Adashino: Hmm... A mushi that devours silence... one that causes horns to grow on its living host... It's quite rare, quite rare indeed. Hey, what's that?
Ginko: The cup of a young man whose left hand could breathe life into his artwork.
Adashino: Oh, please. That boy's distrust for mushi master is well-known. I doubt he'd give you an audience, let alone that cup.
Ginko: Now, now... There isn't any obligation to buy it, Dr. Adashino. I just thought this prize would go to waste in someone else's collection.
Adashino: All right, come on... Let me take a look.
Ginko: I'm willing to sell it, and at a bargain price, but only if you'll help me. On my way here, I encountered something very strange... I'd like to capture it.
Adashino: Something strange, huh?
Ginko: That's right... In all your studies, have you ever heard of a liquid mushi that can travel from place to place? A "living swamp"...
MUSHI-SHI 05.
The Traveling Swamp 旅をする沼(たびをするぬま)
Ginko: As I traveled through the mountains, I encountered many swamps.
Ginko: C'mon... Another one? Hm?
Ginko: Every time I went around one, I would glance over my shoulder and notice something very puzzling. The swamp had completely vanished, leaving no trace of itself behind. Then when I crossed the next mountain, I was met with another surprise: a swamp exactly like the one I'd just seen.
Ginko: You forest spirits like to play tricks, don't you...
Ginko: It's you again. I saw you at the last swamp. That was you, wasn't it? Can you tell me if there's a shortcut through these mountains?
Ginko: I thought she might be a hallucination at first... Her hair was this unearthly green. (gasp) It seemed as if the waters of the swamp had saturated it to the root.
Io: Excuse me... What lies in this direction? Beyond the next hill?
Ginko: Hmm? I'll answer, but only if you let me ask you a question. Is that fair enough? This swamp we're in... there's nothing ordinary about it, is theret?
Io: This swamp... it travels, you see. It comes up, sinks down in the ground, and then resurfaces in a new spot. It's on a very important journey. Like you, it seeks a passage through these mountains.
Ginko: Huh... a living swamp. That's incredible. So, are you moving along with it as it travels? Why? What for? ...Well then, anyway, if you keep heading in that direction, you'll reach the sea. I'm headed to a fishing village there to see an old friend. Once the swamp reaches the sea, it'll be impossible for you to travel with it, you know. Oh, by the way, if it's all right with you, I'd like to study the sample of swamp water in the morning.
Io: Yeah, sure.
Ginko: It's too dark to tell right now. But it might a new species...
Io: I have to admit, I didn't think you would believe me... about the swamp traveling from place to place.
Ginko: Well... let's just say, I'm used to strange things in my line of work.
Io: Line of work?
Ginko: I'm a mushi master. Mushi and their related phenomena... they're all pretty strange. Let's take the Suiko for example. A species of mushi that exists as a liquid. Suiko is clear and colorless, yet alive. It dwells primarily in old water veins, sometimes even in ponds and wells. If one mistakes Suiko for water and keeps drinking it, they soon become unable to breathe unless they're immersed in it, and even worse, their body becomes transparent. Eventually the body turns to liquid and then flows away. The mushi then disappears... to where is anyone's guess. So if things like that can exist, the idea of a traveling swamp isn't too hard to swallow. You get used to it. What about you? Didn't you ever find all this to be frightening?
Io: Not at all... I never found any of this to be frightening or strange... In fact, the first time I saw it, I got quite a different impression. It was awe-inspiring...
Ginko: Awe-inspiring? How do you mean?
Io: I was swimming, you see... The current grew strong... it pulled me down into the depths of the river... I was swallowed by the waters, unable to find my way back to the surface. I was dying... Then I saw it. Immense and green... The thing rose to meet me... then it embraced me within its folds... When I awoke, I was laying on the banks of the swamp somewhere in the mountains.
Ginko: This color...
Io: That's when I realized... the green thing that I saved me had undergone a metamorphosis of some sort. It had taken the shape of the swamp. My hair changed, too -- green, like everything else that lives here. It's a small price to pay, though. I'd be dead if it weren't for this swamp. You know... when it engulfed me, the swamp actually spoke. It said, "You may live." It granted me a new life and I'll never leave it. This swamp is the only place I can ever call home.
Io's Mother: Oh, yes... It looks beautiful on you. Pretty wedding attire for the bride-to-be of O water spirit...
Elder: We will look after your mother. Do not worry for her. Oh child, as you go to face your fate, have no fear. Instead, take comfort in the thought that your name will become legend... All will know of the noble girl whose sacrifice appeased the raging flood and saved our village from its wrath...
