Holmes of Kyoto (京都寺町三条のホームズ)

Come on, we can handle a long-distance thing.

I'm totally gonna go to a university in Kyoto for you, Aoi.

And I'll keep an eye out so he doesn't cheat.

You rest easy and go to Kyoto, okay?

Thanks, Sanae, Katsumi.

Sorry. I can't take this anymore.

Why?

Katsumi! Sanae!

That dream again?

Holmes of Kyoto

Episode 4

"After the Festival"

The Gion Festival, huh?

Don't get depressed before work.

Hello!

Ah, Aoi-chan! Hello there.

Akihito-san? What are you doing here?

He came to see Kiyotaka-chan.

Can ya believe it? He's an actor!

And handsome to boot!

Why, thank you.

I came to give him a more proper thank you for before.

Oh, I see...

Um, where is Holmes-san?

I was preparing coffee.

Akihito-san brought us some Ryokujuan Shimizu konpeito.

I'll make your café au lait next, Aoi-san.

Is something the matter?

Oh, n-no...

I was just a little surprised to see you in a yukata.

It's on the owner's orders.

I have to wear a yukata in-store until the Gion Festival is over.

Speakin' of which, the owner asked me to do something, too.

He wanted me to to get some yukatas together for his charmin' part-timer.

It's from my shop, but it's got fasteners, so you can put it on all by yourself.

S-Sure...

Why, don't you look lovely?

Totally cute, Aoi-chan!

You look truly charming. It suits you very well.

Thank you...

And ya got the "migi-mae" closure right, too.

I've... worn one before, so putting it on this way felt right...

You did well.

"Migi-mae" means "right-front," because the right side goes on the inside.

Put even more simply,

if a man holding you from behind can slip his right hand easily inside,

you did it right.

Yukatas are so sensual, aren't they?

H-He's so close!

Excuse me.

Please refrain from sexual harassment in our place of business.

Fine, I get it already!

Sheesh, Holmes-kun. You're totally the jealous type...

Jealous?

You're dating, aren't you?

N-No way!

She's just a student we happen to employ.

I see.

Then I guess I came at the right time, since I got to see Aoi-chan in a yukata.

Akihito-san, you've done what you came for, so you're free to leave now.

You are mad.

Yes, with an anger specially reserved for arrogant, overbearing playboys like you.

What the heck?

I'll have your other yukatas ready by Yoi Yoi Yama.

I'll be in the area for a while, so I might come to hang out again.

What's "Yoi Yoi Yama"?

It's an evening festival held two nights before the Gion Festival.

The Gion Festival was first held over a thousand years ago.

They send floats called "yamaboko" down the streets

to keep the city safe from disaster and to purify it.

You could say it's the most famous of Kyoto's three great festivals.

Two nights from now, at the Yoi Yoi Yama festival on the 15th,

they'll line up the illuminated yamaboko along the avenue. It's very beautiful.

I see... And that's on the 15th?

Aoi-san?

You've seemed a bit listless the entire time you've been here.

Is there something on your mind?

Of course Holmes-san would notice...

Actually, um...

Welcome.

Izumi?

Hello there, Kiyotaka-kun.

It's been quite a long time, Izumi-san.

I'm pleased to see that you're well.

Aw, you don't gotta be so formal...

I heard about your marriage.

You have my congratulations.

Marriage?!

It seems she's going to marry that arrogant and overbearing Osakan.

Could she be...?

He asked me today

if I could have a dish my aunt gave us for our wedding appraised

to see how much it was worth.

Very well.

Allow me to take a look, then.

It's a Royal Copenhagen?

Is it really?

All I know of Copenhagen is the Christmas Plates...

That's fair.

The Christmas Plates are so popular,

they're the primary association most people have with Royal Copenhagen.

They've been putting them out since 1908, after all.

But this one ain't blue... So what's it really?

It's true...

The hand-painted cobalt blue designs, strongly influenced by Japan's Imari ware,

are one of Royal Copenhagen's trademarks.

But they also create many pieces that lack that feature.

This is part of a series produced over sixty years ago,

depicting scenery from all over Europe.

As for its worth... Let me see...

I would say about 20,000 or 30,000 yen.

I see. That's awful good to hear.

Kiyotaka-kun, you're just so amazin'.

I heard rumors you got into Kyoto University's graduate program, too.

That's hardly related... This is just my family business.

The truth is... all he knew about Copenhagen was the cobalt blue stuff.

"It's gotta be a fake," he said.

I told him my aunt wasn't that kinda person, but he kept insistin'...

That sounds quite troubling.

I'm always thinkin' about dumpin' him!

He cheated on me a bunch while we were datin'...

But each time, he'd worm his way out of it.

When I'd start talkin' about how we should break up,

he'd start bawlin' and sayin' he was sorry.

We ended up married and all, but...

The more time goes by, the more I start thinkin', "Is this really the guy for me?"

And when he brought up the Copenhagen thing, your face immediately popped into my head...

Kiyotaka-kun, do you still like waka poetry?

Well, yes...

Why waka poetry?

I'd like ya to have a look at this, too.

I'll come to get it two days from now, during Yoi Yoi Yama.

You want me to look at it by then?

Yeah. I made it on a mountain in Shiga.

A mountain in Shiga?

I'm sorry. You made that coffee for me, but...

It's fine.

A tea bowl?

With... a leaf pattern?

Yes. Japanese mugwort.

Does that have some kind of meaning?

I'm not sure...

In the poems of the Hyakunin Isshu, it's also known as "sashimo grass."

Sashimo grass... Holmes-san, you really do like waka, then?

Well, it's not my favorite...

But waka was what first brought us together.

In the fall of my second year of high school, during a school event,

we went to Tofukuji Temple, which is famous for its autumn colors.

Reminds you of that poem, don't it?

"Not even the gods in their boundless multitudes have seen such a sight."

Um, the last verse was...

"Ah, the Tatsuta River, crimson-washed with autumn leaves!"

She said that that was when she first developed feelings for me.

I see...

If someone like him recited that last verse to me, I'd fall pretty hard, too.

Anyway, I believe you were in the middle of telling me something.

Oh, um...

My friends from school back in Saitama...

They're coming to see the Gion Festival for a school trip.

And a girl from my old circle emailed me asking to meet up at their hotel.

But my former best friend is in that group...

And I'm afraid I might run into my old boyfriend, too...

But I do want to see the others, so I told her I'd go.

I see.

It's still bothering you, huh?

If they're going to come to you, that might be for the best.

I suppose... that's true.

When are you going to see them?

The 15th... So on Yoi Yoi Yama. At 7:30 that night.

And you're working until 7:00 that night, aren't you?

Yes. It's perfect timing, I'll admit...

Try not to let it weigh on you so heavily.

"The worry is worse than the labor," as they say,

Aoi-san.

Holmes-san...

Two days from now...

What will Holmes-san do after examining that tea bowl?

And... what should I do?

Oh, how fine.

It suits you so well.

Thank you very much.

Japanese clothing is so nice.

And you really have wonderful taste, Mieko-san.

Well, I do run a clothing store.

But it was Kiyotaka-chan who chose that yutaka.