Mouryou no Hako Episode 07 [ENG].ass (DOWNLOAD SUBTITLES)
Thank you for taking care of the revision for the Tankoubon edition the other day.
I heard that there was an error in the serialized version, but
according to my memory,
the serial, "The Angel's Reincarnation" came first,
but the one that was undertaken first,
was "Dancing Wonderland".
Just so you know,
I'm glad to see the work completed.
Anyway,
there is a piece of work that I would like you to read over for me;
I've sent you the rough draft of it.
I'm a bit worried about its assessment.
The author is very broad minded,
and I wasn't able to follow it well.
By all means, I would like to hear your opinion.
From the time I was a child, I've had an obsession with cleanliness.
If ever something wasn't done perfectly, it upset me.
If a single grain of rice in my bento box was out of place,
like a crack splitting open,
my anger would overcome my hunger and I wouldn't eat.
Such things would bother me.
I had become alone in this large mansion.
It was as if my brain had swollen, and it was carving a nest into my mind.
From Kubo Shunkou's "The Girl Inside the Box"
I couldn't take a single second of it.
kietai kienai kietai
消えたい、 消えない、 消えたい
I want to fade away, but I won't fade away, still I want to fade away
zutto
ずっと
Forever
itakute tsurakute demo kesenakute
痛くて、 辛くて、 でも 消せなくて
It was painful, it was hard, but I wasn't able to erase it
mouiikai mouiiyo arigatou sayonara
もういいかい? もういいよ、 ありとう、 さよなら
Is it enough? You had more than enough. Thank you, and goodbye.
ano natsu no jibun e
あの夏の自分へ
So I told myself that summer
gomen ne dame datta waratterundarou na hetakuso na waraigao de
ごめんね。ダメだった。笑ってるんだろうな。ヘタクソな笑い顔で
I'm sorry. It wasn't good. I guess you're laughing now, with a poorly-made face.
mou ichido umarete
もう一度生まれて
I'll be born again
mata boku ni umarete
また僕に 生まれて
I'll be born as myself
saikou no egao de waraunda
最高の笑顔で笑うんだ
Then I'll give my best smile
Mouryou
He hates dealing with mouryou?
So there's a type of evil spirit that even he has trouble with...
So then,
what did Onbako-sama do for his followers?
He would listen to their woes and give his condolences.
Then, he would tell them to live pure and just lives.
So rather than teaching, he'd just re-state morals.
While listening to their woes, he'd guess things they hadn't yet spoken of.
With that, they would believe him.
The teachings of Onbako-sama were simple.
That in homes or villages, in places that were poorly ventilated,
unpleasant things would gather.
In the same way, if you build an enclosure within your heart, evil things will brew.
Those things he called "mouryou".
"Mouryou" is a general term for goblins or monsters, right?
Am I wrong?
In the case that you tie its meaning to "chimi-mouryou", then you're right.
But as for the dismemberment case, it's a bit different.
"Chi" refers to the mountain gods.
"Mi" is read as "sudama",
which is close in meaning to the spirits of the deceased.
However for "Mouryou",
if you split up "mou" and "ryou", there is no clear distinction between the two.
During the Edo period, if you line up the eastern country's Kamaitachi,
and the western country's Kahaku,
the north's Mouryou completes the "imperial three wonders", but...
This folklore has limited sources, so it's very obscure.
What an absent-minded discussion.
Have you two read "Souji"?
Uh... well I clean about once a month...
Pun- "souji" is also cleaning
I've read it, but... it only left a weak impression on me.
"Mouryou are spoken of in the shadows."
"Before, the children would go, now they stop."
"Before, the children would sit, now they rise up."
"What is this, but the result of our failure to control them."
Ah, I've heard of that.
In this situation,
"Mouryou" are thin shadows that can form around other shadows.
Shadows of shadows...
Is that a mouryou's true form?
Well, when it is written in this way, this is its only other meaning.
If it's written as "Moushou" or "Houryou", again it's a different matter.
For "Moushou", this indicates apparitions that come forth from the water.
Water spirits?