Io: If one keeps drinking it, their body becomes transparent... it liquefies then it flows away. ...Time to go, huh?
Ginko: Hmm? It's all going underground... ...! Hey, why are you leaving? Wait a minute! I wanted to study you too!
Io: Thank you for teaching me about so many things. But now, I must again become part of the swamp...
Ginko: No, wait! ... It's gone... Damn it! Why didn't I see it before? So this is what happens when a Suiko disappears... It doesn't just vanish as previously thought. It simply stays underground as it travels.
Io: But now, I must again become part of the swamp...
Ginko: Is she mad? Doesn't she know what will happen if she sees this through?
Io: When it engulfed me, the swamp actually spoke. It said, "You may live."
Ginko: You... you wanted to live, didn't you?
Ginko: This living swamp... it's heading for the sea.
Adashino: Hmm... A swamp heading for the sea...
Ginko: Have you ever heard of this?
Adashino: Well, now that you mention it, I think I just might have. An old fisherman told me a story years ago about a big green something that followed the river to the sea. It was larger than a whale, and when it reached the sea, it disintegrated. Just melted away. This man never claimed to see the thing, but his father did. In his opinion, it was looking for a place to die. Come -- time is of the essence. Since we haven't heard any commotion from the fishermen, I wager that your swamp hasn't arrived here as of yet.
Adashino: Ah, here it is! A map of the underground water veins in the area. It's quite rare. It was drafted based on the findings of dowsing rods a few years ago.
Ginko: How accurate is it?
Adashino: Judging by some test wells that were dug, I'd say fifty-fifty.
Ginko: The locations of the swamps I saw correspond to these water veins. Does the Suiko travel along them as if they were roads? This vein... it looks like it goes to the sea. But it forks here, makes the swamp's location hard to pin down...
Adashino: Ginko, up here. I've got another map. It's an older one, also quite rare, and it shows where the rivers were thousands of years ago. The estuaries are still in the same place, but the rivers have significantly changed.
Ginko: Enough already... Quit boasting about your collection and come down here and help me figure this... Let me see that.
Adashino: They're identical... Interesting.
Ginko: These water veins were a river a long time ago. But at some point it dried up. Over time, all that remained was a layer of stones buried underground. Rainwater drains into the ground and it seeps towards that layer of rock... Once it's there, it gathers in the form of these veins. An underground river. If that swamp is ancient, and may very well be following its memory of how the old river flowed...
Adashino: Heading for a predestined place to... die? Just like a salmon, or sweetfish.
Ginko: If it follows this vein, it will emerge in this estuary. If it reaches the sea, it's too late. Adashino!
Adashino: Hm?
Ginko: Get as many people as you can and the biggest fishing nets in the village!
Villager: That's it! Pull it! Come on!
Villager: Yeah!
Adashino: So many of you turned out to help us. Thank you so much.
Villager: You're welcome. Besides, we fishermen have a lot of idle time on our hands right now. This time of year, there's so few fish in these waters that you'd think the sea had gone and died.
Villager: After all you've done for us, we'd do anything for you, Dr. Adashino.
Ginko: Being a doctor bought you this loyalty?
Adashino: Not just that. Don't forget -- I'm charming.
Adashino: Be honest, even after all this effort, you really don't know if these nets will actually snag that girl, do you?
Ginko: No. But it's the only chance I think we have at saving her.
Adashino: Tell me, why is this so important to you? This girl -- why does she weigh so heavy on your conscience? I could sympathize with your concern better if the girl had said she wanted to live. But from what you told me, it sounds like her sole desire was to become part of the swamp. Perhaps this path she has chosen brings her happiness. And if that's so, should we deny her fate, however cruel it may seem?
Ginko: You know that green cup that I brought you...
Adashino: Huh?
Ginko: It's a recreation of one that belonged to that young man's grandmother. She brought the original to a mushi banquet that was unfortunately cut short. That left her trapped in limbo between two worlds and in a ghostly state that was neither mushi nor human. Recreating that cup allowed her grandson to see her again. But that stole her humanity. I made her mushi because she requested it. But I... I question if I did the right thing or not. Becoming mushi isn't like a traditional death. Mushi occupy a spot between the living and the dead. That means the person still lives in one sense, but then they're dead in yet another. Imagine what that must be like. Wouldn't a natural death be more tolerable than living for eons? A life where everything that made you human is whittled away, bit by bit, until absolutely none of it remains? That's the sad fate for which the girl is headed... She even dressed up for the occasion. Her kimono would suit a wedding, or in her case, someone's funeral. So, yes... this cruel fate of hers... it is one to be denied.
