That's top-class Koshihikari!
And this is "Love at First Sight,"
and that one is Milky Queen!
Don-don-don! Delicious rice! Don-don-don!
Don-don-don! Rice! Rice! Don-don-don!
Eat it! Eat up! Don-don-don!
Rule the land! Eat rice and you'll rule the land!
A powerful person! The ruler of the land!
Hideyoshi is the ruler of the land!
Aww, jeez, guys...
Hideyoshi! Hideyoshi! Hideyoshi!
Hideyoshi... Hideyoshi!
Hideyoshi!
Put me down guys, I can't eat the rice...
I said Hideyoshi!
Huh?
You had another dream about rice?
Yeah, I just ate and ate and couldn't get enough.
You always eat so much, though.
Aww, I'm embarrassed.
Since I'm a guest at your house, I'm actually holding back.
I dunno whether to be impressed
or annoyed that you call that "holding back."
Well, I love rice more than anyone in Japan!
That's a weird thing to be proud of.
What'll you do if we can't get much rice in the village?
That'd be terrible if there was a bad harvest!
Even in your world, you used to have bad harvests...
it must've been terrible.
I guess so, yeah. I heard once from my grandma...
See that rock up there?
It's called the Mountain Woman's Tea Table.
She said girls used to dance up there.
Dance?
Why?
If a girl offers a dance to the gods up there,
it guarantees a good harvest.
Only if she makes it back alive, though.
Makes it back alive? What does that mean?
It's an old folk tale around here.
In exchange for a good harvest, the gods took the
girls who danced and didn't bring them back.
That sounds interesting.
Hey, you better not be thinking about doing it!
I won't, I won't.
But it means we would get lots of rice, right?
I said no!
I know!
Nothing happened.
Well, it is just a story.
Even if nothing happens, if I can make myself believe
there'll be a good harvest, it'll be totally worth it.
Now then, let's eat.
The moon comes out in this world, too.
Which means I can have an elegant meal by the light of the moon!
Hey! Wait! Hey!
Hey, wait!
Catch!
What is this place?
Two doors.
Which means this leads somewhere.
Okay, so I can get out this way.
And what's on the other side?
What a lovely morning.
But I can't survive unless I eat breakfast.
All living things must...
Well, it doesn't have to be breakfast, but they must eat.
I'm crying...
What are these tears?
Tears of gratitude or sadness?
Either way, I will eat the white rice.
Oh, so this is a dream!
Wait, if it's a dream, I can leave whenever.
Which means... I'm going this way instead.
It seems kinda fun.
Hi there, Mr. Rice!
Congratulations!
You are our 10,000th customer!
Congratulations!
What's going on here?
Well, you're our 10,000th customer.
We have a welcome meal prepared.
Please, enjoy yourself.
I-I can eat all this?
Yes. You're our first customer in ages, and our 10,00th one at that.
We must do something to celebrate.
Now eat up.
Thank you for coming!
Man, dreams always have the best stuff!
All right, then.
Wait a second, monkey-girl.
That's a dream for you.
You get interrupted at the worst times.
And it's the boss.
I can't disobey the boss.
What are you talking about?
This isn't your dream.
Of course it is, Boss!
This stuff can't be real.
What are you talking about?
I'm real.
Well sure, but so am I.
And this is my dream.
So I'm just part of your dream?
I was after your secret treasure and I ended up here.
So I can't be part of your dream.
So does that mean I'm part of yours?
That's right.
'Cause this can't be real, right?
Sure. But is it possible for one of us to be just
part of the other's dream?
Let's see if this really is a dream.
Here.
Hey, stop!
See, you're the dream.
You stupid monkey!
If I'm also in the dream, anything can happen to me, too!
See, you're a dream, too!
You got me there...
But if this is your dream
then I'm part of your dream, too, aren't I?
Isn't that kind of sad?
Sad?
'Cause that means you're all alone
and just thinking of what I'm saying.
That's sad, isn't it?
Then isn't it sad that you're claiming this is your dream?
It is.
In other words, it's better not to think of it at all.
You were the first one to say I was a dream, Boss.
Don't worry about the little things.
Well, just sit down and eat something.
Of course, you don't have to tell me twice!
This is a feast.
A feast? It's all rice.
This is a feast to me.
We'll start with some tarako...
One second.
Another interruption!
You're our 10,000th rice-loving customer.
We'd like to test you.
It's possible that you are the hero who will save us.
Hero?
Yes. There is a legend.
That when we are in danger,
the girl who knows us best will appear and save us.
So we want to test to see if you're the girl who knows us best.
Test me? How?
Please tell us, which one is actually Akitakomachi rice.
How can you tell like that?
And we've never even seen you before!
That doesn't matter.
No, as you can see, we're all different.
You're the same!
Oh my, are your eyes bad?
Perhaps her ears?
No, I think it's her head.
Okay, rice, line up! I'm gonna chop you in half!
No, Boss!
So the girl who was staying at Noriko's has gone missing?
Yesterday, I told her about the Mountain Woman's Tea Table,
so I thought she went there...
But we couldn't find her.
There were traces of her having been there, but...
Very bad. This is very bad.
What do you mean, Grandma?
That ceremony sends girls to another world.
It's in exchange for the bountiful harvest.
But we don't need it anymore.
Then Hideyoshi-chan...
She'll probably never come back!
No!
However, some have.
How?
It's up to the girls.
The problem is how much they love rice.
How much they want the harvest to be good.
Girls these days are never hungry.
So I don't think it's possible.
But Hideyoshi isn't a normal girl.
Come on, Boss... It's rice, getting mad won't help.