These water apparitions, when read in the Japanese way, are called "Mizu-ha".
"Mizu-ha"...
When Izanami Mikoto gave birth to Kagutsuchi and burned to death,
born from the urine that flowed forth in the pinnacle of her agony,
"Mizu-ha-no-me-no-kami".
If "chimi" are things of the mountains,
it's natural to want to treat "mouryou" as water beings.
In the "Nihon-gi", this idea is accepted,
and mouryou are recorded as water gods.
In "Plants of Japan", Suiko was stressed to be surely a mouryou.
Suiko - kappa creature found in Kanei period
Wait a moment, Kyougokudou.
So you're saying,
these water gods that came overseas to our land,
at some point in time degraded into some kappa-like water spirit?
If it's the old man Yanagita,
it's not unlikely that "the gods were degraded".
In this case,
they were originally presented as water spirits and called "Mizu-ha",
and were shown as having the same nature as water spirits,
and given the kanji of "Moushou".
Or so it is thought.
According to Origuchi-sensei,
they are identified as gods having a connection to purification rituals,
but is there really a connection between mouryou and purification?
Water spirits, huh?
It looks like mouryou are a type of water spirit...
Well, about that...
If you look it up in a reliable dictionary,
it says that mouryou are rather spirits of trees and stones.
So, they aren't of the same sort as kappa?
In "Historic Records", it is written
that at some point, sheep came out from jars buried under the ground,
and someone happened across them.
In response to this,
Confucius explains:
The spirits of the trees and stones are "Ki-Mouryou",
the water spirits are "Ryuu-Moushou",
and these earth spirits are "Hun-You".
Are you saying the natural things Confucius spoke of weren't true?
So, just because Confucius said so, it must be true?
I got this "mouryou are spirits of trees and stones" theory out of hand.
Furthermore, in "A Collection of Bizarre Stories", they are said to resemble pigs,
and there are even some having long-nosed snouts -
yet also being similar to turtles... it's very inconsistent.
They don't have a clearly defined form, do they?
Well actually... they do.
This is the form of mouryou most familiar to the public.
Th-This is...
Isn't this a corpse-eating demon?
How did they transform into this?
In Negishi Yasumori's "Mimibukuro",
there is a story of a mouryou who served a samurai.
This samurai, named "Shibata" or something,
would bring along a single manservant in his travels.
One night, while staying at an inn,
this thing, appeared by his pillow.
I wish to be honored with a moment of your time.
Are you all right? Tell me what's wrong.
I am not human.
I am what is called a mouryou.
Mouryou?
I am one of this group,
whose duty is to collect the corpses of the dead.
This time it is my turn.
From this place, but a single ri away,
there is a certain peasant mother's corpse that I must take away.
A dream...?
Then the next morning,
that manservant had really vanished.
And upon traveling one ri from the inn,
he heard of that peasant mother who had died.
Yeah.
It's true that today we had the funeral ceremony,
but at the burial,
black clouds rose up and covered the area, and before I knew it...
Inside the coffin...
the body had vanished.
So they take corpses... mouryou...
In "The Great Herbal" as well,
it is written that mouryou, by their own will, eat the innards of the dead.
In the "Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang", mouryou are identified in the same way
and there are also spirits called "Futsujutsu",
which eat the brains of dead bodies.
These things that are like kasha would also be called "mouryou".
Looking at this, it's highly doubtful that they could be explained as water spirits.
So, after mouryou were imported to Japan,
did their nature change?
Well, in the end, in "Records of Spirits",
moushou had bodies like three-year-olds,
with red eyes, black hair, large ears,
long elbows, and red claws.
According to legend, in ancient times the heavenly emperor had one child that was a mouryou.
It is said that it had the same figure as a little demon.
So even in it's original land, "Mouryou" had this shifting back and forth of meaning.
Especially coming from you, this isn't a very clear explanation.
You always cut right to the chase, do you not have an explanation this time?
Well...
It's not like I don't have any ideas,
I just didn't want to put on airs.
There's a bit of the explanation left.
