The word 百日紅 (sarusuberi: crape myrtle, 100 + days + crimson) also pops up in the wonderful Japanese movie Still Walking (歩いても歩いても, Aruite mo Aruite mo). When I saw “crape myrtle” in the subtitles, I strained to remember the yomi sarusuberi and listened hard for something familiar. Unfortunately, I failed to recognize the word. Oh, well. Loved the movie anyway! I highly recommend it if you like full, satisfying stories. Someone described this film as Ozu updated, and that sounds just right to me.
The director, 是枝裕和 or Kore-eda Hirokazu, also did the following films, which I loved:
After Life (ワンダフルライフ, Wandafuru Raifu), 1998
Nobody Knows (誰も知らない, Dare mo Shiranai), 2004
I haven’t seen Maborosi (幻の光, Maboroshi no Hikari: phantom + light, 1995), but I’ve heard good things.
Now, as to the syntax of 歩いても歩いても, the -ても … -ても construction means we can translate the title as, “No matter how much we walk …” or “We walked and walked, but …”
How either phrase, or the actual English title Still Walking, relates to the story is another matter altogether—and one about which I’m none too certain!
