We'll be at the summit soon,
We'll be better, we can rest Yoki.
Yoki! Run!
MUSHISHI
Ask at another house.
Thank you.
Yes? Who is it?
I'm a traveller, the snow has blocked the path.
I can't keep walking.
Can I stay in your shed temporarily?
How could I not let you in, unfortunate young man.
If you don't mind staying in my humble home then, please, enter.
We were all in a tiny house and when you licked something, it froze
I only licked my lips and later I couldn't roll my tongue in.
I couldn't stick it out any more either.
I tried to open my mouth, but I couldn't.
I'm going to market in the canyon city, I am the mushishi, Ginko.
I'll stay temporarily to protect myself from the wind and snow.
For your hospitality, I can only give my thanks.
Away from home, we only have the hospitality of others, you are welcomed.
They are also guests.
You can eat as soon as you drop your luggage.
Thank you for your hospitality.
You have grey hair,
but by the sound of your voice you sound younger.
Mushishi are old men, right?
My name is Shimae.
It happens to be that we're on the same path.
This is my... trade.
I'll be careful.
It's a cold night.
What? Do you want to play?
No...
I couldn't beat a mushishi, right?
Mushishi, the homeowner wants to see you.
Please, this way.
We have a lot to talk about.
Please sit down.
Excuse me.
I want you to give me a diagnosis.
Sure.
Is anyone ill? I only have herbs, it would be better to call a doctor.
Sokashi! Makino!
And the maid as well.
Something is wrong with their ears.
As you can see, this town is in a deep valley.
Not even the wind interrupts the silence.
Every number of years, during a snow storm like this,
even the sound of our voices vanish.
At night, people don't even dare speak.
When they realize, the sounds don't reach their ears.
The sound... it's gone?
Our ancestors used to say that it was because of the mushi.
I see.
In both ears?
No, I can still hear in one.
How about me?
The majority of people only lost hearing in one ear.
There has got to be something in their ear, right?
It doesn't sound important, but when you lose your hearing you can lose your balance.
In these mountainous regions, your life hangs by a thread.
That is true.
Ah Un?
Ah and Un.
They're mushi that feed off of sound.
How? They eat sound?
Normally, they live in the forest,
but since snow absorbs all sound
they take refuge in towns searching for noise.
Many have come here.
It's too dark, I cannot see anything.
If they are hungry they can leave the swarm to infest animals.
Infest?
They enter through the ear.
Did you know that in our ear we have a spiral-shaped organ?
These mushi attach to the organ to feed off the sound.
Here... Is this enough hot water?
What is this?!
The medicine dissolves in salt water.
Let me see how it comes out.
I can hear!
I can hear well!
- Do the same with the others. - Yes.
- Spread some in the attic. - Yes.
10 packages are 10 dollars.
That should be enough for the whole winter.
But if you are worried you can buy more.
My wife and I will take 20.
- I want some too. - Me too.
I'm sorry, but I still don't know your name.
My name is Ginko.
Do you see them?
There is nothing to be afraid of.
The ones that are out in the light aren't dangerous.
Drink, it's good for you.
My name is Yoki.
Get well soon and leave.
This night has expanded my horizons.
This is the first time I've seen a mushishi work.
You can stay as long as you'd like...
Of course, there is someone else.
She... doesn't have the same symptoms as the others.
Does she have other symptoms?
She has lost hearing in both ears.
Do you hear me?
It's too noisy! Settle down!
Maho, Ginko is a mushishi.
This is my grand daughter, Maho.
Everything started fall of last year.
She grew those horns, and lost her hearing in both ears.
Instead, now she hears things she didn't used to.
Things she didn't hear before...
Things like whispers...
or thundering noises.
Sometimes sounds like broken bells.
Many sounds at the same time.
She hears sounds everywhere.
I'm afraid that... it could be an Ah.
The Un devour the sound from their hosts.
Give me more details.
Than, that medicine is no good?
It's not a parasite in the ear.
Then... What can we...?
The first thing is to know the enemy.
What's wrong?
It's quieter now?
This smoke scares away the mushi.
My name is Ginko.
I am a mushishi.
Mushishi?
Do the mushi make that much noise?
In reality each one has a very tiny voice,
but there are many.
They say their voices resonate throughout the world.
Even inside your body.
What do you feel?
