Narrator: Strange things wash up onto this shoreline: fruits and nuts from distant southern lands, giant fish from the deepest depths of the sea, and sometimes... people. Boats have been known to wash ashore with no passengers.



MUSHI-SHI 08.
Where Sea Meets Man 海境より(うなさかより)



Villagers: (laughing)

Villager: Let's go somewhere else...

Villagers: (whispering)

Ginko: Uh... excuse me. I heard that there's a ferry that takes you from here to the other side of the bay. Is that true?

Shiro: At this hour, I think all the boats are out fishing.

Ginko: (sighs) I see. Then I guess I'll just have to wait here until the afternoon. So tell me, what're you doing out here?

Shiro: Same as you -- I'm just waiting. You see, I was separated from my wife in a strange set of circumstances just off these shores. But... you probably don't want to hear about any of that.

Ginko: Actually, I would. (inhales and exhales)

Shiro: Is that so? All right then... It was two-and-a-half years ago...


Michihi: It smells like fish... I never expected your hometown to be so... rural. C'mon, let's go back, okay?

Shiro: Shut up already... Where exactly do you plan on going back to?

Michihi: I can talk everything over with my father. He shouldn't have fired you for making one little mistake like that.

Shiro: Don't bother.

Michihi: But... why not?

Shiro: The store was headed downhill from the moment it opened. They were just looking for a good excuse to get rid of me.

Michihi: But why did it have to be you? He told me that you were going to inherit the store!

Shiro: When we got engaged, a lot of the other employees became intensely jealous. They probably made up awful lies about me to tell your father. I'm sure they never expected you to follow me out here to the middle of nowhere. Honestly, I didn't expect you to either.

Michihi: What do you mean? Tell me.

Shiro: Well, you're not the eldest daughter -- I'm sure you had more than just love on your mind. If you want to go back, go ahead. This place isn't for you.


Ferryman: Excuse me, miss. Are you coming, too?

Shiro: Michihi... I'll apologize when we get there... (Gasps.) Sea snakes? Hey, where did this fog come from?

Ferryman: Don't let it bother you. We can still see the shore. It'll be all right.

Shiro: Hey, wait! Where are you going? You're headed out to sea!

Ferryman: I know! Something's wrong! The rudder's not working!

Shiro: Abandon the boat! Swim this way! Michihi! You too! Hurry!

Michihi: No... there are snakes everywhere...

Ferryman: Snakes!? Where!?

Shiro: Never mind them! Swim this way! C'mon, hurry!

Michihi: Which way is that?! Shiro, where are you!?

Shiro: Michihi! Michihi! Go after her! Now, before--argh!


Shiro: The boat flipped and went under. I washed up on the shore of this beach. No trace of my wife, her boat, or any of her belongings were ever found. Because of the current in these waters, things lost at sea tend to wash ashore here. If my wife's boat had capsized, at least some part of it should've found its way to the shore by now... but there's been nothing -- no trace. And if she floated out to sea, she'd be long since dead... so now, with no proof either way, I remain here.

Ginko: Sea snakes.... Nothing, huh? Yet you've been waiting here for two-and-a-half years -- pretty foolish if you ask me. Whether you find any real evidence or not, it's more than likely that she died at sea. And even if she did somehow survive, she'd have a new life now. If I were you, I'd be thinking more about my own life. Then again, maybe it's none of my business. Take care of yourself.

Ginko: Fog... and snakes -- it all sounds so familiar...


Merchant: Here you go, same as always.

Nami: Thank you. I appreciate your business.

Shiro: Excuse me. Those fish... are you planning to sell them in the city?

Merchant: Yeah, what's it to you?

Shiro: That's all you're going to pay her? Sir, you're taking advantage of this poor girl. In the city, those are sold for considerably more. You there -- it's okay to ask for twice that amount.

Merchant: Hey, what makes you think you know so much?

Shiro: I worked as a wholesaler for quite some time. It's because of cheap middlemen like yourself that the fishermen around here are so poor. Including the city's fees, this is about what the price should be.

Merchant: Tch. At that price, I'll just go to the next village.

Shiro: Then, how 'bout... this much?

Merchant: (Grumbles.) But, that's... it's so...

Shiro: I can't let it go for any less.

Merchant: (Grumbles.)

Shiro: From now on, you can always ask for that much.

Nami: I can? This much? Really? Thanks, I will!

Shiro: And tell the others to do the same.

Nami: It'll help a lot. I'm sorry... I always thought you were just some strange man before today...


Villager: You were right. I got a really good price for all of my fish! Thanks for everything.

Villager: And here, it's not much but we want you to have it. Say, I have an idea. Why don't you leave the inn and move into our cottage? Stay and make this village your home.

Villager: That's a great idea. What do you say?

Villager: C'mon, you're more than welcome.


Shiro: Heeey! There's a shark! It's right beside you!

Villager: What!? Where!? I don't see anything.

Shiro: ......?!

Villager: Hey, Shiro, don't scare us like that, okay?


Villager: Yesterday wasn't spring tide, was it?

Villager: No.

