Studio ghibli presents a FILM BY MIYaZakI HaYaO
In ancient times the land lay covered in forest. . .
. . . where from ages long past dwelt the spirits of the gods.
PRINCESS MONONOKE
Yakul!
ashitaka !
OracIe says to get back to the village.
The OId Man, too.
- He says something' s wrong. - No birds.
No animals. . .
I' lI go to him. You get back home.
Something' s coming !
What is it?
It' s not a person. . .
OracIe' s caIled everyone in.
There !
a demon god !
Yakul, run !
It' Il attack the village !
ashitaka !
Don' t touch it ! Its curse wilI be on you!
Yakul!
Quiet your rage, I beg you !
O forest god who cannot be without name, why do you rampage so?
- A monster ! - Run !
Stop ! Do not destroy our viIIage !
Stop ! Still your rage !
Get up !
- lt' s down ! - ashitaka !
Bring Oracle !
Watch the fire !
ashitaka !
Don' t touch it ! It s no ordinary wound !
He' s hurt ! Where' s Oracle?!
aII of you, stay back !
OracIe !
Pour this water over it. . . slowly.
O raging god unknown to us. . .
. . . I bow before you.
Where you have fallen we will raise a mound and perform rites.
Bear us no hate, and be at peace.
You loathsome rabble !
You shaII know my hatred and my grief !
This is very, very bad.
The boar-spirit came from far to the west.
A poison within him goaded him on, rotting his fIesh. . .
. . . drawing evil as he ran, making a monster of him.
Prince ashitaka. . .
Show your right arm.
OracIe !
Prince Ashitaka, are you steeled to gaze upon your fate?
Yes. l was resolved when I Iet my arrow fly.
The scar will seep into your bones and you will die.
Can nothing be done?!
He was defending the girls, and the village !
Can we but sit and wait?
You cannot change your fate.
You can, though, rise to meet it.
Look.
This was inside the boar' s body.
He was in agony. lt shattered his bones, tore at his entrails. . .
What else couId have made him that way?
Calamity has befallen the land of the west.
Journey there, and see with eyes uncIouded.
There might be a way to lift the curse.
More than 5OO years have gone since the Mikado drove us into this land.
Now we hear how his power fades. . .
. . . and the fangs of his Shoguns are broken.
BBut the blood of our tribe likewise grows thin.
And now, bitter fate. . . the youth who was one day to lead us. . .
. . . must journey far to the west.
The law forbids that we watch as you go. FareweII.
Brother !
kaya, you can' t be here !
l don' t care. Remember me by this.
But it' s your jeweIed dagger !
Keep it with you to guard you.
l' ll think of you. . . be sure of that.
As wiIl I, Kaya.
Fighting?
Move up !
a warrior !
His head is mine !
Stop !
My arm !
Don t let him get away !
Let me pass !
a demon!
The scar' s growing. . .
This grueI tastes like hot water !
There he is !
WiII this do?
This isn' t money !
Give back my rice !
CouId I see that, pIease?
Hm?!
Woman, this is pure goId !
Is it coins you want? I' Il pay you.
Give me this.
Is there a money-changer here?
No?
l' m just a simple priest, but I' d say this is worth three sacks of rice !
Wait, young sir !
That' s mine ! Give it back !
Hey ! Don' t be in such a rush !
No need to thank me. It' s I who should thank you.
I saw what you did before against those samurai.
You fight Iike one possessed !
Ah, you see those men, too? keep your goId hidden, my Iad.
Hearts have grown hard throughout the Iand.
They' ll rob you in your sleep. Shall we run?
So the boar became a monster. . .
I tracked it back to where the samurai attacked the viIIage, but. . .
You Iost it.
See over there?
When I was last this way, there was a fine village here.
There was a flood, maybe, or a Iandslide. l' m sure many died.
The land teems with the twittering of bitter ghosts. . .
. . . dead from war, sick or starved and fallen where they stood. . .
a curse, you say? This world is a curse.
ah, this is good !
I shouldn' t have gotten into that fight. I kiIled two men.
You saved me that task.
Give me your bowl.
We aII die.
Some now, some Iater.
Hm, an elegant bowl. . .
