Original subtitles

"Mushi-shi"

While resting in the bamboo forest, an odd fellow approached me.

Excuse me. Are you a traveler?

Yes, I am.

Then you must be heading down the mountain.

Yes, I'm headed west.

Just what I was hoping... Mind if I joined you?

You're lost?

Yes... I can't seem to find my way out of this bamboo forest.

You must have a terrible sense of direction.

I've had an awful time... No one's come through in three years...

Three years?

Yes. This might sound strange, but I've been stuck here for a long time.

"Inside the Cage"

I'm originally from the village at the foot of the mountain.

So, you're a local...

It's not as though you can't see the sun, so how can you lose your way?

I don't know how, either...

I must say, though... this is a huge bamboo forest.

Damn! We're back to same place again...

What's going on? The compass isn't off...

We started by heading west.

But before we knew it, we were off course...

Farther and farther off course until... we went in a circle.

That's what happens... You become unable to control where you go.

What's the heck is going on?!

You've been caught, too.

Now that it's happened, do you want to live here with us?

Hey, that's not funny.

Hm? You mean there are others?

Yes... A mother and her daughter used to live here.

Kisuke...

The mother passed on, but the daughter is now my wife.

We're childhood friends, so at least one good thing came out of it.

I see...

He's a traveler. We were just talking.

My wife, Setsu.

Ginko-san...

Sorry about making you keep me company. I'm going home now.

Want to take a break at our place?

No... I'm going to try to figure another way out.

I see...

Okay, then, take care.

"Take care"?

That's odd...

I made it out...

Good grief...

I wonder if he's all right?

You never know...

Yeah...

Yes?

Well, you came out from that bamboo forest, didn't you?

Yes.

You saw a man in there, right?

Yes... I wonder if he was putting me on...

Who is that man?

He was captivated by a monster...

You're lucky you're okay.

A monster?

Yes... There's a white bamboo growing in there, and...

Stop it... You mustn't tell stories that taint our village to outsiders.

Ginko-san!

You weren't able to get out?

I was. But there was something I wanted to see, so I came back.

I heard in the village that there's a white bamboo growing in this forest.

I also heard about you and your wife... a little...

When you see it, what do you intend to do?

If it's within the scope of my work, I want to ask you the details,

since it's a very rare phenomenon.

Perhaps there might be a way to get you out of here.

If you tell me not to get involved any further, I'll do it alone.

This way.

Besides this one, there are four others.

Hmm... just as I thought, it's a Magari-dake.

First, can you tell me...

about everything that happened in this bamboo forest?

The kids in the village grew up hearing the story...

A young married couple lived in this bamboo forest...

For many years, the couple could not conceive a child...

The husband began to spend time away from his depressing home.

His wife was a strange woman who talked to plants.

Eventually she began to wander about the bamboo forest night after night.

Then one day, she said she thought she was pregnant...

The husband became suspicious of his wife, so one night, he followed her...

Then...

He found his wife enthralled, clinging to a white bamboo.

The husband was frightened out of his wits and ran off,

but he returned home after the villagers admonished him.

There, he found his wife carrying a bamboo shoot as if it were a baby.

So she gave birth to a bamboo shoot?

That's what they say she said.

Couldn't she just have been trying to annoy her husband?

In the end, her husband ran away from the village,

so that was what we thought, as well.

Also when we actually came to see the "bamboo child",

it looked just like an ordinary girl.

That child was Setsu.

By then, her mother had died. My sister, my friends and I played there a lot,

thinking she might be lonely by herself.

But we did sense something strange about Setsu.

She never ate or drank anything but water and never left the bamboo forest.

Even so, we all still liked Setsu.

But then... One day, we were unable to leave the bamboo forest.

We went in circles through the forest,

until gradually, I lost sight of one, then another...

And then I realized I was the only one left behind...

The next day, those who made it back to the village came looking for me,

but if they stayed with me, they were unable to leave the bamboo forest.

Just as I thought... You knew that, and messed with me.

Sorry... I wondered if it'd happen to an outsider as well.

After that, I lived at Setsu's house.

Since my little sister was the only relative I had,

villagers fed and took care of both of us.

My sister and I were practically raised by everyone in the village.

Everyone was like family... It was a fine village...

But after living with Setsu for a while, visits from the villagers decreased...

Are you lonely, Kisuke?

No...

I'm glad to hear that.

In time, Setsu became pregnant...

But...

