Mushishi ep.9

December 18, 2005 | 3 Comments

I get the impression that one of the reasons this particular story was selected was because it allowed the animators to save some money since the majority of the storyline takes place inside a house. On top of this, little to no animation is required in those scenes because they mostly involves Ginko talking about various things to the character of the week, which is a head priest with no name. Despite this, the creep effect is still present in this episode and in my opinion, is actually more noticeable in comparison to the last few episodes. Anyway, according to various Japanese magazines like Newtype and Animedia, there won't be a screening of Mushishi next week. At least not on Fuji TV since the listing for Newtype and Animedia only use Fuji TV schedule.

This episode itself begins with a woman eating rice when all of a sudden she stops, prompting her husband to ask if there is anything wrong. The woman grabs a shiny cup and uses it to look inside her mouth. On the reflection, there is something resembling tooth appear on the ceiling of her mouth. The woman wonders if it's a tooth as the episode fades to black and starts the opening theme. After the opening, Ginko is seen approaching a farmer asking if there is anything edible that he sells. Unfortunately the guy tells Ginko that this summer they've had horrible luck with the produce so they keep most of what they produce. Another farmer, however, tells Ginko to go to the village facing the mountain because apparently they got good harvest this year. Upon hearing this the first farmer scolds the second one for giving a dodgy recommendation to Ginko. He quickly warns Ginko that the rice produced by that other farmer is unusual.

It's been said that the other village usually gets a lot of harvest after natural disaster and that one of the people who eats the harvest will certainly die. Ginko becomes intriqued upon hearing this and decides to go to the other village. Upon arriving there, Ginko decides to ask a boy if he sells something that is edible but the boy tells Ginko to go elsewhere because every year they don't produce enough so they store what they produce. Ginko is suprised to hear this and points out that it seems the boy's harvest is miraculously abundant this year, referring to the seemingly green and plentiful rice field. The boy says that this is because they continously puts forth celebration for their ancestor and in return the ancestor protects the field. Upon hearing this Ginko asks if it requires a sacrifice from a person. This stops the boy on his track and forces him to say that it can't be helped because that was already decided.

Upon hearing this Ginko asks the boy if he can talk more with him. Because of this the boy takes Ginko into a house containing a sick woman and explains that he's heard that in the olden days, this village's fields can produce abundant harvest after natural disaster. In such year, around Autumn someone will certainly grows tooth on the inside of their mouth. At the end of Autumn, this tooth will fall out and the person who had it will consequently die. This life is pretty much an offering to the ancestor, who will then bring forward a good harvest. Despite this, everyone appreciates this 'miracle' because without it, they'd have to survive on a sterile land. The boy also tells Ginko that he's been told that weak people are usually the ones who lose their life. Ginko then finds out that the body of the dead is usually buried while the fallen tooth is placed in a temple by the head priest, a person who manages all of the festivals in the village.

The boy then tells Ginko that he's actually going inherit the head priest position so he's been taught many things about the festivals. It also appears that only the head priest can see the teeth. In fact, the main reason that the boy will become the successor is because he has similar quality to the head priest, in that he can see things that other people can't see. Upon hearing this Ginko tells the boy that he'd like to meet one of these head priests and is promptly taken to another house in the village. Inside the house, Ginko finds some kind of agricultural diary and decides to flick through it when all of a sudden, he's greeted by the sound of man saying that it's unusual for them to get a visitor. After introducing himself as a Mushishi, Ginko gets straight to the point and informs the man that he's looking for 'The Seed of Narazu'. Upon hearing this, the man asks the boy, whose name turns out to be Sane, to go back to his field work.

After Sane left, the man tells Ginko that at one point, another Mushishi also came in search of the seed but he came in vain because that kind of seed does not exist here. Ginko is in doubt about this so he asks the guy if the crop really comes from the ancestor's power. In reply, the guy tells Ginko that to a certain extent, the fact that people believe in this stops them from abandoning the land. Having said that, after a few years, they have the experience and knowledge on how to fertilise the land properly and on top of this, everyone continuously try to research new ways to bring crops. As a result, slowly but surely the crops increase every single year. Ginko doesn't seem to believe this and therefore asks the guy how he'd explain the tooth. Upon hearing this, the priest suddenly changes his tone and tells Ginko that everyone grows teeth as they become adult and that it has nothing to do with the crops.

However, when Ginko asks the priest if he knows about 'The Seed of Narazu', the guy claims that he's heard about it from his predecessor. Apparently back then a Mushishi entrap something that looks like a light pulse. Upon hearing this Ginko tries to explain that the ability of seeing the light pulse is the characteristic of a person who can see Mushi. Cut to a scene of the guy clearly able to see Mushi inside a book. At the same time, Ginko tells the guy how Mushi originated from Kouki, a substance that can give immortality at a cost. The seed Ginko was talking about is an example of this. If one buries the seed in the ground, within a year it'll give abundant crops. However, as a compensation for its blessing, a lifeform will be snatched away. Upon hearing this, the guy wonders if Ginko will use the seed if he finds one. Ginko decides to play devil's advocate and spells out the pro and cons of using the fruit.

