They seem strange and alien.
Primitive and peculiar,
they are unlike any flora or fauna known to us.
Since time immemorial,
men have feared these misshapen entities,
which came to be known as "mushi."
Mushi
And we broke
Everything that was right
We both enjoyed a good fight
And we sewed
All the holes we had to breathe
To make the other one leave
And I loved
The way you looked at me
And I miss
The way you made me feel
When we were alone
And I'll shiver like I used to
And I'll leave him just for you
And I'll shiver like I used to
Mushi-Shi
Just for you
Like I used to
Whenever he drank, my father would tell me this story.
I wonder how many years it's been now.
One evening, on his way home from a neighboring village,
he found himself lost.
He walked and walked until he lost sight of the road,
but just when he was at a complete loss...
Finally!
Thank goodness.
That's where the road must be.
Huh? I wonder where that light is coming from.
The Banquet at the Edge of the Forest
As he drew closer,
an indescribably alluring scent of sake wafted toward him.
With that scent compelling him to sit down and take a sip,
he snuck into the gathering to do just so.
The sake he'd smelled gleamed like pure gold.
Rokusuke.
Oh, I'm over here!
You've done a fine job.
You can head home for the day and relax.
Thank you.
Oh, um, Brewmaster?
Hm?
I was wondering if I might take home a bit of this year's sake.
Oh, of course.
I'm certain your father will be impressed this year.
When I was young, whenever Dad brewed sake,
I'd have to take it to the neighboring village, much like I'm doing now.
During those times,
the moment I stepped onto the mountain path,
I felt like there were things clinging to me everywhere.
Whoa...
Phew, that was close.
By the time I finally reached the village,
there was always noticeably less sake.
The brewmaster confronted me about it one day and scolded me rather harshly,
but my father never once reproached me because of it.
When you were in the mountains, did it feel like something was clinging to you?
It did! There was stuff all around me that I couldn't see,
and before I knew it, some of the sake had disappeared.
Really!
I see.
Those things that clung to you love good sake.
They must have found our brew to be to their liking again this year.
But even tasting this good, it's still a far cry from that golden sake.
Golden sake?
I've told you about it before, haven't I?
That shining, golden sake...
I'll never forget how it tasted.
I've been trying to get my sake to taste like that ever since.
Sake is a living thing, you know.
If I open up my senses and listen to what it's saying,
I'm certain it'll respond to me someday.
Sake can speak?
Yeah.
If you intend to brew sake yourself one day, be sure to remember that.
I've finally done it, Dad.
Yeah, it's perfect!
Whoa!
I'm tripping all over myself, for some reason.
Am I drunk already?
Huh?
Where am I?
I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere.
I should retrace my steps.
What?
What is this? Are these hairs from a wild animal?
Wai—
Hey!
Stop!
Hey, where are you taking it?!
Get back here.
Give me that!
Huh? I wonder where that light's coming from.
Why are they in a place like this?
What are you doing?
Um, well...
Oh, you have kouki.
No need for you to be shy, then.
The sake's shining.
Does that mean this is...
the sake Dad told me about?
I don't remember ever meeting you before.
You a new mushi-shi?
Huh?
Uh...
So they'll go away if I give them some sake?
"Mushi-shi"? Is that what these people are?
Hey, Ginko.
I've got some good mushi cigarettes this time.
You don't say.
Want a few in exchange for some kouki?
What, are you out?
I don't have much left myself, though.
Come on!
I'm sure you can spare at least a drop!
All right, then... in exchange for all your cigarettes.
What?!
Isn't that a bit too much?
Well, you're the one who ran out of kouki.
Come on, man, don't be like that.
Hey, you!
That's right. I'm talking to you.
That's kouki you've got in there, isn't it?
Can't you spread the love a little?
Actually, this is...
That jug looks nice and heavy.
Quit being so stingy.
If you're not interested in mushi cigarettes, I've got other goods too.
This cup looks so familiar.
Oh, that caught your eye?
I was told that it's a very famous piece.
I traded a cup of kouki for it back in the day.
You've got quite the eye, young man.
You forgot to mention that when you tried to pawn it, you found out it was a piece of junk.
You jerk!
This belonged to Dad.
Come on, Ginko!
Why don't you just shut your trap?
Dad used to carry this around everywhere.
What gives you the right to interfere in my business?
Can I have this?
What? You'll give me some kouki for that?
Eh?
Well, can't say I have a problem with that.
Thanks a lot.
You're welcome.
He's not going to drink it?
Actually, now that I notice it,
not one person here is drinking the shining sake.
What in the world could it be for?
By the way, Watari's crew is running a bit late, huh?
Yeah.
Seems they're having trouble getting things ready.
Getting what ready?
Again?
I'll go take a look.
I'd like to come too...
Hey there, young man. You sure have a lot of kouki there.
Care to share some with me as well?
Yeah, and me too!
What?
Who's there?
Hey, Isaza.
It's me.
Oh, Ginko.
How have you been?
Not bad, thank you.
