Nobusuke Kishi, the former prime minister and chair of the funeral committee,
will now share a eulogy.
Mr. Yasunaga.
Whenever there was trouble, whether in Japan or elsewhere,
leaders of all sectors came to seek your guidance.
Whenever you received them,
you drew wisdom from many eras and cultures,
illuminating fundamental principles.
That person is no longer with us.
Where will Japan go from here?
Step forward, please.
Mr. Yasunaga!
Please forgive me for not being by your side, Mr. Yasunaga!
Hey, we can't see anything!
Mr. Yasunaga!
As for Kazuko and Yasunaga's marriage,
his family filed a petition with the Tokyo District Court to have it invalidated.
Through mediation,
their marriage was voided on his family registry.
I'm going to bed.
Okay, good night.
But Kazuko continued to claim she was Yasunaga’s wife,
using it to bolster her own influence.
GIVE BACK MY HUSBAND!
After managing Chiyoko Shimakura,
Kazuko was keenly aware of what the media liked
and how to bring them to her side.
Sure enough,
Kazuko Hosoki, a fortune teller with a unique personal history,
had caught the public's attention.
HANSHIN AT THE TOP AFTER 21 YEARS!
Since then, she predicted two major events of public interest.
Her spot-on predictions made her a popular guest on variety shows.
But for the most part, her other predictions were incorrect.
The bubble economy kept things lively.
As Kazuko slowly built her status as a TV celebrity,
her fortune-telling books began flying off the shelves.
FIVE MILLION COPIES SOLD!
MIREI SEI (77) FORTUNE-TELLING MENTOR
MET KAZUKO HOSOKI IN 1973
Thank you for waiting.
I only agreed because I thought this was a continuation
of that weekly magazine's interview.
Did a weekly magazine interview you?
They spoke of exposing that woman's evil deeds.
So,
what would you like to ask me?
I heard that you were Ms. Hosoki's fortune-telling mentor.
Is that what that woman said?
Are you not?
There was a time when she frequently came for advice,
and I did teach her the basics of the Four Pillars of Destiny.
But being called her mentor...
To be quite frank,
I find that disrespectful.
I heard you lent her some books.
Yes.
But after 20 years, she has yet to return them.
Her first book was published a year later.
If you wish to be a real fortune teller, cheap tricks won't cut it.
I told her to study at least ten years before doing anything.
She said Mr. Yasunaga taught her the Four Pillars of Destiny too.
Mr. Yasunaga specialized in I Ching,
but he had not studied the Four Pillars of Destiny in earnest.
You'll probably write your book to put her in a good light anyway.
No, that's not my intention.
May I ask you to leave now?
One more question.
What do you think of the current Ms. Hosoki?
Fortune-telling is a dangerous thing.
Dangerous?
One wrong step, and you end up controlling people’s lives.
Some will even take pleasure in it.
In her current state,
she acts like someone who's in power, doesn't she?
What's more,
I feel a bit of pity for her.
Pity, you say?
Now that she has created this false persona called Kazuko Hosoki,
there is no turning back for her.
She must continue living as this false persona.
It's like caking on makeup.
One lie piled on top of another.
Your book will likely apply another layer of lies on top.
That woman's luck is set to decline gradually now.
If I were to use the words she so selfishly created,
next year will be...
Her Great Calamity Period.
Ms. Hosoki herself will enter the Great Calamity Period.
No one can resist their fate.
The fate of those in power is a miserable one.
It's only a matter of time.
What are you making?
A house.
Who’s the house for?
The ants?
The ladybugs?
It's a house for you and me.
I think Mommy will stop writing her book.
That's okay.
Huh?
You're okay with it?
If I give up,
we won't have a house for a while.
It's okay. I'll build one for us.
I see.
Thank you.
Hello?
Mr. Teppei Yanagi?
I got your voicemail.
How'd you get my number?
Someone connected to the Edogawa-ikka family.
Sorry for the sudden call.
I heard you were the right-hand man of Masaya Hotta,
the head of the family.
Would you be willing to talk about Ms. Hosoki and Mr. Hotta?
Can you come to Kashiwa City Hall at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow?
They get thrown into pigpen-like housing
and get most of their welfare money skimmed off.
Is it a poverty business?
