Episode 23
A Great Distance in the Wind, The Sky at Dawn, Chapter One
Where is my big sister going?
Don't take her away!
No, you mustn't.
You have to stay inside.
Don't you go outside.
Don't worry, the Aoyagis are the richest family around here.
I bet she'll get to wear nice clothes, and learn some etiquette.
She will become quite a lady by the end of the year.
Take care of yourself, Suzu...
Suzu Ooki...
She was only 12 years old...
...when she was sent to serve another family to save her own family during a famine.
It was more than 80 years before I, Youko Nakajima, was even born.
Once we get to Takasaki, we can get a train from there.
Don't be surprised by a train.
In Tokyo, there are even gaslights and horse carriages made out of metal.
Because of that, the rickshaw business is not doing well...
...and that's why I have to do this to make a living.
My goodness!
H-Hey!
When Suzu regained consciousness, she was floating in the Kyokai.
Huh?
I don't understand what you're saying...
Suzu could not understand the language they spoke.
However, she still thought that she had just washed out into the Sea of Japan.
Tell me. Where are you people from?
Where is this place?
I have to go to Tokyo...
Excuse me, but do you know where the house of the Aoyagis is?
Suzu had drifted to the east end of the Kingdom of Kei.
The people who lived by the shore did not know what to do with her.
So they decided to leave Suzu in the care of...
...a troupe of traveling entertainers called Shusei.
Suzu traveled with the troupe for nearly three years.
At the very least, she understood that this place was...
...somewhere far away from where she once lived.
She couldn't learn any of the routines nor the language.
But she kept hoping that...
...she would meet someone who could understand her language...
...and the next place might be somehow connected to her world.
Sai
There has to be something we can do!
But we can't just set up such an unusual performance on such short notice.
Who in the world is she anyway?
She says her name is Suibikun.
She is a Sen-nin who lives on Mt. Ha.
Still, she has such selfish requests...
How about the Kaikyaku?
What?
Her?
We have to buy some time anyway...
Do they want me to sing?
But I only know the song Father used to sing to me...
Mr. Miya, Mr. Miya...
What's that flapping in front of the horse?
A Kaikyaku singing, eh?
How dare you treat this Riyou with such disdain...
This is not worth wasting my time on.
I am leaving.
Please wait! We will perform something else!
I could understand what you just said!
But why?
A Sen-nin like myself has no language barrier.
P-Please wait!
Please, take me with you!
Why do you wish to come with me?
I want to go to a place where people understand my language!
Please! I don't want to live as a laughingstock for the rest of my life!
I will do anything if you take me with you!
I will do anything for you!
Very well.
You may come with me...
...Honma.
Is that my new name?
Thank you so much!
Mokurin
I have received notice from the Royal Palace.
That you have been registered as a Sen-nin.
I am a Sen-nin!
You will never age or fall ill.
And now, you will be able to communicate with people.
Thank you very much, Lady Riyou.
You shall call me Mistress.
My servants are to address me as either Mistress or Lady Suibikun.
Y-Yes, Mistress.
Good. Now I want you to sweep the back garden.
Do not leave a single leaf on the ground.
Yes, Mistress!
You promised you would do anything for me, did you not?
...Honma?
Honma...
The moment I became a Sen-nin...
...I immediately understood the language of this world.
It was then that I realized the meaning of my name, Honma.
The name meant a pathetic woman.
In other words, a fool.
If I ran away, I would no longer be able to communicate.
Fearing that...
...I served under her for one hundred years despite being called Honma.
Ninety years after Suzu became a Sen-nin.
Hou
Back then I had no way of knowing that...
...there was a girl about my age...
...who was also a Sen-nin and living lavishly in the Kingdom of Hou.
At the time, the northern Kingdom of Hou was governed by a...
...man named Chuutatsu, who used to be a government official.
He was disgusted by the corruption of the citizens...
...so he enacted very strict laws to make the Kingdom a better place.
Oh, my precious doll.
I will dress you up in a beautiful dress.
King Hou, Chuutatsu, had a 13-year-old daughter.
When Chuutatsu became the King, she became a Sen-nin...
