Record of a Woman Doctor (女医の記録)

Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu

A Shochiku film

Record of a Female Doctor

Script by Yoshiro Tsuji, Photography by Toshiyasu Morita

Music by Takaaki Asai

Starring;

Kinuyo Tanaka as Doctor Natsuki Masami Morikawa as Doctor Honma

Shin Saburi as Kamiya-sensei, teacher at the village school

Student nurses played by:

Mitsuko Ichimura as Mine Yoneda Chiyoko Fumitani as Mitsu Yoneda Teruo Furutani as Sakuhei Toyama Hideo Takeda as grandfather of Sakuhei Minoru Nakamura as Shota Matsuki

Jun Yokoyama: Heizo Hideo Sumi:Takichi Hamako Miura: Oshima Minosuke Naka: the gyoja (mountain priest)

We set our headquarters here.

To Yonekura village, Dr. Yasuda and 7 students.

To Higashiyama village across the ridge,

Dr. Natsuki and Dr. Honma and 10 students.

To Shikatani village, Dr. Yamamoto and Dr. Kobayashi and 12 students.

This group will be in charge of Osawa village as well.

Dr. Yoshizawa, Dr. Okabe and Dr. Yamashita will stay

at headquarters and visit each village accordingly.

At each village you are awaited by villagers, school teachers and children

who will guide you.

I am very grateful for your coming.

Villagers come to me for any and all of their problems, including medical cases.

It must be hard.

I give them Gennoshoko for loose bowels,

aspirin for flu,

for cuts or boils, wash with oxiful and apply tincture of iodine,

I apply eye lotion for them.

Also I am summoned to weddings, funerals, and as an arbitrator of fights.

So even in a mountain village you have no time to be bored.

Bored? No, I am bored sometimes.

But, when I am bored, the children come to play with me.

Children do a lot for me.

The children prepare my food for morning, lunch and dinner. They do the washing too.

But sensei, what if there's a serious case, appendicitis? Or a major injury?

Yes, that's a problem.

There are a lot of tragic cases.

But that is that. Current problems are,

parasites, malnutrition, and trachoma.

And particularly infant mortality due to malnutrition and tuberculosis,

which are both significant problems.

In the villages, children are born frequently and they die frequently.

It's not unusual for a childbirth and a funeral to accompany each other.

Some youths went to the city to work

but returned with pale faces.

That is, they came back with tuberculosis.

The village people take meagre meals and have no resistance,

nor any concept of hygiene, so they are easily infected.

The lack of the concept of hygiene is the big problem.

Look at that.

In long-established custom, the houses of the village are surrounded by thick trees.

Due to that ventilation is poor and daylight is blocked.

The futons are never put out to dry and permanently unmade.

They go to bed in their day clothing and get up in the same.

They don't use nightwear at all.

They don't take baths often and when a house does prepare a bath,

All the people of the neighborhood use it, so the water becomes muddy.

There are countless problems.

Every now and then the prefectural authorities

recommend felling the trees around the houses...

But they won't listen,

insisting the trees are ancestral, or that cutting them down is not good for the house.

I don't know what to do.

Your name please.

Age?

You used moxibustion, didn't you?

Yes, when I used moxibustion I felt so good but,

You see? Moxibustion can be effective temporarily but you need proper treatment.

Medical? What kind of medicine is that?

Moxibustion can be effective sometimes,

but we must think why your shoulder and back hurt so badly.

Then we must treat it.

If you take enough nutrition and rest you will be relaxed without moxibustion.

Is it so?

I will give you medicine but even if the pain eases

don't forget the nutrition and rest.

Medicine no.8 for 10 days.

How much should I pay for the medicine and examination?

We don't take money.

It's free?

We are satisfied if we are helpful.

Thank you very much ma'am!

Goto-san please.

Open your mouth.

You also have an eye problem.

You shouldn't let anyone else use your towel.

I have no towel.

You don't? Then what do you do when you wash your face in morning?

