don't know what to say...
I heard you'd accept alcohol for your fee...
if you gave me money, I'd just buy liquor with it.
You're too kind.
Anyway, have a drink.
You're too kind.
Your father?
Hm?
Oh...
No.
That gentleman was my sensei.
Morioka is 140 leagues from Edo...
at the end of the Oshu road, and not blessed like the west country.
To stand up for your own land against the children of those rich ones...
is no easy thing.
The Morioka cherry blossom splits through rock to bloom.
The Morioka magnolia blooms even facing north.
So I don't want you to wait until spring comes...
and it's nice and warm.
Split that rock.
Run ahead of the times.
Go wild. Bloom.
Yoshimura-sensei was a low-ranked samurai...
known for his learning and swordsmanship.
Our clan made him sensei at our school.
Squire Chiaki!
Your body is wide open. Keep your arms down!
Good, Kaichiro!
His son Kaichiro was like him... Strong...
and gentle.
Are you all right?
'Let's go to the peach tree. '
Mitsu...
Shizu... I'm back.
Welcome home.
Hello, Squire Ono.
Come in.
Go on.
Mitsu...
Yoshimura-sensei had to struggle to keep up appearances.
It was all he could do to keep his family fed.
But to my eyes at least...
they seemed happy.
But then, to everyone's surprise, he left the clan...
leaving his family behind.
In those days leaving one's clan was practically treason.
But what really shocked me was that a man...
who preached the virtues of Nanbu samurai...
and was so proud of the beauty of his land...
would abandon it.
Your old man's a traitor!
A disgrace!
He should die!
A real samurai apologizes by spilling his guts!
Hara-kiri!
Stop!
I will speak.
Yoshimura-sensei served my father, Jiroemon Ono.
The sin of an underling is the sin of his master.
If Kaichiro has to kill himself, so do I.
Ls that your wish?
Come on.
Are you all right?
I'm sorry you had to do that for me, Squire Chiaki.
I couldn't stand to see Kaichiro lose heart that way.
Starting with Kaichiro, the rest of the family...
were driven from the clan's domain to seek refuge with relatives.
Wind chimes!
Wind chimes for sale!
Well done.
Kanichiro Yoshimura!
Sir!
2 ryo, 3 bu, 3 sh...
Well done.
My humble thanks.
Next!
Tatsunosuke Nishimura!
Thank you!
2 ryo, 1 bu, 2 sh...
Hello!
Hello again!
Could you send this, please?
Certainly.
Mr. Yoshimura... here's a letter for you.
My humble thanks!
I'll write you a receipt.
Dear Father...
'l have read your letter...
and it is wonderful to hear that you are well.
Mother and Mitsu are in good health...
and Keijiro is learning both to speak and to make mischief.
I am helping in the fields...
and continuing to practice with my sword.
Mitsu sometimes calls out "Papa" in her sleep.
I would like to come to Kyoto and serve with you as a samurai.
I will take care of our family, so please do not be uneasy. '
Alms!
Please, sir! Alms for the poor!
For several years Morioka had suffered a harsh famine.
Just as I was getting worried about Kaichiro...
who should I run into after some time but the man himself.
Dear Shizu, Kaichiro, Mitsu and Keijiro...
Are you well?'
Kaichiro!
I'm sorry...
Squire Chiaki!
Please! You don't have to bow to me!
We're friends!
Forgive me!
Kaichiro!
I see...
That's how Kanichiro's supporting his family?
Why was Yoshimura-sensei driven from the clan?
Surely you could have done something, Father.
I cannot act out of personal feeling.
A man who leaves his clan does not merit our concern.
We suffered a serious loss of face.
So the rumor he joined the Shinsengumi...
is true.
My father and Yoshimura-sensei were born in the same barracks.
His father was a minor Samurai of Foot.
My father lived there with his mother.
But suddenly a gap opened up in their relative status.
The Ono family's son became sick and died.
My father, the son of old Ono's concubine, was adopted as heir...
to a 400-koku stipend.
It is with deepest gratitude I enter the House of Ono.
Though I am of humble birth...
As a concubine's son...
he was in no position to go against the head of the family.
He probably struggled to learn to suppress all of his own feelings.
Despite, or perhaps because of, their change in status...
the only one he could talk to was Yoshimura-sensei.
However...
Leave the clan?!
Yes.
I hear of great changes taking place. I cannot resist my nation's call...
to revere the emperor, expel the barbarians, and defend the Shogun.
Do you really expect me to believe that?
