The two mediums, Kazusa and Miura, were instructed...
sword of Desperation, Production Committee.. Excellent Films Toei TV Asahi Pony Canyon K Dash sankei shimbun The two mediums, Kazusa and Miura, were instructed...
...to go to the Nasuno plains...
...and defeat the shape- shifting fox.
"The fox resembles a dog, therefore to defeat the fox, practice with dogs"
Note. special arrows were used to avoid injuring the dogs. Thus advised, they practiced shooting dogs for a hundred days.
It is said that this was the birth of dog hunting.
The two mediums donned their hunting apparel...
Infantry Captain Kanémi sanzaémon The two mediums donned their hunting apparel...
...and with several tens of thousands of horsemen, surrounded the plains of Nasuno.
Unasaka Fief Lord Ukyo Dayu ...and with several tens of thousands of horsemen, surrounded the plains of Nasuno.
His Consort: Renko ...and with several tens of thousands of horsemen, surrounded the plains of Nasuno.
Pursued relentlessly by the hunters, the fox finally fell to an arrow, and lost its life in an instant.
Infantry Captain Hoshina Junai It vanished like the mist on the plains of Nasuno, but its grudge remained.
The grudge took the form of a Killing stone, and continued taking human lives for many years.
However, after receiving a gracious oblation...
Deputy Chief Retainer Tsuda Minbu However, after receiving a gracious oblation...
...from the prelate Gen,no, it made a rock-hard promise that it would never do evil again.
Thus the stone once again became a stone, and the manifestation of this demon-god vanished.
Great performance. It was splendid.
Pardon me.
Lady Renko!
sir Kanémi!
Renko! Renko! Renko!
Lord, go back! Lord!
Lady Renko...
Renko!
Kanémon...
Why have you done this?
I place myself in your hands.
sword of Desperation
Please. May I see sir sanzaémon?
No one can see him until we are commanded otherwise.
Even one of his relatives?
Absolutely not!
Please make an exception. Absolutely not!
Please make an exception.
No!
It is l, Rio.
Father. What kind of judgment will sir sanzaémon receive?
Not only will he be beheaded, but our family line will be abolished. It,s inevitable.
Trouble will befall our entire family, then?
Why would sir sanzaémon do such a thing?
There is no way for us to know what was on his mind.
But had Lady Mutsué been alive, this would have never happened.
Chief lnspector. I vaguely remember Kanémi, but... what kind of man is he?
He is known to be serious, trustworthy, and most self-composed.
Why then would such a self-composed man do this? Were there any prior indications?
Kanémi never expressed hostility towards the Lord or Lady Renko, or disgruntlement about fief policy.
"(Go-)Bekke:, A member of the cadet branch of a family" used to refer to sir Obiya. What about his relative, sir Obiya Hayato-no-sho" could he be connected to this?
There seems to be no connection whatsoever.
so you,re saying that he acted alone?
That is so.
Does Kanémi have a family?
His wife became ill and died, and he has no children.
since he has no heir, he,s prepared for the abolishment of his family line.
Kanémi is worth 280-koku, is that correct?
Correct.
If only we could allow him to commit hara-kiri.
But beheading will probably be appropriate.
I believe I must object.
Kanémi sanzaémon.
Your outbreak of madness the other day at the Main Hall was the height of insolence.
However, given your subsequent unresisting behavior, it is our Lord,s wish...
...that you be granted special clemency.
Based on that, judgment shall now be passed.
Kanémi sanzaémon, you are sentenced to one year of house arrest.
Your fief pension will be reduced from 280-koku to 130-koku.
Furthermore, you are relieved of your post as an lnfantry Captain, and all other official posts.
That is all.
Please wait.
sanzaémon. Refrain!
I have killed a person precious to our Lord.
I was prepared to be beheaded.
sanzaémon!
Disallowed.
Our Lord has judged your case himself.
No arguments to the contrary are permitted.
Uncle.
Master.
Do as you have been instructed.
Thank you for all you,ve done for us, all these years.
Take good care of yourselves, you two.
Thank you very much.
Come on.
Uncle. I have brought you supper.
Rio.
Yes.
What are your plans?
Given our family situation, you should consider what to do with yourself.
Uncle. After the annulment of my betrothal, I had nowhere to go but back to my original home.
But out of Aunt Mutsué,s kindness, I was allowed to live here.
Then even more so...
Please.
I do not want to go anywhere else.
Please permit me to continue to remain here with you.
spirit Tablet of Believer Kotoku Jomutsu (Kanémi Mutsué)
Welcome home.
How is Mutsué feeling?
Well, her fever has gone down today. she seems to be feeling much better than yesterday.
I see.
Welcome home.