On the one hand, at the cost of one life, you'll have a seed that can save the life of many. If such seed exist, is it a crime to sacrifice someone? Having said that, everyone who lives will indirectly have a hand in the murder of those who die. Ginko also mentions that such action can upset the balance of life. The guy eventually becomes impatient and once again asks Ginko as to what Ginko will use the seed if he has it in his hand. Ginko, however, tells the guy that he can't answer that since he can't remember ever living in the village but if that's the case, he thinks he'll abandon the land. Upon hearing this, the guy becomes angry and tells Ginko that this land contains the flesh and blood of their ancestor. He thinks that they've been doing fine so far and they're proud to be able to continue existing in this place. Undeterred by the guy's angry reaction, Ginko calmly asks him if burying grotesque things is not a form of dishonouring those ancestors.

The guy laughs upon hearing this and tells Ginko that he doesn't know what Ginko is talking about since this is just a pretend talk. He claims that if such seed exists, then he will think about it more carefully. Later on that evening, Sane sees Ginko exiting the head priest's house and therefore wonders if Ginko will help everyone. Ginko agrees to do this but before that, he wants the permission of everyone in the village. Before Ginko can say anything more, however, he is interrupted by the head priest, who asks Ginko if he intends on burning the rice field. He believes that Ginko will not save anyone by doing this. If anything, he'll just starve everyone. Ginko, however, argues that the villagers only have to leave temporarily to another area. He thinks the burned ashes will provide enough fertiliser for the ground once Spring arrives. The head priest, however, asks Ginko how many people Ginko thinks will return once they left.

He thinks that the villagers can bear this because they don't know so he won't allow Ginko to disclose such information to them. Before he can say anything else, however, the head priest falls unconscious all of a sudden. Ginko eventually finds out from Sane that the head priest has been drinking some medicine so Ginko decides to take a look at that said 'medicine' which turns out to be poison. When the head priest regains his consciousness, he tells Ginko that the use of the 'seed' (read: tooth) has been going on in the last 20 years. When it was his turn to become the head priest, he buried this tooth in order to create a harvest. Unfortunately, not long after this, his wife found out that there is a tooth growing inside her mouth and once autumn is over, she died leaving her own tooth. The head priest was about to throw the tooth away but became hesitant when he remembers that natural disaster may come again.

Later on, he also found out how he can use the fruit without using anyone else as a sacrifice. So when the time came, he decided to use his wife's tooth and plant it on the ground. Upon doing this, kouki immediately flows out of the ground and fertilise the land. The guy admits that when his time comes, he wants Sane to dispose his tooth so no one can get hurt from it anymore. Ginko, however, wonders if it's okay for the guy to end it like this since he, more than anyone else, want to see the future of this land. The guy admits that he hasn't given up the idea. He thinks that slowly the land becomes richer and believes that one day poverty will ends. Upon hearing this, Ginko tells the head priest that he will carry out the priest's wish but before that, there is a question that Ginko wants him to answer. A few days later, the harvest comes and the guy starts coughing blood and finds out a tooth growing inside his mouth.

After a celebration for harvest ends, Sane decides to visit the now dying head priest so he can fulfill the priest's last wish. Much to his surprise, Ginko takes over the tooth and reveals that back then, he told the head priest that he can revive the guy by using his own tooth. Having said that, there is a cost to this and that cost is becoming a Mushi that lives forever just like Renzu in episode 1. Having said that, Ginko is not sure if this will work but if it does, it will give the guy a chance to watch over this land forever. Since the guy gave Ginko a permission to use the tooth on himself, Ginko now decides to use the tooth on the already dead priest. The next day, the priest is awake but he obviously has transformed into a Mushi since his eyes now have bright light quality to them. The episode then ends with a narration that ever since the incident, the man became ageless and has since travel around the country and back to tell new ways of agricultural technique to farmers.

Impression:

Okay, first thing first, the word 'Seed' is continually used in this episode and often used to refer to the thing that grows inside a person's mouth. When I first read the story, I was really confused about this. Because of this, I decided to call the thing as a 'tooth' since its original form looks like a tooth and only when it got detached from the mouth that it starts to look like a seed. Either way, I find the entire ordeal to be rather gross. Although in a way it reminds me of the whole tooth fairy tale. There are also a couple of things that I either don't get or miss out here. For example, how does the carrier of the seed got selected? Did they get selected due to their frail condition? Is this why the head priest was drinking poison? So he can weaken his own body/soul? But what would have happened had someone weaker in the village exists? Will the head priest's sacrifice become naught?

On a glance, this episode also shares similarity to the storyline featured in episode 6 although on a closer inspection, there is a much deeper question being asked here. If you know for sure that you can save hundreds of people by sacrificing a few, would you sacrifice those few for the sake of many? I think this is an interesting question that I don't think has a definite answer. In fact, I get the impression that the writers also attempt not to answer the question by having the head priest and Ginko coming up with an alternative. That alternative seems to be self-sacrifice. In a way, this makes the ending both happy and sad at the same time. Immortality sounds great on paper but when one thinks about it, the guy will continue to be alive even after his friends are dead. On top of this, he will probably be haunted forever by the memories of the way he inadvertently caused the death of his wife.

© memento 2003