The sky is boundless, because it's the mirror of my soul
It changes colors everyday, as if it's reflecting my heart
The white smoky haze turns into clouds
Concealing my tears that seem about to overflow
Whenever something I have faith in begins to fall apart
I close my eyes and make a wish
Even on a night when I'm alone and can't fall asleep
I just close my eyes in the darkness
And find myself listening closely for the radiance of the stars
I'll keep running, even barefooted, because I can't give this up
And like the moon in the blue sky,
I want to embrace my transience and reach out my hand
Underneath the Sky Full of Stars A· b
A whale's sigh...
The dreaming shooting star...
What's that?
It felt like that's what they were singing.
While everything out there is changing,
the sound of these insects' chirping echoes up to the sky.
That's what I'm listening to right now.
That's the only thing that's for certain.
What's wrong, Kino?
Sometimes, travelers turn into poets, Hermes.
Land of Prophecies
What?
The world is going to end?
The world is going to end.
The Book of Prophecy
On the night nineteen cold moons
cross the sky, the world will end
with the rising of the sun...
Everyone all over the country seems to be in mourning or something.
There are a lot of people who are looking nowhere but out to the sea.
Even though this town looks fantastic.
But that'll also come to an end the day after tomorrow.
Because it's the prophecy.
That darn prophecy.
If you are staying for three days,
then your stay will coincide with the end of the world.
Will that be all right?
Being asked if that's all right is like...
Why is the world coming to an end?
It has been prophesied.
Until the day after tomorrow?
Oh, you came to this country to face the end.
You've come to the right country for that.
Excuse me, what about the room fee?
There's no need for that.
With the world ending soon, money is useless.
The Book of Prophecy
The blue lamplight roams about.
In the jewel of the night,
the fake empire will
sink into the water...
Don't worry about paying, traveler.
I see...
One bag of liquid gunpowder and.44 caliber ammunition.
How much will that be?
It's all free of course.
I'd also like a box of.22 caliber LR bullets!
How'd it go?
It was free.
Because of the prophecy?
It seems like everyone believes the world is really going to end.
When nineteen cold moons have crossed the sky
after the day of pronouncement, and the night has passed,
the world will end with the rising of the sun.
What?
He is the priest of the southern tower,
who deciphered the Book of Prophecy.
The Book of Prophecy?
Yes, it is said that it was published long ago in a land far away,
and then came to our country.
What makes it a prophetic book?
Because it includes that one line that he just read.
But if that's all,
there's no way to know if the prophecy will be correct or not.
Besides, why tomorrow?
The southern priest is the one who revealed that to us.
The blue light will roam about,
and when it is hidden by the jewel of the night,
the fake empire will sink into the water...
My heart trembled when I discovered this passage.
Do you know about this?
When the great rain storm hit 44 years ago,
the blue star of the southern sky was hidden by an outer planet.
The stars! Yes!
It was all a metaphor for the arrangement of the stars!
When will the world come to an end?
The tower researchers have been disputing it for many years,
but that has finally come to an abrupt end.
The planetary alignment dictates the day of pronouncement,
the day when all the signs are in place.
Counting nineteen nights from that point...
...that time is tomorrow morning!
We have been preparing for this day for many generations.
Don't panic, let us now say our final prayers with sincerity.
So how about you, traveler? Why don't you join us?
No, thank you. I think I'll pass.
So what do you plan on doing?
Let me see...
I thought I might do some shopping.
It's pretty interesting, isn't it?
What is?
The way that when someone expresses something,
someone else always shows up to interpret it.
Maybe the world is just a series of such events.
But that too, will end tomorrow, right?
Do you think the world could suddenly end on a night as quiet as this?
Nobody knows how the world began,
so no one can say for certain that it's impossible for the world to end
suddenly and without reason in a couple of seconds.
So what would you do if the world really were going to end tomorrow, Kino?
Even if that were true, I'd still go to bed for today.
The Book of Prophecy
In the destroyed daybreak,
the people will forget
the hidden pain and...
This day too, has begun.
What's going on? We're all still alive!
Nothing even happened! What happened to the prophecy?
No, there must be some mistake.
Yes!
There was a lunar eclipse last week, remember?
Perhaps we are supposed to exclude that from our calculations?
So tomorrow morning...
Are you sure about this, Father?
Absolutely positive?
Well, no, not absolutely positive... I think it might be possible...
If the world doesn't end, how are we supposed to go on living?
Excuse me, traveler.
About the things I sold you yesterday...
Oh, yes.
They are really coming in handy.
Oh, really. I see...
Everyone, please calm down!
Father! Ýt's the Father from the northern tower!