I don't wash my face.

You don't wash your face?

I told him repeatedly but he doesn't.

Not only this child. I doubt his parents wash.

Even taking a bath is rare.

There's no concept of hygiene!

In summer it's OK as they swim in the river.

After swimming, they don't dry off. It's why many children have ear discharges.

I clean their ears when I notice.

Heizo-san, is anything else wrong with you?

They say often my head is wrong, but I don't have pain there..

Soon I will make your head better.

Heizo, your head will be better if you study.

Did you do your homework about the metric system?

- I did. - Tell me.

1-ri is 36-cho, 1-cho is 60-ken, 1ken is 6-shaku,

That's not the metric system.

Oh, I see.

1 cm is,

I didn't do it.

That's not good. That's why people say you're stupid. Try harder.

Yes, sir!

At least that answer is good!

Next is Sakuhei Toyama.

Is Sakuhei here?

Mine Yoneda.

Do you have someone sick at home?

My older sister has been in bed.

For a long time?

I heard she went to town to work, got sick and came back.

She has a problem here.

I see.

That's too bad.

She is also weak and often in bed so couldn't graduate last year.

I am sorry.

I will visit to see your sister.

Sakuhei, where are you?

He is not here, sir.

I wonder where he is.

Grandmother, a female doctor came to school. She wants to look at you.

Grandfather,

Grandfather, many female doctors came from Tokyo.

What?

Many female doctors have come from Tokyo. Why don't you ask them to check you?

What's that? Female fortune tellers?

Not that, doctors.

Oh, doctors!

- And get them to look at Grandad's ears. - Don't be silly.

If we ask a doctor's help it costs a lot.

Saku, you were examined by a female doctor from Tokyo.

Yes, she looked at me.

If you were examined you'll be charged a lot later.

Takichi, you were checked and given a dressing.

- Should I give it back? - Yes, you should.

Why don't we go swimming?

We were told not to swim if we've problems ear or eye problems.

Doesn't matter. Let's go.

Swim? Yes.

God! They are swimming.

Hey! You mustn't swim.

Why did you remove the dressing?

Saku told me to give it back.

Saku? Why?

He said if you are examined by a doctor or given a dressing

you'll be charged a lot later.

I told you not to swim. Why are you swimming?

Saku insisted.

If I don't swim he'll hit me.

Saku, you went home without a medical check today.

Grandpa said if we are examined by a doctor we'll be charged a lot later.

So you told Takichi to give back his bandage?

You're an idiot!

OK. Swimming is over now.

Oi, don't leave the baby alone here.

Next I will visit the sister of Mine in 6th grade.

Sorry for troubling you. Look at him again.

- What's the matter? - He removed his bandage.

Come here.

Saku, you've not been examined yet, have you?

Please check him later.

His father is suffering from stomach ache.

That's too bad. What of it?

- The mountain priest (gyoja) is treating him. - Gyoja?

What? Is that heavy drinking gyoja visiting again?

The heavy drinking gyoja

visits the houses of sick people, gives some insensible chant

and is given sake for it.

That's not good.

I'll go and visit him.

I told him to get you to look at grandpa. He said we'll be charged a lot.

Don't worry. We won't take any money.

Please.

The doors are shut tight!

Who are you?

We're from the Tokyo Women's Medical University.

We heard you have a long-term sick person in bed.

I don't care who you are.

Mine may have told you that my girl has a lung disease.

Let's hope not...

Anyway if she is sick, will you allow us to examine her?

She is asleep now. I don't want you to see her.

Lung disease? What will people think?

What if the villagers hear that! We have no seed of lung disease here.

We wouldn't say lung disease without an examination.

But if she is sick, please let me examine her.

There's no need to examine her. Please leave.

Leave please. We have no sick person here.

You entered without permission, opened doors without permission!

You thought you could get away with it as there are only women in the house!

Leave!

Mine!

Mother got angry and sent them away.