You should lie down if you want, don,t mind me.
Your color is looking much better than it was this morning.
Yes. The coughing stopped. I,m feeling much better.
I see.
Dear... Please open the shoji for me.
Oh yes... sir Hoshina told me of a therapeutic hot spring that,s effective against sickness.
Why don,t you go and give it a try?
I,m already dismayed enough because I haven,t been able to care for you. I couldn,t do that.
You needn,t be concerned about me.
Get well as soon as possible. That,s all I want.
Hana.
Yes?
Let,s grow some vegetables in the garden. Yes?
Let,s grow some vegetables in the garden.
I can,t do it alone.
I,m going to do it. I just want your help, Hana. I can,t do it alone.
I,m going to do it. I just want your help, Hana.
Yes.
How has our Lord been lately?
I hear he has been making regular visits to the inner sanctum, even early in the day.
seems like he,s fallen head over heels for that woman.
I hope he doesn,t get swayed by her mendacities yet again.
Fat chance. Our Lord only has eyes and ears for that woman.
This is what I heard...
Lady Renko.
You are not allowed to go there.
Please stop, Lady Renko.
Lately she can,t bear to wait for him at the inner sanctum...
...so she goes in person to the high council chambers. Can you believe it?
They say she scribbled all over the austerity budget and made it a hollow shell.
What are you so worried about?
Let,s deny number 4.
"Petition for a reduction in the cuisine budget"
"Denied,
I don,t think we need number 5 either.
"Petition for a reduction in the budget for periodic festivities and formal gifting"
Why are the chief retainers letting her get away with this?
Even if they were to make a complaint, l,m sure our Lord would have none of it.
Because if he did, he,d get shunned by Lady Renko.
Hey. I just heard that Accountant Anzai slit his stomach.
W...what?
What for?
Rumor from the castle has it... What for?
Lady Renko.
You mustn,t.
Lady Renko...
Which one of you is Accountant Anzai?
Lady Renko. I am Anzai.
What brings you to a place like this?
I heard you have proposed to our Lord that the budget for the inner sanctum be reduced.
Oh no, I would never be so audacious.
And you told him to cut this year,s Noh play at shungakuden Hall. Is this not true?
The farmers are in distress because of the river,s great flood this summer.
Reconstruction has proven to be more arduous than anticipated...
...hence I expressed an opinion in the hope that funds could be shifted in that direction.
Are you saying that you would deny our Lord his pleasures?
I also hear that you,re complaining that our kimonos are an extravagance.
We serve to entertain our Lord. Are you saying that we are a waste?
Oh no. I had no such intention, whatsoever.
silence, silence!
You,re trying to cover for your incompetence as an accountant...
...and have uttered fabrications.
The fief,s finances are in disarray solely because of your neglectfulness.
slit your stomach. Your stomach.
Lady Renko.
Your responsibility is great; you have administered the fief,s treasury incompetently.
This is the will of our Lord. slit your stomach.
Lord! Lord!
sir Anzai. sir Anzai. Please get back. Get back. Lord! Lord!
Is what Lady Renko said truly your command?
Please get back, sir Anzai. sir Anzai. Lord! Lord!
Please. Lord! Lord! Lord...
And that,s what happened, I hear.
For such a trifle...
sir Kanémi.
Let,s go have a drink.
Come keep me company.
Poor sir Anzai.
Everyone,s in a foul mood lately. All I ever seem to hear...
...are nothing but gripes and grievances about our Lord and fief governance. It,s like a disease.
I hear that even sir Tsuda is at a loss.
I wish we had a remedy, but we don,t.
Everyone,s helpless. All they can do is wait for the time.
The time?
The time when our Lord grows weary of that woman.
Do you know about the enmity between our Lord and sir Obiya?
No.
It concerns the reconstruction of Koboku temple.
Koboku temple?
Apparently, our Lord,s clan has deep connections to this temple.
It was concerning this that sir Obiya paid our Lord a visit the other day.
so, sir Tsuda.
sir Obiya, you have returned from Edo.
Let,s skip the formalities. There,s an issue I must directly discuss with our Lord.
Let me see him.
Lord, you must have lost your senses.
Koboku temple is an utterly obsolete temple.
Obiya Hayato-no-sho, Lords relative Koboku temple is an utterly obsolete temple.
Obiya Hayato-no-sho, Lord's relative
No matter how deep a connection you might have had with it, Lord...
...I cannot understand why you would want to reconstruct it.
The cost of reconstruction would be tremendous.
Given our financial difficulties, this project is not a necessity.
You,re dissatisfied with my decision, is that what you,re saying?
I have been told that this idea was conceived in the inner sanctum, Lord.