How did you grow horns?
I covered my ears...
I covered my ears, like my mother used to.
Maho...
Mama's sound... don't forget it.
Mama...
has her own sound.
I can hear it.
Do you hear it?
Maho.
Mama's sound.
Your mother used to cover her ears?
My daughter died
in a miserable way.
Tormented by the sounds, she couldn't sleep, and she became weak.
I was too busy to help her.
What happened to the horns after she died?
I don't know, we covered her hear head with a cloth.
When we put her in the casket, "kara-kara" I heard them fall.
At first I thought they were coins and later I went to gather them.
When I looked, I saw that it was really the horns.
Can I see them? Those horns...
It's... hard to say.
Can we open the tomb?
Our relatives thought that it could be contagious.
And for that reason we had to cremate her.
Inside the tomb... there is only a few bones.
They brought her bones from the mountain,
where they secretly cremated her.
Let me in.
Inside it's big.
Do you know where the horns are?
Your mothers horns.
Do you know?
I only want to help.
If I learn enough about you and your mother,
maybe I can help others.
I can't touch them.
Your mothers horn?
Maho...
Mama's sound... don't forget it.
Can you hear it, Maho?
Your mothers sound.
I hear my mothers sound over and over in my head.
It's horrible.
Mama's sound.
It's the swarm.
If it curls to the right it's an Un.
If it curls to the left it's an Ah.
This is an Un.
This one too.
Not this one either.
I found it!
These bugs... take advantage of sleeping people.
When they enter a body, the pulse and breathing weaken.
The bugs get deep into the brain.
She picked up the horn that came off her mothers body.
And the sound of her mother is still inside the horn.
And is that... so important?
This is a transformed mushi.
Is that my daughters horn?
Where did you get it? Maho!
Look closely, it's already started to coil its shell.
Its shell?
If it continues like this it will turn into an Un.
The Ah eats,
and turns into new Un.
I never thought that in Maho's head my daughters sound would resonate.
That's it, the sound never stops. Never.
And that's how it feeds.
The parasite doesn't like its hosts sound.
And it fights to be the only sound.
Can it be cured?
That depends solely on Maho.
On her? But how?
Maho...
Maho! Be strong, Maho!
Was it too much?
Maho! Are you alright? Maho!
Maho!
Thank heavens.
Looks like it's alright.
Is she fine?
What? I don't think so.
I removed the clog.
The Ah is gone.
The horns!
Thank you... I do not have words to express my gratitude.
It's nothing... I only... let things take their course.
That fish...
A mushi lives in that pond.
You shouldn't get close at night or at dawn.
Musi?
I said mushi.
Some people see them and others don't.
But they're not mere illusions.
They are some other lifeform.
Just their presence can effect us, so stay away.
Yoki! How is your foot?
Do you have a place to return to?
You should tell your relatives about your mother.
I don't have a place to go.
I've always travelled with my mother, selling things.
Besides... my foot... still hurts when I walk.
The fish in the pond...
They're all white.
And they only have one eye.
Nui, they are just like you.
It's caused by exposure to the light from the pond.
That's why I want you to leave as soon as possible.
And if you stay will you lose your other eye?
No, every fish in the pond keeps one eye.
That's how it should be.
What's the name of that mushi?
The black one is called Tokoyami. (Infinite Darkness)
But there is another.
A shining glow swims in the pond at dawn.
It's capable of making a Tokoyami grow uncontrollably.
Can it eat the Tokoyami?
I don't know the name of the same silver one.
I call it Ginko.
Gin... ko. (Small silver one)
Hello everyone!
Eh, Ginko! Everything alright?
I was wondering how you were doing.
Besides, Onada is eating everything.
What are you saying, Ginko? Are you going to start harassing me like these guys?
Is that all, eh, Nankya?
Tell me, have you lost weight?
That was his New Year's resolution.
Actually that's his New Year's resolution every year.
Stop making fun of me.
Do you want me to take care of your widows?
Lately the hollow reeds don't look too good, the letters end up broken.
It's from the caretaker Tanyu, Tama.
That old hag...
What does the letter say? Ginko!
They want me to go.
Maybe it's for Tanyu, she likes you.
That's true, it's her pretty white face.
Lately I haven't had much work.
There's a stranger outside.
You know something?
