I just can't relieve my aching shoulders.
You've been busy recently, huh?
I want to go to a hot spring or something.
Yeah, like one around Kiou or North Makinata...
Konuta Bath House
But it really is far...
Konuta Bath House
It's close!
What is?
A hot spring! A hot spring! It says there's one close to here!
What'd you say?!
It looks like it draws water from Mt. Konuta.
So that's why it was under construction for so long.
What kind of hot spring is it?
Let's see,
it's a constantly flowing stone bath with moisturizing water,
where you can enjoy cold sake and a Konuta-fired sake cup,
and when you return to your room slightly drunk you can have knotweed sweetfish and their salted innards...
We can stay at this hot spring!
Nice... This is nice!
Let's go now, Mikochi!
Wait, I'm going to prepare a change of clothes!
Yuuyake ni tsukamatte tabi ni deyou
Tsubasa wa itsumo mimamotte kureru no
Bokuratte doko ka
Nika yotte hikareatte no?
Hora sora ga chikazuita sekai no mama de ne
CLEANING IN PROGRESS
I sincerely apologize for this.
Episode 21 Hot Bamboo Bath
At the moment, the drainage is clogged up due to the hair shed by a group of cats.
So right now it's all...
...being cleaned?
If you only want to have a meal and stay the night...
Oh, no...
We'll come again.
What should we do now?
Things are not working out...
It'd be really nice to gaze at this bamboo forest from an open-air bath.
It really would...
Will you plant bamboo around our house?
Should I make one?
One what?
An open-air bath!
Huh, you can make one?
I dunno. I've never made one before...
If it's a stone bath, you can probably make one, right?
For stone, it'll take several days for the foundation and the joints.
Then, wood? How about cypress?
Making a tub is difficult, you know. That being said, hollowing it out is also tough.
Hmm. I wonder if there's some good raw material around here...
Bamboo!
Oh!
A "bamboo pipe bath" type thing, right?
No, because that one uses pretty huge bamboo.
I'll split it in half and make a bath.
Like for somen noodles, right? But isn't it hard to cut down the bamboo?
If it's the whole bamboo stalk, yeah.
If it's just the root, I can manage.
I'll borrow a saw from someone around there.
Oh, there's one here, after all.
Leftover roots.
Why are there so many leftovers at such an odd height?
When they're cutting bamboo this big, they ask a taller worker to do it.
That's why the bottom part is left. This is about the height of the vice chairman.
Oh, I see.
Well, guess I'll cut it now.
This is pre-bath exercise, huh?
First of all, you make a diagonal notch with the hatchet, and then put the saw in horizontally.
Okay, okay.
I need you to do the same thing, Mikochi.
Okay, got it.
Well, I wonder where to cut something this size?
Hm? What do you mean?
Whack
If you cut just one side of a grown bamboo, it will split under its own weight and spring up.
Whack
Huh?
And it'll have a huge amount of force behind it.
Sorry if you sustain any serious injuries.
This is really okay, right?
Alright. I think this will work.
Mikochi, move away a little bit.
Hakumei?
It still won't come down, huh?
Mikochi, we'll combine our strength!
Huh? Am I gonna jump too?
Okay, it's down.
Ouch... How will we bring this home?
Roll it!
Aren't your shoulders even more stiff than before we went to the hot spring?
Definitely.
What kind of drink do you want? Ginjo or Junmai or...
We have the storehouse variety, right? Let's open that one.
We'll put heated rocks into the bamboo pipes that are under the water in the tub first.
It's like a hot pot.
That looks good.
We can get in already at this temperature.
Speaking of, where's the screen?
Oh, I forgot!
Feels nice!
Doesn't it?
I really did make an open air bath.
Great work! Let's have a drink.
What are we having to eat?
Roasted, salted squid.
Also, wakame seaweed stems and okra with sesame sauce.
It looks a bit rich to go with the flavor of the storehouse variety.
That's great.
I want to go to sleep right here, just like this.
We have to add more stones when we change them out...
We need to make a reservation and go to that hot spring after all, sometime.
Yeah. Steal their way of making stone baths.
To Mt. Kazami Kusuno Nutria Bus
Episode 22 Daikon and
Pipes
Today's morning market was nothing but food.
Just looking at it made me hungry.
We didn't buy anything, though.
We're saving. We still have food leftover.
Delivery coming through!