Everyone, the priest of the southern tower
has been completely flawed in his deciphering technique.
But my interpretation proved to be correct!
According to my interpretation,
the end of the world isn't for another thirty years.
Oh! Of course!
You want to get going soon?
Yeah, let's ride today as usual.
Tradition
I can see it now.
Kino, are you ready for this?
Yeah, I won't be shocked no matter what I see.
Yes?
I'm a traveler, and I would like to begin the customs procedure to...
Whoa! You're a traveler?
You're the first in months!
Well, travelers have become so few and far between these days.
I was worried that some strange rumors might be spreading outside the country.
You're not aware of any?
Then that's perfectly fine! Oh, yes, your permission to enter...
Here! For the time being, please fill this out!
Did I scare you?
We have visitors so rarely,
I'm announcing your arrival to the entire country.
It's so we can prepare a welcome for you.
Wow...
Welcome, traveler!
Welcome to our wonderful land of tradition!
Uh... Thank you so much.
Now, traveler, please come this way.
Traveler, please go ahead and eat as much as you like!
Thanks...
A long time ago in this land there lived
a noble group of thieves called the Cat Ear Party.
They pulled off a coup d'Ã¨tat and banished the evil king.
And this tradition was born to celebrate and honor the Cat Ear Party.
Why don't you try experiencing a bit of our tradition too?
Huh?
Traveler, dance with us.
No, everyone always tells me that I can't dance at all.
I don't want to end up stepping on everyone's feet.
But even so, I really do think it's a wonderful dance.
It has really moved me.
I'm glad I came here.
Thank you for giving me such a warm welcome.
I had a lot of fun.
Goodbye.
Traveler, come back again!
Take care!
Looks like it didn't work.
Someone sound bell to signal that the drill's over!
Yes, sir!
Okay, everyone, put your ears in here. We won't need them anymore.
This tradition didn't work either.
We've got to think of a different tradition now.
What kind of tradition should we do next time?
I see. So, it was cat ear decorations this time?
Yes.
I am a scholar, who studies the traditions of that land.
In the past...
They have also worn turtle shells on their backs,
attached lion tails to themselves,
ate while they sang, and so on and so forth.
You have probably already realized this,
but their tradition is to create a "tradition" for visiting travelers
and make them participate in their "tradition".
If one "tradition" is unsuccessful, they move on and set up a new one.
Kino, you should have tried those cat ears on for them.
You know what they say: "When in Rome, do as the tigers do."
That country has gained quite a reputation amongst us travelers.
They desire a magnificent tradition.
Ever since they banished their king to the forest,
that country has denied all of their old traditions.
But then, somewhere along the way, they realized
that they had no tradition they could boast of compared to other countries.
So, they came up with the idea
of getting visiting travelers to choose a tradition for them?
Yes, regardless of how meaningless that appeared
to those outside the ramparts.
But they already have a magnificent tradition, don't they?
Yes, they do, but they have not yet realized that.
No, in fact, once they do realize it, this tradition may very well end.
Thank you very much for the interesting conversation.
Don't mention it, it was my pleasure.
Excuse me, but is it possible that you are...
Yes, I am a descendent of the king, who was banished from that country.
Generation after generation, we have lived in this hermitage
and watched over that country's traditions.
And we will continue to do so.
The Sad Land
Inside the closed in walls of the July that has come and gone,
the words were broken down, in a past without tears...
That's a rather sad voice, isn't it?
It is.
It makes my heart ache.
But I don't understand the meaning of her words very well.
It is the poem of sorrow.
What?
This is a sad country, whose tradition is to continue passing down the sorrow.
A sad country?
Yes.
A long time ago, there was a poet who lived here.
When he sang of the beauty, magnificence and joy of the world,
he was said to be the best in all the world.
He lived happily with his wife and children,
and the joy of life naturally tumbled from his lips.
However, the king at that time heard of the poet
and acting on a whim, summoned him with a wicked intent.
He ordered the poet to compose a poem of sorrow.
The poet did not know what to do.
For him, words were things that flowed naturally from the depths of his heart,
and being someone unfamiliar with sorrow,
it was impossible for him to write words of sorrow.
He was given a time limit of nineteen nights.
The king told him that if he could not do this,
he would have the poet's head.
And then, at last, the final night came.
His wife could not stand to see her husband in such anguish.
She cut her own throat with a knife and killed herself,
all to teach sorrow to her husband, who knew nothing of it.
So that words of sorrow would well up from the bottom of his heart.
The edges of my fading memories, the far off, frozen, unreachable life.
In a crack in the mirror that no one can hold,
a broken doll sings silent tears of mud.
