Mushishi ep.18

April 23, 2006 | 14 Comments

To be honest, in comparison to other episodes, this seems like a relatively weak episode. It does not help that the main character is not a particularly sympathetic one. The subject at hand also involves little interference from the Mushi to the point that at first I was wondering when the Mushi will make an appearance. On the upside, the emotional pay-off halfway through the episode is quite good. It's also nice to see the Ginko's manipulative personality in this episode. Even though in general the guy is a nice person, he has to support his travelling in one way or another. Selling Mushi-related items, however, is his main source of income. As a result, more often than not, he can come off as someone who'll do anything to sell something including lying to the potential seller or buyer.

The episode begins with Ginko trying to buy a jacket from a salesman. The salesman claims that the painting of a mountain inside the jacket is special, in the sense that sometimes one can sees a white smoke rising from it. The episode then shows a flashback where a little boy was asking his father if there is someone living in the mountain because there are smokes rising out of it. The father believed that there is no one living there and the smokes are simply someone burning coal. The boy's sister theorised that maybe it's the mountain's God is cooking its food. The boy, however, wasn't convinced and told her that God doesn't need to cook. Their conversation, however, got halted when their father asked them to prepare dinner. Fast forward a few years later, the boy eventually grew up to become an adult who's about to leave his village so he can work as a painter. As a farewell gift, his sister gave him a hand-made coat.

The coat was created using the silk of the mountain's silkworm and dyed with the plants and leaves from around the area. The sister also told her brother, whose name is Kai, that if he can't come back to their village after he became successful, it'll be okay. She believed that Kai's father would have forgiven him if he becomes successful. She, however, asked him to remember their village from time to time whenever he wears the coat. Unfortunately for Kai, he wasn't allowed to draw right away by his teacher and ended up working as a helper to them. One day, however, he decided to use some leftover paints to paint the image of his village's mountain on the inside part of his coat. Eventually, Kai's teachers found out about the painting and asked Kai to come to studio to learn some technique from him. A few months then passed and Kai was seen making his first big project. In the middle of completing the project, however, he ran out of paint.

Since Kai didn't have any money, he decided to sell the coat that his sister made for him so he will have enough moeny to buy the paint. He, however, promised the owner to go back and re-purchase the coat as soon as possible. The time then come when the client comes to pick up his project and much to Kai's delight, the client is very satisfied with it. The client thought it's unfortunate that Kai's name is not famous yet and decided to make Kai famous by giving him a project of creating painting for the wedding of his grandchildren. The client believed that if Kai does a good job, this will be a good place to spread his name. Because of this, Kai proceeded with the project, spending day and night working on it even though it was obvious that the job started to take its toll on his health. His persistence, however, paid off because his painting was well-received at the wedding and many people begin to ask him to do some painting for them.

Kai, however, forgot to repurchased his coat after getting the success that he wished for. He also became more obsessed with his work at the expense of his own health. One day when Kai was visiting a local Izakaya, he heard of a few people talking about a village that got destroyed in a landslide. Kai suspected that it could have been his village but his single-minded obsession on his career forced him to ignore the information. His clients, however, started to sense that something is missing from Kai's work and one of them pointed out that his work used to be full of life. At the same time, Kai started to get a headache and the doctor think that he's simply tired. During his sickness, however, he's reminded of his sister and because of this, he decided to return home since it's been 10 years since he left his village. However, when he arrived at the village, he found out that the entire place has been destroyed by landslide.

An old woman informed him that his sister sent him letters which obviously Kai never read. The landslide happened 3 years ago and it destroyed most of houses and fields. The villagers talked about sending Kai a letter asking for his help since he has become a respectable person. But obviously they never got the help that they need. Kai's father apparently died in the landslide while his sister died 1 year later after giving birth to a child. The old woman told Kai that even though she doesn't want to say harsh thing to him, she asked him to return to the city and never to return to this village. Back in the present day, the salesman is in the middle of telling Ginko that Kai used to be famous but he suddenly disappeared one day. Despite this, he thinks he can get a good price just based on the painting on the coat itself. Upon inspection, however, Ginko tells the salesman that there is a Mushi inside the coat.

