1. The year is 1888.Copy !req
2. A lone painter who held a deep admirationCopy !req
3. for an ukiyo-e print that
he had encountered in ParisCopy !req
4. made his way to Arles, Provence in search of
the Japanese sun that he saw in his mind's eye.Copy !req
5. His dream was to live and work
together with many artists there.Copy !req
6. However, only one artist turned up,Copy !req
7. and their communal life
didn't even last two months.Copy !req
8. The name of the second artist was Gauguin.Copy !req
9. The name of the man who was
fascinated by the ukiyo-e printCopy !req
10. and continually painted
sunflowers was Vincent van Gogh.Copy !req
11. Anyway, let's set aside this part
of our tale for the time being...Copy !req
12. No way! Are you serious?Copy !req
13. It costs that much?Copy !req
14. Well? Are you getting on board or not?Copy !req
15. Give me a discount?Copy !req
16. Forget it. If you can't pay, why don't
you start swimming your way across?Copy !req
17. Tightwad!Copy !req
18. And now, the hands of the clock turn
back more than one hundred years.Copy !req
19. My name is Manzou Sakami.
I'm a secret policeman.Copy !req
20. I slice away with no concern
for the edge of my sword.Copy !req
21. Because of that, people
call me Manzou the Saw.Copy !req
22. The reason I'm here is because
of a rash of disappearancesCopy !req
23. of adolescent girls that has
been taking place in this area.Copy !req
24. That's right... Girls a lot like this one.Copy !req
25. You're such a lifesaver!
Seriously, though? You're paying?Copy !req
26. Of course. Go on, eat up.Copy !req
27. Excuse me! Twenty grilled
squid with tea on the side!Copy !req
28. Coming right up!Copy !req
29. That's quite an appetite you have.Copy !req
30. —Thanks, buddy.
—We're in your debt.Copy !req
31. Give this guy the tab.Copy !req
32. —Right!
—Hey, you two!Copy !req
33. Get out there and earn our boat fare! Got it?Copy !req
34. —Yeah, yeah...
—Right.Copy !req
35. Just like that! Right there, don't move...!Copy !req
36. What're you doing?Copy !req
37. I was just thinking that you're
truly a beauty looking backwards...Copy !req
38. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Moronobu Hishikawa.Copy !req
39. I'm an artist who hasn't
quite made the big time yet.Copy !req
40. Pleased to meet you.Copy !req
41. "Oh, my! What a wonderful smile he has!"Copy !req
42. Or so these maidens think
as they're so easily deceived.Copy !req
43. —It's the girl's soft skin that they're after.
—Oh, no!Copy !req
44. Oh, no!Copy !req
45. —Oh, no!
—Oh, no!Copy !req
46. According to the information
I've uncovered on my own so far,Copy !req
47. the vanished girls all have
something in common.Copy !req
48. They were all amateur
models for ukiyo-e prints.Copy !req
49. —She's so hot!
—Hey, move your damn hand!Copy !req
50. Who are you?Copy !req
51. You're in our light! Move it!Copy !req
52. Mess with us, and you're a dead man!Copy !req
53. What's your problem?Copy !req
54. Draw, you bastard!Copy !req
55. No thanks. Against you guys,
these are all I need.Copy !req
56. Say what?Copy !req
57. One, two, three...Copy !req
58. Damn, this ain't much.Copy !req
59. Start jumping.Copy !req
60. I-I'm so sorry...!Copy !req
61. Aw, that's sick...Copy !req
62. One, two... There's a hair!Copy !req
63. We'll remember this, you moron!Copy !req
64. Look, this one is mine, too.Copy !req
65. I believe that in the future,
ukiyo-e prints will feature amateur models,Copy !req
66. not just the star kabuki actors
in the ones we see today.Copy !req
67. Hey, did you paint this one, too?Copy !req
68. Yes, of course.Copy !req
69. The sunflowers are so pretty...Copy !req
70. Unfortunately, ukiyo-e are still treated
as cheap pop posters bought by kids.Copy !req
71. I swear, this country
doesn't understand art at all.Copy !req
72. It's enough to make me want to
try my hand overseas one day.Copy !req
73. Which brings me to my point.Copy !req
74. Would you be interested in joining me
and entering into the world of art?Copy !req
75. —What do you mean?
