I brought some cakes for them. Have one. They're good.
Shige
They don't need such expensive cakes.
Good, eh?
Shige
Good, but too expensive. Crackers would have been good enough for them.
But they had crackers yesterday.
We can't leave them there all night.
Shige
It can't be helped, can it?
Let's have Kiyo come down and we'll put them upstairs.
Shige
They're too drunk to make it.
What will we do, then?
Shige
What a mess. You sleep upstairs. I'll put them here. [She starts laying out bedrolls] What a bother. Why didn't he tell me he was coming back? So late and so drunk! I hate drunkards. With a stranger, too. Oh, this is disturbing.
I think they should have stayed a bit longer.
Noriko
But they're busy.
They're selfish. Demanding things and leaving like this.
Noriko
They have their own affairs.
But you have yours too. They're selfish.
Noriko
But Kyoko...
Wanting her clothes right after her death. I felt so sorry for poor mother. Even strangers would have been more considerate!
Noriko
But look Kyoko. At your age I thought so too. But children do drift away from their parents. A woman has her own life, apart from her parents, when she becomes Shige's age. She meant no harm I'm sure. They have to look after their own lives.
I wonder. I won't ever be like that. Then what's the point of family?
Noriko
But children become like that, gradually.
Then... you, too?
Noriko
I may become like that in spite of myself.
Isn't life disappointing?
Noriko
Yes, it is.
Noriko
I'm not always thinking of your son, though you think I am.
Shukichi
I'll be happy if you forget him.
Noriko
I'm not the nice woman she thought I was. If you see me like that, it embarrasses me.
Shukichi
No, it shouldn't.
Noriko
Really, I'm quite selfish.
I'm afraid we expect too much of our children. They lack spirit. They lack ambition. I've told that to my son. He said that there are too many people in Tokyo. That it's hard to get ahead. What do you think? Young people today have no backbone. Where is there spirit? That's not how I raised him!
I often wish at least one of my sons were alive.
Must have been hard to lose both of them. [to Shukichi] Didn't you lose one?
Shukichi
Yes, my second son.
I've had enough of war.
Shukichi
Yes, indeed. To lose your children is hard, but living with them isn't always easy either. A real dilemma.
Shige
Mama, you've grown taller.
Tomi
Don't be silly. How could I have grown?
Shige
But you have, and you're even fatter. [turns to Noriko] She was so big when I was little that I used to feel ashamed in front of my friends. Once in school, a chair broke under her.
Tomi
Oh, that chair was already broken.
Shige
She still thinks that.
Shukichi
I'm surprised how children change. Shige used to be much nicer before. A married daughter is like a stranger.
Tomi
Koichi has changed too. He used to be such a nice boy.
Shukichi
Children don't live up to their parents' expectations. Let's just be happy that they're better than most.
Tomi
They're certainly better than average. We're fortunate.
Shukichi
I think so. We should consider ourselves lucky.
Tomi
Yes, we are very lucky.
How old is she?
Let me see. She's way over 60. Sixty-seven or 68, maybe.
Very old. Take good care of her. "Be a good son while your parents are alive."
That's right. "None can serve his parents beyond the grave."
Tomi
You were so nice to us, children. Now that we've seen you all, you need not come down, even if anything should happen to either one of us.
Shige
Don't talk like that. This isn't a farewell.
Tomi
I mean it. We live too far away.
Tomi
You may be happy while you're still young. But as you become older, you'll find it lonely.
Noriko
I won't get that old, so don't worry.
Shige Kaneko
Kyoko, did mother still have her summer sash? I'd like it for a keepsake. Is that alright with you? And that linen kimono she used to wear in summer? I want that too. You know where it is? Can you get it out?
Tomi Hirayama
What are you going to be when you grow up? A doctor like your father? [Isamu doesn't answer and continues to pick grass] By the time you become a doctor, I wonder if I'll still be here.
Shukichi Hirayama
Anyway, this place is meant for the younger generation.