That's a fancy way to put it.
The yakuza way of living couldn't survive past the '80s.
Since the bubble burst, we've been desperate to survive.
So, what do you wanna know about our boss, Hotta?
Ms. Hosoki told me he was the only man she truly loved in her life.
But after hearing from others, I believe they were actually...
You think they were just tied by greed?
Yes.
Boss was an old-school yakuza.
He sucked at making money, so he relied on her income.
The title of Edogawa-ikka family head was a big draw for her.
Just dropping his name would make everyone bow down.
She met big-time yakuza bosses through him too,
so now she acts like a fixer who can call them up on a whim.
Does she still have connections with the yakuza?
But in this day and age, it's gotta be on the down-low.
So, she actually wasn't connected to Mr. Hotta out of love, was she?
I didn't say that.
What do you mean?
When she saw the boss on his deathbed, she--
Wait.
Didn't they break up after what happened with Ms. Shimakura?
The boss had terminal cancer, so he went back to her.
And she took him in without a word.
Was it good?
It tasted awful.
If you can talk trash like that, I guess you're not dying for a while.
I'm gonna live until I'm 100.
Give me another bite.
That's what you'd call devoted care.
The boss was completely at ease with her around too.
Like a married couple who had lived their whole lives together.
It's rare for a yakuza member to have a happy ending like that.
I don't know much about love and romance or whatnot.
But I guess it was their fate to stay together until the end.
Fate...
You can't sum up a man and woman's relationship in just one word.
Have you seen Ms. Hosoki lately?
Well, I get some side jobs here and there.
What kind of side jobs?
Doesn't matter, does it?
She's fiercely loyal to her allies,
but if you go against her, she'll crush you without mercy.
She's not some yakuza's woman.
She's a yakuza herself.
You'd better be careful too.
Kawatani!
What the hell's with your ghostwriter?!
Well, you see,
Ms. Uozumi isn't a ghostwriter, but a respectable author.
There are tons of award-winning rookies out there!
You can't call them a writer if they can't even release a second book!
The boss wants the writer to go and apologize.
Got it.
Then fire her and get a new writer!
Huh? Did you say "fire her"?
Sir!
This is gonna hurt.
Oh.
Did you hear that just now?
Yes.
You haven't been answering Ms. Hosoki's calls lately, have you?
She thought that was strange,
so she paid the yakuza to look into you.
The yakuza?
Oh, their side jobs.
- Huh? - Never mind.
She went way over my head
and called the president directly.
The department head panicked.
You spoke with her brother and Mr. Yasunaga's family?
Did you hear some inconvenient stories about Ms. Hosoki?
Yes.
And you came all this way to tell me?
No.
I wasn't sure if I should keep writing this book.
There's a rumor
that a weekly magazine is preparing a campaign to expose Ms. Hosoki.
You know of it?
Oh, jeez. Did your ex-husband tell you?
Yes.
He said she's making me write a flattering book
that would fight against the exposé.
Is that true?
It seems that's what the higher-ups decided.
So you knew all this, Mr. Kawatani?
I thought this was your chance to release your second book.
I'm a fan of your book, you know.
Well, I've only published one.
I knew you'd write without pandering to anyone.
That's the kind of book I wanted to read.
Why don't you pretend to play along and write what you want?
I'll protect you as much as I can.
I might not be much help though.
Or have you lost interest in the book?
No, I'm dying to write about this.
Oh, really?
But I was fired, right?
Um, forget what you heard earlier.
Ms. Hosoki might be the one to fire me.
Well, that's...
She's hard to read.
For now, I should go and apologize, right?
Sorry.
Good day, ma'am.
Hello.
Good day, ma'am.
MS. KAZUKO HOSOKI
Oh, Kawatani, you're here?
Oh, um...
I...
Come in.
What brings you here today?
Ms. Uozumi would like to apologize to you.
Apologize?
Yes.
I apologize for acting on my own and not answering your calls.
I wish you wouldn't betray my trust,
sniffing around in secret like that.
I don't care who you go and talk to.
But Hisao is a disgrace to my family who had two run-ins with the police.
And Mr. Yasunaga's daughter
is jealous that I took him away from her.
I bet they filled your ears with nothing but lies.
Would you prefer if I stepped down?
