It's been 2 days since Tsurara ran away from home.
Where did Tsurara go?
When I asked Dad that,
he just told me to forget about it.
And we never saw Hotaru's fox since that night, too.
Hotaru still went out back every day,
and left food for the fox.
But it didn't look like the fox came at all.
Dad!
Kita no kuni kara
Ep12
It was set on the far side of the mountain.
What is this?
It's a trap.
Is that what got Hotaru's fox?
I didn't think anyone used these anymore.
How does it trap a fox?
I'll show you.
When you step on here...
I thought these were illegal now.
-I heard that, too. -No. As long as you have a permit.
-And there's a season, too. -Until January 20th.
Some folks are horrible, aren't they?
How was it set?
Some bait was hung on the top of a mound of snow. As soon as the fox...
jumps up there, it'd fall through the snow and spring this thing.
-Professional work. -I found five more.
But I sprang all of them.
-But the traps were tied down. -It must've chewed it off.
-And gone to see Hotaru. -I think so.
Where?
Its front left leg.
It can't hunt with that leg.
Looked like it could just barely drag it.
Will it die?
Will it?
Wait for its leg to rot off or chew its own leg off...
Chew its own leg off?
They say wild animals will do that so they can survive.
-What kind of print are these? -Rabbits!
And which way did it go?
This way!
-No, that way. -Nah, this way!
What if it went this way? Give it a try.
This way?
Like this.
No, like this.
That's the same thing!
You cheater!
School started again on January 20th.
I wonder which way it went?
-There's proof. -Proof?
Rabbits have nails on the tips of their paws, right?
-Nails! -So...
Now you can see the nail marks.
You can!
Which means it went that way.
You know a lot, Shokichi.
You can ask me anything!
Then what kind of prints are over there?
Let's go! Hurry!
A fox!
No!
No! Not a fox!
-A fox walks in a straight line. -How?
Like this.
That's right!
So what's this?
-A squirrel. -No!
Are you sure?
A squirrel would leave two tracks like this.
This is a marten.
-That's a fox! -Which one?
Which one?
He's right! That is a fox!
Right?
Do you know which way it went?
-The fox? -Yeah.
I know!
-Me, too! -Me too!
How do you know?
I know! I know!
You do this...
What, don't tell her.
See? It went this way.
Right, I just learned it!
And you're a teacher?
Hotaru's fox was caught in a trap.
I wonder who did that?
That fox...
You really loved it, didn't you, Hotaru?
But a fox makes trouble.
It's wrong to try to tame something like that.
Why is it wrong?
-'Cause it is! -Why is that?!
Be quiet!
Be quiet.
You can talk but one at a time.
Sumie?
A fox is a living thing and I feel sorry for it to get killed just 'cause it made a little trouble.
Then should we feel sorry for all animals?
Yes.
God made animals equal, too.
God made some animals for people to eat!
-There aren't any like that! -You eat pigs everyday!
-But... -And cows and chickens too!
-Not the ones we know! -Doesn't matter--
-You eat your chickens? -Yeah! We do!
You're mean.
-Can't help it when you're hungry! -That's mean!
Never been hungry?
-I have! -But never starved!
Then, if you starve, will you eat people, too?
Idiot! Nobody eats people!
Why not? You're starving right?
People wouldn't taste good!
-Some look like they would! -No way!
They do!
Be quiet!
Quiet now.
Let's try backing up a bit.
Like...
Let's see...
I think part of what Shokichi's saying is right.
Everyone thinks squirrels are cute, right?
Right.
But we don't think mice are, right?
No!
When you think carefully, don't you think it's a little unfair?
I do! Squirrels eat corn in storage, too!
Right. Some squirrels make trouble.
And some mice don't make trouble.
Foxes, too!
Right. So you can't tell--
Hotaru's fox was good!
-How do you know? -We know!
-It could be a bad one! -It's not!
Wait a minute.
I'm interested in what you said at the beginning, Shokichi.
You said it was wrong to try to tame a fox, didn't you?
I did!
Why is that?
If you feed them, they get bold--
Who got bold!
I just know!
Be quiet!
My interpretation is a bit different.
But I do think Shokichi might be right when he said it was wrong to try to tame a fox.
Why?
It's because...
a fox is a wild animal.
It hunts mice and things and works hard to live.
But,
don't you think if people started feeding it, it'd start to become a bad hunter?
It might even forget how.
So is it wrong to feed it?
I don't really know.
That's strange.
Think about it carefully.
If you feed the fox,
it'd get spoiled and in the end you might cause the fox to be unhappy.
That's not true!
-Yes, it is! -Not!
It is!
It'll forget how to hunt!
That's strange... what she said.
What's strange?
We shouldn't try to tame a fox.
-Why not? -She's being biased.
She probably got a New Year's gift from Shokichi's family.
