Yotsuya Kaidan
"Yotsuya Ghost
Story" is a retelling of the classic Japanese ghost story, written by
the 18th century kabuki playwright Nanboku Tsuruya IV.
In the anime, Nanboku
himself becomes the narrator. Iemon Tamiya is a ronin samurai who
marries a beautiful woman named Oiwa. Oiwa is happy with her married life and
the birth of their child, but Iemon feels the burden of their poverty.
In return for the promise of
a job by a rich man, Iemon promises to marry the man's daughter and conspires
to murder his own wife. A servant is ordered by the rich man's daughter to
poison Oiwa's food; the toxin permanently disfigures Oiwa's face.
Iemon then orders his
servant to kill her after having his way with her. Oiwa commits suicide after
coming to know of Iemon's treachery. Another of Iemon's servants is also killed
and, along with the dead Oiwa, is nailed to a piece of wooden board and tossed
into the river.
After Oiwa's death, Iemon
marries the rich man's daughter, as promised. But Oiwa's vengeful spirit could
not rest in peace, and she lays a curse on everyone involved with her demise.
One by one, Oiwa's enemies die a horrible death, including the rich man and his
daughter, and Iemon is plagued by visions of Oiwa's ghost.
Tenshu Monogatari
"Goddess of the Dark
Tower" is based on Tenshu Monogatari, a play by Kyōka Izumi. It
tells the story of a forbidden love between a god and a human. In medieval
Japan, Zushonosuke Himekawa is a falconer who is sent by his master Lord Harima
to retrieve a precious falcon named Kojiro.
Zushonosuke's search is
initially fruitless, though it leads him to a chance encounter with a beautiful
woman bathing in a lake. Zushonosuke falls in love with her at first sight.
When news reach Lord Harima
that the falcon has in fact fled to the castle keep of Shirasagi-jo,
Zushonosuke is ordered to go there to bring the falcon back.
Accompanied by two friendly
demons, Zushonosuke makes his way to Shirasagi-jo, which is rumored to be
inhabited by beings called Wasuregami (Forgotten Gods). At the castle,
Zushonosuke is surprised to find the same beautiful woman he encountered
before, who introduces herself as Tomihime (Princess Tomi), beginning their
forbidden romance.
Baka Neko
The episodes are presented
like a play, with sliding screens taking the place of curtains. The tale takes
place in the Edo period, with Ukiyo-e style artwork.
Act one
A wandering medicine peddler
arrives at the house of the Sakai Clan on a wedding day, however as he crosses
the threshold to the clan household he senses something is not right. It's not
a happy day. To save themselves from disgrace and the poor-house, the family
sold their only daughter's marriage to the Shiono Clan to clear their debts.
The peddler is not welcome, but Kayo the maidservant allows him in the kitchen.
Grateful, the peddler shows Kayo some special "marriage aids" for the
bride, Lady Mao. Kayo's bravery and good sense will aid the peddler throughout
the tale. As the bride crosses the threshold to meet her wedding escort, she
dies mysteriously. The peddler being an outsider brings him under suspicion,
and so he is seized and bound in ropes. Odajima searches the Peddler's pack for
poison, but finds odd medicines and curios before he finds a bejeweled sword,
which the peddler explains is a sword of Taima which is used to kill demons.
The house comes under a demonic attack. The ropes magically fall from the
peddler's arms and he casts paper wards on the walls to protect everyone. The
wards will not hold for long, so the peddler urges the family and their
retainers to reveal the terrible event that has caused such a powerful demon to
appear. As soon as the peddler can discern the shape (katachi), truth (makoto)
and reasoning (regret, kotowari) of the demon, the sword of Taima will
unsheathe and dispel it. The peddler and Odajima find black cat hair, so the
demon has the shape of a cat, a bake neko.
