Original subtitles

WINTER, 1980

What is it?

At around 11 p.m. on Monday or 1 p.m. Tuesday Japan Time, John Lennon

was shot dead in New York.

A suspect, Hawaii-born Mark Chapman, aged 25,

has been arrested.

It appears he was shot by the waiting Chapman

as he arrived home at the Dakota with his wife Yoko Ono

following sessions at his studio in New York.

Chapman's motive and other details around the incident are as yet unclear,

but according to witnesses

Lennon was asked to confirm his identity as he stepped out of a car,

then several shots were fired.

The Beatles came to Japan in the '60s.

I was travelling around at the time.

A journey of my youth.

The Beatles sang and spoke to me.

"Always be on the move, keep changing clothes."

"That's the best way. Everything in transition."

And at the climax of that trip an event occurred,

something that inevitably changed who I was.

But how did that event relate to me?

And as for that island,

certainly, a tempest reeking of blood raged against it,

but now I believe, for those ten days on the island at least,

it was occupied by spirits.

ISLAND OF THE EVIL SPIRITS

There's a body! A dead body! There in the sea.

What? Raise your voice. Hey!

On that island...

Evil spirits...

O-On that island...

Terrifying...

Demons...

Hang in there! What happened on the island?

Hey!

Hey.

Hey! Hold on.

In 1969, Japan was in an unusually prosperous period.

A variety of new terms had appeared in the media.

"Rapid growth," "Pollution," "Hippy," "Long hair."

And at the time, I was completely immersed in that scene.

Next stop, Nakanohama. Nakanohama!

My ticket...

That's strange.

Will you tag alongside me?

Huh?

At the time, I was in the habit of taking free rides.

Stop! Stop!

Stop!

Old geezers are just so easy to outrun.

Bastards! Thieves!

Hurry, hurry!

I can't tell anything from his face.

Aoki...

It's Kindaichi?

Ah! Hello.

This is a surprise. How long has it been now?

You look well.

So cold though.

Why didn't you give me a shout?

I thought about it, but the timing seemed awkward.

You're just avoiding me again.

No!

Given that you're here, it must be something big?

No, just a coincidence.

I came this way on a separate matter, but a body was taken onto a ferry.

And why are you in a place like this?

You're working too?

Well, it's just...

I planned to pay you a visit at some stage.

That's great.

Ride with me.

Um, I've a companion.

Companion?

Well, you could call him that.

Huh?

Where are we?

The scene of my current investigation.

Trying to get away again...

We're old friends, aren't we?

And I'll cooperate fully with you on your own case.

You never give up, do you?

Hirose?

He's inside.

- Inspector. - Ah.

I'll introduce you. This is Kosuke Kindaichi.

I've mentioned him to you a few times.

Inspector Hirose.

Pleased to meet you.

Hello.

So gloomy.

We're keeping the crime scene as we found it.

The victim had fallen here like this.

Ah, here are the photos.

The autopsy indicated the cause of death was strangulation.

The victim was Haru Asai.

She owned the place.

Though she lived here alone.

It seems the pharmacy was a front for various activities.

You're from Tohoku, you must know the itako.

Here, they call a spirit-medium an ichiko.

This looks to be an altar for summoning the spirits of the dead.

She also practiced as an unlicensed midwife.

Um, Inspector...

Could you just disclose what you know?

Why are we actually here?

Well, you see.

About ten days ago, I received a letter.

The sender was Haru Asai, a name wholly unknown to me.

Oh, the victim?

Presumably, she got my name from a newspaper or something.

And what that letter contained was rather peculiar.

This is what she said:

"I've earned my livelihood working as a spiritual medium and midwife."

"Through this work, many a personal secret has been revealed to me."

"Above all else, I was deeply entangled with a dark secret from 24 years ago."

"And it came about that I blackmailed a client."

"But recently, because of that,

I've felt like something dreadful may happen to me."

"I'm willing to confess my crimes, so I want you to protect me."

That's the substance of the letter.

I said it came ten days ago, but at the time I was in Osaka on business.

I didn't open it until a week later.

And then I felt a foreboding.

I contacted the local police at once, but...

She had already been murdered.

Inspector!

This is a bit curious.

A fortune slip hidden in the small draw of a medicine box.

As if it were important...

Osakabe Shrine...

Oh, excellent luck.

A superstitious type would hold on to it.

I guess so.

However, Osakabe Shrine didn't offer fortune slips after the war.

My mother's an authority on these things.

So this is 20 years old?

That's right.

Why did she keep it so carefully hidden?

If I heard correctly, the letter mentioned a secret from 24 years ago.

Erm...

Osakabe Shrine is on Osakabe Island, isn't it?