Do you know of the "Housoushi" that carries out the Tsuina ritual to drive away demons?
Only the kind of wrapping paper you wrap gifts in...
Pun- housoushi means wrapping paper while Kyougokudou is talking about a demon
Tsuina was originally carried out by the imperial court,
an exorcism ritual,
and the Housoushi holding a spear and a shield would walk around the imperial palace.
Ah, if I remember right, didn't they exorcise demons?
Demons... like when you scatter the beans?
Yes... well that's what we do in Japan.
Well in China, "demon" usually means something more along the lines of "ghost"
and are not necessarily evil things that need to be exorcised.
The continental Housoushi was a being who exorcised Mouryou.
Mouryou?
In the "Rites of Zhou", the housoushi would grasp a spear, and drive it into a hole,
strike the four corners and exterminate the Houryou inside.
This "Houryou".
In the Tsuina ritual passed down in our country,
Mouryou was changed at some point to demon.
The ones that took part in this change,
were Onmyouji.
Whomever did not obey the imperial court were called demons and scorned,
and in the end were seen as impurities that must be cleansed.
As the ones holding the ceremony to exorcise those demons,
Onmyouji were able to obtain pivotal political power.
The main element of the Onmyoudou ceremony is
the "Four Corner - Four Boundary" rite.
Cleansing all four corners of the imperial palace was the "Four Corner Rite".
Protecting all four boundaries of the capital was the "Four Boundary Rite".
Any impurities within the square barrier would be driven outside.
The Tsuina ritual is a ceremony based on this same principle.
As it is based on the Yin-Yang Five Elements Theory originally from the Continent,
rather than being a demon exorcism ritual, it is a Mouryou exorcism ritual.
Now I realize why Kyougokudou said he hates dealing with Mouryou...
If they were demons, being an Onmyouji, they would be his specialty.
But Mouryou are older than demons,
and are much more difficult to grasp.
A troublesome existence.
From the houryou that spring forth from the graves exorcised by housoushi,
the image of mouryou whom eat corpses
is not very far off.
Since both are things that revolve around corpses.
The problem is the Moushou that are supposed to be water spirits...
Ah... It's only them whose character doesn't fit, huh...
This "Mizu-ha-no-me-no-kami"
is also said to be a god that dwells in wells.
In wells?
Both graves and wells are holes bound with walls on four sides,
and both lead to the realm of the dead,
or in other words, can be thought of entrances into that world.
The realm of the dead...
If this were to be a grave, what would you call this here?
Uh...
A margin or... a surrounding edge?
"Mizu-ha-no-me" is a border god.
The "Mizu-ha" carries the meaning of "Edge of the Water".
Graves and wells have four edges,
and are entrances which continue down deeper and deeper into the abyss.
These places have faint shadows that are not shadows,
that is, places where mouryou can exist.
An edge...
In other words, they swarm in the boundary between this world and that one. Somewhat ominous things.
I suppose that is the true form of Mouryou...
Well...
I've already tried thinking this sort of thing over before.
But isn't this significant, Kyougokudou?
I couldn't possibly think that you're unskilled when it comes to Mouryou.
Haven't you almost exhaustively explained what Mouryou are?
It's merely at the level of supposition.
It hasn't even reached a level of reasoning.
Toriguchi-kun, that priest, when he faces his believers,
"If you build an enclosure within your heart, Mouryou will dwell there," is what he says, right?
Ah... Yes.
Kyougokudou, what is it that you're so worried about?
Does that priest Onbako-sama know this or does he not?
It seems that he has accurately grasped the image of mouryou.
Is it really that much of a thing to be worried about?
The problem now
is that Onbako-sama's followers are growing steadily more misfortunate, right?
Kiyono said, that in order to increase the amount of offerings,
he certainly must have done something.
However, if they continue to grow more misfortunate,
no one should be giving offerings, right?
Well, there's a clever trick to that.
He wouldn't tell them to give offerings.
Is that it?
Yes.
Only that...
Even though it's only that, there's a very effective trick to it.
Basically, they would "abandon their unclean funds" to the point that they could not make a "pure" living.