...and began living in the Royal Palace.
She was known as Shoukei, and her name was Sonshou.
Miss Shoukei is a precious jewel of this Royal Palace...
She looks all the more beautiful today.
Her beauty even outshines her pretty dress.
The little girl of yours also has a beautiful dress on, doesn't she?
A dressmaker from the Kingdom of Han said that...
...only my daughter could wear such an elegant dress.
But of course, the Princess's beauty exceeds all measure.
I see...
There are handmaidens who accept bribes in the palace...
While you care for your people, there are those who just think of living an easy life...
Thank you for coming to me.
Your Majesty.
Lord of Kei Province?
What is the matter?
It is all right...
Lord of Kei, Taisai, what is it?
About the new ordinance you proclaimed this month...
...the Lord of Kei Province is concerned that...
Your Majesty.
You've requested Shusei troupes be limited to traveling in the Kingdom only during the winter.
Is there any way you could re-consider this ordinance?
And why is that?
Shusei troupes are one of few enjoyments left for the people.
The corruption of the citizens happens easily and knows no limits.
Shusei troupes will surely become an...
...excuse for the people to abandon fieldwork.
I want my people to find pleasure in their work...
...just as I do.
Your Majesty, you will not change your decision?
If anyone should have a problem with this proclamation...
...be sure to arrest them and administer punishment.
Punish them?
But Your Majesty...
Say, Gekkei...
Is it true that Taiki has returned to Mt. Hou?
Yes, so I have heard.
Then Taiki will soon select a new ruler...
...and the Kingdom of Tai is going to prosper, isn't it?
Tai, like Hou, is a northern kingdom.
I would feel awful for the people of Tai if Hou was wealthy and they weren't.
I hear there are Youma roaming around in Tai.
We must live by the righteous will of the Heavens...
...or Hou may follow the fate of Tai someday...
Keep that in mind.
Have you not heard?
Her mother was accused of accepting bribes.
So she's no longer in the Royal Palace.
Is that so.
I really liked her dresses...
Sai
We pray for your quick return!
You all seem very excited when you see me off.
You cannot wait to loosen up while your mean mistress is gone, can you?
Honma...
You'd prefer it if I never did return, wouldn't you?
I wish no such a thing!
I am looking forward to your return, Mistress!
I'm visiting my friends, of which I only have a few.
I shall return in half a month.
I pray for your quick return!
I assume I will have a very warm welcome when I return.
Yes, of course!
Then will you get some Gyokkou to brew for my return, won't you?
I would also like to have some grilled Shingyo and boiled Yousou.
And I want all the walls and pillars to be repainted.
There is nothing that makes me feel refreshed like a newly painted house.
Since I am such a kind person...
...I will not punish you if you revel a little... as long as you finish your job.
The Mistress is being hard on you to divert herself, Mokurin...
No!
My name isn't Mokurin! It's not Honma, either!
I am Suzu! Suzu Ooki!
Why is the Mistress doing this to me?
Her Majesty is a very strong-minded person.
She used to be pampered by successive rulers, but...
...she has to live in a place like this now because she was so difficult.
I know that!
But still...
I will go to the Gozan and ask for some Gyokkou.
I heard that the Lord of Mt. Hou has returned to the mountain now.
We don't want to cause any trouble.
The Lord of Mt. Hou...
You mean Taiki from Japan, the one everyone is talking about?
That's right.
I will go!
What?
But...
Please let me go!
Sai
Koukai
I went to Mt. Hou to meet Taiki...
However...
Taiki...
I am just like you...
Taiki!
Please let me speak with him!
I want to go back!
I want to go home!
Lady Riyou was infuriated by the incident...
...and she prohibited me from touching a Kijyuu again.
But I did nothing wrong.
Taiki didn't even listen to me, he was the one who was wrong.
At least, that is what I believed.
Hou
A little while later...
I heard that a rebellion had risen in the Kingdom of Hou.
The leaders of all the provinces in Hou could not tolerate the tyranny...
...and attacked Youshun Palace with their army.
The Ouki...
The Ouki is gone!
Did something happen to my father?
Lord of Kei!
Where do you think you are?