Yeah. That's significant?

Actually, the case I'm working on has a connection to Osakabe Island.

Someone went to the island in May, since when all contact has been lost.

His name's "Aoki."

Tomorrow, I may travel to Osakabe Island to investigate.

Wait. Did you say "Aoki"?

Yes.

That body on the ferry.

His suit's name-tag said "Aoki."

Really?

Who was it that hired you?

A man called Ryuhei Ochi.

Ochi?

Of Osakabe Island?

You know him?

Yes, besides the Osakabe Clan, the Ochi family are long established islanders.

And Ryuhei was its heir.

Osakabe Island.

Then maybe this Aoki...

That disfigured face makes it impossible to tell.

But his age seems right.

I ought to have come with more photos.

It's early days yet.

Inspector.

A witness turned up.

What?

Someone was seen fleeing the house at the time.

And?

Ah, well...

A scruffy young man with a beard - a hippy.

A hippy?

How is it?

Much easier to make out.

Shall I...?

What is it?

Aoki's final words.

A passenger recorded it.

They...

They are twins...

The bones are attached together

at the waist.

On that island...

Evil spirits...

On that island...

Terrifying...

Demons...

Understand?

Beware the night of the crying nue.

Over here!

You're crossing over?

Yes. And you?

Yeah, I heard a famous festival will take place on the island.

These people are all heading for the festival.

I overheard that the islanders get a daily allowance if they return for it.

The population must really be dwindling.

Who pays it? The town hall?

No.

Ochi, a wealthy businessman from the island pays it personally.

He went to America when he was younger.

The rumour has it that he made a fortune through crooked dealings.

But don't you think he does it for his own amusement?

Like he thinks money makes him all-powerful.

Yeah, but as well as that,

how will Madam Tomoe react upon hearing of Ryuhei Ochi's return to the island?

Madam Tomoe?

Who's that?

You'd be too young to know.

A lady of Osakabe Shrine.

20 years ago, she and Ryuhei ran off together.

The Osakabe family fiercely objected and he was driven from the island.

So anyway, there was a big brouhaha?

Ryuhei and Madam Tomoe were deeply in love with each other.

It seems they even had a secret meeting place!

The night of the crying nue.

Er, what...

Ah! I can see the island.

That far?

2nd floor.

Oi-chan, this room.

There's a butterfly that migrates 3,000km from Texas to Mexico.

Enjoy your stay.

Thanks.

What's your game?

They say that a long time ago,

after the Taira clan had been defeated in battle,

around seven of their fleeing soldiers ended up on this island.

But the victorious Minamoto clan ruthlessly hunted them down,

and one by one threw them over the cliff.

It was on the seventh of July, hundreds of years in the past.

However, one of their number managed to survive.

And he set up house with the daughter of an island chief.

That was the House of Osakabe.

What's this?

Will you join us, Sadakichi?

Ah, here.

- Wait. - Eh?

Let's make that the backdrop.

Mother! Hurry up!

Okay, here we go.

Keep still.

I'm Daizen Osakabe.

Head of this establishment.

A little while ago, the village elders returned from Tokyo.

There was some trouble.

Um, this is from Mr. Ochi.

Very well.

Setting that aside, the village elders met Ryuhei in Tokyo.

They were asked to deliver a message.

A message for me?

It seems Ryuhei himself arrives on the island tomorrow.

He hopes you will stay around until then.

Ah, that's not a problem.

You looked at the hotel register?

Actually, yesterday,

a man wearing a suit with the name Aoki on it

was lifted onto a ferry.

Shortly afterwards he expired.

I heard about that this morning.

However, I assume it was someone else.

Why is that?

Do you have evidence

that the dead man and the Shuzo Aoki who stayed here

were one and the same person?

No, not really...

We'll be taking our leave.

Thank you.

At my age, travelling really tires you out.

Yes, I'll introduce you.

Come.

This is Mr. Kindaichi.

My cousin Tatsuma Osakabe, village mayor.

Morie Osakabe, my niece's husband and tayu.

It's a good moment.

May I show Mr. Kindaichi the sacred treasure?

As this is the main house.

I don't mind.

But he may not be interested.

You see,

this sacred treasure is a new donation Ryuhei Ochi made to Osakabe Shrine.

The island has lacked any real cultural assets,

but this is something to take pride in.

Even if it's from a monetary perspective.

Stop that.

The talk of money.

Okay.

A splendid creation, don't you think?

Tayu, Madam Tomoe is here to accompany you.

Madam Tomoe, it's been a while.

Have a safe trip back.

Apparently, that priest is seldom on the island.

Eh?

He's busy with tasks on the mainland and neglects his duties here.