If it's rice, then there's no problem with cutting it right now.
Actually, why is there talking rice in the first place?
That's the real question.
No, rice have souls.
You're smart, Boss. You should know that.
What are you...
The farmers worked hard to raise it.
It has to have a soul.
You're smart, Boss. You should know that.
When you're as smart as I am,
you don't even need to think about it!
You're so smart, Boss!
You came up with all those brilliant plans!
You should know how to find the answer already.
Right?
Well... yeah.
Fortunately, I know what you're thinking.
So if you leave it to me, I'll just go do it.
Oh... okay, it's up to you then, monkey girl.
Okay! Time to get started.
Akitakomachi!
She's right!
I knew it, too.
I knew it was that one.
You picked the right one. You are our savior.
Now take this item of the savior.
Zori sandals?
What are these guys thinking?
Hey, wait!
Hey, what am I supposed to do with these?
They told me to save them,
but the people I'm supposed to save are gone.
I guess our only choice is to walk.
We're surrounded by rice fields...
Somebody's up ahead.
We finally met someone?
Hey, it's a scarecrow.
I'm a scarecrow.
It talked!
It sure did.
I can offer you entertainment besides talking.
Have a look.
Look inside the box for fun!
A wonderful theater of hope and dreams!
Look inside, look inside the box!
Uh, what should we do?
I guess... we look inside the box.
I need food.
You'll find it someday.
If the past is not included in the future,
then atonement itself is a futile act.
Not what we're talking about.
As long as there are eyes that watch,
this place cannot be purgatory.
Without eyes, we are merely costumes.
I'd like to wear a costume.
I can't count on eyes.
Then how shall we pray for atonement?
It is possible to pray for nothing.
But your prayers will disappear into the void.
Then whose hands are they that pray?
If nothing else, you have no hands.
Hey, um... What is this?
What is it? It's a play, of course.
Don't plays have to be something you understand?
Some plays aren't meant to be understood.
There are two types of plays you don't understand.
Those written so you will not understand.
And those with no content.
Then which is this?
There's no such thing as a play with content.
Don't say things that don't make sense.
The real world is made of plays.
It is unthinkable for them to have content.
And some people are sad, and cry because of this.
If you cannot heal their sorrow,
you cannot call yourself a savior.
A savior?
Yes, a savior.
Here, consoling those in sorrow is their only salvation.
And what happens then?
If nothing else, you'll be called a savior.
Not sure what's going on here,
but it's pretty clear we want nothing to do with it.
Let's get going.
Rikyuu!
Welcome.
Where are we?
A difficult question to answer.
What are you talking about?
Of course it's an easy question to answer.
Now, now, Boss.
There might be something going on here.
Of course there is.
For instance, if answering a question meant you would die,
would you answer it?
Who would die?
The person who answered?
For now, have some tea.
I dunno the rules for proper tea drinking.
And if I did, I wouldn't care.
Anyway, if there was a question like that,
if I needed to, I'd ask the question,
and if I had to, I'd give the answer, I guess.
If you're that sure, then very well.
This is the place closest to the next world.
If it's that close to the next world,
one little thing could mean death.
Then if I'd made even a little mistake
on my way here, would I have died?
Of course, yes.
For example, if you'd tried to return
through the first door, you would've died for sure.
And if you couldn't answer the question, you would've died, too.
Scary.
But if life and death are nothing but an empty, eternal repetition,
then the one truth is that you have no place to return to.
If one side is death, then what is the other?
There's no point in asking that question.
Correct.
"Meaningless" is the correct answer.
So then, do words have any meaning?
Not a clue.
Correct.
"I cannot answer," is the correct answer.
If nothing else, you must believe
there is meaning in the meaningless, and continue to speak.
I can't believe somebody who says there's nothing at all.
Very true.
But you want something certain.
And I do have one thing.
The war with wheat.
Wheat?
Do you mean that wheat is attacking the country of rice?
Yes.
Nice and simple!
If we beat them, that means we can go back, right?
D-Do you think?
I'm not really sure...
Either way, first we kill, then we think.
That might be the kind of person you are, Boss, but...
There they are.
That's the wheat?
Lots of 'em.
Let's go!
What is this?
They are awaiting the time.
What? What time?
The time of destruction.
Destruction?
They're going to die?
Destruction and death are different.
They await the one destined to devour them.
Before they die, they wish to be destroyed, to fulfill their task.
And the person who does that is their savior.
What does that mean?
Devour them? Their task?
No way...
First it bubbles, then it steams.
When it's good and ready, put out the flame,
and even if the hungry baby cries, don't take the lid off!
Then take a little bit of straw,
and if it burns, you're all done.
Oh no!
If you don't eat them, the rice's existence will have no meaning.
Now, climb!
That means it's finally time to eat, right?
This is really bad!
If this isn't a dream, I'm dead!
It's hell down there, but in here...
it's heaven!
I'll never be able to eat all this!
So yummy!
I'm so glad you're awake!
What? What's going on?
I think I was sleeping...
You just showed up here.
And you've got that nice kimono on. What happened?
I don't know what to tell you.
I was just dreaming.
I went to this country with all this rice.
It wasn't a dream!
What is this?
Is it really rice?
It's real!
Wow!
All this rice keeps coming out!
Wow! You're like the god of rice!
Aww, I'm not a god.
But now I can eat rice whenever I want!
Hey, next time they say it's
Houjou Sou'un, the ambitious princess!
Next time on Sengoku Collection:
"Ambitious Princess Part 1!"
Houjou can mean "great harvest" in Japanese!
What a great name!