I know it's hard on a tiny stipend when the crops keep failing.
But Kanichiro...
don't do something stupid like leaving the clan.
What will I do without you?
My resolve will not be shaken.
Why, Kanichiro?
Haven't we been friends all our lives?
Please...
I'm truly sorry.
Fool! Leaving your clan is a crime! I won't stand for it!
So said my father. It was only later I found out...
he had secretly given Yoshimura-sensei a letter of credit...
for his journey.
Why...
do you have that photograph?
If it's not your father...
That gentleman was a friend of my father...
or to be more precise, the father of my friend.
He would be about your age.
Would you have ever heard of the Shinsengumi?
Well...
They were very powerful, weren't they.
They were no use in the new era.
Grandpa! I'm going home.
Be a good boy and do as the doctor says!
If you don't do as she says, you won't get better.
Are you getting things cleaned up?
I was just starting.
What will I do with you!
Now.
We are the Shinsengumi! We have business here!
Die!
One of your men.
What? Who?
He died instantly.
Sanjuro Tani? Who killed him?
I don't know.
He was found this morning in front of Gion Shrine.
Tani?
He'd been getting above himself.
The other men didn't like it.
You're saying one of us did it?
We're investigating.
Murderer!
Stop it!
You did this!
I will not allow serving the Shogun to be called murder.
What?!
Shuhei!
Saito-sensei... there's something I'd like to ask you.
Would you mind?
A brilliantly executed cut to the chest.
The cut begins on the left.
And one more thing.
One stab from left of the spine to the heart.
Mr. Shinohara deduces there were two culprits.
A two-man job...
No. I believe the assailant acted alone.
After the body cut, but before he fell...
he was finished off with a stab.
A deft swordsman, then.
I've always heard that left-handed men were quite deft.
To stab, one turns the sword on its side...
like this.
From the right...
the wound doesn't match.
But...
from the left hand...
Even so...
it was most skillfully done.
Simply brilliant.
But our rules...
strictly forbid private vendettas...
Saito-sensei.
And have you mentioned these conclusions to anyone?
No.
Do you draw against me, sir?
The Shinsengumi, this death-seeking rabble...
suits me somehow.
Keep out of my way.
Well, then...
will you give me some money...
to keep my mouth closed?
Why do you walk on that side?
I'm afraid of your left arm, Saito-sensei.
I won't draw on you.
Does this...
mean us?
Are we...
'the wolves of Mibu'?
My humble thanks.
I don't want your thanks.
Welcome.
I'm sorry to disturb you.
Not much to look at, huh?
Please.
Well! Thank you.
I don't like beautiful women. Women called 'beautiful' disgust me.
After all, none of us is more than a sack of shit.
They be so pretty!
I'm truly sorry!
Your accent makes me think you're from Oshu...
I worked all over the north.
Then I was sold to a brothel in Shimabara, here in Kyoto.
I see...
I didn't know that.
'The boss' here doesn't like people talking too much.
You can't talk too much about your home town.
She's beautiful!
I'm getting married... to a girl from near here.
You are?
Who is it?
Shizu, the girl at the summer festival we were looking at.
Shizu?
I fell in love at first sight.
You did, eh?
I see...
Fool!
Do you mock me?!
A farmer's daughter?!
If a samurai family adopted her...
Make her a concubine, if you like.
You can keep her until you make a proper marriage.
That we will permit.
Please stop!
What is it, Miss? Do you need to relieve yourself?
Hey!
You stay here!
Hey!
Kanichiro!
Shizu!
What are you doing here?
This is where I want to be!
I want to marry you!
Shizu!
Kanichiro!
Shizu...
Give the girl back, please.
Shizu...
will be my wife!
Jiroemon won't have her! Go tell him that, Sasuke!
You can't do that!
From this day on...
you are my wife.
I won't let anyone lay a finger on you!
Shizu!
Kanichiro!
I have received unofficial notification from Edo.
We of the Shinsengumi are to be made direct retainers of the Shogun himself!
We must look to our task.
We must preserve the authority of the Shogun...
and his Tokugawa family!
Kondo-sensei...
You say that we are to be made hatamoto?
Ls this true?
Yes.
Yoshimura... does this displease you?
No!
No.
Not at all.
Um... may I ask a foolish question?
Will we receive payment appropriate to this honor?
Payment?!
'All personnel to rank as "inspector".' You will earn 40 bags of rice.
Forty?!
Yes. Forty.
Thank you!