"Happiness is decreasing." "Happiness will not come."
That is the true source of these things.
"If only I give up more of my belongings, things will get better,"
is what they must have been thinking?
Once you fall into this trap, it's like taking methamphetamine.
For each successive time, the more will be given, and the "bought" fortune will decrease.
The returning unhappiness will multiply, and the cycle will continue.
However, if the situation becomes financially desperate,
if they believe that they will be given support or aid,
they won't have a reason to complain.
Is that not the case?
Yes.
I realized that as well.
This conversation is over.
I can finally talk about the serial publication of this collection of short stories.
That is the case, but...
I want to expose Onbako-sama,
not as a medium, but as a criminal.
What did you say?
I've been thinking that the religious leader Onbako-sama,
has some connection to the serial mutilation murderer.
Why do you think so?
Do you have some sort of basis for this?
This.
The day before yesterday, I received this information on this girl that went missing.
That's police confidential data, isn't it?
How did you get that?
Of the victims in the incident,
it's almost certain that she was the fourth.
A delinquent daughter from a photo studio, named "Kakizaki Yoshimi".
Her mother's name was "Sada".
Her name is also written in Kiyono's register.
"Her daughter is in danger."
In the report on the missing girl,
there are thirteen people marked as high risk for becoming a victim.
Of those, seven are daughters of the followers of Onbako-sama.
That's amazing...
But, why would Onbako-sama commit mutilation murder?
The daughters of those whose givings decreased during June and July have gone missing.
I thought, in order to raise the amount of offerings,
didn't Onbako-sama kidnap the daughters of his followers?
I wonder...
It's hopeless, huh?
To pass this sort of judgment, you'll need more information on Onbako-sama.
What kind of information?
Please.
First of all, concrete information on his method of exorcism.
I would like to know what sort of methods, incantations,
and what kind of ritual tools he uses.
Sekiguchi-kun, you're free, aren't you?
So I'm free?
Although I am.
Please lend me your power in exterminating Onbako.
I got it. What can I do to help?
Take a good look at this registry.
And after that, send the information to the police.
To the police...
Shall I talk to Kiba?
He isn't in charge, is he?
In the newspaper, it was written that the medical coroner that looked at the bodies was Satomura-kun,
so I'd rather you speak with him.
Since when are you incapable of moving around yourself?
"Kusumoto Kimie"
"Kubo Shunkou"
Kubo... Shunkou?
The up and coming fantasy novelist?
"Novelist,
2nd time receiver of the Japanese Fantasy Literature New Novelist Award."
Yes, the award-winning work was "The Collector's Garden", wasn't it?
What's the matter? Is he an acquaintance of yours?
I've just met him one time.
If that's the case, you could try confronting him for information.
I refuse.
Ah... right.
First I'd like to give you some advice.
Take care not to get too close to that research establishment.
Chuzenji-san, you know about that?
It's something you don't need to know about.
Kyougokudou didn't say anything more.
On top of the desk,
was the letter from Koizumi Tamiyo of the publishing company.
Tamiyo didn't work as a publisher,
but rather as a writer.
Beside the letter,
was the rough draft of Kubo Shunkou's work that I had begun to read.
I...
grew terribly uneasy.
I sold the house, and rented out a single room.
The section below me upsets me.
There is still an opening.
This place is no good.
I'll have a box made.
owaru koto mo naku tsuzuku
終わる事もなく続く
It goes on without ending
sosei no hibi wa ima mo
蘇生の日々は今も
The days of revival
gendaini uketsugarete iru
現代に受け継がれている
It's been a success up to now
shinjitsu no ai
真実の愛
The true love
hajimete kanjiteita
初めて感じてeいた
For once, I've felt it
koufuku to yuu kimochi
幸福と言う気持ち
This feeling called happiness
OH futari no karada
二人の体
Oh, between our bodies
ima
今
At this moment
otagai motomete chikyuu wo kuruwaseta
お互い求めて地球を狂わせた
We've sought each other and driven the world to madness
NAKED LOVE
Next Time The Power of Language