—It's simple, it's simple.Copy !req
76. All you need to do is pose for me.Copy !req
77. I'll pay you for your time, too!Copy !req
78. Ever since I met you, I've had
a chill running up my spine.Copy !req
79. I want to paint you, no matter what.Copy !req
80. Well, I don't know...Copy !req
81. It's okay, it's okay!Copy !req
82. Haven't you seen ships like those before?Copy !req
83. I was under the impression that
European ships could only dock at Nagasaki.Copy !req
84. They grease the palms of the local governor.Copy !req
85. Even if a governor is taken to task for it,
he can say that they were shipwrecked.Copy !req
86. For one thing, banned European goods
fetch a high price everywhere.Copy !req
87. Three-one, Silver General.Copy !req
88. My apologies. That was presumptuous of me.Copy !req
89. Wait!Copy !req
90. What do you say? Care to join me in a game?Copy !req
91. Thank you, but I'm in a hurry.Copy !req
92. How about if we played for stakes, then?Copy !req
93. I'd like to, but I don't even
have money for the ferry.Copy !req
94. If you've got no money to bet,
how about putting your life on the line?Copy !req
95. If you win, this money is yours.Copy !req
96. If you lose, you pledge your life to me.Copy !req
97. I doubt that you're in your right mind.Copy !req
98. It's a little joke from an old man
whose life has been spent in the gripCopy !req
99. of shogi pieces so light that the
slightest wind could blow them away.Copy !req
100. On the other hand,
these gold coins are the real deal.Copy !req
101. I will face you, then.Copy !req
102. Gimme as many as these will buy.Copy !req
103. It's a pleasure doing business!Copy !req
104. Welcome to the shop.Copy !req
105. Please feel free to take your time and browse.Copy !req
106. I-I'm sorry, ma'am. There's been some trouble...Copy !req
107. You three are yakuza!
You're telling me that you were mugged?Copy !req
108. I-I'm sorry, ma'am!Copy !req
109. Don't get robbed again!Copy !req
110. Pick it up.Copy !req
111. I'm sorry, ma'am! I'm sorry!Copy !req
112. The next time you see that guy,
make sure you redeem yourself.Copy !req
113. Yes, ma'am!Copy !req
114. Oh, crap. The boat fare...Copy !req
115. Hey.Copy !req
116. Long time, no see.Copy !req
117. Hey, hold it!Copy !req
118. No way, you bastard!Copy !req
119. This is my studio.Copy !req
120. Come back here, damn it!Copy !req
121. What kind of trouble are you causing this time?Copy !req
122. Look who's talking. Why are you
messing around with lover boy here?Copy !req
123. You've got it all wrong. I came
here to do a modeling job.Copy !req
124. Crap, he got away.Copy !req
125. It's not quite right...Copy !req
126. A little further down... About here.Copy !req
127. No, no, I'm not saying that to be a pervert!Copy !req
128. This is all for the sake of art.Copy !req
129. See? You can't see anything from over here.Copy !req
130. It's okay, it's okay...Copy !req
131. I've been working this stakeout because
I suspected that these incidentsCopy !req
132. were somehow connected to
the European ships in the harbor.Copy !req
133. By the way, this is my truncheon blade.Copy !req
134. They're normally used as a truncheon,
but when you combine them like this,Copy !req
135. they make an excellent weight-loss tool
that you can use in your spare time.Copy !req
136. As we thought, it looks like a big
deal is going down tomorrow.Copy !req
137. Really, now? Good work,
keep up your investigation.Copy !req
138. Yes, sir.Copy !req
139. —Sir...?
—Well, blow me down!Copy !req
140. Who's there?Copy !req
141. You're pretty good, son.
Where did you learn how to play?Copy !req
142. In the dojo.Copy !req
143. In both shogi and swordplay,
the key is to read ahead.Copy !req
144. The battle is decided by whether you can
think farther ahead than your opponent.Copy !req
145. That was what my master taught me.Copy !req
146. I see. It sounds like your
master was a skilled player, too.Copy !req
147. Yes. I was never able to
defeat him in shogi even once.Copy !req
148. What about with swords?
Did you beat him there?Copy !req
149. —Finished.