Kondo-sensei, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Ito-sensei, Hijikata-sensei...
thank you very much!
Everybody... l thank you...
with all my heart!
My humble thanks, too, Yoshimura-sensei!
Saito-sensei...
my humble thanks!
The gentleman in the middle... don't move. Stay still.
Hold your breath!
One, two, three...
four, five, six, seven...
eight, nine, ten.
Well done. That's it.
Who's next for a photograph?
Yoshimura!
Yes?
Have a picture taken. They'll love it back home.
No, no, thank you.
Don't worry. We'll pay for it.
Well, if you say so...
what, only me?
Gentlemen!
Just you.
Kondo-sensei! Saito-sensei!
Like this.
Stand still. Just bear with it.
Don't move!
Hold your breath.
One, two, three...
where are you moving to?
Manchuria.
China? That's a long way away.
Yes.
By this time the Shinsengumi had split into two factions.
So had Japan, as the Shogun's forces fought the southwestern clans...
who wished the Emperor to rule.
This was a tide the Shinsengumi could not resist.
Yoshimura!
Yes?
Could I ask for some of your time tonight? It's important.
Certainly.
This is fine. Leave us.
Our task is to guard the Court. Our loyalty lays with the Emperor.
Under Squire Kondo we are no more than the Tokugawa Shogun's dogs.
In this time of upheaval in the land, I cannot but think that is a mistake.
We thus take leave of the Shinsengumi.
I wasn't surprised.
A fox thinks for itself, while a dog simply follows.
We want you with us!
We need your swords!
We'll be appointed imperial Guards.
We promise you twice what you get as Shogun's hatamoto.
We're not asking you to decide now.
By leaving my clan, I have already failed one lord.
I will not betray the trust of another.
Yoshimura... Mr. Saito...
as I see it, the Tokugawa Shogunate is dead.
Others have left... Katsura, from Choshu, and Sakamoto, from Tosa...
No!
I cannot.
Yoshimura! Think of the future!
I was surprised, too, that money would not sway Yoshimura.
You're not fit to be samurai!
You have an obligation!
You're a disgrace!
Mr. Shinohara!
Get out of Kyoto!
I decided to go with lto...
but as an informer for Kondo and Hljikata.
Squire Okubo, we must remove those who are disloyal...
to the Emperor.
Indeed. Those who can't see where the times are headed...
...are in our way.
Without Kondo and Hijikata, the Shinsengumi will collapse.
That is easy to say, Mr. lto.
Unless...
Mr. Saito helps.
They were counting on me.
Ito was a fox. So was Okubo, of Satsuma, in the southwest.
They knew a wolf when they saw one.
I wear a family crest...
Mother often speaks in jest...
And Father da-dum da-dum...
Elder Sister makes eyes at the guest...
and Little Sister...
is being a pest. '
Be careful.
Hey 'Boss'...
it was Yoshimura's job to pass my messages to Hijikata.
That was ironic.
I'm sorry a woman has to do such dangerous work.
It doesn't frighten me at all. I'm happy to do it.
Have some of these dumplings. I love them.
Well! So do I!
That's good.
Thank you.
Just the thought that a woman like me can help...
makes me feel strong inside.
When we first met in Shimabara he came back the next day...
and bought out my contract from the brothel.
I'm proud when he says I'm not much to look at.
My family all starved in the famine.
He's the only one who's ever stood by me.
He took pity on me.
He did, eh?
Have some.
I'm fine, thanks.
I passed on lto's plot...
to kill Kondo, and even Ryoma Sakamoto, who was against using force...
to topple the Shogun.
Very interesting.
Kill lto.
Of course I couldn't kill Kondo, so I killed their other target.
Welcome home.
Keep away from the Shinsengumi. Don't see Yoshimura again.
I've got to hide out.
You get out of here, too.
Why do I have to go?
I've taken a big chance. I'll be lucky to come out alive.
If you're with me, they'll come after you, too.
This...
is a farewell gift.
I don't care. I'm staying.
I don't want you getting killed!
Goodbye.
I don't want this.
Think of yourself!
I understand perfectly what you're saying.
But I do not need anything from you.
Instead...
tonight...
make love to me.
Hold me...
please.
What happened?
Ryoma Sakamoto's been killed!
What?
I wasn't excited about who had assassinated Ryoma.
I knew who had, better than anyone.
Hello?
Miss Nui?
May I come in?
Miss Nui?
Miss...
Miss Nui!
Shizu!
A samurai's wife can't kill herself so there's one less mouth to feed!