What's this?
Milk.
Milk?!
But it's red.
Right. They mixed red dye into it.
Why?
So it can't be sold.
Why?
Well, that's because...
That's hard to explain.
I know! We learned about it!
-What're you gonna do with this? -Make butter.
-Butter?! -Yeah.
Red butter.
But butter's supposed to be yellow.
That's not true. You can have red butter, too.
That's strange.
How do you make butter?
I'll teach you. Go inside.
She's biased.
Shokichi's grandpa must've bribed her.
So it was your grandpa who set those traps?
And Hotaru's fox was caught in one of them?
I think so.
Grandpa muttered something about a fox getting away with one of his traps.
I see.
Does your grandpa always trap foxes?
He's always enjoyed doing it.
For dozens of years.
He makes vests and stuff for me and my ma with the fox skins.
But...
I didn't know it was the fox that Hotaru was feeding!
I don't think Grandpa knew either.
I understand.
Don't say anything about this, Shokichi.
It isn't anything you should feel badly about.
That's true.
Your grandpa has lived that way all this time.
Right.
I understand that.
Don't feel badly about it.
But Grandpa has...
a bad reputation.
What's wrong.
What're you doing there?
Grandpa?
Are you going to set the traps again?
There are bad folks in this world.
Someone stole one of my traps.
And he sprang all the rest of them.
If I ever find him, he'll pay for it.
Grandpa?
I don't want any more vests.
Don't trap foxes anymore.
We never knew anything.
We were working hard at making our red butter.
Dear Keiko,
I'll teach you how to make butter.
You bring fresh milk to a boil and let it stand for a while,
then skim off the thick part.
Then you fill a 1-sho* bottle about 1/3 full and shake it.
0.477 gal
After you shake it for about 30 minutes you'll start to see...
some hardened bits on the bottom
and some thick stuff starting to form on the top.
When you strain it,
you'll get a kind of fatty cream.
You chill it in cold water,
and it'll start to harden.
You put that on top of a plate,
and knead it to remove the water.
When it hardens some more, you add some salt.
And keep kneading it until you get butter.
Well?
Did I add too much salt?
It's good!
Good!
Is it?
It'll go with potatoes!
We have some left over.
Let's put some on top of those.
-Not as red as I thought it'd be. -The red disappeared.
Still more red than the regular kind.
We're the only ones in the world with red butter.
Yeah!
Shall we start selling it as Kuroita butter?
As a local specialty!
Sounds like black butter.
Kuro means black
How about Kuroita red butter?
It was good, right?
Right?
I like it.
I heard Tsurara is in Asahikawa.
Who told you?
I think Sota went to look for her.
But he won't tell me much.
Does he have any ideas?
Dunno.
Goro?
I don't think...
I'm wanted as a worker at that dairy.
Why?
I just feel that way.
I think Sota made the decision on his own that...
they need an extra worker there.
That can't be true.
I think it is.
'Cause,
Sota's parents won't talk to me much.
Do you think I should keep working there?
Don't let it bother you.
Sota's father is always that way.
He doesn't talk much.
Really?
Is that all it is?
Jun?
What's wrong?
Nothing.
I've been concerned about Dad and Aunty Yukiko...
ever since Shokichi said what he did.
I wonder...
where the fox is and what she's doing right now.
She won't be able to find any prey in all this snow.
And she'll probably get left behind with only 3 legs.
She may...
end up dying.
Was it wrong to feed her?
If I hadn't fed her,
she wouldn't have trusted people.
And she wouldn't have gotten caught in that trap, too.
I wonder if I killed her?
Bye!
Jun! Hotaru! Wait a minute!
The next day after school,
Miss Ryoko told us to stay.
What is it?
Don't worry. It's not about your studies.
Ever since what she said yesterday,
I was very unhappy with Miss Ryoko and I showed it.
Actually, it's about what I said yesterday.
I knew it.
Is your fox still missing, Hotaru?
Yes.
It's not alive anymore.
I'm sure it's stuck and can't move.
You might be right.
Would you...
hate the person who set the trap?
I would.
-What about you, Hotaru? -I would too.
I see.
But what if...
your father raised chickens and...
he sold the eggs to make a living.
We don't have chickens.
But a lot of other people do, right?
How would you feel if one of their precious chickens was killed by a fox?
That has nothing to do with this.
No?
I don't think so.
What about mice?
Mice eat the vegetables in storage, right?
And deer, too.
Deer are definitely cute,
but to a farmer, deer are the enemy.
Because they eat crops.
Understand?
The animal lovers association in the city may get really angry
if they ever heard me say this,
but it's a little different here.
There's a history of people fighting those cute animals to survive up here.
Sometimes they had to have the animal skin to keep warm.
That's why they trapped rabbits and foxes, too.
But you don't need to do that anymore because we have warmer jackets now.