Villager: Strange. The water's so high today.

Ginko: He's not here... Uhm, excuse me. There was a man here before. He'd sit on the beach and wait for his wife to come back. Is he still around?

Nami: Yes, but... now he... lives here. He's part of our village. Please, sir... I don't know who you are, but just leave him alone, okay?


Shiro: Hey, what's wrong?

Nami: (sobs) It's nothing...

Shiro: C'mon, that can't be true.

Nami: I'm scared, but I don't know why... You've been saying some very strange things lately... And the tide keeps rising and rising. All sorts of bizarre things keep happening. You stare out into the sea so long sometimes that it feels like... (sobbing) it feels like you'll be washed out there with the tide...

Shiro: What're you talking about? I'm not going anywhere.


Villager: The tide hasn't been this high in quite some time... It's about three years ago, I think. Remember that?

Villager: Yeah... And there was a fog on the water just like this one.

Villager: I think we all need to hold off on the fishing until this passes. They say that the people that go out to sea in this fog are never heard from again. And after about three years, their boats return, with no one on board...


Shiro: The boats return... but they're empty... No waves... Even if the boat did come back, it would never make it to shore...

Ginko: So it does bother you, doesn't it?

Shiro: You...

Ginko: That story you told me was very intriguing, so after I left I researched it. From that research, I've learned that the boat should return with the fog, so I came back to see if it was true. That mass of snakes you saw -- no one else could see them besides you and your wife. Right?

Shiro: Yes... that's right.

Ginko: I thought so. Those snakes were most likely Mushi. You've heard of "umisen-yamasen," right? It's the idea that if a snake lives a thousand years in the sea and then a thousand years in the mountains, it'll become a dragon. This story is connected with what you saw. Of course, there's no way to tell how long they've actually lived. They are divided into two groups: the ones that mass together in the open sea, creating a fog-like haze; and ones that live quietly, deep in the mountains. At a glance, they both resemble a snake. When the time comes, the Mushi from the mountains descend down to the sea and the Mushi from the water move closer to land. They meet just offshore. A thousand days later, they return to their deep-sea home to become one single Mushi.

Shiro: So you're saying... that those same things I saw before when I lost my wife have returned... I'm going out there.

Ginko: Wait!

Shiro: It's all right. I'll be fine. I know you can't see into this fog, but oddly enough, you can see out of it clear as day.

Ginko: Your wife... she couldn't see. Have you ever wondered why she was the one the fog claimed, while you made it back? Only those who want to return to land can see the shore from inside the fog. She didn't. The last time I saw you, it seemed like you might lose your desire to go on living if your wife's belongings washed up on the shore.

Shiro: Maybe then, but not now.

Ginko: So it would seem.

Ginko: Well, now that you fully comprehend what we're dealing with, I won't stop you if you want to join me. I'm going out there to satisfy my curiosity. If so, be prepared for the worst.

Shiro: Right.

Ginko: Looks like you were right. It's almost uncanny how clearly you can see the shore from inside this fog. You can still see it, right?

Shiro: I can see it. They're here!

Ginko: There's so many of them!

Shiro: There it is!--the boat she was on.

Ginko: It looks like... a body's still in it.

Shiro: I'll be all right. Pull up alongside.

Shiro: (gasps)

Michihi: (moans) Shiro?

Shiro: Michihi? You're all right...

Ginko: What's going on?

Michihi: Shiro, I'd given up on you... Tell me... what took you so long? It feels like I've been out here for days... For... for three days at least...

Shiro: Three days? I don't understand... What's going on...? I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I said some horrible things to you...

Michihi: Yes, it hurt. You were being so cruel. But it's all right. Now you've come to rescue me... I'm sorry I complained so much, really. I didn't mean to anger you... I want to see your home. Will you take me?

Shiro: Of course I will. Come on, let's go. Get on board.

Ginko: Wait. The shore -- tell me, can you still see it?

Shiro: Of course I can. It's as clear as day. Look -- it's this way.

Ginko: It's time to go. The place where we came from... is there. That is no longer human. The Mushi are transforming. It's not safe here. Step away from that thing right now.

Michihi-shaped Mushi: Shiro?


Villager: Heeey! Any sign of 'em?

Villager: No, none.

Villager: It might be too late...

Villager: Hey, a giant wave's coming! Hang on!

Villager: It looks like the fog's beginning to clear up...


Ginko: By the time we got back to shore, the villagers had long since lost all hope for our survival. It felt like we'd been out at sea for only two or three hours...

Nami: Shiro, you're alive!

Ginko: ...But on the shore, over a month had passed.


Ginko: Inside the fog, we were most likely on the Mushi's frame of time. That's the one consolation -- she only had to endure three days of loneliness.

Shiro: Yeah... I'm sure you're right.


Ginko: The next day, his wife's boat and all of her belongings washed up on the shore.

Nami: These clothes are so beautiful!

Ginko: Is this okay with you?

Shiro: Yeah... it's okay. The owner isn't coming back...

Nami: Shiro! Look! Look what I found!

Shiro: Yes, it's very pretty.