That was when Setsu's true origin...

...hit me for the first time...

The midwife ran off back to the village... and after that, no one ever came here...

You might find my story hard to believe, though.

Well, it did surprise me.

So what is this... Magari-dake that you mentioned?

A bamboo in name only, but it's not a plant.

Bamboos in a bamboo forest all share the same roots.

Together, they are one, or a family of successive generations.

Magari-dake are mushi that live off these roots, posing as one of the family.

They grow by sucking nutrients from the roots of the bamboo

and in turn, return elements to the roots that make the forest green,

growing the forest and increasing its own numbers...

Your wife was born from mushi and a human.

We mushi-shi call them oniko. An extremely rare mazari-mono...

Was it a bit of a shock?

No... Not after seeing what my daughter looked like when she was born...

Regardless of what her parents were, Setsu is... Setsu.

No one in the village thinks that way...

But I'm sure they'll understand once they meet Setsu.

One day, the three of us living in the village might even be possible...

So is that why you want to somehow get out of the forest?

Yeah...

And I'm also worried about my little sister...

if she's having a hard time because of me.

I have an idea...

If I connect all the points where he abruptly changes directions,

it forms an almost perfect circle...

You become unable to control where you go.

The center of the circle is... that stalk.

Is that the water that gives you life?

Yes.

Can you share some with me?

I'm sorry... It's very precious water.

Mother told me never to give it to others.

Even to Kisuke?

Huh?

I gave him some just once... when we were still children.

Tell me... Do you find it difficult to be so loathed by the villagers?

Well, yes... But Kisuke and my daughter are all I need...

although I feel sorry for Kisuke because he can't leave...

But that... makes me happy...

Sorry, but I'll take some...

Just as I suspected... I can't get out.

This is a problem...

It's that time of the year when the leaves fall...

Mommy bamboo is feeding her babies a meal of leaves...

so that the baby bamboos can grow big...

Really? Which one is the mommy?

Every one of them. They're raising their children together.

Daddy thinks about the village come this time of year...

It's large, with lots of sunshine... A bustling village...

I want to show it to you, too...

It'll be okay, right? I'm sure Kisuke won't leave...

Then... you found the cause?

Yes. Mushi, unlike plants, have their own will.

They give commands to each part of their body to carry out their will.

This mushi's body is this central stalk and the bamboo forest around it.

And the medium that conveys its will is this water Setsu drinks.

Regular water shows no reaction when brought near the stalk.

Simply carrying this water around puts one under this mushi's influence.

Of course, those who drink it, as well. And even those who are near them.

Today sure is hot! I'm thirsty.

You can have a sip.

I doubt Setsu knew about it, though...

I agree... But then, what do we do about it?

That's the problem... If we could get the water completely out of your system...

Frankly, though, I can't come up with a means.

There is... one other method...

But it's one I'd rather not resort to since I don't know what other effects it'll have.

I... see...

I see... If that's the case, I can finally... give up...

So you're the one who's been keeping Kisuke here for me...

Thank you...

I'm sorry...

Why?

I don't think you can't do it...

You're it's child... a part of its body.

Just as our limbs can't go against our brains.

Did you hear everything I said?

Because of me, Kisuke...

But Kisuke wasn't unhappy.

Kisuke made a woman like me happy.

But I took his village away from him...

Kisuke even said... Regardless of what my parents were, I am me!

That's enough!

Setsu! Where could she have gone?

The village!

Hello! It's me! Kisuke! I was finally able to get out!

Big Brother?

Yes, it's me. Have you been well?

Is that... that child?

Yes.

Go back.

Hear me out!

Don't come down to the village with that thing.

I have a child of my own now...

Don't make my child feel miserable like I did...

Where's Mommy?

Yeah... Let's go home.

For a while, the three of them lived happily together.

But then, six months later,

when I returned to see the effects of cutting down the parent stalk...

Not a single Magari-dake...

It's you...

After that, the white bamboo wilted and died one after the other...

Their lives depended on that water...

They suffered greatly...

By the time I buried them here, they became weak like dead trees.

Setsu shouldn't have done what she did...

That was Setsu's parent...

I made her do it... Because I could never give up the village...

It's already that time of year again...

A white bamboo... when did it?

Babies crying...

It's coming from... the direction of their graves...

"Inside The Cage"

"Inside The Cage" Pretense of spring.

"Pretense of Spring" Pretense of spring.

"Pretense of Spring"