puppets for dogs

toei presents screenplay:shunya ito production:akio anzai,kanji amao music: shunsuke kikuchicinematography: hanjiro nakazawa assistant director: shokaku babaeditor: takeo toda with cooperation from:muroakame aoyama national parkshoren templenabari city puppets:daiko yoshitoku starring: shinya owada

jun izumimasami hasegawa (child)emiko yamauchi nobuo kawai, koji miemachi,kayoko shiraishi, shinya ono,noboru mitani nenji kobayashi akiko koyamakyoko kishida hideo murotamizuho suzuki director:shunya ito curse of the dog god - it's a jeep!- a jeep! a jeep! hey, mister, where are you goingin this funny car?

it's a secret.we're looking for treasure. - really? - no way!- what kind of treasure? - uranium.- what's that? hey, where are you guys? - what are you doing up there?- shut up! get outta here! hey! what's up?what's going on? i'm sorry... here's your... taro. wow, look at that!

- the needle is jumping!- bingo! taro! - count at 20,000.- count at 24,000. it's over 30,000! it looks like we founda major vein. - it must be a whole mountainof uranium. - we did it! let's check the readingsa little further down the road. what the heck is this? - let's go.- it's a small shrine...

don't sweat it -it's just a dog. - right? - it's disgusting.- ok, let me drive. taro! taro! six months later -late autumn isamu! how could you do such a thing? how can i show my face atthe reception now? he hates us anyway,so i don't see the point in going! what are you talking about?who told you such a thing?

reiko and i are close friends. and i thought youwere friends with kenmochi's older sister. i hate her! why did she haveto marry such a louse? "a louse?"å¥ kano-san isa good man. so you're sweet on him, too! stop that foolish talk.what did he do? he's the one who killed taro! - we waited for you!- what happened? - we brought you some leftoversfrom the reception! - shit! your family is just as creepyas everyone says!

isamu, i'm sorry....i understand now... but there's nothing you can doto bring taro back. kenmochi's big sister doesn't knowanything about what happened... and she would probably be surprisedto hear it. i'll go with you. but you have to apologize tothe kenmochis. ok, isamu? - congratulations.- thank you. - thank you.- see ya later. kaori didn't come. she couldn't show her face,after the way her little brother behaved.

- reiko, hop in.- take care. - see you. - take care.- goodbye. good luck! goodbye! kaori! dad! stop the car. they came to see us off.stop the car! stop the car! - reiko! - kaori!- reiko! - kaori! - kaori! - reiko!- kaori! kaori!

ladies and gentlemen,as you already know, this is the gold of the atomic age. this magnificent discovery is notjust a major accomplishment... for our company,but also a great leap for japan. mr. kano is the man who made this all possible,and the father of his new wife, reiko, is the owner of the land thatthe uranium is sitting on. he is kind enough to fully cooperatewith our company at this time, and is allowing is to mine all ofthe uranium from his property. next, i would like to introduce another important member ofthe team that discovered the uranium deposit,

mr. nishioka, the man who introduced thislovely couple to one another. kano-san, reiko, i offer mycongratulations. it was a magnificent day... we came upon a beautiful pixiein the woods, and then, and i'll never forget this, the geiger counter went up to 10,000,then 20,000, then 30,000. we all shouted "banzai!" we immediately returned to the village at the footof the mountain and telephoned the company. wait... something happened...

it was before we gotto the village... nishioka, what's the matter? nishioka? nishioka! reiko, what's the matter? forget about what happened atthe wedding reception. reiko, i'm here.there's nothing to be afraid of. that idiot, nishioka! you're drivinglike a maniac, you drunken fool! cut me some slack -it was his wake tonight.

he was a klutz.what a complete idiot! yasui! something happened atkugamura. i can tell... what was it?i'm worried about you! just because two peopleare dead.... there must have been something.even if it seems trifling, tell me. - nothing happened.- i don't believe you! it's nothing, really... but we ran over a small shrinewith the jeep.

and then.... after that, a small boywas walking his dog... it got in the way and weaccidentally ran it over. that was the same boy that pelted mewith a stone at the wedding. i had totally forgotten about it.it was kaori's little brother. - it's just as i feared.- reiko! it's the dog god...the curse of the dog god! to reiko kano from kaori tarumi

"reiko, i'm sure you'revery happy now... "since you and kano-san are married and settled,i feel comfortable telling you that i loved him too. "i might have tried to steal him,if he had been dating anyone except you. "i'm sorry, that was just a joke. "i'm to be married soon as well. "i know i will never find thehappiness that you have, "but i'll try to be happy somehow." i'll never let the dog god get you... if the dog god has to havesomeone, let it be me!

