Part the First
Mr. Medicine Seller,
we don’t want none.
You’ll scare off the customers, standing there like that.
I’ll have to ask you to leave.
No, no.
I’d like a room
for the night.
Yes, please.
Oh my.
Long time no see
The blue moon illuminated
your wandering shadow.
I could never tell you all I wanted to say.
It was so very frustrating.
I think about your faked smile,
and forget all the hot tears we shed.
What do these empty husks,
those empty eyes of yours, reflect, my dear?
The transient quarter moon
hides in a rift in the clouds,
as darkness seeps up from the ground.
Tell me the truth, please.
Are you so despondent
that you still sit alone, sighing?
That Night
It’s awfully cold, isn’t it?
I’m sorry.
But it’s bitter, isn’t it?
Well, it is from China.
Do you have anything else?
Do you own this inn, ma’am?
Yes indeed.
I’ve had the building itself since I was a girl.
What was it
before you made it an inn?
Hmm, what was it?
I forget.
Guess I’m getting old.
Excuse me!
Do you have a room for the night?
Sorry, but we’re full up.
Look somewhere else.
You’re the only ones open!
There’re no vacancies.
I’ve got plenty of money!
You can even have my umbrella!
Could it be?
That’s right.
You took the last vacancy.
Please!
Well, what about this one?
Actually, I’m being chased.
If they find me,
I’ll be killed for sure!
Ooh! That’s quite the story.
Oh.
It’s true.
Well, it’s raining pretty hard.
We wouldn’t ordinarily turn such a nice young lady as yourself away, but…
It stinks.
It’s another Chinese remedy.
They call it Hansuke lotion.
You see?
If I stand in the rain any longer, my child
will surely die!
Are you pregnant?
Goodness, I can’t believe you!
Mistress!
Tokuji, why aren’t you just kicking her out?
I’m sorry, but we don’t want any trouble.
Get out of here!
If I do…
If I do leave, by tomorrow morning
my corpse and that of my infant child will be lying in your doorway.
Don’t you think that would get you in a good deal of trouble?
I don’t take kindly to threats.
It isn’t a threat!
I want to raise a healthy child!
If I stay outside, I won’t be able to protect him!
Tokuji,
a word.
Please!
Sure.
Please!
Please! Please!
Take her upstairs.
Wha—!?
That room?
It can’t be helped.
I’ll take her there, you get a bed ready.
All right.
Um, I…
I am in your debt.
There we go.
She could have stayed in my room.
We don’t usually let customers in this room, so keep this to yourself.
Just try not to cause any trouble.
I will.
Um, ma’am?
What now?
I don’t care what it is, but I’d like something to eat.
I wonder who did this.
Well, I’ll have Tokuji take care of it in the morning.
I couldn’t make much more than a bit of rice.
That’s just fine.
What are you doing?
They’re up awfully late.
You’ll be able to eat all you like, soon.
You really want this child, don’t you?
I do.
I’m obviously not privy to all the details, but can you really raise it on your own?
I intend to.
Ah, do you now?
Well, at least you’re young.
Seems a bit naive, though.
You don’t even have a steady supply of food.
Are you sure you’re not giving birth simply out of spite?
Do you think it would be happy with no-one to care for it?
I…
I want him to live.
What a strange woman. So strong-willed, almost to a fault.
I was never able to do anything as irresponsible as that.
Ma’am?
So warm.
Your bed will be here shortly.
Oh, right.
I have to make you some food, too.
Thank you so much.
A doll?
Hey there, Medicine Seller, what’s the matter?
I was heading to the lavatory.
I got a little lost.
Oh, well then.
It’s just at the end of that hall.
Thank you.
Are there any rooms above here?
None at all. It’s just a storeroom.
I would ask you not to go up.
I see.
Oh, I should pay for those medicines.
No,
tomorrow will be fine.
Good night to you.
Where did I drop my charm?
Give that back!
Where did you…
Give it back!
Is it yours?
Yup.
I’m so sorry.
Here you are.
Are you pregnant?
I am.
It shouldn’t be more than four months or so now.
Are you happy?
Yes, of course.
Hey, let’s go over there.
I’m afraid not.
You should get back to your own roo—
So cold.
I will not return home!
Leave me be!
Do not give birth to this child.
If it were to come back and claim its birthright,
it would be quite an inconvenience to the master and mistress.
I’ve cut myself off from the young master!
That ignorant little fool does not concern me.
I just want to give birth!
That’s all!
I can’t return empty-handed, having come all this way.
Don’t kill me!
No! Please!
My son!
Ready to die?
My son!
Prepare to die.
Think of my son!
There it is.
Just what is going on here?
What is this?
What are you doing here?
Did you do this?
Of course not.
Oh no! It’s all because you let her stay in this room!
It protected her?
But why?
Tokuji!
Go run to the castle.
That will not be necessary.
Of course it’s necessary!
Only a criminal would object to calling the authorities!
You must have done it!
He didn’t!
I saw it.
He was not the culprit.
Oh?
What, then,
did you see?
He was caught, and pulled up.
Then spun around.
Around and around and around and around.
Oh?
Around and around and around and around?
Medicine Seller?
Just who are you?
What are you doing in this room, anyway?
The culprit was not human.
It opened by itself.
What is that?
Wh—Why would a medicine seller be carrying such a ridiculous sword?
I came to kill.
K—Kill what?
The Mononoke, of course.
Something must have killed him.
Don’t be stupid!
As you can see, though,
he was indeed killed.
Could any man do this?
Well of course—
Not.
There, there.
What a terrible smell.
What is that doing here?
Where did it come from?
It was here from the beginning.
A child came to get it.
A child?
There must be some here.
What are you talking about?
None of tonight’s customers had children with them.
Th—Then, what were those footsteps, and children’s voices?
You must have heard them when we were walking up here.
No, I didn’t.
Huh?
There!
There’s a group of children right over there!
What now?
Over there, too!
Huh?
And above us!
What do you mean? This is the top floor!
The body…
It’s gone.
They’re coming from right over there!
And from there!
That’s as far as you’ll come!
There are Mononoke here that are bound to this inn.
Children, babies’ cries, and
birth water?
This is a Zashikiwarashi.
Certain conditions must be met for the Sword of Exorcism to be drawn.
If Form, Truth, and Regret are not present, it cannot be unsheathed.
The intertwined fates of men give the Mononoke its Form,
Truth is the natural state of all things,
and Regret is ever-present in men’s hearts.
And so, I’ll ask you all
to tell me
the Truth and Regret!
To be continued
Without you, I just can’t smile.
I walk this banal town,
feeling such intense emotions.
I know that if I could treasure them and live on,
I would need nothing else.
The summer flowers that bloomed in the sky
Come falling down, dancing in the wind.
I can barely recall the night sky
where they all came tumbling down,
so what I can still recall is all the more precious.