One whole daikon, huh?
That's impressive...
I wonder if they'll be having an oden festival.
Even if they are, it's too much.
I wonder where it's being delivered to.
Sign the receipt, please!
Oh, sure, okay.
Mi... ko... chi...
How much was this, again?
It's 2,500.
Okay, here it is exactly.
Indeed.
Ayune?!
Oh my, welcome back, Mikochi.
Who is this?
Wh... Why are you-?!
Are you Hakumei-chan?
"-chan"?! Yes, I am...
Thank you for always looking after my sister. I'm Mikochi's older sister, Ayune.
You don't look alike.
Is that so?
Why did you come here?
I came to see you.
Heave ho.
Always a pleasure!
Hey, what's that daikon for?
Oh, they were selling it in the city, so it's a present.
Oh, I see...
Well isn't this a nice house. Would you call it folkloric, maybe?
What is that?
Here's some coffee.
Thanks.
How is Makinata?
It's a good place. The prices are a bit high, though.
How is it where you are?
The same as always.
It's a bit lonely since you're not around, though.
That's out of character for you to say...
Is it?
Since you left, I've started remembering so many things...
Uh... Is that so?
I'm sorry, Hakumei-chan. I've made you listen to such boring talk.
Oh, no...
But I apologize if you're trying to watch out for me. Ayune?
Hm?
You're faking it, aren't you?
You're perceptive. I can't believe I've already been found out!
Huh?
I tried to come across as a good older sister, but how'd I do?
So saying you came to visit me was...
A lie.
I thought so.
I'm sorry, Hakumei-chan. Were you surprised?
What's surprising if I'm meeting you for the first time?
So, what do you want?
I'm in a bit of a slump now. This is a change of pace.
Let me know before you come.
Nah, that's such a pain.
I should be able to at least crash at your place on short notice, right?
It's a nuisance! I'm not a child anymore, you know! I have a job, and I have plans...
You're always so self-centered...
Delivery!
Oh, I also bought seasoning for boiled daikon with miso.
Presents, presents!
Go home!
Err...
It's fine, you don't have to bother with her.
What an amusing sister.
She's not amusing at all.
Ayune works as a playwright...
It tore. Fix it.
...but she won't do anything aside from work. It tore. Fix it.
...but she won't do anything aside from work. Again?
Why did you just decide to clean up my room?
She won't do any household chores, much less work on her money management skills... Why did you just decide to clean up my room?
She won't do any household chores, much less work on her money management skills... Because you won't ever clean.
What did you buy this time?
And yet she's so very arrogant... What did you buy this time?
And yet she's so very arrogant... A resource for a turtle shell. It's made of pure silver.
My cooking technique and sense of self-reliance were developed in those days.
What kind of plays does Ayune write? Are they funny?
Yeah.
They're funny. Extremely so! And that's exactly why I get angry!
I see...
Mikochi, look, look!
See...
soy sauce.
Are you going to make it with just soy sauce?
What are you going to do with this much?! You don't even need a whole daikon!
But they were selling the whole thing.
They could have cut it up for you, right?! It won't even keep for very long!
Now, now...
If we cut and dry it, it should keep for a while.
Hakumei-chan, what you say makes sense.
And you'll be helping, okay, Ayune?
You work your guests hard, don't you?
Is this the daikon peel?
Huh? Yes, it is...
And you can't thinly slice it either, huh?
My success rate is around thirty percent, I suppose.
You're just as proficient as always. Do you still make clothes as well?
On occasion. I also had a part-time job as a dressmaker.
Oh? Maybe I'll place an order for some stage costumes sometime.
Well... I wouldn't really mind tha-
Hey, hey, Hakumei-chan!
Tell me an interesting story!
An interesting story, huh...
Hmm... A story from when I was traveling?
Or for something more recent, maybe about that time we saw the evening kite.
That legendary red bird?
Kafu was an evening kite, you know.
Huh? Wasn't it white, though?
It soaks up the red of the evening.
When it's in the morning sun, it goes back to white.
I'm not kidding, you know. It actually-
It's pointless to keep talking to her now.
Huh?
"The bird who grants wishes..."
"absorbs the deep red of yesterday..."
"...wings washed in bright sunlight."
When she gets like this, you should just wait for her next response of "I'm hungry."
She's a troublesome sister, isn't she...
I came here so that I could eat this.
What about your slump?