Let me go!
Shizu!
Let me die!
Shizu!
Shizu! You can't!
You can't do this!
All right...
let me die and use me for food!
I can't...
go on bringing you trouble!
Shizu!
Father!
Don't be angry at Mother!
I'm not hungry! I don't need to eat!
I won't...
let this happen to you again.
I owe my loyalty to you.
No one else.
As a teacher of children...
and a fencing instructor...
it is impossible for me to go begging for money here in Morioka.
But I know full well...
that without money none of you will live through the winter.
Kaichiro...
Mitsu...
Though I might...
abandon my clan to earn my living...
I will never abandon you.
Shizu...
look after the new baby when it comes.
Kanichiro...
No!
It has to seem like I left without telling you.
We can't have words of farewell!
So...
I'm going.
Kanichiro!
Father! Father!
Father...
Go home! You must not see me off!
I won't.
Only just... hold Mitsu one last time.
She doesn't deserve to have the father she loves...
go without a word.
Papa...
Mitsu...
Papa...
Mitsu...
Father, please don't cry.
I only wish your departure were a happier one.
Squire Saito returns!
Saito-sensei?
Why?
I don't know.
Squire Saito!
Stand aside!
I was tired of hiding out. L went back to the Shinsengumi...
though I knew perfectly well how bedraggled it had become.
That was all the more reason for me to return.
My sympathies for the unpleasant task that fell to you.
I don't need your sympathy.
Move.
Saito-sensei...
Miss Nui...
What about her?
She killed herself.
I see.
I took the liberty of arranging a funeral at Koenji Temple.
Mind your own business.
Right then only he knew...
my innermost thoughts.
You're going to kill me?
A country samurai who doesn't care what happens?
Doesn't anything matter as long as you get paid?
Money-grubber!
Mercenary!
How much are they paying you to kill me?!
I am truly sorry.
It was all...
downhill from there.
The Shogun resigned, and political power returned to the Emperor.
The Lord of Aizu, Commissioner of Kyoto...
was relieved of his post, leaving us with nothing to guard.
Okita was dying of tuberculosis...
and Shinohara, of the lto faction, had shot Kondo.
As if seeking its last stand, the Shinsengumi joined in the fight...
against the southwestern clans.
Fighting was all we could do.
Squire Ono...
Straighten your backs! Stick out your chests!
We are the warriors of Mibu!
Shinsengumi!
Good on you!
Shinsengumi!
Are you properly dressed?
If your clothing isn't good and tight, you will die!
Even if you fall, do not drop your sword!
Keep swinging it!
If you are out of breath, grab your opponent.
Use any means you can...
and come back alive.
They're coming!
The Shinsengumi's here!
Charge!
Fire!
Forward!
Fire!
It was ludicrous. Swords against guns, a foregone conclusion.
The day of the sword...
was already far in the past.
Nanbu Clan godown, Osaka.
Reporting!
The Shogun's forces are retreating. The southwestern army...
is in pursuit.
They're winning?
Yes, sir.
The Shinsengumi's no help?
'Shinsengumi'?
Nothing.
We fled with the Shogun's troops.
The other clans deserted us.
On the edge of annihilation, we played our final card.
You all right?
Have some food.
Go on, eat.
Eat slowly!
Saito-sensei...
I got the Aizu people to share their supplies with us.
Please...
Have you eaten?
Uh...
no.
Was that the last?
Why didn't you say?! You let me eat the last one!
I'm used to being hungry.
This'll do me fine.
You bastard!
I hate your guts!
Why should one shit-sack care if another is full?!
In a world where men hate enough to kill each other...
why are you trying to fill my stomach?!
Saito-sensei!
I can't breathe!
Yoshimura... get out of here.
We're going to die here...
whether we like it or not.
But I don't want you to.
Not a man like you.
Mr. Saito...
I am...
a Nanbu samurai.
A Nanbu samurai...
lets neither wife nor child sway him from his duty.
When Nanbu fights, I will be there first.
I'm truly grateful for the consideration you have shown me...
but I will never turn my back on my duty.
Yoshimura!
Saito-sensei...
my humble thanks.
He was a true samurai.
The enemy!
We are under attack!
Hold your fire!
Stop shooting!
Swords!!
Fight or die!
Cut them down!
Retreat!
Retreat! Retreat!
Forward!
The Emperor's standard!
We are the imperial Army! Withdraw your soldiers!
There will be no mercy for rebels!
Are we rebels now?!
