Blue Literature
In the Woods Beneath the
Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom
In 1946, right after the end of the war,
Host Sakai Masato
a certain novelist's ideas came as a shock to the Japanese.
His name is Ango Sakaguchi.
Photo: Shigeru Tamura
In his "On Decadence", he advocated an original way of thinking:
To live, to become decadent.
People need to properly fall down the path of decadence.
By doing this, they will discover themselves and shall be saved.
Ango denied the various authorities that the pre-war Japanese believed in.
He preached that people should live like humans
by saying you like what you like and hate what you hate.
And Ango expressed his original thinking regarding the cherry blossoms, which the Japanese love beyond all else,
in his, "In the Woods Beneath the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom".
What did Ango, who called cherry blossoms dreadful, feel towards cherry blossoms in the beauty of their bloom?
The masterpieces are blue.
Please watch the first episode of "In the Woods Beneath the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom".
Are you a mountain bandit?
If this was the sea, then I'd be a pirate.
Bastard!
I'm not gonna kill you.
I'll let you run away, but only if you strip naked.
A bandit may be a bandit, but I'm a nice bandit.
Understood?
The only thing I understood was that you said "bandit" a lot.
But... I won't let you have your way!
Just strip.
Okay.
Take that off too.
Okay.
You're bald?
Sorry.
Cherry blossoms are scary!
They say that people swing bottles of booze and get drunk when the cherry blossom petals bloom.
But a long time ago, no one considered cherry blossoms to be a spectacular sight or anything.
If you think I'm lying,
then think about it like taking people out of a lively environment.
Don't you think the environment would turn grim?
The metamorphosis of the world is a dizzy dream.
Just not knowing the mysteries makes us lonelier.
Deep flower petals with their hidden secrets.
I invite you to take my eyes while they scatter.
Knock three times. The rotting smell goes back to my consciousness.
I won't return. Come you shady soul, let's dance!
This is the temptation of cherry blossoms. Hey, where did reality go?
Ah, black out. Wander about the forest without an exit
Look, I see a small line of light at the end of this dream.
So break up and open that sinful door.
If they're going to bloom forever, show me the farce of intoxication.
A certain mother's beloved daughter got kidnapped.
She went beneath the cherry blossoms in full bloom,
saw an illusion of her child in the shadows, and died.
A pair of travelers left the other behind and fled at full speed.
They could no longer trust each other's friendship.
The cherry blossoms drove them all mad.
Hey!
I'm home!
What's that, Shigemaru?
What's in your bag?
Well, take a look.
Looks delicious!
Doesn't it look super delicious?!
It looks so delicious.
Yeah really.
Pork... is most favorite food in my life!
Hold on!
Don't treat people you just met as food!
It's rude, you idiots!
But...
What a disgrace. What would your parents say?!
I understand.
Sorry, boar.
You don't like it when people call you delicious all of a sudden, right?
We were thoughtless.
Sorry, mister boar.
You can go home now!
Thank you.
Bye bye!
You idiot!
Why did you do that?!
Why did you let it go, you donkey!
Our hope is gone!
Because I felt sorry for him.
Just because of that...
Stop it.
I'll just catch another one.
Stop fighting.
I'm going to bed now.
What happened?
You don't seem to be in a good mood, Shigemaru.
Not really.
Found them!
There's nothing scary.
It's just my imagination.
What're you eating?!
What're you listening to?!
You're so noisy.
Just listen to what I say.
Hey.
I'm not gonna kill you.
I'll let you run away, but only if you strip naked.
A bandit may be a bandit, but I'm a nice...
Is that your wife?
That's none of your business!
From today on, you'll be my wife.
If I'm your wife, then carry me on your back.
I can't walk on this mountain path.
Carry me.
In the Woods Beneath the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom
Geez, weren't you walking a while ago?
My hands are already shaking, mind getting off?
No way.
If you drop me, I won't be your wife.
I'll just go straight back to the city.
The city?
So you're from the city.
Yeah.
Not from such empty mountains.
Watch what you say.
We've got everything here.
The honey mushrooms, aralias and deer meat are all delicious.
We don't need a water supply. There are springs everywhere that we can get water from all year round.
If you saw how thick our brackens are, you'd be amazed and wonder if they're really brackens.
What's so funny?
This must be amazing to you.
Yeah, they're really thick.
That's great.
Don't laugh.
Listen.
Everything you see, from the mountains to the trees to the valleys to the clouds in those valleys, is mine.
Are you listening?
All those mountains...
My hairpin fell.
Oh, I see.
So anyway, I said 'deer', but there's also bears...
You made my hairpin fall off!
What's with you?
What're you getting so worked up about?
Go pick it up.
Huh?
Everything in these mountains is yours, right?
Then you should be able to get back my hairpin.
Or can you only pick up brackens?
So hurry up and go.
If you don't, I won't be your wife.
Ow...
A woman?
He's got a woman with him.
He's even carrying her on his back.
It's going to get more crowded?
But take a look at her clothes.
Aren't those from the city?
Really?
Where did he find her?
Here we are.
I'm tired.
Shigemaru, you're back?
What's with that woman?
Who are these women?
My... ex-wives.
So these are your wives?
Because I didn't know a woman as cute as you existed.
No can do.
Hey!
Who is right behind me~?
What are you doing?
I think that if I close my eyes, those women will disappear on their own.
Who is right behind me~?
They're not the kind of people who would leave quietly if I told them to.
That's not what I meant.
Do you mind killing them?
What's with you?
Do I really have to kill them?
You killed my husband,
but you can't kill your own wives?
If you don't, I won't be your wife.
My world is a twinkling kaleidoscope. Who is right behind me?
There's a waving compass in the mirror. Who is right behind me? Who is it?
Ivory-white sensualism.
The urge to kiss.
The shade of a saul tree.
The overflowing sunlight.
It's just a twinkling dream.
Shaded worldly desires.
So tell me now, who is right behind me?
Stop.
She's okay.
I'll use her as my maid.
Might as well finish off the job.
Silly.
I'm telling you not to kill her.
It's... the same.
The same as in those woods beneath the cherry blossoms in full bloom.
This year, when the cherry blossoms bloom...
I'll boldly sit down right in the middle of the cherry blossoms when they're in full bloom.
What's this?! Can you really eat it?! Isn't it pig food?! It's disgusting!
What the hell!
We can only eat this once every 10 days.
No, no, I can't eat this!
Don't we have truffles?
If we have a pig, then we should have truffles too!
It's a boar...
Of course we don't!
Can't you at least do something about our food?
In these lonely mountains, all I can hear through the long nights are owls.
At least I had real food in the city.
Hey Shigemaru, let's move to the city.
If you're really a strong man, you'll take me to the city.
Do you know what kind of wind the city has?
Do you understand my feelings now that that wind has been taken from me?
Please wait three days.
Three days?
What happens in three days?
The cherry blossoms will bloom.
In order to find something...
Even if we oversleep,
we still wake up every day.
It's not too late.
We say "hello".
Put on a smile,
no matter how small it is.
Every waking moment,
this world needs you.
It's not too late.
We say "hello".
Next Time
In the Woods Beneath the Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom
Part 2