darling! this charm has been in myfamily for generations. i know it will protect youfrom bad fortune. you don't have to worry now. kaori, the dog god isworking through you. people have died fromthis curse! but you can't hurt ryuji...i'm begging you! i don't care how badly youwanted him... i'll never, ever let youhave him!

darling, i'm going to have a baby... i'm going to knit hima beautiful blanket. reiko... look, it's finished. reiko! reiko is possessed bythe dog god. this isn't something a doctorcan diagnose and cure. mom, curses by foxes or the dog godare just superstitious nonsense. the doctor says her symptomsindicate a mild hysteria.

but the power of medical sciencecan cure her... just wait and see. doctor! please wait... you have to tell me. is mywife sick? can you help her? what's her prognosis?she seems to be getting worse. i can't take it anymore!get me out of here! i want out! bus for kami kuga i don't want you to make herstay in the storehouse! - i demand to know where youcame from. - from fukatani.

where in fukatani? the tarumi house...the tarumi clan. - why have you cursed thisyoung girl? - because of hate. what caused this hate? your husband destroyedthe small shrine. - that's all?- he killed a dog. - so you unleashed the curse?- i did. balderdash!you have no business here! i'll give you food...

get out! get out! i want rice and red beans... i will leave if you give merice and red beans! those sons of bitches! the curse seems to havebeen lifted. we couldn't have done itwithout you. it seems awfully quiet tonight... this should be the last snowbefore the spring. you think you can getrid of me so easily?

i envy you... i wanted your husband. you're pure, i'm defiled... who decided it should be that way? i thought you were mybest friend... but in your heart you thoughti was the dog god! the agony! the agony! you think i can forgive this!? dammit!this is an outrage!

i've finally made you mine. he's all mine now! i cast you out! get out of her!get out of her! darling... i want to go backto tokyo... to your home. reiko, it's me... i'm here! i'll take you back to tokyo!let's go back to tokyo! young girl,you cannot be a bride...

if you cry. your beautiful red kimono... covered with a white veil...with a white veil. boo-hoo, what makesyou so sad? rain falls on a flower bud... stop it! shit! stop it! stop! what are you doing,you idiot?!

wait.... you're from the mining company... no matter how many times you come,my answer isn't going to change. you're not going to touchmy mountain! that's not why i'm here... i wanted to finally meet you. my wife died from the curseof the dog god. why do you invoke the dog god onpeople you don't even know? why do you cast curses oninnocent people?

so you're reiko's husband? even a city slicker like youbelieves in the dog god? i guess that,given the way your wife died, you didn't have much choicebut to believe. no matter what i believe,my wife is dead. she was a fine lass... my kaori knew her well. but my daughter's alsothe victim here... after the fuss about the curse,

her husband's family kicked her out,and she had to come back here. darling.... why don't you clean upthis pigsty?! reiko's dead and gone now! damn you, dog god! ryuji. come in. the tarumis aren't bad people. i hope you don't think they are.

they wouldn't put a curse onher to kill her. look, isamu's my friend, and reikohas always been kind to our family. don't stand in the doorway,come in. isamu's dad said you can't havethe shiny rocks, didn't he? that's because he knows that they canbe used to make atomic bombs. if that's all it's good for,it's better to let it lie in the ground. you may be right. goodnight. on a moonlit night,

the mole silently digshis grave. raven 'caw, caw',burn the mountain down. the weather will be fairtomorrow... you can see how the uranium glowswhen exposed to ultraviolet light. mr. kenmochi, i can see why you'reso interested in the stuff. i don't love it becauseit's beautiful, i love it because it has the potential to bean important energy source for the nation. it will be a great source ofwealth for kugamura as well... i hope that as the village mayor you understandthat administrative intervention...

may be necessary to deal with theopposition from the tarumi household. ok, i understand already. the men ofthe village won't have to leave... for the city after the harvest to look for work,all thanks to the mining company. quick, over here! over here! the method is simple... we pour sulfuric acid down the hole andcollect the liquid as it pours through. then we collect the uraniumfrom the runoff liquid. this method isn't labor intensive and can be used to accessareas of the mine that are difficult to get to.

i believe it's ideally suited forthe upcoming project. the one snag is that the sulfuric acid couldseep into the village's water supply. naah, looking at the geography of the land,i don't see any way that could happen. - certainly, sir.- well, then. it's settled. go ahead! - it worked!- it worked! ok, everyone. cheers! cheers! be silent, be silent.

spirit of the mountain,spirit of the valley... spirits of the gods, be silent. mr. kenmochi! what!? my son-in-law has been bewitchedby that woman cast off by her husband! hey, everybody,come over here! - are you feeling better?- i'm ok. close it off! close it off! close if off! close off the dog god!