Act two
To save their lives, the
peddler must know the truth and reasoning behind the demonic attacks. No one
will talk. While they stew in their fear, the peddler makes a protective ring
of salt and magical scales. When the peddler returns, Kayo the maidservant
confesses that she threw water on any cat that entered the kitchen. Kayo
accuses Miss Sato of buying all the cats in the area. Sato explains that Master
Sasaoka gave her the money and ordered her to do it. Sasaoka explains he had to
give the cats to Lord Yoshikuni, the elder son. Yoshikuni explains he cut up
the cats, to test the sharpness of his swords—a trivial matter. Enraged, the
bake neko surges through the door and devours Lady Mizue and Master Katsuyama,
her faithful retainer. The survivors flee to a secret room. They find a white
wedding kimono, which turns blood red. Sato hysterically blames Clan Lord
Yoshiyuki for the bake neko attacks.
Final act
Lord Yoshiyuki confesses
there was an incident 25 years earlier. He kidnapped Tamaki, a peasant girl on
the way to her wedding. He planned to return her, but she was friendly to him,
so he kept her as his mistress. He gave her lavish kimono and fine foods, but
she was secretly "full of regret and remorse." One day, Tamaki killed
herself. As the bake neko breaks through the final barrier, the peddler
attempts to unsheathe his sword, but fails. Mostly powerless the peddler
laments that he is still unaware of the true nature of the demon, and nearly
leaves. However Odajima calls to him for aid, as the remaining members of the
clan are attacking Kayo and Odajima out of spite, which causes the peddler to
erect protective barriers around them. While the peddler is still powerless the
bake neko grabs and devours Yoshikuni, Sasaoka, and then Miss Sato.
The sword of Taima opens its
mouth and reveals the truth in a vision from the demon itself. Tamaki was not a
pampered, willing mistress. She was an abused prisoner—caged in this very room.
Being a cruel man, Yoshiyuki butchered a mother cat and her kittens, which were
living in this room. He didn't see the kitten hiding on top of Tamaki's cage.
After Yoshiyuki left, Tamaki hid the kitten in her cage. Sato knew Tamaki was a
kidnapped bride, but mocked her when she brought her a few scraps of food.
Tamaki comforted and fed the kitten, so it would grow strong and escape as she
could not. Tamaki told the kitten, he would be free for the both of them.
One day, Yoshiyuki caught
his eldest son, Yoshikuni, raping Tamaki. To punish her for seducing his son,
he beat her near to death. The kitten, now grown into an adult cat, came out of
hiding and faithfully defended Tamaki. The cat could not win against armed
samurai, so with her dying breath, Tamaki told the cat, "Run." The
cat escaped. The vision ends with Sasaoka dumping Tamaki's corpse down an old
well. The cat's regret from being unable to protect her, combined with Tamaki's
sorrow, eventually turned the cat into the demon. With the shape, truth, and
reasoning (regret) being known, the sword of Taima unseals itself and the
peddler is able to draw it.
Disgusted by the family's
evil deeds, the peddler begs the bake neko for forgiveness for what he must do.
The sword releases the peddler's true spirit-nature from the human shell,
allowing him to exorcise the bake neko's grief and release it from its
vengeance. The confrontation and exorcism are spectacular. The demon returns to
its dimension, the peddler returns to his human form, and the aged corpse of
Tamaki's cat lies on the floor of the secret room.
Post credits epilogue
The only remaining member of
the clan, Lord Yoshiyuki pleads with the medicine peddler and reasons that he
was not deceptive. The medicine peddler agrees with him, but tells him that the
"truth" he told was his own perception and that he should rethink how
truthful his side of the events really is. Now knowing the clan's secret, Kayo
resolves that she can no longer serve the household and will return to her
parents' home. Odajima seeks to accompany the peddler, but the peddler tells
him that he should seek his own destiny. Before leaving, Kayo and Odajima bury
the cat next to the old well, which is Tamaki's grave. They leave flowers and
pray for the two souls. As the peddler leaves someone asks him what became of
the wedding which causes him to look back. He sees the spirits of Tamaki and
the cat cross the threshold and leave the house of their torment and deaths.
Tamaki is laughing with joy to be reunited with her cat, which is once again, just
an innocent kitten. Silently the medicine peddler departs.
Episode: 11 + 12
Original Run
Season 1: January 13, 2006 – March 24, 2006
Season 2: July 12, 2007 – September 27, 2007
Studio: Toei Animation