Villager: If you ask me, there's nothing out there.
Villager: What was that? Did you hear something?
Villager: It's here! It's here!
Villager: Hold on!
Villager: What is that thing?
Villager: Hold it, it's coming! I got a clear shot!
Ginko: No, stop! There's a woman in there!
Villager: Wha--!?
Villager: Hang on! Don't let go!
Villager: I-it slipped through the net...
Villager: I thought I saw someone in a red kimono...
Ginko: Damn... Were we too late?
Villager: Hey, look! I haven't caught a school this big in ages! Have you?
Villager: No! It's incredible!
Villager: Huh? Ah ahh ahh! What is that thing!?
Villager: Doctor, quick, come look!
Adashino: Ginko, they found the girl. She's alive! But her body... it's transparent.
Villager: Doctor?
Villager: How's the girl doing?
Adashino: The seawater washed off the green pigmentation, but I'm still concerned about her condition. Her body... it's like uncooked dough...
Villager: You should see the number of fish out there. They're in a frenzy, eating what's left of that green thing.
Villager: The sea is overflowing with fish, Doctor!
Villager: What a catch they'll make! If you ask me, that girl's coming as a blessing to this village.
Ginko: Hey, you're awake! Can you hear me?
Io: (sobs) (sniffs) When we finally reached... the sea, I could tell the swamp... was dying. Part of me... was so terrified of dying... But I was also... so very sad that the... the swamp... it was dying all around me... And now it's gone...
Ginko: That swamp lived for thousands of years. It chose you to accompany on its final journey. You're very fortunate.
Io: Yes...
Adashino: Yo, hey there.
Io: Dr. Adashino, hello.
Adashino: Ahh, looks like another big catch today.
Io: Yes, fish are still swarming in from all around. The swamp's remains draw them here. They feast on it.
Adashino: So, I see that your hair's changed.
Io: It has. And that's not all, I can't breathe underwater anymore, either. But I've come to accept that. I'll live a happy life here on the shores of the sea where the swamp died.
Ginko: More swamps, terrific... One, two, three, four... And here I thought that it left no trace of itself... Heh... It was coming up to the surface to leave its children behind...
Narrator: A swamp is born, but eventually goes dry... Such is the life of a swamp. But the swamp does not always accept its fate with good cheer. When a life within these waters begins to fade, it sometimes walks away.
Ginko: The cup of a young man whose left hand could breathe life into his artwork.
Adashino: Oh, please. That boy's distrust for mushi master is well-known. I doubt he'd give you an audience, let alone that cup.
Ginko: Now, now... There isn't any obligation to buy it, Dr. Adashino. I just thought this prize would go to waste in someone else's collection.
Adashino: All right, come on... Let me take a look.
Ginko: I'm willing to sell it, and at a bargain price, but only if you'll help me. On my way here, I encountered something very strange... I'd like to capture it.
Adashino: Something strange, huh?
Ginko: That's right... In all your studies, have you ever heard of a liquid mushi that can travel from place to place? A "living swamp"...
MUSHI-SHI 05.
The Traveling Swamp 旅をする沼(たびをするぬま)
Ginko: As I traveled through the mountains, I encountered many swamps.
Ginko: C'mon... Another one? Hm?
Ginko: Every time I went around one, I would glance over my shoulder and notice something very puzzling. The swamp had completely vanished, leaving no trace of itself behind. Then when I crossed the next mountain, I was met with another surprise: a swamp exactly like the one I'd just seen.
Ginko: You forest spirits like to play tricks, don't you...
Ginko: It's you again. I saw you at the last swamp. That was you, wasn't it? Can you tell me if there's a shortcut through these mountains?
Ginko: I thought she might be a hallucination at first... Her hair was this unearthly green. (gasp) It seemed as if the waters of the swamp had saturated it to the root.
Io: Excuse me... What lies in this direction? Beyond the next hill?
Ginko: Hmm? I'll answer, but only if you let me ask you a question. Is that fair enough? This swamp we're in... there's nothing ordinary about it, is theret?
Io: This swamp... it travels, you see. It comes up, sinks down in the ground, and then resurfaces in a new spot. It's on a very important journey. Like you, it seeks a passage through these mountains.
Ginko: Huh... a living swamp. That's incredible. So, are you moving along with it as it travels? Why? What for? ...Well then, anyway, if you keep heading in that direction, you'll reach the sea. I'm headed to a fishing village there to see an old friend. Once the swamp reaches the sea, it'll be impossible for you to travel with it, you know. Oh, by the way, if it's all right with you, I'd like to study the sample of swamp water in the morning.