The girls told me.

The girls?

You saw them today.

Oh, that commemorative photo.

The mother and her daughters aren't living together.

The twins are named Kataho and Maho.

One lives in Hiroshima and the other in Onomichi.

Why would that be, I wonder?

By the way, what was your purpose in coming to this island?

I told you before, the festival.

This question is out of the blue, but have you heard of a nue?

A bird, I think.

Isn't it called a white thrush around here?

I heard about it earlier.

Today? From whom?

Mr. Araki.

Araki?

You know, that insect collector.

Does that bow have historical significance?

Yes.

It's said to have been used by Taira no Noritsune.

He was a famous warrior belonging to the Taira Clan.

We settle the score against the hated Minamoto clan, symbolised by that eye.

But since the war, no young man has been able to draw such a bow.

So the ritual only goes as far as sounding the bowstring.

There's been no one since the war? So there was someone before that?

None other than Ryuhei.

His cousin Kichitaro was a match for him.

He's the man over there.

I'm sure he'd still be capable of it.

Prior to Ryuhei and Kichitaro, only Daizen was able to draw the bow.

Does this kimono look nice?

Looking for something?

I was wondering what that separate building is?

It's where Madam Tomoe's sister lives.

Would I be right in thinking she's a twin sister?

Yes.

Mr. Kindaichi?

You know my name?

I heard about you last night.

I recognised you at once.

Then you're Madam Tomoe?

You supposed I was my sister Fubuki?

My sister is agitated as she wants to pick flowers again.

Could you possibly accompany her for a while?

Okay.

Are you aware of my sister's condition?

No.

No doubt you'll come to hear the rumours.

Sadly she is mentally disturbed.

She amuses herself with small birds and flowers.

Come.

Though she looks identical to me,

a strange feeling comes over me when I see how she exists in another world.

And just occasionally, I feel a terrible jealousy.

I must be a bit strange.

No.

How should I say it...

Please excuse me.

Hot, huh?

Yeah, it is.

- Ah, welcome back. - Thanks.

What's this?

My father probably stuck it there.

Your father?

"King's Apothecary Shop."

He peddled medicines in Soja City in Okayama.

But ten years ago he went missing on this island.

Well, I'm not wholly certain it was on this island, but it's highly likely.

Apparently, you asked Goro about the nue.

Was it connected to your father's disappearance?

It was in his final letter, I recall, that he wrote some strange things.

"It seems I've been dragged into something terrifying."

"I dread the night of the nue's cry."

The writing seemed to indicate he was drunk.

The nue again... and another disappearance.

That must be a donation from Ryuhei too.

Splendid, isn't it?

Right.

Hey! Ryuhei Ochi has arrived!

We've been waiting.

These gentlemen are from the assembly.

May I ask you to attend tomorrow's festival eve vigil?

Okay. There's something I want to talk to you about.

Drive.

Come, sit down.

That man Ryuhei Ochi arrives today, doesn't he?

Help yourself to the sweets.

I'm sure that he's arrived by now.

Did you hear something about him?

Still, I thought it adorable.

That you once had such a momentous love affair.

Oh, where are the boys?

The boys?

Oh, my grandsons.

They left their bags and flew off.

Damn.

Sorry, it's just us old folks.

No way! You guys are actually quite youthful for this island.

That watermelon is on the house for regulars.

Ah, thank you very much.

Don't mention it.

Come to think of it...

Is the father of the boys still missing?

I guess it's been five years now.

I've given up hope, but my grandsons...

Makoto.

We've visited this burial mound so many times.

And there's never any hint of a clue.

Isn't that one of the twins from the shrine?

Hello there, you remember us?

Ah! You always visit for the festival.

Yes, we're a performing troupe.

Erm, I may be mistaken, but...

You're Maho?

That's right, you got it.

But normally you stick with your sister, don't you?

I lost sight of Kataho a while ago, so I came looking for her.

In that case, we'll give you some help.

Hey.

Why not, Makoto? Join in the search.

Maho is searching for you. She's over that way.

Maho is searching for me?

But I'm Maho. That must be Kataho.

Huh?

Do you think your brother has caught on to us?

No, you needn't worry.

I've been waiting for this chance after eyeing you at last year's festival.

This island

holds a terrible secret.

Secret?

I really don't want to stay here!

Hold me tighter.

I'm frightened...

Someone's nearby.

Oh god.

Go.

Hurry.

Mr. Kindaichi!

The phone.

It's an Inspector Isokawa in Hiroshima.

Hello, this is Kindaichi.

Yes.

Oh, really?

Shuzo Aoki didn't die just from a fall.

There's evidence of previous strangulation.

Yes, I see, thank you.