—Really? Let me see!Copy !req
150. Great, thanks for your hard work!Copy !req
151. What? What's going on?Copy !req
152. I'm sorry. This is part of my job, too.Copy !req
153. Job? What's that supposed to mean?
You tricked me, didn't you?Copy !req
154. Did you have this planned all along?Copy !req
155. Hold still.Copy !req
156. Oh, the sun's gone down. Let's pick up tomorrow.Copy !req
157. Oops, how clumsy of me!Copy !req
158. My, that's quite some memory you have.Copy !req
159. But this Gold General... Wasn't it up here?Copy !req
160. Relax. You'll be out on the sea tomorrow.Copy !req
161. Get'em to take real good care of you.Copy !req
162. Hey, did you hear an animal
or something just now?Copy !req
163. C'mon, let's go.Copy !req
164. You're just imagining things.Copy !req
165. Where are you going in such a hurry?Copy !req
166. Um, I...Copy !req
167. You've been so busy with this art nonsense
lately that you never stop by to see me.Copy !req
168. Who do you think is letting
you live the way you do?Copy !req
169. I'm... I'm sorry.Copy !req
170. I won't let you go home tonight.Copy !req
171. W-Wait a moment!Copy !req
172. M-My stomach has, uh, been bothering me all day!Copy !req
173. I don't think I'm up to it!Copy !req
174. Tomorrow! I promise I'll come see you tomorrow!Copy !req
175. I'm getting you out of here.Copy !req
176. Okay...Copy !req
177. How many girls have you conned so far?Copy !req
178. Answer me! How many?Copy !req
179. At first, I didn't know.Copy !req
180. I suspected something,
but I looked the other way.Copy !req
181. I mean, an sukiyaki-e artist could never make
ends meet without doing things like this.Copy !req
182. You're just making excuses for yourself.Copy !req
183. How could you do that to me?Copy !req
184. Oh, now I see. You prefer
girls this young, do you?Copy !req
185. You know what happens to people who
fool with my merchandise, don't you?Copy !req
186. Hey, where is she?Copy !req
187. I don't know.Copy !req
188. Well, it's not like I care or anything...Copy !req
189. Gin.Copy !req
190. Man, this won't buy me anything to eat...Copy !req
191. Well, well. I still can't capture your piece.Copy !req
192. Thank you for your continued patronage.Copy !req
193. So, which would you like to buy?Copy !req
194. My, you have an eye for quality.Copy !req
195. "O-Fuu"Copy !req
196. Whoa, check it out,
she's doing it with a squid...Copy !req
197. In you go!Copy !req
198. Gee, if you weren't the boss's young stud,
you woulda been fish food a long time ago.Copy !req
199. Try anything like that again, and we'll break
your right hand for real. Remember that.Copy !req
200. Wakey wakey, lover boy.Copy !req
201. Hey. Where'd this girl go?Copy !req
202. Help her! If we don't do
something, she'll be sold!Copy !req
203. Just accept it, will ya?Copy !req
204. Hey, you ready yet?Copy !req
205. What the hell? This thing weighs a ton!Copy !req
206. That one isn't on the list!Copy !req
207. If we don't hurry it up,
she's gonna chew us out again!Copy !req
208. When I put a young girl into an sukiyaki-e,Copy !req
209. the print goes up in a book
rental shop by the harbor.Copy !req
210. But the rental shop is just a front.Copy !req
211. They use the sukiyaki-e prints as a slave trade
catalog to sell girls to the Europeans!Copy !req
212. We're too late...Copy !req
213. She's already been taken away.Copy !req
214. Well, blow me down!Copy !req
215. Something just popped out.Copy !req
216. Who are you?Copy !req
217. I must have missed them by just a few seconds.Copy !req
218. It's that guy!Copy !req
219. Stay away!Copy !req
220. Not again!Copy !req
221. —Boo!
—S-Spare me!Copy !req
222. W-What in the world?Copy !req
223. Hold it right there!Copy !req
224. You're under arrest!Copy !req
225. What's the meaning of this?
I'm a law-abiding book lender!Copy !req
226. Well, blow me down!Copy !req
227. As if there could be a
messed-up bookstore like this!Copy !req
228. I saw through your little scam long ago!Copy !req
229. W-What are you talking about?Copy !req
230. You've got guts, using your store as a front
to traffic in humans with those foreign ships.Copy !req
231. This girl and this book
are irrefutable evidence!Copy !req
232. Sir...?Copy !req
233. Well, blow me down!Copy !req
234. Using sukiyaki-e prints as a
catalog was clever of you,Copy !req
235. but instead it's proved to be your downfall!Copy !req
236. Checkmate.Copy !req
237. Face the facts and turn yourself in!Copy !req
238. Well done. Now I can go with no regrets.Copy !req
239. Anyhow, we'll be taking you in now.Copy !req
240. Boss!Copy !req
241. Darling...Copy !req
242. Oh, right. I almost forgot.Copy !req
243. As we agreed.Copy !req
244. So after all that, it was In who earned
our boat fare, even though it looked likeCopy !req
245. he hadn't been doing anything this whole time.Copy !req
246. Hey, I came away with some booty of my own.Copy !req
247. Gross! What is this, porn?Copy !req
248. Darn it, you two! Give it a rest!Copy !req
249. Hey, backwards beauty!Copy !req
250. Now look here—Copy !req
251. I'm sorry! I really am sorry for tricking you.Copy !req
252. But please believe this one thing.Copy !req
253. That thrill I felt when I saw you,
that was the honest truth.Copy !req
254. You were the first. No other girl looked at
my sunflowers and said they were beautiful.Copy !req
255. And so!Copy !req
256. That makes you my number one fan!Copy !req
257. I'm on my way to sneak aboard the European
ships and go to the country of Holland.Copy !req
258. I won't return to this land until the day
my paintings are recognized as great art.Copy !req
259. But I'll never forget about you!Copy !req
260. Oh, right. Don't tell old lady Saw
where I'm headed, all right?Copy !req
261. I appreciate it!Copy !req
262. Jerk!Copy !req
263. This is ridiculous...Copy !req
264. You sure you want to let him go?Copy !req
265. Yeah, it's okay. I mean, he did
draw me with big hooters.Copy !req
266. —Hooters?
—Hooters?Copy !req
267. After that, the artist who had
attempted to travel to HollandCopy !req
268. was caught immediately and deported.Copy !req
269. However, the ukiyo-e he had with him
was the one thing that they confiscated,Copy !req
270. and it eventually crossed paths with van Gogh.Copy !req
271. This, they say, is what provided the inspiration
for his series of sunflower paintings.Copy !req
272. This incident is just one more page
that is missing from the history books.Copy !req
273. Well, blow me down!Copy !req
274. "To be continued"Copy !req