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[first lines]
Daigo Kobayashi: [voice over narration] 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.
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Ikuei Sasaki: [to the grieving family] We are here for the encoffinment. May we offer incense?
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Daigo Kobayashi: [to the grieving family] The right of encoffinment is to prepare the deceased for a peaceful departure. Please come closer and watch. I will now wipe the body.
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Sonezaki: The orchestra is dissolved.
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Ikuei Sasaki: Oh, you... So you're not depressing.
Daigo Kobayashi: Thank you
Ikuei Sasaki: I knew an ad would work. Make some tea.
Daigo Kobayashi: My resume...
Ikuei Sasaki: Good. Sit down.
Daigo Kobayashi: Thank you.
Ikuei Sasaki: Will you work hard?
Daigo Kobayashi: Uh... yes
Ikuei Sasaki: You're hired. What's your name?
Daigo Kobayashi: Daigo Kobayashi.
Ikuei Sasaki: [to Yuriko] Get him some cards.
Yuriko Kamimura: Okay.
Daigo Kobayashi: But what about salary and stuff like that?
Ikuei Sasaki: Oh... how about one hand to start?
Daigo Kobayashi: One hand? 50,000 yen.
Ikuei Sasaki: 500.
Daigo Kobayashi: 500,000 yen?
Ikuei Sasaki: Too low?
Daigo Kobayashi: You pay that much?
Ikuei Sasaki: In cash, if you want.
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Daigo Kobayashi: What does the job involve?
Ikuei Sasaki: Well... At first, being my assistant, I guess.
Daigo Kobayashi: Specifically...
Ikuei Sasaki: Specifically? Casketing.
Daigo Kobayashi: Casketing?
Ikuei Sasaki: Putting bodies in coffins. It bloomed!
Daigo Kobayashi: You mean dead bodies?
Ikuei Sasaki: That's really funny.
Daigo Kobayashi: Uh, no, I mean... The ad said departures, so I thought it meant a travel agency.
Ikuei Sasaki: That's a misprint. It's not departures, it's the departed.
Daigo Kobayashi: The departed.
Ikuei Sasaki: NK stands for nokan, casketing. Anyway, fate brought you here. Give it a try, Quit if you don't like it. Today's pay.
Daigo Kobayashi: No, I couldn't.
Ikuei Sasaki: It's fine.
Daigo Kobayashi: No, no.
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Mika Kobayashi: So what is it?
Daigo Kobayashi: Ceremonies.
Mika Kobayashi: Like weddings? Maybe you can play cello for them. I'll get the sukiyaki ready.
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Yuriko Kamimura: The model's ready.
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Tsuyako Yamashita: 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 Mum. But he would when he was alone in that bath. The poor little thing, his shoulder's shaking... So thats how he is. Please understand him.
Mika Kobayashi: I will.
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Yamashita: People are talking.
Daigo Kobayashi: About what?
Yamashita: Get yourself a proper job!
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Ikuei Sasaki: 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.
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Ikuei Sasaki: Want to do it?
Daigo Kobayashi: All right.
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Grieving Woman: Papa... Thank you!
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Mika Kobayashi: What are you doing?
Daigo Kobayashi: This one. Here.
Mika Kobayashi: What?
Daigo Kobayashi: A stone letter.
Mika Kobayashi: Stone letter?
Daigo Kobayashi: 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.
Mika Kobayashi: Thank you.
Daigo Kobayashi: What did you feel?
Mika Kobayashi: Not telling. That's a lovely story. Who told you?
Daigo Kobayashi: My dad.
Mika Kobayashi: You mean... that big rock?
Daigo Kobayashi: Yep. I got it from him.
Mika Kobayashi: I didn't know that.
Daigo Kobayashi: He said he'd send me one every year, but that's all I ever got. That jerk!
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[last lines]
Daigo Kobayashi: Dad... Father...
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Daigo Kobayashi: There are many kinds of coffins.
Yuriko Kamimura: 50000, 100000, 300000 yen.
Daigo Kobayashi: They differ by that much?
Yuriko Kamimura: The left one is plywood, the next one has metal fittings and carvings on both sides. And the most expensive one is solid cypress wood.
Daigo Kobayashi: Oh, the difference is in material and decoration.
Yuriko Kamimura: Yes, they all burn the same way.
Daigo Kobayashi: Same ashes.
Yuriko Kamimura: The last shopping of your life is done by others.
Daigo Kobayashi: Kind of ironic.
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Shokichi Hirata: Salmon?
Daigo Kobayashi: [Watching the river] Ah, yes. They're right by the rocks... over there.
Shokichi Hirata: [to the salmons swimming against the stream] Oh! Go for it!
Daigo Kobayashi: It's kind of sad... to climb only to die. Why work so hard if you're going to die.
Shokichi Hirata: I'm sure they want to go back... to their birthplace.
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Ikuei Sasaki: [to Daigo, who is looking at a portrait of a woman] That's my wife. Passed away 9 years ago. All married couples are eventually separated by death... but it's tough being the one left behind. I dressed her up, and sent her away... My very first client. I've been working in this business ever since.
Departures Quotes
Extended Reading