You remind me of the oId tales. . .
a brave peopIe, far to the east. . .
. . . who used stone arrowheads and rode red eIk. . . the Emishi.
First, though, avoid the jaws of death.
Or so my old teacher used to say.
Eat, my Iad. It' s your rice !
WouId you know what this is?
No.
It was in the body of the giant boar. It' s what kiIIed him.
Far to the west, deep in the mountains, is the forest of the Deer God.
There no man may tread.
They say the beasts there are giants, as they were in ages past.
I knew he' d go. . .
It' s not far now ! Stay on your guard!
Here they come !
The woIves !
Calm the oxen! Don' t rush ! Form your ranks !
keep your powder dry !
Let them come in range !
Number 1, fire !
Number 2, fire !
They weren' t much, as monsters go.
Those were just the pups. Where' s the mother?
It' s Moro !
Come on !
Got her !
She' s a god. She won' t die from that.
She did some damage. . .
Move them out.
What about the ones who feII?
Form up and move out !
He' s breathing !
Hang on !
I am Ashitaka ! l have come from far to the east !
Are you ancient gods of the forest of the Deer God?
Leave !
a kodama? are they here, too?
You' re hurt. Keep stiII.
They won' t harm you. They' re a sign the woods are heaIthy.
They' lI bring their lord !
Who? The wolf?
No, a huge monster !
It' s gone !
Yakul' s not afraid. There' s no danger here.
We beg passage through your woods.
Let' s go back ! PIease !
There' s a trail across the river. We' II never get through these woods !
The current' s too strong.
And if we don' t get this man back soon, it' Il be too Iate.
Are you showing us the way, or getting us lost?
Sir ! These things aren t helping us get home.
There' s more and more of them !
This is your mother? a fine tree !
That girl and the wolves. . . so this is where they Iive. . .
We' re getting in deeper, sir. This way Ieads into the other world.
Yes, Iet' s take a rest.
Tracks. . .
Three toes. . . and stiII fresh.
Sir ! What' s wrong?
Are you all right, sir? You' re awfulIy pale. . .
I told you !
Did you see something?
Forget it.
Hang on a littIe Ionger.
I' m sorry.
It' s gone. . .
Why does he suddenIy feeI so light?
Hey ! It doesn' t hurt !
l' m cured !. . . ow ! No, it' s broken.
Sir ! You' re exactly right ! We' re back at the ironworks !
It' s a fort !
Lady Eboshi' s ironworks.
They meIt iron sand into iron.
Hey !
- Someone s coming from the woods ! - The woIf princess?
It' s me ! koroku the ox-driver !
It' s true ! He' s crossing the lake !
What' s all this noise?! Be quiet when I' m writing !
Koroku' s come back from the dead !
What?!
You' re not a ghost.
- Where are the others? - Four of you feII. . .
It' s just us left.
It' s never the guards that die.
Move !
o' s the man in the hood, sir?
an outsider. . .
Listen, Riflemen. . . this gentleman carried your man all the way here.
Thank him.
Ow ! Don' t grab me there !
Hey, you ! Wait !
First, my thanks for bringing back our men.
But something bothers me. . .
You got here in less than half the time we did. . .
. . . through the Deer God' s forest, carrying two. . .
Koroku! You' re aIive !
Toki !
Look at that leg ! How are you going to drive oxen now?!
But. . . but. . .
Scaring me half to death ! The woIf-god shouId' ve eaten you !
Then I could find a better husband !
Toki ! They' re all Iistening !
Toki, save your love-taIk for later.
and you ! Leaving them there to die !
Some escort you are ! You don' t do any reaI work here.
at least act when there' s danger !
What could I do?
Thank you. My husband' s an idiot, but I' m gIad he' s safe.
Good. I was afraid maybe I' d done something wrong.
You look very handsome. Show us your face.
Gonza. . .
l would like to thank the traveler. Bring him to me later.
Koroku. . .
It' s good you' re back. I apoIogize.
Don' t say that, Milady. He' ll just take advantage of you.
Forgive me, Toki. l shouldn' t have let it happen.
If you hadn t been there, MiIady. . .
. . . the woIves would' ve got them aIl.
Go and rest, Traveler.
Hey ! You are handsome !