We don't know anything, Ginko. It's only a vagabond looking for shelter from the rain.
And that barrel? What do you think he has in it?
Do you think it has grain or roots?
Or maybe a body!
The lifeless body of his mother!
He has nothing in it.
A rainbow.
He said he would capture it,
and take it home.
Are you going to capture a rainbow?
Are you going to make fun of me?
What would you want a rainbow for?
So you are Kourou. (Son of the rainbow)
It's from that rainbow,
my dad named me. That's not strange to you?
It's not bad, right? My name doesn't have Chinese characters.
When I was small, I often used to watch the rainbow with my father...
But not a normal rainbow!
This one could twist like a snake.
You don't believe a word.
Nobody believes me.
It's called Kouda. (Rainbow snake)
The rainbow your looking for.
It's name is Kouda.
And how do you know that?
We see the rainbows thanks to sun light.
The Kouda don't need it.
Besides, the colours are backwards.
Of course you know them well.
I read it in Tanyu's files, now I'm going to her house.
Tanyu? Is she a Mushishi?
Mm, how do I explain...?
Tanyu's family is the carrier of a strange mushi.
They are an infested family.
To rid those mushi what they do
is to write stores about defeated mushi.
This will turn mushi into ink, and little by little they leave their host.
That's why Tanyu has so many files about mushi.
On one side they hate mushi. On the other, they love them.
They use their writings to seal mushi.
It doesn't look that difficult.
That's right, Ginko.
Could I see those writings?
Wait.
They only let in Mushishi.
And one thing,
Throw away or sell that barrel, it's useless.
Stop!
Eh! Little one!
You look lost.
Do you have parents?
The mushishi has already left.
What? Are you interested in working?
Nui!
Ugh, how gross.
Die mushi.
Yoki, when you walk at night through the mountain,
you can stop seeing the moon.
The clouds can cover it.
Even the stars can disappear.
It's not rare to get disoriented.
But if at that moment,
you cannot remember your name or your past it means a Tokoyami is nearby.
And if that happens? What can you do?
If that happens,
try to remember your name,
and make that name your own.
That's all?
That's it!
But you'll forget your whole life along with your former name.
I don't want to forget my mother...
Even though I put a branch on her grave,
if I forget her
there will be nobody to remember her.
It will be like she never existed.
What's wrong, Nui?
Nui is hiding something from me.
There should be a reason why I can't stay.
The mushi from the pond.
A mushi that eats other mushi.
How can something like that exist?
Come out! Tokoyami!
Ginko!
I'm not afraid of you!
That fish...
It disappeared!
Yoki! What are you doing?
I already told you! Don't get close to the pond at night!
No fish from the pond is missing both eyes,
because when they lose the second eye they disappear.
Did you know, Nui?
They don't disappear.
The light from the Ginko transforms them into light that the Tokoyami absorb.
I have investigated.
Moving the fish out of the pond so the light doesn't hit them is pointless.
Once it turns white, it ends up losing both eyes and transforms into a Tokoyami.
When I understood
I had exposed myself to many times to the light.
That's when... Nui, you...
It's pointless to try to escape.
Do you understand, Yoki?
That's why you should leave.
No! I have no place to go!
Why don't you try to escape?
Having you here is making it more difficult.
That's why I'm asking you, please go.
No! This is my home!
No!
No this place is for the Tokoyami and me.
This is no place for you!
Now...
this should end.
Nui.
Nui!
Let me stay!
Don't worry! I'll cause you no problems!
Don't come, Yoki! Don't get near!
Nui... your eye...
It's bleeding!
You cannot come.
I cannot allow it!
Nui! The Tokoyami!
Yoki!
Why...?
Nui.
Nui, where are we?
You should come back.
Nui, will you come back to me?
It cannot be.
The Ginko will awaken soon.
Is that... that Ginko?
The one-eyed fish inside the Tokoyami.
Don't let fear or hate blind you.
Everybody is just trying to survive.
Nui, is that you, Nui?
Nui, you hand... your hand is not hot or cold.
Yours is still hot.
Not only your hand.
I have no eyes,
but when yours look at me,
they're as warm as sunlight.
Even in the bottom of the pond they're beautiful.
Good, Yoki.
Close one eye, Yoki.
Give an eye to Ginko,
so that he will allow you to escape the Tokoyami.