Don't be silly. What are you saying?
Who else is gonna write it? You're writing a masterpiece, right?
But remember...
don't write any lies that would slander me.
Got it?
I understand.
Come in.
Sorry to interrupt.
We're a bit short on time,
so could we have our meeting first?
Sure, we're done talking anyway.
Oh, thank you.
We'll excuse ourselves then.
Hey.
Since you're already here, come watch the show before you go.
Well then, we'll see you next week!
Goodbye!
That's a wrap! Good work everyone!
Sorry about earlier, Ms. Hosoki!
Let's go, Mr. HG.
- Thank you. - Good work.
- Keep it up! - Thank you.
Hey, there's actually a guest today who wants their fortune told by me.
I'm not sure if you can air it, but how about we record it?
It'll be 30 minutes at most.
A surprise is nice once in a while, right?
Okay, let's do it then.
All right.
Is it okay, Mr. Yazawa?
Yes, well, um...
Well?
Sorry, just one moment.
Let's do it, Ms. Hosoki!
Let's just go for it!
Thanks.
Is the camera rolling?
Yes, we're rolling.
Please stay with us a bit longer, everyone.
Come on up, Minori.
What are you zoning out for? Hurry over.
Your bag.
Thank you.
Miking her now.
She's ready.
Time to get started then.
Let's do this.
First, tell me your name and date of birth.
What?
What? Are you nervous?
Anyone would be, getting called up like that, right?
I guess that's to be expected
when an amateur gets called up on stage so suddenly.
Well, you're the one who called her up, aren't you?
Sorry about this.
Honestly, the way she pushes us around has us at our limit too.
What are you talking about?
Well? Are you feeling more relaxed now?
Yes.
Then tell me your name and date of birth.
Don't worry.
They'll bleep out anything you don't want aired.
They'll even blur your face.
I'm Minori Uozumi.
I was born on July 12, 1969.
And your profession?
I'm an author.
An author?
I've never heard of Minori Uozumi.
Only one of my books has been published so far.
So you're an unsuccessful author.
Let's choose our words a bit more carefully.
Oh, sorry, it's a bad habit of mine.
Oh, so you're aware of it.
Right?
You...
were in your Great Calamity Period until last year.
Did you know that?
Yes.
You had bad luck with men, right?
Yes.
You've got a strike now.
What?
On your divorce history.
Yes, I've been divorced once.
I figured as much.
You look gloomy and completely unappealing.
I'm not surprised men run from you.
Your career’s stalled,
and life’s been tough for you.
You're probably in immense pain, drowning in worry.
Am I right?
Yes.
But it's okay.
You'll meet someone who will save you.
No...
you've already met.
That encounter...
should be cherished.
Can I ask about a problem I'm having?
Sure.
The problem I'm having
involves a book I'm about to write.
And?
I'm conducting interviews to depict a certain woman's life so far.
But that protagonist
is far more complicated than I had expected.
Sounds excellent.
Much better than a one-dimensional protagonist.
Yes.
She's a truly fascinating person.
But...
But what?
She's lying to me.
Oh, jeez...
If I trust what she says,
the protagonist was tossed about by a cruel fate.
She's a heroine who fought desperately and came out on top.
But she has two sides to her.
She fooled people and pulled them down, amassing great wealth and power.
A rotten villain.
And which one will you write?
I'm going to write my own book.
Your goal as an unsuccessful writer, huh?
Yes.
Sounds interesting.
I'd love to read that book.
SELF-PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN BY MINORI UOZUMI
SELF-PORTRAIT OF MY FACADE
HER ORIGINS
When we were kids, those days were miserable.
We were always starving.
That's why our generation is greedier than others.
Kazuko is a prime example of that.
One time,
Mom used her meager savings to buy beer from the black market.
But the bottles were filled with barley tea.
Kazuko figured that if we were conned, we should just con someone else,
and tried to sell it on the black market.
Thank you!
Thank-- Ouch!
You tricked me, you damn punk!
Well, it didn't work out in the end.
Mom.
Yes?
The weak are considered prey, right?
It's their fault for being deceived, right?
Deceiving people is wrong.
Kazuko.
People who do bad things go straight to hell.
In the end, she spent her whole life going against Mom's words.
