Onna ga kaidan wo agaru toki

Keiko Yashiro:
[an afternoon in late autumn: Keiko walks through the Ginza district on her way to The Lilac Bar] Bars in the daytime are like women without makeup.

Keiko Yashiro:
I hate liquor, yet I drink my fill every night.

Keiko Yashiro:
[Narrating] Between 11:30 and midnight, the Ginza's 16,000 hostesses head home in droves. The best go by cab... the second-rate take the train... and the worst go off with their customers.

Keiko Yashiro:
[Narrating] Back home I felt tired, and a little drunk. My rent is 30,000 yen - a lot for one person. But for us Ginza hostesses, an apartment's a fashionable accessory... just like expensive clothes and perfume.

Keiko Yashiro:
A woman shouldn't be loose. That's one rule I've followed.

Kenichi Komatsu, the manager:
You've heard of Nobuko at Club 8? She wouldn't even give in to a Cabinet member. But then she fell in love with a down-and-out guitarist. Now she works as a maid in a love hotel. I started as a busboy in the Ginza ten years ago. I've seen a lot like her.

Keiko Yashiro:
What's your point?

Kenichi Komatsu, the manager:
Just sharing my experience.

Goda:
How old are you, anyway?

Keiko Yashiro:
Don't ask. Old enough.

Goda:
Thirty? That's the turning point in a woman's life. The time to decide whether to marry... or open your own bar.

Keiko Yashiro:
Even tiny bars in the Ginza cost over a million.

Goda:
Ask yourself if you want to spend the rest of your life working for others.

Yuri:
Just between us, I'm deep in debt. It's taking its toll... I borrowed so much to get started, that now I'm in a pinch. [laughs]

Keiko Yashiro:
Don't laugh. What'll you do?

Yuri:
I've decided to die. Isn't that a great idea? They say sleeping pills work quite well.

Keiko Yashiro:
[Looking dismayed] Yuri!

Yuri:
Just kidding. It'll be a staged suicide. I won't actually die. I'll just fake it to hold off the creditors. Shocked?

Keiko Yashiro:
Not shocked... impressed.

Keiko Yashiro:
[Narrating] Women in the Ginza fought desperately for survival. It was a battle I couldn't afford to lose.

Matsukichi Sekine:
What a nice fragrance. What's your perfume?

Keiko Yashiro:
Black Narcissus.

Kenichi Komatsu, the manager:
[Scolding Keiko] Stop being so emotional. This is a bar. People pay to have a good time.

Keiko Yashiro:
So what?

Kenichi Komatsu, the manager:
Listen to me! You get paid to show men a good time. If you don't like it, take off that kimono and work in an office... and starve!

Keiko's mother:
You keep a fancy apartment instead of living at home.

Keiko Yashiro:
That's not an extravagance.

Keiko's mother:
Then what is it? Tell me!

Keiko Yashiro:
Customers come to the Ginza for a taste of luxury. Satisfying that craving is what we're paid for. Apartments beyond our means, taxis, expensive perfumes - it all serves that purpose. Men wouldn't be interested if they knew I lived in a place like this.

Keiko Yashiro:
Mother, how many times must I tell you? Kimonos aren't a luxury for me!

Keiko's mother:
I know: it's business!

Keiko Yashiro:
That's right! Looking good means good customers. In the Ginza, appearance is everything. You wouldn't understand. I'm actually quite frugal. Flashy kimonos would get more attention, but I can't wear them in the daytime, so I buy plain ones instead. You have no right to call me extravagant!

Keiko Yashiro:
[Angrily, to her mother] Who'd ever want to work in a bar? Drinking 'til I'm sick, being a plaything for men... I haven't enjoyed a single day since I started. Even lying here, thoughts of bills torment my dreams. I'm miserable! But how else could I send you 20,000 a month? If you can find me a better job, tell me and I'll quit!

Matsukichi Sekine:
[to Keiko] Would you laugh if I proposed to you?

Matsukichi Sekine:
[Keiko appears uncomfortable, remains silent] I know. No need to answer. I just wanted to say it once. Pretend I never said it. Bye.

Keiko Yashiro:
I never dreamed I'd become the wife of a factory owner.

Nobuhiko Fujisaki:
Even when a woman's in your arms, you can never tell who she's really thinking of.

Nobuhiko Fujisaki:
I love you, but I don't have the courage to break up my home. It may be selfish of me, but it's the truth.

Keiko Yashiro:
[Narrating] It had been a bleak ordeal, like a harsh winter. But the trees that line the streets can sprout new buds, no matter how cold the wind. I too must be just as strong as the winds that gust around me.