But close the other tightly...
so you that you can once again see the sunlight.
The moon?
The moon is rising.
How many times?
I don't remember...
My name is...
Gin... ko.
It doesn't look like it's going to rain.
That mountain has a hat, it's going to rain there tomorrow.
Impressive!
I've been looking for that rainbow for five years, I know when it's going to rain.
Five years...!
The ingredients for Kouda are...
Kouki, light and rain water.
Kouki? (Live Energy)
It's the mushi's fountain.
They also say that light gave life to humans.
I don't remember this earth when there was no light.
Actually nights in Japan are as bright as days.
Real light, eh?
Your eye...
Ah... I've got a glass one.
Were you born with a missing eye?
I don't remember.
I don't remember my childhood.
What's wrong?
The house is huge.
That's true.
Ginko.
And who's that?
That's Kourou, we're after a Kouda...
Leave him there and come in.
I'm used to it.
It took you too long.
I told you to hurry.
When I got the letter I was lost at a temple in the mountain.
The further the more spiritual.
The situation is urgent.
Tanyu asked me to call you.
How is Tanyu?
It was the biggest mistake of my life.
What happened?
Look!
Eh! Tama!
This is unimaginable.
How? Has it grown?
It has extended down the leg.
Can I touch her?
I don't notice until her temperature went up.
When her fever rose,
the stain began to grow.
There is something else you need to know.
A month ago a mushishi came to visit...
That blind woman said she was a mushishi.
Even though he didn't say he was her husband... he acted like it.
They had a story about a strange mushi they heard about.
That upset man asked for a ransom.
When I told them it was about looking at the files for the mushishi
his face changed completely.
Nevertheless, the woman's attitude didn't change.
Long ago... There was a pond on the mountain...
Where there was mushi called Tokoyami.
It lived on the bottom of the pond.
And there was another called Ginko.
My name?
Yes, they say that the Tokoyami makes the fish blind.
You didn't know?
No.
Does that person know me?
Neither of you would know each other.
But that night...
Tanyu was writing that story
when all of a sudden she started feeling bad and became ill.
Let me see the story that Tanyu was writing.
Alright.
In the end, that couple asked for their ransom.
They wanted to see the files related to the Koumyakusuji.
Koumakusuji? (Areas where the Kouki travels)
The said that the Kouki can control women's illnesses.
So I let them come in for an hour,
so they could look at the files they were looking for.
I've only read a little bit from all the files about mushi.
There are files about mushi that don't exist anymore.
And lately you don't hear stories about new species.
Can I use the table?
That is where Tanyu sits to write!
I usually don't let anybody use it!
This is Tanyu's writing.
Of course!
It's very elegant calligraphy.
My town, is located on a slope.
That year in the country side where our ancestors settled, the bugs destroyed the harvest.
We didn't have a good harvest two years in a row, and it didn't rain either.
The country side was barren.
By then, as a mushishi, I had to leave my family to travel.
My husband found within my things a map of Koumyakusuji.
With the help of that map, we directed a stream to the fields.
The water contained Kouki.
It's said that the Kouki revitalize the earth.
What is this? It smells like liquor.
Eh! Don't touch the water!
The cause were mushi from Kouki. (Koumyaku)
They are literally life in a pure state.
The things that humans shouldn't touch.
That's how the Tokoyami got to that pond.
I went alone deep into the mountain,
to find that pond.
I had to investigate the Tokoyami.
One day, on my way to the mountain, I found a child named Yoki.
His mother had died in a landslide.
I took him home.
Yoki.
He should have been the same as age my son, when he disappeared with my husband.
Ginko! What is that?
I don't know!
What is...?
You... That mushi is...
Humans get infested by all kinds of mushi.
But in a mushishi, the mushi should be special.
We mushishi, see the mushi.
Sometimes the mushi depend on that.
Are you trying to say that my parasite is a Tokoyami?
Look! The writing is smudging!
It's terrible!
The other writings too.
The ones from past generations... Every file.
How could this be?!
The mushi sealed by the Tanyu family are escaping?
Do you think something happened to Tanyu?
I haven't read a word on that mushi.
Tama, do you hear me?!
Tanyu!
How could this be? Tanyu!
Are you okay?
Tanyu.
She has been infected by the Tokoyami?
This has nothing to do with the sealed mushi, those were in Tanyu.