Who's given you the right to be here?
F-Father...
To take the life of a Sen-nin such as his Majesty...
...I had no choice but to sever his head.
Royal Consort, Princess... Bid farewell to his Majesty.
What?
The King has terrorized the people with his brutality...
...and you encouraged him to kill many innocent people.
I wanted both of you to understand the anger of the citizens.
The King did it for the sake of the citizens!
Since Hourin has fallen ill with Shitsudou...
...the punishments have become more severe than ever.
Three hundred thousand...
Three hundred thousand people were executed in one year!
How could executing a child be for the sake of the people...
...when he only stole a bun because he lived in abject poverty?
If your annual tax was short by one cup of grain, you would be executed.
If you were not able to go to work because you were sick, you would be executed.
Your fear is nothing compared to the fear the citizens have had to live with!
Mother!
Shoukei!
You were jealous of the beauty and wisdom of other women...
...or perhaps, you despised the beauty of the girls around the Princess.
So you fabricated crimes and falsely charged them.
Elegies resounded throughout the Kingdom!
How dare you speak such lies!
Princess, I want you to take a good look at this.
And remember how painful it is to see your family beheaded in front of your own eyes!
No!
Taiho...
I want you to understand the despair the people felt...
...watching you choose such foolish rulers for two generations.
And so, the reign of Chuutatsu, now called Sonken, came to an end.
A ruler has perished!
A Hakuchi cries in a human voice only...
...twice in its lifetime, when a ruler takes the throne, and when the ruler's reign ends.
Its foot is used as a seal during the absence of a ruler.
Daughter of King Hou, Sonshou...
You will be removed from the contract of immortals.
What?
No, you can't do that!
I've lived here for thirty years!
What am I going to do as a normal human now?
Please kill me!
Kill me, too!
I will make arrangements for your renewed citizenship.
Your status as a princess and as a Sen-nin shall be void.
I suggest you change your name and blend in among the citizens for your own sake.
But how am I going to survive like that?
So cruel!
So cruel...
Shoukei was sent to a Rike in Kei Province, where Gekkei governed.
A Rike is a common facility, where orphans and the elderly live together.
And there, I was given the common name of Gyokuyou.
Of course, without any servants...
...I had to cultivate land and weave cloth with my own hands.
To me, it was a completely different world from the world I knew.
On one winter day, after three years passed...
In the mirror was a girl with darker skin, her cheeks were carved in...
...and her hands and legs were sinewy.
And the girl, who was thirteen years old forever...
...and once called the Jewel of the Royal Palace, was gone.
Kei
Asano?
Is that you, Asano?
Why do you still care about him?
You abandoned him...
I know...
You are a reflection of my mind...
...so what you say is just what I think in my head...
You want to look for him, don't you?
I am a queen now, I can't just act on my own.
Asano!
So the sword has gone out of control again...
I regret letting the scabbard die.
I am sorry.
The blade was supposedly confined within a scabbard by...
...a Sen-nin who served in the court during the time of Tatsu-Ou.
And his name was...
Shouhaku.
Oh yes, I seem to recall it was something like that.
Your Majesty.
Chousai.
It is time, Your Majesty.
But the Sword Suiguu is still showing illusions, and we have to...
Most humbly, I'd like you to use another scabbard for the time being.
Is that okay?
It is very important to the people of the Kingdom...
...to see the ruler with the treasure of the Kingdom.
The sword, which Tatsu-Ou subdued...
...will mark you as the Queen of Kei.
Kaitatsu again, huh?
Sekishi, Youko...
The girl, who does not look much different from Suzu and me...
...ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Kei.
I was counting the sands of time without realizing.
In a false dream I became speechless.
I would stare into the fire...
...as I swore to be true forever.
Let my prayers be heard, I will overcome hardship...
...and keep my oath until the end of the world.
The black dress is called Daikyuu.
A black gown and a black crown.
Everything goes well with her crimson hair.
The Twelve Kingdoms, episode 24...
Episode 24
A Great Distance in The Wind, The Sky at Dawn, Chapter Two.
A Great Distance in the Wind, the Sky at Dawn, Chapter Two.