Father’s Words to Daughter at the End of ‘Late Spring’

The culture is specific and norms have changed with time. However, the words spoken and the feelings and ideas conveyed in this [scene] towards the end of Ozu Yasujiro’s ‘Late Spring’ continue to ring so true.

Noriko and her father are ending their trip to Kyoto before she is to be wed.

Noriko: Please, father, why can’t we stay just as we are? I know marriage won’t make me any happier.

Father: That’s not true. You’ll see. I’m 56 years old. My life is nearing its end. But your life as a couple is just beginning. You’re starting a new life, one that you and Satake must build together. One in which I can play no part. That’s the order of human life and history. Marriage may not mean happiness from the start. To expect such immediate happiness is a mistake. Happiness isn’t something you wait around for. It’s something you create yourself. Getting married isn’t happiness. Happiness lies in the forging of a new life shared together. It may take a year or two, maybe even five or ten. Happiness comes only through effort. Only then can you claim to be man and wife.

A much needed reminder about happiness in these times.