Once freed... they come back to their host.
If the host looks dead, we can destroy them once and for all.
They could take advantage and do more damage!
Even if only once survives, it can still consume her completely.
If we cannot extract them, can we at least calm them?
These mushi were originally Tanyu's.
Only Tanyu can control them.
At this rate she will be completely infected!
What can we do?!
We have to open an artery.
I heard that they will come out along with the blood.
What are you saying? You could kill her!
Those mushi already took half her life, now she only has half left.
Tanyu...
Ginko, go back to the files.
Look for Tanyu's files about the Tokoyami.
What are you saying?
You have to control them.
How? I've never heard about this until today.
It's your own mushi, ask yourself.
Excuse me.
Eh! Ginko!
Eh! Come and help me.
This will not work.
What's happening?
Ginko, this is ready.
Does it matter if I put holes all over the house?
- Eh! It's already in the ground. - Kou, get out of here.
What's happening?
Kou, get out of here. I have to seal the registry.
Ginko, come on!
Eh! Ginko!
Close the door.
Okay.
There is already mushi inside me...
If I get infected by this...
In the end who will be destroyed?
She's petrified, the knife doesn't even cut into her.
Is somebody there? Is somebody there?
Tama, Ginko is... He's in danger in the registry... Eh!
Come and help!
Heat the bath water! Hurry!
The bath water?
- Open the door! - Okay, Tama.
Put her in the water.
Okay!
Carefully!
Right here she hasn't changed much.
But it's too close to the heart...
Make bandages from some clothes!
To bandage Tanyu's arm.
When the blood pours red, bandage her tightly.
It's Tanyu's writing.
Jet black.
Where is the Tokoyami?
Yoki.
I see.
Yoki.
Tokoyami.
What are you looking for? What do you want?
Yoki.
Quickly...
the Ginko will awaken soon.
Who are you?
Your hand is still warm.
It's been so long since you've looked at me.
I miss the sunlight's warmth.
Kourou! Bandage her tightly!
Tanyu.
Eh! Wake up!
Eh! Ginko! Ginko!
He's still breathing... What do I do?
Ginko is trapped in the Tokoyami.
The Tokoyami has consumed him?
No...
It's not the Tokoyami's fault.
The Tokoyami is sealed... Those are my writings.
Tama.
Bring my sticks.
Ah! What the hell is this?!
I have released my writings on the Tokoyami.
Close the door.
Tama...
Volume 1.853.
Volume 6.237.
Volume 2.540.
Tanyu!
- Eh? What' going on? - Tanyu.
What is that? It doesn't look very good by the colour.
Royal jelly, it's the honey that they store in the royal chamber.
The worker bees feed it to the queen.
Inside you it's a waste.
Tanyu, Ginko doesn't look any better.
I have removed the writings that infect him,
but his other half is still lost in the darkness.
That darkness, it was already part of him.
He needs to succeed or the darkness will consume him.
It solely depends on Ginko.
Do you know how to remove the Tokoyami?
That mushishi destroyed the dikes, and tainted all the Kouki.
The Tokoyami left,
flowing away along with the Kouki.
That is how the mushishi survived.
Yoki!
Where are you?!
Yoki! Don't go!
I don't have
a husband or son!
Yoki!
Stay by my side...!
My husband and son,
along with the Tokoyami,
have gone...
Yoki...
Stay away, Kourou!
Kourou!
"Kourou, Kourou" Minai Tama, I'm not a dog.
Hurry up and say a name, he's starting to come around.
But he doesn't look good. Can I get a medicine?
Leave that to Tanyu.
In all of Japan, she know's the most about mushi.
Here are all the writings from long ago describing the Koumyakusuji's paths.
But we don't know the actual places.
How can we know where to find them?
It depends on many things...
They move, disappear, reappear, and start all over again.
You can only follow the path if you pay attention while you walk.
The path...
You have to submerge it into the Kouki, only then will the Tokoyami disappear.
The same way the mushishi did.
That woman and Ginko, what do they have in common?
Yo won't have any problems? If you escape like that...
Grandma Tama is not here, she will not find out.
If see finds out, you'll see.
Here?
Thanks you.
This place is so pretty!
It's been so long since I've been out.
No relationships.
♪ The flesh is weak ♪
On one side it sings, on the other it resists.