ryusaku tarumi god, it smells! there's an old legend that you can get ridof a curse by casting human feces at it. i guess they believe it. don't go! who knows whatthey'll do to you? she's right: the festival is tonight... and they're all mad with drink.best not to go out tonight. cast off evil spirits,close them off... kaori...

thank you. i've... always loved you. i've always loved you... loved you. so, you can't forget reikoafter all. no, it's not that... if reiko knew that youand i would end up... goodbye. reiko!

this is terrible!the well's been poisoned! doctor, this way!over here! hurry! grandma and grandpa diedat the same time. i heard tell that the wells haveall been poisoned. people are dying right and left. the water in the wells? did you spend the nightat the tarumi's? yes. there was no way of cominghome last night. i'm sorry to have been away when thingswere so difficult for you.

they're out for blood forwhat you did. you best watch yourself. where's kaori? what's wrong? sir, the solvent got into.... what?! but that's... that's not possible! it must have somehow connectedwith the groundwater. we have to stop production at once!

you mustn't breathe a wordof this to anyone... - not a word.- sir! mako, what's the matter? what is it?what happened? isamu and his familyare in trouble... those men with the bikes broke in,carrying weapons! what is it? the villagers are convinced that thetarumis have poisoned the wells. we have to do somethingto stop them.

i'll tell them the truth... they'll stop once they hearthe truth! mako, let's go! wait, you can't go! sir, let me go, this is a matterof life and death! forget about it! the well water wasn't our fault... it's just like the villagers said:somebody poisoned the wells! mako, let's go! - this way is faster!- ok!

- mining equipment removalfinished! - right! - next, we disassemble principalbuildings! - understood! mako! on all of the days,where could that child have gone? now i will become the dog god... and dispel this curse onceand for all. curse of the dog godcome unto me... come unto me and cursethis village. curse this village,down to the last generation!

- she's gonna give!- let's get outta here! it's gonna collapse!get out! what do you want? wipe that smug lookoff your face... you killed a mother andher children. what the hell is he talking about?do you know? i'm not playing games! the father of the family youkilled cursed you, your gang, and the entirevillage before he died.

you're talking like a fool.we're outta here. not so fast! this sword belonged to the father. you're going to turn yourselves in...whether you like it or not. i thought you went to the siteof the accident on the mountain? i'll explain it to you later. this man was a party to murder... let him stay here for a while -the police box isn't safe. officer, hurry up and callpolice headquarters!

now! hello... the line's down. - father! even you....- you're in over your head, boy. - what about the poison in the well!?- silence! i know all about it... there was no other way i could have stoppedthe villagers' anger with the dog god. - that was the reason!?- i did it for you! everything's backward! i'm quitting my job!i'll expose everything! mother, hide for now.gimme the keys to the storehouse!

no, ryuji!anyplace but the storehouse! just wait a second.. you're not handing myson over to the police. of course not. i was just discussingthe matter with my son-in-law. get in! ryuichi, the truth is... stop, stay outta that storehouse! ryuichi, stay back! mother!

let her go! let her go! shinichi! sawa! - watch out!- don't shoot! father! father! father! the truth is he's our eldest son... it was the dog god that madehim crazy in the head. they cursed us when i took this land,which had been collateral for a loan.

his mother grieved and diedto raise him. the dog god was the causeof all of our misery. we couldn't let people know thatwe had such a wretched son. i wanted to protect him. then sawa came... she had reiko, then mako... i couldn't let her know of shinichi. can you understand? reiko died such a horrible death...

all because of the dog god! and, in the end, the dog god eventook my only son in revenge. ryuichi... mako...please take care of mako. you have robbed this villageof everything it has! take it all! you're cursed! leave this place!get out of here now! who are you?! you've possessedmako! who are you! darling, i'm in pain! you must've been the onewho betrayed us.

now you love kaori! - how odious! how hateful!- reiko! i loved you until itdrove me insane. it's maddening! i can't find peace in the next life. you took everything fromthis family... you took everything. you cursed man!go away before i kill you! it was my fault...

but i won't go.mako is still here. mako isn't a monster like you! i'll never leave this house, until you bring mako back! then i'll enjoy watching yousuffer before you die! die, cursed man! mako! where is she!? mako, hang on fora little bit longer! mako?

mako! don't die! mako! you're going to leave me, too! it's not just you... i'm responsible for mako'sdeath, too. mako... please forgive me. spirit of shinichi kenmochispirit of kozo kenmochispirit of sawa kenmochi ryuichi... ryuichi! the end

translation by scannon & kozuetiming by lordretsudo