That was a lie. What I just said is a lie too, though.
What is the truth, then?
Isn't that completely obvious?
To see my cute little sis-
Lies.
How coldhearted.
In the past you were so obedient and pampered, though.
Wha-?!
Hakumei-chan, shall I tell you stories about how Mikochi was in the past?
Stop it!
"Sis, I wrote a story, too."
Stop it!
"You're in it too, Sis!"
I'm telling you to stop!
But this is where it starts getting interesting!
Just cut it out.
Do you torment Haruka like that, too?
No way. I couldn't possibly torment my cute little brother!
You REALLY haven't changed at all, have you?!
Same goes for you.
You didn't even fix the way you hold your chopsticks!
Clever, isn't it? I can even grab tofu like this.
You two.
That's simmered daikon with miso! The least you could do is eat it while it's warm.
Huh?
EAT IT BEFORE IT GETS COLD!
Okay!
She's just like Dad, huh?
Shut up and eat.
Hakumei-chan takes long baths, huh?
She's letting us have some time to ourselves.
I get that.
Whiskey is okay, right?
Yeah.
So, why did you really come?
Huh? I told you everything. It was all true.
You're lying, right?
I told you, it's true.
I was in a slump, and I wanted to eat boiled daikon with miso.
And what about you wanting to see me?
I really did.
I thought about how I hadn't seen your face in a while, and I got sad.
That's a lie, Ayune. You weren't sad at all, were you?
Even when you were troubled while writing, it didn't seem tough for you at all.
It really did look that way, didn't it?
What do you mean?
I wonder...
I think if it's tough, then it's okay to quit.
Yeah.
Don't make that face. I'll get worried.
Right. Sorry.
Even so, that Hakumei-chan...
It'd be fine if you two were together forever.
What'd you say?
Is that what it is? You got to her through her stomach?
Maybe I'll learn to cook and then go home!
It seems like it would take about half a year, though...
Well, I guess I can't do that, then...
So I'm leaving.
Huh?! Now?!
Hakumei-chan, you can come out now!
Huh?
You come and go so suddenly...
If you cry for me to stop, I can stay a little bit longer.
I refuse.
Oh my gosh, you're such a cold little sister.
Well, then.
See you, Mikochi.
Sis...?
Yeah.
You're going to quit working as a playwright?!
Huh?
That's what you're thinking?
But... we talked about that earlier...
Are you getting married?
Yes. To a member of the drama troupe.
So, Mikochi. What should I do?
Either one is fine with me.
Don't quit!
Okay, I won't quit.
Absolutely not, okay?!
Congratulations, Ayune.
Thank you, Mikochi.
Take care of yourselves!
Now that I think of it, we didn't ask her partner's name or talk about the ceremony or anything, did we?
Huh?!
Wait, Ayune!
I have important things to ask!
Isn't she running away?
Well, a letter or something will probably come.
Good grief...
If you still want to drink, I'll join you.
It's fine. I'll drink alone.
Okay, got it.
Goodnight.
Kokochi yoi kaze fuitara soto de gohan tabeyou
"Sprawling Purple Smoke"
Kinmokusei kaoru konna kisetsu ni wa
Makinata. A peaceful time flows through the city. The wandering director Aobane takes an extended stay in this place. As he was suffering from a slump and bad habits,
this town was not a comfortable place to be.
Akebi iro no sora kara hoshi chirachira kirari
Yukkuri iki wo suikondara utage no maku hirake kaishi
He spends his days maneuvering a brush with no paint on it
against a picture he completed in the past. When the days and nights have become muddled together, he asks the landlord of the inn for an exciting story.
Smoke cheese dekitate no kisshu hooba de tsutsunda himemasu
The Bird Who Grants Wishes / Kafu's First-hand Account.
Smoke cheese dekitate no kisshu hooba de tsutsunda himemasu
Hora sekai ga yorokonderu watashitachi to odoritagatteru
The whip hit his weakened body, and carrying his amber-dyed pipe and a days' worth of bread,
Writer/Director Ayune
he made his way into the dangerous mountains... Drama Troupe TOP Show "Sprawling Purple Smoke" March 2nd~16th Hao Daiki Performance Hall
Konna yoru ni au sake tte nandaro?
Botanical ni sanshou nante dou kana?
Chiisana kono te de tsuki mo tsukamechau nante omocchau kibun