So you're a detective after all.

Who was it?

Who was strangled?

No, no.

It wouldn't hurt to tell me... what a tight-arse.

Who was it?

Ah, you can't come in like that!

Oh, dear me!

Where have you been?

Aah, I'm beat.

I see, you viewed the golden arrow.

What were your thoughts?

No, you don't have to tell me.

It's written on your face.

"Such vulgarity."

"Symbolises the sickening greed of the nouveau riche."

Fine by me, that's what I'm aiming for.

Aoki said something just before he died.

Said something? What?

"Beware the night of the crying nue."

Is that Madam Tomoe?

Or her sister, Fubuki?

I couldn't say.

Anyway, there's a 20-year gap.

Oh, Aunt Tamae? It's Maho.

Is Kataho back with you in Hiroshima?

Hmm, where is she?

She's been gone since last night.

Mr. Kindaichi!

Your dinner.

Dinner? I'm fine.

What? A grown man lazing about.

You have to get ready for tonight's festival.

Come, eat up.

What sort of festivities are there?

Well now, all sorts of things.

I like the kagura performance.

"Susanoo defeats the great snake."

Listen, a troupe staying here will be performing.

A fire! Fire, fire...

Fire... fire.

Fire?

The shrine's on fire!

Makoto.

Quick! Hurry!

Oh, well done, you did it.

Thank you, thank you.

The shrine's been saved.

What's the matter, Ryuhei?

Ryuhei?

Let's take a look.

Hit by an arrow...

Shot with tremendous power.

Ha! Noritsune's bow has gone.

Noritsune's bow?

It was here.

Hello, yes.

The police.

Hello.

Assistant Inspector Hirose please.

He's not?

Then somebody.

My name's Kosuke Kindaichi.

Hello?

Wait a second!

Inspector Isokawa, how come you're there?

No, I'm grateful. We've had an incident.

There's been a murder.

You're urgently needed here.

Hang on, I'll call you back... yes.

Please wait.

Wait, don't go in there... please wait a moment.

Please wait a moment!

You're going in?

Why not? He's my husband!

But it's really...

You stay here.

Mother! Mother...

Where's the other girl?

You mean Kataho?

She's been gone since last night.

Really?

Perhaps she has left home.

Saying that, she's been strange recently.

Like she was really fearful of something.

Of what?

I'm not really sure.

It was a bad idea altogether!

A golden arrow!

But saying that, Mr. Mayor,

you were all for acquiring such a splendid cultural treasure.

Shut it! Anyway, where's Ryuhei?

He's being questioned by the police.

The police? I should think so.

He discovered the body.

And they do say

the first witness on the scene is often the culprit.

We were all kowtowing to Ryuhei, but deep down I was thinking that way.

"Watch out, he's scheming something."

"He may be planning revenge against this island."

Mr. Mayor.

Hasn't drink muddled up your head?

What?

Ryuhei took revenge?

Very well then.

What was the point of taking revenge on the priest?

Damn it! Just calm down.

We don't need anyone associated with Ochi showing up here.

Get out!

Damn you.

Get off!

I won't allow anyone to spread rumours or lies about Ryuhei.

Who's that?

Taneko, Ryuhei Ochi's aunt.

What the...?

Noritsune's bow.

What's it doing here?

I understand you got caught up in the incident,

but I'm unclear as to why you entered the prayer hall.

I'd understand it if you had gone to the shrine office.

According to witnesses

it was dark inside the prayer hall.

In which case, what reason would you have?

Mr. Ochi.

Perhaps you saw something or heard a voice?

Actually,

I saw a figure.

A figure?

Just an evasion.

It's the truth!

Did you see a face?

I didn't,

but the figure wore a white kimono and a black drape.

Like a kagaku performer.

I'm not necessarily saying that one of you is the perpetrator.

That's not the case, but...

Okay, you can all leave.

Christ, they're a difficult bunch.

A group like that is tightly knit.

It can drive you to tears.

I won't give up though.

I'll be watching them.

Hey!

Over there!

That's Onbo Vale.

She was killed by feral dogs?

I don't think so.

Why's that?

Indeed she's been devoured by dogs.

But look closely. This wound shows she was strangled.

To sum up.

There are signs the arrow reached to the heart.

So, the arrow head pierced the heart due to a blow from the perpetrator.

That should have been enough to kill the victim,

but for some reason the arrow was then forced through the body, skewering it.

Therefore, he wasn't shot through with that bow.

And as Assistant Inspector Hirose surmised,

Miss Kataho was garrotted around the neck.

The cause of death was strangulation.

The estimate of time of death is about two days ago, between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Two days ago?

So it was before the priest's murder?