But they cost money.
For people that never spent money on those things,
it'd seem like a really stupid thing to do, right?
Don't you think so?
To tell you the truth,
I hate the thought of killing animals.
I don't want anyone to do that.
But,
that's what they did up here for years and years to survive.
There were those people here.
And there are still people like that here.
I just want you to know that.
I want you to understand people like that.
And I don't want you to hate people like that.
Do you understand what I'm trying to say to you?
I did understand,
but...
still...
I felt her opinion was one-sided.
If she was right,
humans came barging in where the animals always lived...
and acted really cold and cruel.
Look, Jun.
-It's the windmill generator! -Let's go!
Is it done already?
Almost! You'll have light tonight.
Yay!
Guys!
You know what day today is?
-No. -What day is it?
-It's Aunty Yukiko's birthday. -It is?
So we're having a party tonight.
-Party?! -Yay!
Under an electric light.
Yahoo!
Go in, put your bags down,
and tidy up the house.
Goro! Come over here!
Is it on?
Just come!
It's on!
Finally!
Thank you!
It's on!
Wanna see closer?
Look!
Thank you! Thank you!
One minute, Yukiko?
Sure.
Pa wants to talk to you.
Okay.
I don't know how to say things,
so please forgive me.
The truth is...
your working here...
It's a bother to us.
You're not welcome here.
I understand Sota invited you.
But,
I didn't know anything about it.
This is a co-op dairy.
Three families run it.
But,
we don't make enough money to feed all 3 families.
So one family works someplace else.
To be blunt, we can't hire anybody here.
I understand...
that all you need are meals.
But even meals...
-Sir. -Be quiet and listen.
I don't know how to use words.
So I end up sounding harsh.
You know that Tsurara ran away from home.
She was supposed to come to us as a bride.
But she suddenly ran away.
You're...
the reason.
You know that, don't you?
But,
it wouldn't be right to blame you.
It's Sota's fault. He's wrong.
This all happened because he's a fool.
I talked to him 'til dawn this morning.
That idiot...
says he's in love with you.
I can't help that.
But what's going to happen?
Is this going to work out?
Are you prepared to live here?
Or are you both going to leave here together?
The other day, he told me...
it was his life and I should leave him alone.
He said we should be appreciative that he's here.
That's what he said to me.
I have 5 sons all together.
Other than Sota and his younger brother, they all left.
Right now,
I honestly think it'd be all right to...
let this place go after our generation is gone.
I thought it'd be all right if none of them took over the dairy.
I settled here with my old man....
and married that one.
But it can end with our generation.
But,
there's only one thing...
I want to fulfill my obligations.
We came as settlers together and suffered here together.
I want to fulfill my obligation to my comrades who survived together.
Tatsumi is one of them.
And Tsurara is his younger sister.
Sota had promised to marry her.
I can't help him break that promise to her.
I don't care what happens between you and Sota.
But,
I can't let you stay here.
I'm sorry,
but I can't let you stay.
Ma'am!
I...
Yukiko?
Yukiko!
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday dear Yukiko.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday dear Yukiko.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday!
♪Elephant,
♪you have a long trunk.
♪Yes, my mother has a long trunk too.
All right!
Last!
I'll go.
All right!
Ready?
What's wrong?
Would you like to come in?
You have light?
Yes. We managed somehow.
-Would you like to come in for a drink? -No.
It's that...
Well...
Do you want a horse?
-A horse? -Yeah.
My horse.
I decided to sell it.
What a stupid story.
When I decided to sell it,
I realized for the first time I never named it.
And I had it for 20 years.
Folks rarely name their horses up here.
We were taught not to.
Because if we did, you'd end up loving the horse.
And it'd hurt when it was time to let the horse go.
A long time ago,
we sold our horse every time winter came.
Even after working the horse all summer,
we still didn't have enough for it to eat in winter,
so we had to sell the horse.
During the winter, we trapped animals in the mountains to sell...
so we had the money to buy another horse come springtime.
We trapped deer and foxes...
...rabbits and martens.
Won't you come in?
I heard your fox got caught in a trap.
Right.
I feel bad.
I set that trap.
I wanted to make a vest for Shokichi.
But he didn't know.
Please don't hate him.
We won't.
How many months have you been here?
Four months.
I see.
You've been living here for 4 months already?
I'm impressed you made it.
Why don't you come in?
Nakahata and others are here too.
That's right.
Four months have already gone by.
And February came.
It snowed a lot more,
but we had gotten used to this life.
We got used to wind chill and deep snow, too.
March passed and it was almost April...
when snow around the stream started to melt.
And we could see butterbur buds poking out from the ground.
After almost 6 months of winter,
spring was about to arrive.
Careful.
Ouch!
Found one!
Another one!
Look.
There's one too.
Subtitled by Chuks Edited by Phoenix