Drain the maggots' blood in the days that will never be returned,
and pierce the eyes with the briars of a clock
that crumbled to dust within seven days.
The exact meaning of the poet's words was unknown,
but it successfully communicated his deep sorrow.
Overwhelmed by the sorrow,
the king drove the poet out of the castle,
and withdrew back into the depths of the royal palace.
The cruel judge records the faded letters of my life...
Only a bird with broken wings can sing the truth...
The poet's words engulfed this land in sorrow.
Hearing the voice of sorrow still audible from far away,
the king finally fell ill and died.
With light only silence...
Even after this, the poet did not stop.
His words would continue every day until the sun went down.
The poet's words continued
to blanket this land in sorrow for many years to come.
Death is frozen all the way to the edge of its molecules!
While the night loves eternity,
at the same time it chops down desire with a stone axe!
Drink up the pain of a brain being split open!
And then ten years later...
The poet who had continued to recite his poem finally died.
Everyone thought they would finally be free of the sorrow.
However, starting on the day of his funeral service,
that poem could be heard again.
The edges of my fading memories, the far off, frozen, unreachable life.
In a crack in the mirror that no one can hold,
seven broken dolls sing silent tears of mud.
Drain the maggots' blood
in the days that will never be returned...
The words now flowed from
the poet's fourteen-year-old daughter.
Surprisingly enough, the girl had perfectly memorized her father's words.
She then continued to recite her father's poem for the next ten years.
Since then, every ten years, the people choose
the fourteen-year-old girl with the best voice in the country.
And they decided to have her recite this poem everyday.
So that no one would forget the sorrow.
The twelve winter messengers who were washed ashore...
I do not know what number that girl up there is now.
The only time we are free from the sorrow is at night,
when the sun has gone down.
The mirage above the piece of paper...
The spent country made of glass...
The corpse sings with a necklace of many, many tears on its breast...
The duck's shadow on the cliff where light has ceased to exist...
will the blameless traveler ever tell of this story?
How about it?
It wasn't a very fun country to visit, was it?
I wish I had been born in a different country.
To each his own I guess.
Please excuse me.
Oh, I heard about this from another traveler who passed through here,
but apparently, the poet's words were recorded in a book quite some time ago.
He said the book was passed along to some country far away,
where it's called the Book of Prophecy.
It seems like they are very grateful for it over there.
The Book of Prophecy?
When nineteen cold moons have crossed the sky
after the day of pronouncement, and the night has passed,
the world will end with the rising of the sun.
What else can we do...
other than smash the green plate...
And Beneath the Sky Full of Stars A· a
What's that?
It looks like they're headed toward that country.
Yeah, I wonder what's going on?
Are you a traveler?
Yes.
You came from that country, didn't you?
Yes.
Oh, excuse me.
Thank goodness.
We didn't want to involve any innocents.
What in the world is all this commotion for?
Just before the sun comes up tomorrow,
we're going to launch an all-out attack on that country and destroy them.
Why? Why? Why?
Could it be because of the prophecy?
No, it's just a sort of hunch...
A book of prophecy was passed along to our country.
In it we found details on the end of the world,
and directions on how we could avoid it.
Our researchers deciphered the day it would all happen.
And that's tomorrow morning?
Yes!
This is what the prophecy stated...
"When nineteen cold moons
have crossed the sky and the night has passed,
the world will end with the rising of the sun."
"What else can we do other than smash the green plate..."
The green plate. That's...
That country?
You saw it, too, didn't you?
The way that country's coastline is round and curved,
it is truly a green plate!
But wait,
don't you think annihilating them is going overboard?
Wha?
Don't be ridiculous!
It was not written exactly how much constitutes smashing the plate,
so we have no choice but to thoroughly destroy them!
That is the only way to save the world!
Whoa! Ý've got to get going.
Take care, traveler!
Goodbye!
Hey, Kino?
Which do you think it is?
What?
Was the prophecy right or wrong?
I'm not sure...
Why don't we ask the stars or something?
It has begun to rain in a far off place
And in it, someone shivers softly as they get wet
Losing myself in the forest, I nestle up to the sky
Visiting countries, coming and going among people
And the journey will never end
So the beautiful world...
Where did I come from? How far will I go?
So the beautiful world...
I travel the world, going where the currents take me
Kino's Journey
Land of Adults
Kino, are you an adult or a child?
I'm neither, Hermes.
But, you must have been a child at one time, right?
Well, sure, because I'm human.
That's the hard part for a motorrad to understand.
So would you rather be an adult or a child?
Hermes.
What is it?
I want to always be a traveler.