And that when the work is finished, the father of your consort is to be installed as the abbot.
sir Obiya, I fear that you should not speak of such matters to our Lord...
I want to ask you directly, if these things are true.
How outrageous.
I have never heard of a consort being permitted entry into the council room of a Lord.
I gave permission.
sir Obiya. Does it bother you that a woman is here with you?
On top of that, you must be bothered that I have a say in governmental affairs.
The fief is in dire financial straits. It would be vexatious to render it more destitute.
The reconstruction of the temple has always been our Lord,s wish.
The funds will not just be spent on builders and lumber.
All who are involved in the project will benefit.
In short, it will be a means for the fief to profit.
You are being completely illogical.
As are you, sir Obiya.
You are a retainer without responsibilities, so you don,t appreciate our Lord,s burdens.
I don,t want you frivolously meddling in fief affairs.
silence! This is not the concern of a mere consort.
Insolence.
You might be family but you are not in charge. I've had enough of your opinions!
Hayato-no-sho, withdraw. Withdraw!
When it comes to standing up to our Lord, there,s no one with more clout than sir Obiya.
But he would not listen to anything sir Obiya had to say.
His leadership has become infected.
It,s filled with the pus of that woman,s poison.
sir Den,ichiro, you,re really good at fishing, aren,t you?
I haven,t fished in a long time, but I haven,t lost my skills.
There.
By the way, Rio. Anything to report about sir sanzaémon?
Well... Nothing,s changed.
Rio, you,re the only one who can care for sir sanzaémon. Please continue to do so.
Yes.
I,ve been thinking, sir Den,ichiro...
Could it be that uncle killed Lady Renko because he was looking for a chance to die?
Why would you think that?
It,s nothing. I just sensed it, that,s all.
That was uncalled for. My apologies.
It,s starting to taste just like the late missus, used to make.
It,s Rio...
I feel unusually good today.
It,s not good for you to be indoors all the time.
How truly refreshing.
My turn.
How feisty.
When I was a kid, we were taught to do "bird spearing, like that, to train our bodies.
But I kind of feel sorry for the bird.
Was that wrong of me?
You,re so kind, auntie.
Announcement. I, Kanami seizo, am here as summoned.
Declaration to chief of family, Kanami seizo.
As of today, Kanami sanzaémon is no longer under house arrest.
You have endured much hardship on my behalf, Rio.
My apologies for being such a burden to you for so long.
I,m glad that you,re in the clear, and released from house arrest.
We relatives are concerned about your future prospects.
But first l,d like to hear what you yourself think.
sanzaémon.
Uncle. I,ll wash your back.
Never mind.
No. You cannot wash off a year,s worth of grime all by yourself.
Please don,t be hesitant.
I must smell.
No.
sir Den,ichiro and others are saying they can,t wait to see you.
Please refuse any visitors. I don,t want to see anyone just yet.
I,ve told uncle the same. He called me an ingrate, but permitted me this self-indulgence.
I just want to walk around the fief, alone, for a while.
Please give this petition to our Lord.
We,ve had a horrible harvest, and the annual levy is much too high. We might as well be told to die.
Denied. The decision is final.
Please.
How insolent, to try to force a petition upon our honored Lord! You will all be beheaded.
Doesn,t our Lord spare any thought for our lives?
You are being insolent. Withdraw! Withdraw!
Please think it over, just this once!
Listen.
The farmers are ignoring grave prohibitions...
...taking up hoes and bamboo spears, and threatening to complain to Edo.
We absolutely prohibit this. All of you know what to do.
Lady Renko sparked this riot.
Her again?
Yeah... Her again?
The administrators increased the annual levy for Akaishi county, based on her suggestion.
Akaishi is the top rice grower in Unasaka. Its levy must,ve been higher than anywhere else.
Their goal is to drum up funding for rebuilding that ramshackle temple.
The Koboku temple thing...
Is this going to turn into a battle?
It,s all up to sir Obiya now.
Everything,s riding on sir Obiya,s decision.
Why are you nervous?
If those lousy Akaishi farmers disobey you, my Lord...
...you should behead them all, without a single exception.
sir Obiya! sir Obiya!
Hold it, all of you.
Please withdraw for now.
sir Obiya. The way things are, we,ll all starve to death.
It,s not advantageous for you to riot at this time. There will be consequences.
We,re ready to suffer the consequences.
sir Obiya.
I have already relayed your request to our Lord. sir Obiya.
I won,t let you down.
sir Obiya, can we put our trust in you?
All of you.
Halt.
All of you. The Akaishi county riot has been tentatively pacified.
Your orders have been rescinded.
Your great efforts are appreciated.
No! No! No! Dad, Mom!
sir Obiya!
Koboku Temple