That would be correct.

On the night she went missing, Kataho had already been murdered.

If I remember rightly, we had a violent storm two evenings ago.

I spoke to you on the phone.

Hmm? Yeah.

Ah, you can't come in like that!

Oh no, you're soaked.

What is it?

Well.

There's a pair of young men with something they want to impart.

Inspector.

It's those two!

Is Goro okay?

It's the Haru Asai murder.

A young man resembling Goro was seen fleeing the victim's house at the time.

Really?

Goro Mitsuki.

3-11-6 Asahicho, Koto City, Greater Tokyo.

Aged 24, jobless.

Mr. Kindaichi, how much do you know about that young man?

Little in the way of detail because I only met him on this trip.

To be honest, it's not obvious if it's related to the Onbo Vale case,

but it was quite a curious incident.

You should tell them.

That evening, we had some time on our hands, so we went for a walk.

While we were strolling around, I suggested checking out Onbo Vale.

As it was still light, and we'd time to make it back before dark,

we began climbing the mountain trail.

Then there was a thunderstorm, and in the gloom we turned back.

However, about five minutes later,

a lightning flash suddenly illuminated a figure.

A straw raincoat and hat?

Just like you always find hanging in a shrine office.

Before he tipped water over himself, were Kichitaro's raincoat and hat wet?

Who's over there?

The two mistresses the priest kept in Hiroshima and Onomichi.

Miss Hiroshima on the left, Miss Onomichi on the right.

The twin girls had been placed in their custody separately.

I see, those two.

On this island, there's a folk belief that twins shouldn't live together.

But leaving them with two mistresses is typical of the Osakabe family.

Whose idea was it? The murdered priest's?

If it had come from him, I doubt Madam Tomoe would have consented.

Probably Daizen.

In line with family tradition,

there will be a meal which only the women partake in.

It's a meagre offering, but...

Before we eat, there's something I'd like to clear up.

What is it?

I'm not concerned about the formalities.

But the bequest, the compensation money,

and suchlike.

There'll be time for that later.

I disagree, these matters should be dealt with first.

Both of you will find the settlement I have in mind quite acceptable.

You can rest assured.

Oh, I see!

So you know the amount that I'll find acceptable?

Just tell me how much.

Don't, this isn't the time or place.

She said it will be quite satisfactory.

Sounds fine to me.

You're too much of a soft touch.

For my part, I can say with confidence.

The amount she's considering will be most unsatisfactory.

Where would you like me to start?

Let me see.

The houses of Osakabe and Ochi have long been at odds with each other.

So how did the couple develop a relationship?

Perhaps there was a go-between or someone in their confidence?

Was there someone like that?

There was.

Then perhaps...

Is that why you have come to my place?

Yes.

At the beginning

I was an intermediary for their secret trysts.

So it's true they had a secret place where they would meet?

It was in the forest close to the burial mound.

Since I couldn't always act as intermediary,

I gave them a piece of counsel:

Use a signal to call each other.

Thereupon, the pair chose to mimic a bird call.

A bird call?

Hang on a second, was that bird a nue?

Why do you ask?

Sorry, it's just...

I see, the signal was the call of a nue.

Around that burial mound, the nue could be heard almost every night.

But those meetings didn't continue for very long.

Daizen's rage must have been tremendous.

So it was.

I peeked through a gap in the fence.

And it seemed he'd gone crazy.

Seeing that furious display of anger, something occurred to me:

Perhaps Miss Tomoe had become pregnant?

Pregnant? What was the truth?

I'm not entirely sure.

But there was a rumour that she may have left the island,

and secretly given birth in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Or maybe she had an illegal abortion.

What? An illegal abortion?

Yes.

This is out of the blue, but have you heard of Haru Asai?

Haru Asai?

No.

Who's there?

For how long has Miss Fubuki been ill?

Mentally disturbed, that is.

Well.

I can't really say. However, there have long been superstitions about twins.

So after she was born, she was fostered out to the mainland, I think.

That's right.

If I remember correctly,

it was to a place called Nakanogo on the outskirts of Hiroshima.

Miss Tomoe was on her own when she was growing up.

Now, when did Miss Fubuki come back to the island?

After the war.

That's right, it may have been four or five years after you went to America.

I think by then she was no longer normal.

Shut off from society, she rarely showed herself.

I have just one lasting impression.

How long ago was it?

In broad daylight, outside the inn.

Miss Fubuki clinging to an unknown fisherman,

making an indescribable din.

In Miss Fubuki's hysteria

there was something too much even for a man such as Daizen.

I keep meaning to ask you something.

When you first arrived here, a young man approached and spoke to you.

Remember?

Yes.