Even now, every year without fail,
she still visits Mom's grave on the anniversary of her death.
Early in the morning, so that she doesn't run into us.
It might be her way of atoning.
The total cost was over ten million yen.
Your son is a shut-in even in his forties.
What's more, he's violent toward you.
Yes.
You'll be fine.
Your hard work will surely pay off.
First, do your ancestral rites properly.
I didn't have a choice.
Ms. Hosoki said I hadn't done enough for my ancestors.
Oh, this?
It was my son.
He's still a shut-in, the same as always.
His violence has grown worse.
But...
I have faith it will get better.
After all, Ms. Hosoki said so.
And she's such a famous person.
- Top-tier brandy! - Yeah!
- Richard Hennessy! - Yeah!
Thank you for your order!
I have Ms. Hosoki to thank for everything I am today.
I followed what she had to say that night
and broke things off with my affair partner.
My life changed completely.
I met my current husband,
was blessed with children,
and started a small jewelry shop together.
Thanks to that, we have ten stores across Japan.
If I hadn't met her, who knows where I'd be today?
Isn't fortune-telling wonderful?
It has the power to change lives.
Ms. Hosoki is like a god to me.
Yes, that looks cute. I love it.
That's good.
Let's bring Tiara in.
Oh my, Tiara is so adorable!
- Thanks. - Ms. Hosoki!
Um, could you please shake my hand?
Wait, really?! I can't believe this!
Thank you.
Oh, my God!
- Can I have one too? - Thank you.
Oh, crap!
- I'm sorry for being late. - It's okay. Thank you.
- Thank you. - See you.
Okay, let's go home.
- Phew. - Bye-bye.
- Take care, Reina.
Don't catch a cold.
- Bye-bye. - Bye-bye.
Come on, Reina, get in.
Careful with the heavy rain.
Okay, thank you again!
- Hold on tight. - Yay!
Okay, okay! Fortune-telling fohhh!
What do you think of my swaying hips, Ms. Hosoki?
Take a look, especially at my lower half!
Oh, my.
Instead of my palms, can you do a hip reading?
Good grief.
Men should reserve their hip thrusts for the bedroom.
That's a "no" from me!
That's not enough to stop me!
I can't do this.
- No! - Stop this.
Ms. Hosoki!
Wait a second.
Now, now. Let's take a seat for a moment.
- Please. - You idiot!
Ms. Hosoki is a genius entertainer.
She doesn't need direction from us.
She knows how to entertain the viewers.
Not through logic,
but from pure instinct.
Working in nightlife and fortune-telling
had her dealing with people face-to-face, right?
I think she's drawing from those experiences.
Sorry that you got humiliated on camera.
We're not gonna broadcast that, okay?
I really hate that side of her.
Maybe it's that strength that comes from countless battles.
Her words are convincing.
It's all a bluff. There's no substance.
Japanese people eat that stuff up.
It makes me sick.
Her scandals?
Well, she may have had some stuff in the past,
but I haven't heard anything.
That's a lie.
Word's getting around
about a weekly magazine releasing an exposé.
We'll just have to wait and see, but the higher-ups are shaking in fear.
- Have a good night! - Have a good night!
If necessary,
they'll probably shut down the show and find someone new.
Besides, viewers are quick to forget.
That's show business.
Once you reach the top, there's nowhere left to go but down.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO KAZUKO IN THE FUTURE?
EVEN HER OWN SIX-STAR ASTROLOGY HAS NO ANSWER FOR THAT.
I finished it.
Excuse me!
Even Mr. Kawatani hasn't read this. I want you to be the first.
Publishers and TV networks are gathering here on Sunday next week
for a party at my place.
Can you come?
I'll be there.
I look forward to it.
Please leave it to me.
I'll take your bag.
Oh, it's okay.
Enjoy the party.
It's good to see you.
Hello.
Ms. Uozumi.
You're here.
Are you alone?
Yes, thank you for the other day.
The guests here are all bigwigs in the media.
She really is like an empress, isn't she?
- Oh, may I speak with you? - Yes.
Is the book going well?
Yes, I guess.
What will you write about?
I can't say for certain.
Seeing you two talk on stage made me anxious.
That wasn't something the station could put on air.
Maybe I shouldn’t say this,
but I wouldn't write anything that would anger Ms. Hosoki.