Withdraw!
Withdraw! Don't resist!
Don't resist! Withdraw!
Hijikata-sensei! Are we rebels?
Hey!
Stand your ground!
Stay here, I said!
I am Kanichiro Yoshimura of the Shinsengumi!
I serve the Tokugawa Shogun!
I do not wish to raise my arm against His Majesty the Emperor...
but my duty bids me fight!
I stand against you!
Yoshimura!
Don't die!
Yoshimura!
Don't die. Yoshimura!
Yoshimura!
Yoshimura...
So you knew Yoshimura-sensei...
I assume he died at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi...
No.
What, is he alive?!
After that battle...
the war went in favor of the southwestern clans.
My father, Jiroemon Ono...
had been sent to Osaka...
as godown manager, to steer the clan through the crisis.
Leave to speak!
His Lordship the Shogun...
has fled Osaka Castle, left his army and taken ship for Edo.
We know who's going to win now. The way forward is clear!
We can eitherjoin the Emperor and his southwestern clans...
or be destroyed with the Tokugawas!
I agree!
Calm down...
or the lower castes will get excited as well.
It is important that we remain absolutely neutral.
We must not take sides.
All we need do is dress normally and strengthen our gate.
We aid no fleeing soldiers...
and we say nothing about the war's outcome.
Understood?
Yoshimura-sensei picked that time to appear before my father.
Kanichiro?!
Yoshimura's here?!
He's in front of the gate, badly wounded.
Yoshimura!
What should we do?
All right, bring him into the back garden.
Yes, sir!
Why did he have to come now?!
Why?!
You bloody fool! You should be ashamed.
Yoshimura!
Squire Jiroemon...
While our battle has ended...
in total defeat...
to die here at the hands of some villain...
would be a wasted death.
If I may, I would like to be of service to my own land.
I would like to return there.
Now?
A true Nanbu samurai...
would go back to the Shinsengumi and die there like a man.
I beg you!
Yoshimura...
after what you've done...
I couldn't possibly ask the clan to take you back!
At least...
until my wounds heal.
For the sake...
of all our years of friendship.
To all the men of all the clans!
Report all rebel soldiers...
to the imperial Army!
Conceal them...
and your clan will be suppressed!
I say again...
Report all rebel soldiers...
to the imperial Army!
Conceal them and your clan will be suppressed!
Yoshimura...
you're a disgrace.
We will leave you alone.
Kill yourself.
This is not an entertainment!
Begone!
I am sorry, Sasuke.
Kanichiro...
why did you fight at Toba-Fushimi?
Why didn't you join the Shogun at Osaka Castle?
Together, you might have had a chance.
The way you are now, how could you escape anywhere?
It was...
out of duty I fought.
We lost, it's true...
but I'm not dead yet.
While I'm still alive...
I want to go back to Morioka.
I want to see Shizu...
and my children.
Nanbu is my land.
I can't put you on the scales against all of Nanbu.
If it were only me, I would die for you.
But I can't make Nanbu the enemy of His Majesty just for you.
That sword of yours won't cut any more.
I'll give you mine.
It's made by Yamato no Kami Yasusada.
Use it to cut open your stomach like a samurai should.
Please help him! Father!
Sir?
A hungry man can't meet death properly.
I'll give him some food.
I didn't realize. I'm sorry.
I'll do it.
I didn't think about it until just now.
Take him some hot water as well.
Is it snowing...
in Nanbu now. Too?
Powder snow...
Oh, dear...
Now what?
Here.
This rice...
comes from Nanbu...
Nanbu rice...
it's so good...
So good I drool to think of it.
Enjoy it.
Take your time and enjoy it.
Thank you.
First...
one ryo.
A kimono sash for Shizu.
This one ryo...
is for Mitsu's Doll-Festival stand.
This one is for Keijiro's baby robe.
Well, what do you know?
Here I wanted to buy Kaichiro a sword...
but I don't have the money.
Kaichiro...
nothing could make you cry, could it.
I didn't...
deserve a son like you.
Kaichiro and Mitsu...
and Keijiro, who I've never seen...
I want to...
hold you.
Shizu...
what are you doing right now?
Can you hear the words my heart speaks...
that I never could say?
I fell...
completely in love with you.
I tried...
as hard as I could.
I did all I could.
You...
don't mind, do you?
Shizu?
It's all right if I...
kill myself?
Forgive me.
Let's go to the peach tree.
If there are any peaches, we'll pick them.