It was just one word, father.

Father?

Mr. Kindaichi, you're having a nightmare!

It's a bad habit of mine.

I have disturbing dreams when I'm tired.

That young man Goro

may have been Tomoe's son.

Well, what if that Haru Asai woman told him an impromptu lie?

However, suppose she sold off the baby to someone who wanted a child?

That would mean Goro is your son.

Mr. Kindaichi! Where are you headed?

Hiroshima!

Where?

Hi-ro-shi-ma!

NAKANOGO (Hiroshima Bus)

It's that place.

Then Miss Fubuki must have lived next door.

Yes.

She was a pretty girl, so I remember her well.

But she wasn't funny in the head or strange at all, as you suggested.

She was a nice, cheerful girl.

A photo.

Here is Miss Fubuki.

He hasn't contacted the police department even once?

Yes, that'll do. Thanks.

Where's that man got to?

What will you do?

What choice is there?

New evidence has emerged so we carry on.

Goro Mitsuki's nearly here.

Very well, let's face him.

What's this...! Am I some criminal?

Sorry, we want to question you some more.

About that stormy night again?

No, about the night of the vigil.

Where were you when the fire was raging?

Let me see.

I came to watch the vigil, so somewhere in the shrine grounds.

Near the prayer hall?

Not at all.

No, I think you went to the prayer hall. We have witnesses.

Idiots! You went and talked.

And I'd intended to keep quiet about your act of theft.

You're wrong!

We didn't intend to steal anything.

But didn't you try to take a side drum in the cellar?

Hey, asking questions is our job.

Detective, these guys are thieves.

It's not true.

We're just trying to trace our missing father.

My brother thought that drum may be his.

Your father's missing?

He disappeared on this island five years ago.

Father would come to Osakabe Shrine's yearly festival with the troupe.

This year we were trying to find a lead.

We went to the shrine office and ended up in the cellar.

He was there.

Enough.

Why not just confess?

But I was only taking a break.

Taking a break? Your face was tensed up.

Shut up!

It was you!

Damn you!

There's no point in concealing anything.

It's an irrefutable fact that you visited Haru Asai.

And shortly after her corpse was...

Stop!

You want to make out I'm some psycho, but I just didn't do it!

In that case, calm down and truthfully state what happened!

Very well.

I'll talk.

But first, I'd like a cup of tea.

Okay.

My mother died six months ago.

Before she died she said to me:

"I'm not your real mother. You're adopted."

"I haven't had any word about the woman who bore you,

so if you want to learn of your real mother

you should visit a woman in Takeda called Haru Asai."

When I graduated this spring,

those words suddenly came back to me.

I developed this fanciful idea of making a pilgrimage to my real mother.

I found Haru Asai easily enough.

But then it went wrong.

It seemed she had no recollection of me.

I don't have anything definite I can tell you.

But in the summer of that year

there was only one baby delivered.

Keep your nose out!

Don't you know curiosity killed the cat?

Tomoe Osakabe and Ryuhei Ochi.

I was aware the possibility of their being my parents was remote.

But,

I wanted to engage in a fantasy.

If the chance arrived to address them as mother and father...

It'd be amusing in its way.

But the moment I saw Madam Tomoe,

I wanted her to be my mother.

No...

I seriously started to believe it.

So, the night of the vigil...

What happened?

You've given us part of a confession.

Please continue.

That evening, I felt like a schoolboy.

Maybe seeing the parents and children there

led me to desire a glimpse of Madam Tomoe's face.

My first thought was that I had to do something!

So she wouldn't be suspected of being the culprit!

I see.

You believed Madam Tomoe committed the crime.

And tried to disguise that in order to protect her.

But the person you thought was Madam Tomoe was actually Fubuki.

Am I right?

I should have realised earlier.

Her eyes were a wholly different colour to Madam Tomoe's.

For a moment, I wondered if he'd witnessed it.

But then he disappeared again.

To the performance stage.

Ryuhei Ochi saw him.

That corroborates it.

Excuse me.

What is it?

We're here on an unfortunate matter.

We'd like to take in your sister for questioning.

My sister? Why?

We have a strong reason to believe she killed your husband.

Good heavens.

Fubuki?

A witness to the crime has emerged.

I'd like you to come.

I see.

Display these flowers in memory of my husband and Kataho.

What's the matter with you? Be careful.

Don't worry.

Maybe it's too late to say this now,

but somewhere inside I had this foreboding.

A feeling about my sister.

You noticed something?

No, nothing concrete.

But it was obvious my sister

had an instinctive loathing of men like my husband.

Their personalities were totally incompatible.

To think of someone so pure hearted having to be shut away in an annex.

It just saddens me.