I could never imagine.
What Ginko?
That you can also smile.
Yes, I don't only cry.
But it's usually not that bad.
Ginko, let's run away together... Just you and me.
You cannot move to another place. And I cannot stay in one place.
Where should we go?
I don't know.
The moon...
Yes it just rose.
How long has it been?
Ginko.
We're leaving Tama. Please say goodbye to Tanyu for me.
Sure... Ginko have faith in yourself.
I'll take care of him.
Let's go, Ginko.
Come on, lets go.
Eh! Yoki!
Where are you going...? Yoki!
Yoki...
My father...
My father used to build bridges.
Once we went to see a bridge in the west.
My father examined it carefully and we didn't even try to go across.
Still, the bridge was beautiful.
It's not good to stay like this.
Stop following that rainbow.
But the rainbow is a bridge between my father and me.
If I don't find it I can never come back.
Thank you, I was supposed to take care of you, but now your taking care of me, I'm sorry.
I have nothing to give you in exchange.
What are you saying? We're going in the same direction.
That's it.
If our paths split, we'll be separate.
- What a nice day. - We're having good weather.
- You didn't want to be a carpenter? - Yes, I did.
Being a carpenter isn't easy.
It's hard.
Hey, what does this cure?
- This...? Head aches, back aches, shoulder aches... - And it's really effective?
Does it have other uses?
I don't think it's good for insanity.
It'll take more than hot springs to cure that.
Hey you two... Where you from?
East three mountains.
Where are you going?
I still don't know.
That's really far away.
True.
- Grandpa, can you see? - Yes, I can see.
I can see...
You can heal yourself and others, right?
Good doctor, twice as effective.
Not bad!
The Koumyakusuji extends along this mountain range.
Over there, it looks like there is a pond.
Do you think that's where the Kouki accumulates?
I think it's going to rain soon.
Where?
Even if we find it, it could move.
Let's go somewhere flatter.
The sun is setting on the western mountains.
If we go there we can see it.
Really! If the sun is setting behind us it'll be harder to distinguish it from a normal rainbow.
- Don't get distracted. - Yeah.
Look at this, it looks like spring.
It's getting harder to find the path.
What do we do, Ginko?
It's going to rain?
You see them?
Huh? What?
There is a lot of them!
A twister!
A twister? A twister in the sky?
They've formed a twister.
Do you think the heavens are sad? What's happening?
It looks more like happiness to me.
Look, Ginko! There!
That's it! Run, Kou!
Eh! Kou!
Wait! Don't leave!
Good! Our clothes are dry.
How are you?
You look better.
I'm so happy.
You don't think it was only luck?
Well... but I saw it.
It was right in front of the sun.
Will you wait five more years to see it again?
It looks like a good place... as long as the weather doesn't change.
No, it's pointless.
I have to go back home.
I don't know if it'll work out, but I'd like to build bridges.
I see.
That's really good.
Tanyu
sacrificed a lot for you.
Tanyu, she works hard in everything she does.
Really?
Yes.
That's why...
That's why I didn't know what to say when she said "yes".
She said "yes"? Do you mean...
What's wrong?
Mushi!
A lot of mushi.
Are...
Hurry, Kou! Run!
My stomach... we haven't eaten anything since last night.
Well... this is goodbye.
Take care.
You too, Ginko.
Where are you going?
Well...
There is a Koumyakusuji nearby.
I'm going to take a look.
Very well.
If I go back to my hometown, will come visit someday?
Yes!
Well, if I'm still alive by then.
Thank you for everything.
What...?
Ginko! Of course you'll be alive! You'll live to see my town!
And Tanyu's leg will be healed, you can travel together.
I assure you, you will come visit my town.
I know it!
I know you'll survive!
This...
It's around here...?
Tokoyami...
Yoki... you have finally come back.
I know your looking at me...
because I can feel the sunlight.
Nui?
Yoki!
You have really come back.
Your hand is still warm...
Are you... Nui?
How is it possible?
Inside you...
The little silver one is hiding inside you.
Yoki has turned into a Ginko?
He has turned into a Ginko.
- The Ginko is going to awaken! - Let me go!
Stop!
You should stay here.
You have to spray this on yourself everyday to repel the mushi.
If they still get close, there is nothing you can do.
Still,
nothing should happen here...
Nui.