Five for Uncle... '
I can hear Mitsu singing... such a sweet little voice...
Mitsu...
you were never out of my mind...
even for a single day.
It's as if...
you're the only one...
I wasn't apart from for even a minute.
So Mitsu...
even though I kill myself...
I'll always be by your side.
Now I'm going to die.
Shizu...
Kaichiro...
Mitsu...
Keijiro...
I'm not going to hell, or to heaven.
I'm...
going to be with you...
every second...
with you!
I was there when Yoshimura-sensei died.
Sir...
"Take these two things..."
"... to my home. "'
He didn't use the sword!
You didn't touch the rice...
you stubborn mule!
Kanichiro!
Eat!
It's Nanbu rice.
From Morioka, grown with Kitakami River water.
Eat!
Kanichiro...
because of you...
Shizu and the children eat their fill.
It's your turn now.
You dreamed of Nanbu rice.
Eat, Kanichiro!
It's good!
Kanichiro!
He was named one of Lord Tokugawa's advance guard...
and served well.
Rather than suffer dishonor...
he asked to commit hara-kiri.
That was his choice?
Yes.
He refused a second...
and bravely, alone...
cut open his stomach.
With that sword?
No.
He wanted to give it to you.
He didn't want it stained.
He used another.
I see...
Husband...
thank you.
You worked so hard...
to support us.
Thank you.
So that's what happened...
Ordering him to do that must have broken your father's heart.
Suddenly, after that...
my father was like a different man.
They must never become the imperial army!
The southwestern clans started this war.
They are the rebels!
He had always been so cautious...
but when Akita went over to the southwestern clans...
he led the attack on it.
I call on the samurai of Nanbu to do their duty!
I can only think...
that he was looking for death in battle himself.
And, sadly, he found it.
May all be well with you.
Squire Chiaki!
Kaichiro...
I'm going to Hakodate to fight.
At the fort there?
Yes.
You'll never come back alive out of there!
I don't care.
That's not very smart. Why go if you know you won't come back?
The duty of a Nanbu samurai is to fight until the very last.
Don't go! Don't go!
Mitsu...
you can't stop him.
This is far enough, Squire Chiaki.
Thank you.
This is pure spring-water. Let's drink from it...
for luck.
Drink from my hands.
Now you drink from mine.
Here.
I won't take it!
When everyone else is trying to stay alive...
you're going to die!
You're only 16! You haven't lived yet!
Why do you have to die?
Squire Chiaki...
I can't leave the father I love to cross the River of Death alone.
So please... drink.
Kaichiro...
don't die!
Kaichiro!
Chiaki...
Chiaki!
Kaichiro...
don't die!
Don't die!
Brother! Don't go away!
Mitsu... l have to.
Brother!
Look after her, will you?
I will go and fight for Nanbu.
Brother! Brother!
Brother!
Kaichiro never came back to Morioka.
He died in the Battle of Hakodate.
Brother!
Mitsu!
I'll be your big brother now.
And then, later on...
I married Mitsu.
There!
All finished!
Well done!
Sorry to keep you.
Minoru...
I don't think it's serious. Just a cold.
I've mixed some medicine for his symptoms.
Give it to him after meals, and see he gets lots of rest.
Make sure you take this. OK?
My humble thanks, Yoshimura-sensei.
Well...
Thank you for your help.
Take care.
Come on.
Morioka, in Nanbu. It's a beautiful place.
Away to the south is Mt Hayachine...
with Mt Nansho and Mt Azumane to the west.
In the north are Mt lwate and Mt Himekami.
Out of the high mountains...
Grandpa, carry me!
No! A samurai walks!
Yes, sir.
Ah, it's pretty as a picture!
There is nowhere like it in all Japan!
May all be well with you.
Mitsu has lost so many who are close...
that even now in sleep she holds my hand and won't let go.
Words can not express how much of a help Mitsu has been to me.
After my father died in battle...
my family were treated as rebels and suppressed.
But perhaps that was luck, as it made it possible for me...
to marry Mitsu.
Sasuke, who has become the boss of a gambling syndicate...
looks out for us even now.
Mitsu and I have decided to move to China...
where we will practice medicine in Manchuria.
We will cross the sea and live in that empty land...
and do the best we can there.
Morioka, in Nanbu. It's pretty as a picture!
There's nowhere like it in all Japan!
The Morioka cherry blossom splits through rock to bloom.
The Morioka magnolia blooms even facing north.
So I want you to run ahead of the times.
Go wild. Bloom.