It's most likely

that she stabbed him on impulse.

Sorry, everyone's waiting, aren't they?

Well.

Fubuki! Fubuki!

She's gone.

It's bizarre, we were keeping a look out.

Ah! Who's that?

Harada! Go that way.

Okay.

Fubuki is dead.

I tried to grab hold of her, but...

I was a moment too late.

Mr. Kindaichi, what is it you don't like?

That's what caused Fubuki's death.

No doubt, she's the culprit.

You can be sure of that.

Just one question.

Who murdered Kataho?

Er...

That may have been Fubuki too.

Plausibly, she killed her on impulse.

That's too perfunctory. Everything is unclear.

First, Fubuki's body hasn't been found.

What are you saying?

Are you suggesting that Fubuki isn't even dead?

It's certainly possible, as long as there's no body.

Or perhaps she disappeared in a puff of smoke?

A puff of smoke?

Yes, a puff of smoke.

I'll help you as much as possible.

Thank you.

But there's my damage to a dead body...

And how long will you be on the island?

There's still a few things that I need to check out.

Like what?

I saw her commit the murder with my own eyes.

Yeah, I know.

However...

Anyway, I doubt I'll have a chance to say goodbye to Madam Tomoe and Maho.

Please send them my regards.

Hmm?

Yeah, okay.

Why did you go to the prayer hall at 8 p.m. the night the priest was killed?

Did you have an appointment with him?

Yes, I did.

But now that he's died it's all come to nothing.

May I ask what sort of business it was?

Extracting Osakabe Shrine's divine object,

and replacing it with my offering of a golden arrow.

In order to check it?

I wanted to destroy the influence of the shrine.

To chop down the surrounding forest,

and profane the grounds by building a leisure park on them.

That was my intention.

Wasn't he the chief priest?

Why did he accept your offer?

Well...

He wanted to flee the island with the proceeds from the sale of the land.

His revenge.

Against the domineering Daizen.

It would have been a revenge characteristic of him.

"What's missing from people today is quiet and passionate resistance."

Makoto.

So many questions!

Yes, the night of the storm, Kichitaro was in the warehouse.

I twice brought some tea.

So he didn't leave even once?

No, Kichitaro didn't.

"Kichitaro didn't"?

Then Daizen?

The second time I brought tea, he wasn't there.

Daizen was gone?

For how long?

Ah, he's here.

I asked her about the evening Kataho was killed.

You and Kichitaro testified you were in the warehouse at the time.

But you yourself weren't there for the whole time.

If there's a guest or some business to attend to, I'll leave the warehouse.

What of it?

The wearer of a straw raincoat and hat observed by two youths in the rain

is another thing that's undetermined.

As for Kataho's killer...

It's starting to get slightly clearer.

It's starting to get clearer?

You're saying that the wearer of the straw raincoat wasn't the killer?

That's my guess. I think it was someone very close to the killer.

Those two youths

may well have seen the image of a god.

Image of a god?

I expect you'd find it unbelievable.

But on this island the gods appear in many forms.

They perform miracles... and confer punishment on sinful human beings.

But on this island

the gods seem to kill people at the drop of a hat.

Human dignity.

For those who renounce that,

there shall be a reckoning.

Renounce it?

That includes you too.

People nowadays are accustomed to renouncing things.

They've forgotten piety.

What is emancipation or freedom?

These days they disregard the soul and prattle about emancipation.

I hope those impure and apathetic fellows all rot in hell!

Then I have a question.

Why allow that golden arrow in a place of such spiritual significance?

It's a sacred treasure.

Not an object of worship.

Will searching for Fubuki's footprint help at this point?

Here! Isn't it?

Yes, it must be.

This is my footprint.

And these are Fubuki's.

What do you think?

Aren't they too big for a woman?

There's no way.

At any rate, it's a huge footprint.

What was that?

It's a warning. Telling us to leave the island.

From whom?

The head of another shrine?

Other than Osakabe Shrine?

The real Osakabe Shrine is located somewhere in this forest.

Stop it, Fubuki.

You're dead now.

Don't come out from the ground.

I beg you.

Maho?

Mother.

I don't...

don't...

Wait there.

Maho.

Maho.

Maho.

Maho.

Maho.

That bird call...

A nue.

I'm sorry. I came as fast as I could.

Please hold me.

We don't have much time.

Tomoe.

I can't believe it!

Tomoe and Fubuki are the same person?

Ridiculous.

But it's the reality.

I can't come to any other conclusion.

But I actually saw Fubuki, and didn't you say you'd seen her?

That must've been Kichitaro dressed as her.

It's the only explanation.

A man made those footprints.

And yesterday, he must have put on the disguise in a hurry.

