art.
That is why his films are now
internationally acclaimed.
Equinox Flower of 1958
was Ozu's first color film.
We were on the train to Toriyama,
going to a chicken restaurant,
RYUICHI YOKOYAMA - CARTOONIST
and I told Ozu he ought
to make a color film.
I said, ''First everyone moved to sound -
even Chaplin finally came around -
and now everyone
is using color. It's time.
Stop holding out like Chaplin did
with sound. Make a color film.''
It was autumn, and the reeds
growing alongside the tracks
were a beautiful golden brown.
Off in the distance,
we saw a charming little house.
''Tell me,'' I said, ''what color
would you make that house?''
Without a moment's pause,
he said, ''Green!''
I'm in love with someone.
Really? And?
Mother doesn't like it.
Why not?
She's never happy
unless I do exactly what she wants.
But this time I can't.
Besides, we're already engaged.
And who is he?
An old friend.
But Mother wants me to marry
the son of some Osaka wholesaler.
''He's such a nice boy,'' she says.
''From an old house, with lots of money.
It's settled. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Just leave everything to me.
The fortune slip at Fushimi shrine said
you'd find a good match in the west.''
It's not funny.
''Omatsu, you prepare
a big offering in the morning,
and Yukiko, you take it
to the shrine and thank the gods.''
That's what she said.
And did you?
Why should I? It's stupid.
And then what happened?
She was furious.
''What can you be thinking?
Don't you realize what
a good match this is? Like no other!
Are you trying to turn
the gods against you?''
She was so angry,
I just got up and left.
With Ozu, everything
had to be authentic.
When he needed the usual
accoutrements for a bar scene,
he asked me to lend him
the stuff from my bar at home.
But I told him, ''My stuff is all fake.
Go find a bar in Ginza
that can lend you the real stuff.''
I remember that happened once.
It always had to be the real deal.
Once he was drinking and wanted me
to join him, so who does he send?
He sends Keiji Sada to get me.
The man's a big star,
but Ozu uses him like a prop.
So that time he sent Sada
as his messenger to invite me for a drink.
Other times, he would be my guest.
We drank together a lot.
In any case, he had a thing
about authenticity.
Everything had to be the real deal.
On February 25, 1959,
Ozu was awarded
the Art Academy Prize.
It was in 1959, at the
Directors Association dinner,
that I first met Mr. Ozu.
Mr. Fujimoto, the Toho executive,
said he wanted me to meet someone,
and he introduced me to Mr. Ozu.
The two of us stood
by this big concrete pillar
YOKO TSUKASA - ACTRESS
and talked about all sorts of things.
Considering how much older he was,
he acted surprisingly shy and nervous,
almost as if we were
a man and woman of the same age
self-consciously
checking each other out.
In the end he said
he'd like me to be in his new film.
LATE AUTUMN
Aya, you said it'd be unseemly
for me to remarry.
Please forget about that.
I'm sorry I ever said anything.
Not at all.
I actually feel the same way.
I'll be fine by myself.
But, Mother...
No, really. I had your father,
and I'm thankful.
I'll just go on living
with him in my heart.
I've had a good life.
I don't want to start climbing
from the foot of the mountain
all over again.
But...
Really. I'll be fine.
You needn't worry about me.
Marry Mr. Goto.
I want you to marry Mr. Goto,
all right?
I can manage by myself.
That's really what
I want you to do.
I'm not just keeping a stiff upper lip
so you'll feel free to go.
You understand
what I'm saying, don't you?
What a nice trip this has been!
I learned so much from Mr. Ozu.
About drinks, ceramics,
paintings.
This kimono I'm wearing
is one he chose for me,
and I still treasure it.
Sometimes he could be
very mischievous and naughty.
When we were shooting
The End of Summer,
we would all gather
at our lodgings for dinner,
and he