Io: Yeah, sure.
Ginko: It's too dark to tell right now. But it might a new species...
Io: I have to admit, I didn't think you would believe me... about the swamp traveling from place to place.
Ginko: Well... let's just say, I'm used to strange things in my line of work.
Io: Line of work?
Ginko: I'm a mushi master. Mushi and their related phenomena... they're all pretty strange. Let's take the Suiko for example. A species of mushi that exists as a liquid. Suiko is clear and colorless, yet alive. It dwells primarily in old water veins, sometimes even in ponds and wells. If one mistakes Suiko for water and keeps drinking it, they soon become unable to breathe unless they're immersed in it, and even worse, their body becomes transparent. Eventually the body turns to liquid and then flows away. The mushi then disappears... to where is anyone's guess. So if things like that can exist, the idea of a traveling swamp isn't too hard to swallow. You get used to it. What about you? Didn't you ever find all this to be frightening?
Io: Not at all... I never found any of this to be frightening or strange... In fact, the first time I saw it, I got quite a different impression. It was awe-inspiring...
Ginko: Awe-inspiring? How do you mean?
Io: I was swimming, you see... The current grew strong... it pulled me down into the depths of the river... I was swallowed by the waters, unable to find my way back to the surface. I was dying... Then I saw it. Immense and green... The thing rose to meet me... then it embraced me within its folds... When I awoke, I was laying on the banks of the swamp somewhere in the mountains.
Ginko: This color...
Io: That's when I realized... the green thing that I saved me had undergone a metamorphosis of some sort. It had taken the shape of the swamp. My hair changed, too -- green, like everything else that lives here. It's a small price to pay, though. I'd be dead if it weren't for this swamp. You know... when it engulfed me, the swamp actually spoke. It said, "You may live." It granted me a new life and I'll never leave it. This swamp is the only place I can ever call home.
Io's Mother: Oh, yes... It looks beautiful on you. Pretty wedding attire for the bride-to-be of O water spirit...
Elder: We will look after your mother. Do not worry for her. Oh child, as you go to face your fate, have no fear. Instead, take comfort in the thought that your name will become legend... All will know of the noble girl whose sacrifice appeased the raging flood and saved our village from its wrath...
Io: If one keeps drinking it, their body becomes transparent... it liquefies then it flows away. ...Time to go, huh?
Ginko: Hmm? It's all going underground... ...! Hey, why are you leaving? Wait a minute! I wanted to study you too!
Io: Thank you for teaching me about so many things. But now, I must again become part of the swamp...
Ginko: No, wait! ... It's gone... Damn it! Why didn't I see it before? So this is what happens when a Suiko disappears... It doesn't just vanish as previously thought. It simply stays underground as it travels.
Io: But now, I must again become part of the swamp...
Ginko: Is she mad? Doesn't she know what will happen if she sees this through?
Io: When it engulfed me, the swamp actually spoke. It said, "You may live."
Ginko: You... you wanted to live, didn't you?
Ginko: This living swamp... it's heading for the sea.
Adashino: Hmm... A swamp heading for the sea...
Ginko: Have you ever heard of this?
Adashino: Well, now that you mention it, I think I just might have. An old fisherman told me a story years ago about a big green something that followed the river to the sea. It was larger than a whale, and when it reached the sea, it disintegrated. Just melted away. This man never claimed to see the thing, but his father did. In his opinion, it was looking for a place to die. Come -- time is of the essence. Since we haven't heard any commotion from the fishermen, I wager that your swamp hasn't arrived here as of yet.
Adashino: Ah, here it is! A map of the underground water veins in the area. It's quite rare. It was drafted based on the findings of dowsing rods a few years ago.
Ginko: How accurate is it?
Adashino: Judging by some test wells that were dug, I'd say fifty-fifty.
Ginko: The locations of the swamps I saw correspond to these water veins. Does the Suiko travel along them as if they were roads? This vein... it looks like it goes to the sea. But it forks here, makes the swamp's location hard to pin down...
Adashino: Ginko, up here. I've got another map. It's an older one, also quite rare, and it shows where the rivers were thousands of years ago. The estuaries are still in the same place, but the rivers have significantly changed.
Ginko: Enough already... Quit boasting about your collection and come down here and help me figure this... Let me see that.
Adashino: They're identical... Interesting.
Ginko: These water veins were a river a long time ago. But at some point it dried up. Over time, all that remained was a layer of stones buried underground. Rainwater drains into the ground and it seeps towards that layer of rock... Once it's there, it gathers in the form of these veins. An underground river. If that swamp is ancient, and may very well be following its memory of how the old river flowed...