What are you talking about?
Oh, Ms. Hosoki! No, we're just making small talk.
Excuse me.
Thank you for inviting me.
Can you stay until the end?
Yes.
We've got a lot of good drinks.
Enjoy yourself, okay?
Crowds can be exhausting, right?
I read it.
Thank you.
I enjoyed it.
The way you use strangely big words and add pretentious expressions
is so typical of an unsuccessful author.
Still, your writing was better than most.
But...
I can't let you publish this.
Why?
You know exactly why.
You and I were a good match.
I thought we understood each other.
I felt the same way.
But you let me down.
These are all lies meant to slander me.
That wasn't my intention--
It's just like a third-rate tabloid magazine.
Books and tabloids are not the same.
Whoever reads this will see it as Kazuko Hosoki's life story.
Deceiving Ochiyo and stealing her money,
forcing Mr. Yasunaga to marry me just to use his good name...
They'll believe every lie!
I can't decipher what the truth is.
But I was captivated by the protagonist's way of life.
After a childhood of extreme poverty,
she was deceived, exploited, and controlled by men.
She tried to make money, even if it meant deceiving others,
trying to become the one in control.
When I wrote, the sheer magnitude of her desire overwhelmed me.
Some may disapprove, but the readers will--
I'm not asking you for that crap!
Rewrite it exactly the way I say.
I refuse.
Then this book will never see the light of day.
I don't mind. I knew that might happen when I wrote it.
Is that so?
Then this belongs in the garbage.
Why did you want to publish a book based on yourself?
A publishing company asked me to.
I heard that a weekly magazine is preparing
a campaign to expose your past.
Are you scared of falling from the top of the entertainment industry?
What are you talking about?
You wanted to use me to fight against the weekly magazine
by using my book.
To me, books aren't just a way to earn a living.
They're why I exist.
The very reason why I live.
Don't you have any regrets in life?
If I had to name one,
it's that I didn't have a child.
Anything else?
Not a single one.
Not one?
Yes.
Really?
Yes.
The protagonist in my book
knew better than anyone the pain of being deceived and preyed on.
So when she begins to deceive others,
she regretted it countless times as the guilt tormented her.
Time after time again.
But there was no going back.
She was held captive by the magical power of money.
She could only push forward and seal her weak self away.
Didn't you feel the same?
I did whatever it took to make money.
I did whatever it took to succeed.
What's so wrong with that?
I don't regret a thing.
You know what?
I will never forgive anyone who slanders me.
I will never lose to anyone who tries to pull me down.
That is my way of life.
That is Kazuko Hosoki.
I have nothing else to say to you.
You can leave now.
You said you enjoyed my book.
Did you mean it?
Yes.
But that's because
my life story is interesting.
All you did was trace over it.
I endured countless hardships until now.
I've suffered pain beyond belief.
But I never gave in.
No matter what it took, I opened a way forward.
That's why my words have power.
Why the people listen to me.
Whatever story you create,
will it have that kind of power?
I don't know.
But I'll write one someday, for sure.
Then give it your best shot.
I will.
Minori.
Real tears
should be shed when no one's around.
Take care.
Because your Great Calamity Period is about to begin.
I don't believe in fortune-telling.
Hello?
Mommy, are you still working?
I just finished.
It's all over.
Are you coming home now?
Yeah.
I'll hurry home, so wait for me.
Okay.
Bye then.
Tiara?
Tiara.
Where did she go?
Tiara.
Tiara?
Tiara.
You're going straight to hell.
I've seen hell many times.
It doesn't scare me one bit.
In 2006,
Weekly Gendai published articles against Kazuko Hosoki for 15 weeks.
Kazuko's past scandals were brought to light.
Kazuko was forced to step down from her regular TV programs,
completely disappearing from the limelight.
However...
she continued her work as a fortune teller.
She started a mobile website on Six-Star Astrology,
earning ten times more than what she earned on TV,
reaching over seven billion a year.
She adopted her niece in her later years,
living a peaceful life surrounded by family.
Kazuko Hosoki
managed to get
everything she wanted.
KAZUKO HOSOKI
DIED NOVEMBER 8TH, 2021 AGE 83
Subtitle translation by: Chul Woong Kim