The salesman tells Ginko that maybe he can sell it to his collector friend, aka Adashino-sensei. In reply, Ginko cunningly tells the salesman that without knowing the effect of the Mushi, the price that the salesman want is simply too high. The salesman tells Ginko that the mountain is actually the artist's hometown but Ginko still insists on buying the coat for half price and get the deal that he wants. At the same time, Kai is now seen living a reclusive life in an abandoned house. His student decides to visit him to ask him to go back to his profession but he claims that he can no longer paint these days. He also realises that the villagers have been acting as if he does not exist. Much to his surprise, however, someone seems to be concern for his health and always leave sweet potatoes in front of his house. Kai eventually finds out that the kind person is none other than the old woman who's been taking care of his sister's daugther, Toyo.

Kai eventually gets out of his depression and manages to dig up some sweet potatoes to repay the kindness of the old woman. However, when he does this, he finds out that the woman is sick. Soon, the old woman passed away, leaving Toyo without any guardian. The villagers think that it's better if they send Toyo to her father's family. Kai, however, asks them to allow him to take care Toyo. The villagers warn him that the girl's mental health is slower than those of normal children so Kai most likely won't be able to raise him well. Despite this warning, Kai insists on getting a chance to raise Toyo. Because of this, Kai begins his new life with his niece. He finds it hard at first because even though Toyo is already five years old, she still acts as if she's a baby. He, however, perseveres and eventually gets to appreciate her company. One day while looking into the mountain, Kai realises that smokes start to come out of the area again.

Kai believes that the mountain finally returns to the way it used to be and decides to investigate the source of the smoke. When he gets there, however, he finds something coming out of a mud puddle. At first he's startled but eventually realises that the thing is just a normal human, Ginko. Upon seeing the coat that Ginko carries, Kai realises that it actually the same one that he used to own. Ginko explains how he came to the mountain to find out more about the Mushi living in the coat. However, when he arrived in the mountain, for some reason his luggage suddenly became heavy and caused him to get drowned into the mud. When he managed to get out of the mud, he realised that the Mushi has left the coat. Ginko then explains that the Mushi on the coat is known as Ubusuna. It looks like a mud when it's on the ground but looks like smokes when it's off the ground. It is believed that during the landslide, large numbers of Ubusuna got washed away elsewhere.

He believes that some of the Ubusuna that were washed away found their way towards the coat and made it their new shelter. Because Ubusuna can't live in foreign places, many Ubusuna were attracted to the coat, which was made out of materials picked from around the mountain. When mamals eat something from the area, the Mushi ends up entering the host's body. But since it is just a normal Mushi, the effect is unnoticeable. Ubusuna, however, tends to lose its energy when it's away from the native area. Ginko also informs Kai that now the Ubusuna has return to the mountain, it is as good time to give his niece some foods from the area. He believes that will allow Toyo to do some catch up in mental development. Much to Kai's surprise, Ginko also allows him to get his coat back on the condition that he draws similar picture on his new coat. Ginko then proceeds to sell the new coat to Adashino, who doesn't know that this one doesn't have any Mushi in it.

Impression:

There is always some trace of sadness pervasive in every episode of Mushishi. This time around it focuses on regret that the main character feels because he prioritises his career before his family and village. There are are probably times in everyone's life when something takes precedence over anything else that is deemed 'less important'. However, it is not until it's too late that the person realises that the thing that he's been ignoring is actually one of the most important things in his/her life. But the person only realises it now that it's gone. Symbolically, Kai had done this earlier when he decided to sell his coat in order to buy a new paint for his project. Back then he basically sold the memory of his family and village for fame and success. It made him happy in the short term and he even forgot about his family for a while. Eventually, however, this kill whatever enjoyment he had out of the profession.

It's interesting to see Kai being compared to the Ubusuna, a Mushi that also becomes weak when it is away from its native area. This looks like an allegory for individuals who left their hometown to pursue career elsewhere but can't cope well due to the lack of familial presence. This episode seems to emphasise the need to revisit one's own family, or look back into one's own culture/roots. It is suggested that without the connection to family and roots from where the person was born, the person essentially killed part of themselves in the process. Judging from Ginko's words about returning to one's native land, the episode also implies that occasional revisit of one's roots will revitalise a person's life. Some people does this one a yearly basis. While others, like Kai, seems to be content to return permanently to his native land raising his niece. And it seems Kai could perfectly do his profession from his village anyway.

© memento 2003