We had to fight off Moro to bring this rice, you know.
Dish it out !
Where?
Him?
Toki was right !
- He is handsome ! - a bit young. . .
That never stopped you before !
Quiet out there ! We lost two men !
There' s Iots of handsome men here !
Bunch of cowherds !
Come over to our place, Traveler ! Forget this stinking barn !
Watch your mouth ! We risked our lives to bring the rice you' re eating.
And who made the iron that bought that rice?
We work those beIIows all night Iong !
l would like to see where you work, if you don' t mind. . .
ReaIIy?
We' II have to work in make-up !
Rouge, too?
Don' t forget ! We' Il be waiting !
Don' t mind them, sir.
Lady Eboshi spoiIs them.
a good town has happy women.
BBut women working the bellows in an ironworks?
Their presence defiIes the iron.
Milady buys up the contract of every brothel girI she finds !
She' s kind, that' s all.
There' s rice on your face, old man.
BBut she' s not afraid of ancient laws, or of curses.
Or of gods, either.
You shouId' ve seen her with Nago !
A huge boar-god. He ruled the forest around here.
We couIdn' t get near the mountains.
All we could do was sit here and Iook up at them.
The sand down beIow was worked out.
Lots of people had their eye on this pIace. The boars got them all.
To get sand, we have to cIear the trees.
Nago got mad.
There they go again !
Then Lady Eboshi came along with her guns.
Sir? What' s wrong?
Does your arm hurt?
I was just thinking about that boar. . .
He must have died full of hate.
Sorry to keep you waiting. . .
That' s good iron.
We were late with tomorrow' s shipment.
Let' s have a rest. Tell the others.
Some think you re spying for the samurai, or the woIf princess.
Many have their eyes on our iron.
May l ask why you re here?
I' m sure you know this.
It shattered the bones of a giant boar, rotted his flesh and made him a monster.
When I tried to stop him, l was left with this scar : a curse unto death.
Where is your land? I' ve never seen an elk like yours.
Between north and east. That' s all I wilI say.
Answer when you' re asked or I' lI cut you in two !
What do you plan to do?
See with eyes uncIouded.
`Eyes unclouded' ?
I see.
Come. I' II show you my secret.
MiIady !
Take over, Gonza.
My garden, where none dare come.
Come, if you wish to know my secret.
Good evening.
We' ve just finished.
It' s still heavy.
You hold it so lightly. . .
Too Iight and it II fall apart.
They aren' t for me. They' re for the other women here.
Won' t that be a sight !
This is the new gun these peopIe have contrived.
The Chinese ones are too heavy.
lt will kill monsters and pierce samurai armor.
BBeware ! Lady Eboshi wants to ruIe the worId!
l m sorry to rush you. I' II send sake Iater.
Won' t that be nice !
You stole the boar' s woods and made a monster of him.
Now will you breed new hatreds with those guns?
I regret that you suffer.
I fired that shot.
It is me that brainless pig should have cursed.
Would your right hand Iike to kill me?
To Iift the curse, my Ieft would, too.
But I fear it wouId not stop there.
Must it kiIl us all to be at peace?
MiIady. . . Osa speaks.
Milady. . . do not scorn the young man s strength.
Young man, I too am cursed.
I know well your rage and your grief.
I know this, but l beg you not to kiII this Iady.
She is the only one who looked upon us as human.
Without fear of our disease. . .
. . . she washed our rotting flesh, bandaged us. . .
Osa. . .
Life is suffering. It is hard.
The world is cursed, people are cursed, but still we wish to Iive. . .
Forgive my fooIish raving. . .
They re back.
At night they come to plant trees and take back the mountain.
Ashitaka, will you stay here and work with me?
Do you want even the Deer God' s woods?
Without the ancient gods, the wiId ones are mere beasts.
With the forest gone and the wolves with it, this wiII be a Iand of riches.
That girl wiIl be human.
Who?
Mononoke, the wild girl whose soul the wolves stole.
She Iives to kiII me.
It is said the blood of the Deer God wiIl cure disease.
It could cure these people, and perhaps even lift your curse.
MiIady. . . what do you think?
Very well made. Perfect for ruling the worId.
But it' s stilI a bit heavy.