Adashino: Heading for a predestined place to... die? Just like a salmon, or sweetfish.
Ginko: If it follows this vein, it will emerge in this estuary. If it reaches the sea, it's too late. Adashino!
Adashino: Hm?
Ginko: Get as many people as you can and the biggest fishing nets in the village!
Villager: That's it! Pull it! Come on!
Villager: Yeah!
Adashino: So many of you turned out to help us. Thank you so much.
Villager: You're welcome. Besides, we fishermen have a lot of idle time on our hands right now. This time of year, there's so few fish in these waters that you'd think the sea had gone and died.
Villager: After all you've done for us, we'd do anything for you, Dr. Adashino.
Ginko: Being a doctor bought you this loyalty?
Adashino: Not just that. Don't forget -- I'm charming.
Adashino: Be honest, even after all this effort, you really don't know if these nets will actually snag that girl, do you?
Ginko: No. But it's the only chance I think we have at saving her.
Adashino: Tell me, why is this so important to you? This girl -- why does she weigh so heavy on your conscience? I could sympathize with your concern better if the girl had said she wanted to live. But from what you told me, it sounds like her sole desire was to become part of the swamp. Perhaps this path she has chosen brings her happiness. And if that's so, should we deny her fate, however cruel it may seem?
Ginko: You know that green cup that I brought you...
Adashino: Huh?
Ginko: It's a recreation of one that belonged to that young man's grandmother. She brought the original to a mushi banquet that was unfortunately cut short. That left her trapped in limbo between two worlds and in a ghostly state that was neither mushi nor human. Recreating that cup allowed her grandson to see her again. But that stole her humanity. I made her mushi because she requested it. But I... I question if I did the right thing or not. Becoming mushi isn't like a traditional death. Mushi occupy a spot between the living and the dead. That means the person still lives in one sense, but then they're dead in yet another. Imagine what that must be like. Wouldn't a natural death be more tolerable than living for eons? A life where everything that made you human is whittled away, bit by bit, until absolutely none of it remains? That's the sad fate for which the girl is headed... She even dressed up for the occasion. Her kimono would suit a wedding, or in her case, someone's funeral. So, yes... this cruel fate of hers... it is one to be denied.
Villager: If you ask me, there's nothing out there.
Villager: What was that? Did you hear something?
Villager: It's here! It's here!
Villager: Hold on!
Villager: What is that thing?
Villager: Hold it, it's coming! I got a clear shot!
Ginko: No, stop! There's a woman in there!
Villager: Wha--!?
Villager: Hang on! Don't let go!
Villager: I-it slipped through the net...
Villager: I thought I saw someone in a red kimono...
Ginko: Damn... Were we too late?
Villager: Hey, look! I haven't caught a school this big in ages! Have you?
Villager: No! It's incredible!
Villager: Huh? Ah ahh ahh! What is that thing!?
Villager: Doctor, quick, come look!
Adashino: Ginko, they found the girl. She's alive! But her body... it's transparent.
Villager: Doctor?
Villager: How's the girl doing?
Adashino: The seawater washed off the green pigmentation, but I'm still concerned about her condition. Her body... it's like uncooked dough...
Villager: You should see the number of fish out there. They're in a frenzy, eating what's left of that green thing.
Villager: The sea is overflowing with fish, Doctor!
Villager: What a catch they'll make! If you ask me, that girl's coming as a blessing to this village.
Ginko: Hey, you're awake! Can you hear me?
Io: (sobs) (sniffs) When we finally reached... the sea, I could tell the swamp... was dying. Part of me... was so terrified of dying... But I was also... so very sad that the... the swamp... it was dying all around me... And now it's gone...
Ginko: That swamp lived for thousands of years. It chose you to accompany on its final journey. You're very fortunate.
Io: Yes...
Adashino: Yo, hey there.
Io: Dr. Adashino, hello.
Adashino: Ahh, looks like another big catch today.
Io: Yes, fish are still swarming in from all around. The swamp's remains draw them here. They feast on it.
Adashino: So, I see that your hair's changed.
Io: It has. And that's not all, I can't breathe underwater anymore, either. But I've come to accept that. I'll live a happy life here on the shores of the sea where the swamp died.
Ginko: More swamps, terrific... One, two, three, four... And here I thought that it left no trace of itself... Heh... It was coming up to the surface to leave its children behind...
Narrator: A swamp is born, but eventually goes dry... Such is the life of a swamp. But the swamp does not always accept its fate with good cheer. When a life within these waters begins to fade, it sometimes walks away.