Fubuki probably died when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

Atom bomb?

Yes, the main reason I went to Hiroshima was to check that.

I visited the village she was fostered out to.

And a year before the war ended she moved to Hiroshima.

Following that, information about Fubuki dries up.

Though if things turned out well, there would've been no made-up Fubuki.

But a tragedy occurred.

Tomoe had her love affair curtailed.

It caused a rending of the soul.

When Tomoe displayed the symptoms of a split personality disorder...

Daizen, her uncle, became anxious.

The payback for dashing her hopes had appeared in a dreadful form.

So in order to cover up his misdeed and protect the family name

he resurrected the dead Fubuki.

Furthermore, he had Kichitaro there to help him.

Kind of ironic.

At the outset, that guy Goro believed the killer to be Madam Tomoe.

But I thought it was actually Fubuki.

And in the end the real culprit was Madam Tomoe.

She probably realised that Morie and Ryuhei had come to a secret arrangement.

It led her to rebuke Morie.

Even if it involved her old lover,

exchanging a divine symbol for a golden arrow was inexcusable.

As a priest, Morie was the public face, but the true descendent was Madam Tomoe.

This shrine is guarded by the female line.

The proud blood of generations

seethed with a furious rage.

As if in response to the vigil drums,

the Fubuki inside her suddenly took control.

Someone else made a mistake similar to Goro's.

The kagaku performer Makoto.

Tomoe witnessed his tryst with Kataho.

However, he took her for Fubuki and didn't link that to the murder.

The fearful thing about it

lies in the complex duality of Tomoe and yet also Fubuki being the culprit.

The burial ground held memories for her.

Seeing there the very image of her own youthful days,

Tomoe began to lose composure.

Soon she was burning with jealousy.

And out of those dark flames she evoked the Fubuki dwelling inside her.

And the figure Goro and Sadakichi saw in the thunderstorm?

I believe it was almost certainly Daizen Osakabe.

Not Kichitaro?

No, seemingly he wanted to handle the aftermath himself.

The frenzy had resulted in a filicide.

Daizen aimed a curse at the heavens.

Maybe he was trying to convince himself that it was a dreadful act of the gods.

But even so, why did he take the body...?

Daizen must also have loved Tomoe.

But I think he's powerless.

Maho.

Mother...

Mr. Isokawa, please take care of it.

Okay.

Hang on in there.

Is this the real Osakabe Shrine?

You're that keen to know the truth?

Since way back, islanders have called this place the Cave of the Red Lotus.

My honourable ancestors

enshrined the vengeful spirit of the Taira clan in this cave

to escape the notice of the Minamoto clan.

So the burial mound's overhead?

When the Minamoto clan fell,

the islanders could at last replace it

with a shrine above ground.

And as the years passed by

the underground shrine was forgotten.

Ryuhei, you remember this place, don't you?

Come on, hurry.

Quickly.

They're Tomoe's offspring.

Taromaru and Jiromaru.

As soon as Tomoe saw these infants born of sin,

it brought on her first spasm... and she killed them.

Perhaps the midwife who delivered them was...

Haru Asai.

I was subjected to blackmail about it for nearly 20 years.

Tomoe's psyche was split in two.

Well, inside Tomoe there were two different people.

One was the same Tomoe as always.

But the other one

was a man-chasing nymphomaniac.

Perhaps he was from the kagura troupe?

When a man and a woman come together,

all sorts of secrets are revealed.

So stupid.

It became necessary for them to die.

But with one of them it went wrong.

One man escaped out of this cave.

Yes, that was Shuzo Aoki.

Come, Ryuhei.

Quickly.

Taromaru and Jiromaru are our children.

They'll never be separated...

See, they're joined at the waist.

Look at them, Ryuhei.

Touch them, Ryuhei.

Take a look over there.

A delightful show is going to start.

There's no need to feel alone.

Ryuhei.

Ah, Ryuhei.

Stay here and keep them company.

What's that for!

It's just an empty threat.

Jiromaru.

Jiromaru, Taromaru.

Jiromaru.

Taromaru!

Jiromaru! Taromaru!

Where have you gone? Taromaru, Jiromaru.

Taromaru, Jiromaru. Taromaru, Jiromaru.

In a moment of darkness, Madam Tomoe disappeared.

Disappeared forever.

I recall the words written in Kichitaro's shed.

"What's missing from people today is quiet and passionate resistance."

What a horrendous case.

Mr. Kindaichi!

Here! You've forgotten something!

Mr. Kindaichi...!

That storm reeking of blood left me with deep mental scars.

But Mr. Kindaichi,

that time was also a dizzying, once-in-a-lifetime experience.