Mushi-Shi: The Movie (蟲師)

We're almost at the pass. If we can just cross over that...

Hang in there, Yoki!

Yoki! Run!

Mum! Mum!

MUSHISHI

Oh, try over at the village headman's house.

Thank you.

Yes? Who is it?

I'm a traveller. The snow has blocked my way.

I was hoping I could ask for a single night's lodging.

Oh, you must be exhausted.

You're welcome to stay here, if you don't mind a place like this.

I haven't the slightest idea why,

but he licked the frozen chopsticks with his tongue!

The moment he did, his lips and tongue stuck to them

and they just wouldn't come off!

So we yanked 'em off and his lips and tongue tore in half!

I am Ginko, a humble mushishi on my way to Obaiwao

to pay my respects to the Odaishi.

I thank you greatly for letting me stay under your roof for tonight.

Travellers need to look out for one another.

You are welcome to stay here.

There are other guests here, too.

Come down for some sweet potato porridge after you've unpacked.

Thank you for everything.

For someone with grey hair...

your voice is too young.

I always thought mushishi were old.

I'm Bunzo, of Shibayama.

I'm on my way to the Takaichi in Obaiwao too.

This is my trade.

Pleased to meet you.

Winter nights are long. What do you say to some entertainment?

No, thank you.

Hey, I'm not gonna cheat a mushishi!

Come on!

Oh, Mushishi. The lady of the house asks to see you.

Right in here.

You will have to speak very loudly if you sit there.

Please come over here.

Thank you.

I would like you to examine some people.

Of course. But by "examine," do you mean they are ill?

If so, then an herbalist or a doctor might be better...

Sakuji! Makino!

Right!

And then Take, our maid.

They all share an ear affliction.

As you can see, our village sits at the bottom of a deep valley.

It is a quiet village without wind.

Every few years, whenever there is a heavy snowfall,

everything turns completely silent.

Supposedly, on such nights, even voices start sounding sad and faint,

and before you know it, all sound has disappeared from your ears.

Sound... disappearing?

It's long been said that mushi are the cause of this.

I see.

Does it affect both ears?

No, just one. I can hear out of this one.

Same here.

Most people here are deaf in one ear.

I once thought it wasn't that bad of a problem...

but when you lose an ear, you lose the ability to walk straight.

And one wrong step on the mountain paths around here can be fatal.

Indeed.

Un?

As in the Buddhist chant. They're mushi that eat sound.

They eat sound?

They usually live in forests, but because snow absorbs noise

they must've come down to this village in search of sound.

There are quite a lot of them here.

It's too dark. I don't see anything at all...

Once they've eaten up all the sound,

they leave the swarm and latch onto animals like parasites.

Parasites?

They enter an ear.

Did you know there's an organ inside the ear that looks like a snail?

These mushi eat all the sound that enters it.

Is this enough hot water?

That's hot! What is this?!

Rock salt and kindled senburi.

Oh! I can hear!

I hear perfectly!

- Please give this to the others. - I will!

And you'll want to spray some in the attic.

I will!

It's 10 sen for 10 packets.

It should be enough for one winter.

But for those who want reassurance, 10 more will last you to spring.

My wife and I will take 20!

- I'll take some, too! - Me too!

I haven't asked you your name yet.

My name is Ginko.

You can see them?

There's nothing to fear.

They can't do much harm while they're glowing like that.

Drink it. It'll help you heal.

My name is Yoki.

Get better so you can leave.

Last night was a real surprise.

It was the first time I've witnessed a mushishi at work.

The reason I asked you to stay is because there's one other person.

Her symptoms are nothing like what the others had...

Hers are different?

Both of her ears have been affected.

Shut up! Be quiet!

Maho. This is Ginko, a mushishi.

This is Maho, my granddaughter.

She's been this way since last autumn.

When these horns sprouted, she lost her normal hearing

and began hearing things she'd never heard before.

Things she'd never heard before?

Whispers...

Loud roars...

Quiet sounds, similar to a broken bell's ringing...

Countless bells ringing in unison...

She says she hears these things through her horns.

It's possible this is the doing of a mushi called "Ah."

Huh?

It's said they might be the "exits" for the sounds the Un eat,

but we don't really know.

Could that medicine help her?

No, this isn't a mushi inside her ear.

Then... how?

Well, we need to know what we're dealing with first.

Well? Is it any quieter now?

This smoke keeps the mushi away.

I'm Ginko. A mushishi.

Mushi?

Do mushi talk this loud?

Each one has a soft whisper, but when there are so many of them...

They all swirl like echoes as they flow inside you.

I think.

How did those horns begin to grow?

I covered--

I covered my ears. Because my mother always used to.

Maho...

Don't forget your mother's voice...

I can't even hear my own voice anymore...

Can you hear me, Maho?

Can you hear my voice?

Your mother covered her ears?

My daughter's final days were terrible.

The sounds kept her awake, and she grew weaker and weaker...

There was nothing we could do for her.

When your daughter passed away, what happened to her horns?

We covered her face with a cloth,

but when we put her in the coffin, I heard something rattle around.

At first, I thought someone had given her coins as an offering,

but then I caught a glimpse of a horn that had come off.

Could I see the horns?

This is hard for me to ask,

but it would require digging up her grave.

Our relatives decided to have her cremated to avoid any rumours.

In her grave are only a few bones.

We secretly cremated her body deep in the mountains.

Hey. Let me in.

Wow. It's roomier than I thought.

Have you seen any horns?

Have you seen your mother's horns anywhere?

I'd like to help you

and anyone else who might end up like you and your mother.

I want to be able to help.

You get to look. That's all.

Your mother's horn?

Maho...

Don't forget your mother's voice...

Can you hear me, Maho?

Can you hear my voice?

My mother's voice wouldn't stop going through my head.

Her voice scared me, even though I loved her so much.

So this is their nest.

If these clockwise ones are Un

then the Ah must be counter-clockwise.

This one is clockwise.

So is this one.

Not this one, either.

Here we are!

This mushi enters the head when one's breathing and pulse are quiet.

When one is sleeping, for instance.

Then it clings to the deepest parts of the memory.

Because she placed her mother's horn to her forehead so soon,

Her mother's lingering voice must've entered Maho.

Is such a thing possible?

This is what it was making.

Is that her horn?

Where did you get it? From Maho?

Look closely.

The tip is starting to twist. It's turning into a shell.

A shell?

My guess is that it'll probably become an Un.

Ahs ate Uns' silence and produced more Uns.

To think that it was her voice that's been ringing in Maho's head...

That's because it echoed, overlapped, and resonated

until it lost the essence of her voice and became pure noise.

How can we fix it?

I think Maho has to do it herself.

Herself? How?

Maho! Say something! Maho!

Was the remedy too effective?