Original subtitles

"Mushi-shi"

The world we live in is filled with myriad caves.

People who vanish like smoke are said to wander within...

without their memories, without their souls...

Hm? A letter?

They're not being delivered as they should these days...

Maybe it's time for a replacement...

This isn't addressed to me...

"Aya Tozawa"

Aya?

"Pickers Of Empty Cocoons"

"Aya Tozawa"

Hey, Aya. How've you been?

Ginko...

Come to think of it, it's time to replace your uro-san, isn't it?

Yeah... Letters arrive torn-off...

And sometimes strange messages find their way in...

You're still doing this... using our old ones?

What's wrong with that?

If your thoughts are always consumed by someone who's gone...

the old man won't be able to rest in peace.

Ito-chan is still wandering somewhere.

But you can't bring her back.

Let it go... Call it fate and leave it at that...

Look, Aya-chan, this cocoon is empty.

You're right... that's unusual.

Where could the pupa inside have gone?

Aya, Ito... Put that back.

Huh?

You mustn't pick empty cocoons.

Why not?

Bad things live inside in place of the pupa.

It's the elder from the Head Family. He comes a lot recently.

Girls, come over here.

Ito, Aya... Do you remember the Elder in the mountains?

Elder in the mountains?

You met him when you were two.

When children are born, it's our family custom to check them for "that".

It would seem both of them can see the uro-san...

When they turn ten, I will come to get one of them.

The Elder is an uro keeper.

It is a tradition passed down through our Tozawa family.

But for many years, no one with promise was born.

One of you will have to go there,

but your parents say they cannot decide who...

Which one of you is the younger sister Aya?

M... Me.

Elder, I will go.

You mustn't.

It's all right...

No! If Ito-chan goes, I'm going, too!

Aya...

Yes...

It's going to be difficult for you,

but it may be the best for your daughters.

The Elder probably doesn't have much longer to live.

Living alone deep in the mountains would be miserable...

But being together will probably ease their loneliness.

It's not as though you'll never see them again...

Leave the door slightly open.

If there are uro-san around, we'll be swallowed up.

Thank you for coming. Sit down now.

How I waited for this day to arrive...

but I never expected two at once.

Have you lived here by yourself all this time?

That's right. Ever since the elderly woman who preceded me passed away.

About the only people I spoke with are the mushi-shi who occasionally visit.

Their stories were all I had to look forward to.

Oh yes...

I thought I'd tell them to you... so I wrote many of them down.

Well, come on in now.

This cocoon is empty, too...

There are a lot more here than in the mountains around our village.

Girls, you know what double cocoons are, right?

Yes.

Big cocoons formed by two pupae together, right?

That's right. I want you to find empty ones of that type.

I can't do my work without them.

Wow...

Normally, cocoons consist of a single thread,

but double cocoons are made by two pupae, so they consist of two threads.

I unwind them and remake them into two cocoons,

but since that makes their "home" thinner overall,

the uro-san become confused and come out.

Aya, use that there to scoop it up.

Well done. Now place it in here.

Now it's sealed in.

"Cocoon 1 Cocoon 2" Now it's sealed in.

"Cocoon 1 Cocoon 2" The uro-san will only be able to go back and forth

"Cocoon 1 Cocoon 2" between these two cocoons for the time being.

Letter for you, Old Man.

Hmm, let's see... who's turn was it next?

What's the letter say?

It's not addressed to me.

Sometimes it's a request to send a mushi-shi,

sometimes it's a personal letter from a mushi-shi's friend...

Let's use this one.

Mushi-shi are always on the move,

so if I put the letter in cocoon 1 like this,

the uro-san will eventually deliver it to the mushi-shi who has cocoon 2.

However, they have to be replaced after a few years.

Uro-san rapidly expend their uro-passageway

after leaving their cocoons.

Eventually, it penetrates through to a closed room somewhere

or to another uro-passageway.

When that happens, letters don't reliably get delivered.

Uro-san are so interesting.

Elder, next time, I'd like to insert the letter.

Ito, Aya. You mustn't underestimate the uro-san.

Uro-san are frightening mushi that go around opening up holes in our world...

The area around here is conducive to uro-san,

so they infest whenever they find an enclosed space.

That's why you mustn't close the door.

If you mistakenly close a door, you must not open it.

If you open the door and uro-san are inside,

along with the escaping uro-san,

you will be swept into the uro-passageway...

because uro-san cannot survive very long outside of closed spaces.

What happens if you're sucked in?

They say that you're condemned to wander inside the uro-passageway

the rest of your life.

If you follow my instructions, there's nothing to worry about.

I've lived to a ripe old age without an accident.

Don't close doors; don't open doors...

Aya-chan...

Are you done with the laundry?

Yes.

Elder says we can play until evening.

Really? I'll be right there after I put this away. Wait for me.

Aya-chan...

Be mindful of the storehouse door.

Okay.

Oh, what a lovely day...

Oh? Ito-chan?

Ito-chan... have you fallen asleep?

Don't lift it off.

Ito-chan?

It was because I lifted the sheet...

Because I didn't pin it down as I should have...

Aya, it wasn't you fault...

Where did Ito-chan go?

How can we bring her back?

I'm afraid... there is no way, Aya...

I am absolutely... going to bring Ito-chan back.

We were always together.

I never imagined life without Ito-chan at my side.

But it's been five years since that day. Looks like you're still not eating well...

At least try to think about yourself.

Then, would you like to enter the uro-passageway?

I'll go in with you.

You can see for yourself what the uro-passageway is like.

Over there.

When uro infest a tree that lies along the vein of light,

a swelling forms as an allergic reaction like this.

Grab on to the chain and follow me.

This... is an uro-passageway?

This is just the very end of it, though.

Soon, we'll come to an uro cavern.

Who put this chain here?

Mushi-shi from long ago.

This is an old pathway used by mushi-shi as a shortcut.

They say some stayed too long and lost their memories.

I rarely use it, though.

What's the matter? Don't you wanna go farther?

Of all these passageways,

they say the end of this chain is the only one that leads outside.

All the others connect to enclosed spaces somewhere

that you cannot open up from the inside.

There are an infinite number of uro caverns like this one.

The chances that your sister passed through here are exceedingly slim.

You'll never find her, no matter what you do.

Let her go, Aya.

Close that huge hole in your heart...

before you become unable to come out of it.

Ito... chan?

A strange tale was recorded in a certain silk-producing village some years later...

"A girl emerged from a cocoon. She was about ten but could not speak."

"Aya Tozawa"

"Aya Tozawa" S-s-s-s-somebody!

S-s-s-s-somebody!

Somebody, come quick!

"Later, with the aid of the letter she had, she was returned to her home village."

"Pickers Of Empty Cocoons"

"Pickers Of Empty Cocoons" "Clothes That Embrace The Mountain"

"Clothes That Embrace The Mountain" "Clothes That Embrace The Mountain"

"Clothes That Embrace The Mountain"