We're about to get started.
We just decided on the location.
Having trouble finding a node of the River of Light again?
I suppose.
This site is rather old, after all.
Perhaps next time, we'd be better off looking elsewhere.
Has it dried up?
It's starting to dive deep underground.
But I'm sure it will return once it's regained its strength.
What's going on?
Is something about to start?
It's filled to the brim with shining sake now!
What is this trickery?
Hey, something's off.
Think that guy's a fake?
N-No!
It wasn't me.
It was him!
I got that kouki from him.
He's the one who brought the fake kouki!
Hey, get back here!
After him!
What was that all about?
Did I do something wrong?
I've got to get out of here as fast as I can.
Hey! He's over—
Wait, please!
I didn't mean to do anything wrong.
All I wanted was to try that shining sake.
I'm very sorry I pretended to be one of you to blend in.
But...
So you're not a mushi-shi?
No, I'm not.
I'm just a sake brewer from the foot of this mountain.
A brewer?
Then that sake you're holding is...
It's the sake we made this year.
It took years of trial and error before we managed to make this.
I was passing through, taking some home to my sick father so he could try it.
But then I got lost and somehow found all of you. That's all.
Please just let me go!
How exactly did you make that sake?
After my father, the former brewmaster, collapsed,
our sake lost its flavor.
Although I made sure I brewed the sake just like he used to,
I soon learned I also needed more time and experience to even come close to him.
Nevertheless, I wanted to maintain our brewery's image,
so I tried changing the rice, the water...
I tried everything I could think of, but nothing worked.
And then, one day, I had an idea.
I wondered what would happen if I tried changing the yeast.
So although our brewery had always used whatever yeast we had on hand,
I decided to try wild yeast for the first time.
Since yeast feeds on sugar,
I went around collecting yeasts from the nectars of different flowers.
I cultured and then used them,
but most had no significant effect on the sake.
However, one of the barrels was different.
Its yeast produced a beautiful sake with a golden glow.
So it was from nectar.
And drinking that sake didn't cause any odd side effects?
I didn't drink much of it, so I can't say for sure,
but I suppose it did make me feel strange.
I had an odd hallucination where I saw these dark red hairs everywhere.
That was no hallucination.
That was a Shoujounohige, or "Drinker's Beard" mushi.
Shoujounohige (Drinker's Beard)
We mushi-shi use them as guides when we hold rituals.
While there are many mushi that are attracted to sake,
Shoujounohige only bring real kouki back to their nests.
If even they were deceived,
your sake's quite impressive.
Very well.
I'll believe your story.
So you'll let me go?
Under one condition:
that you do not distribute that sake to others.
Sake that allows people to see mushi would probably cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Besides, even if the taste is exemplary,
I doubt a sake that makes people "hallucinate" would be good for your brewery's image.
What you used as "yeast" was likely a Suimitsutou, or "Nectar Sucker" mushi.
Like yeast, they are microscopic, and they metabolize sugar, fermenting it until it becomes sake.
Some have said that Suimitsutou may be used to brew fake kouki,
but no known attempts at this have succeeded.
In other words, your brewing skills are beyond compare.
May I ask you something?
What is this "kouki" that you keep mentioning?
It is the essence of life itself.
It is a panacea for those who suffer from mushi-related afflictions.
And what are "mushi"?
Well...
they're part of that which shapes this world.
Nothing more, nothing less.
By the way, about that sake you brewed...
Huh?
Although you're not able to distribute it openly...
What?
The following morning,
I returned to the brewery to find everyone in an uproar
because they had gotten drunk and had "hallucinated."
After a discussion,
we decided to not sell or distribute that sake but to keep it in the storeroom for the time being.
We kept it because, from time to time, we'd get strange visitors who wanted to buy it.
Where do these people even learn about that sake?
I have no idea.
What do you mean by "openly"?
Well, that sake could be useful to us mushi-shi.
So I'll send out word that there's a brewery that makes interesting sake.
But won't that cause them to come after me?
If you're only selling it, it shouldn't be a problem.
They gave you a hard time just now because you were trading it as kouki.
It's all about how you use it.
How would you mushi-shi use it?
Well, in a lot of different ways.
There are many cases that can be solved by making the invisible visible.
I see.
So you met those people just as I did.
Though that man shared his sake with me, it wasn't nice of me to trade him this.
Anyway, did you decide to try that sake?
No.
You should've. It was delicious.
It's okay.
I remember the taste of your sake, Dad.
I plan to try again from square one to reach that level—properly this time.
I want to be able to hear what the sake is saying.
Since that evening, I never saw those mushi-shi in the mountains again.
The golden sake we made is almost gone, too.
There are still times when the sake we brew doesn't turn out well.
At times like those,
I drink some of that golden sake I saved.
I can only see them when I've had some of that sake,
but whenever I do see them— so vibrant and alive—
they help give me the strength to keep going.
The Banquet at the Edge of the Forest
The
Warbling
Seashell
"The Warbling Seashell."