Here, Minato.
Okay!
Hm?
Where did the sweets go?!
G-Grandpa!
Ah, so you're finally able to see them.
Looks like you only see good ones.
Who was that little girl?
A Zashiki-warashi, a house spirit.
She's lived here far longer than I have.
Don't get mad if she takes your snacks.
Be generous and let her have some if she wants.
Okay.
Listen, Minato.
You can see what other people can't.
Someday, there will be a time when your power will help you.
Bus Stop
Hurry up!
Hold on!
Wait for me!
Come on!
Hello there.
H-Hello.
Yes. I'm on my way to the site.
I've never seen him around here.
Yo, young master Harima!
Let's go.
Please do not call me that!
This is it.
Hm? What's that?
It looks kind of hazy to me.
Static electricity?
Hm? It's lighter now.
Oh!
A Mountain God Visits the Garden of Gods
Wow, so big!
But it'll need a lot of TLC.
All right!
Clean up cardboard boxes Vacuum Clean the bathroom Clean the entranceway
Did you get there, Minato?
Clean up cardboard boxes Vacuum Clean the bathroom Clean the entranceway
Gardener at 9AM tomorrow Packages arrive tomorrow afternoon
Did you eat something?
Mom, I'm not a kid anymore.
Be a good caretaker, okay?
Are you sure I get to live here by myself?
I told you.
Your father's distant relative built it for their retirement, but they died.
And no one has lived there for two years.
The garden is bigger than I thought.
And it feels like it's too big for me.
But you have all the time in the world.
I'm counting on you.
It's such a nice house.
Why was there no buyer?
Who knows?
Some people did come to view it, but they all declined.
Clean up cardboard boxes Vacuum Clean the bathroom Clean the entranceway
Gardener at 9AM tomorrow Packages arrive tomorrow afternoon
I'm not sure why, though.
Are you saying it's cursed or something?
Okay. And we've got...
A gardener's coming tomorrow...
Flowers?
Who put these here?
Thank you for your work.
What a transformation.
Oh no, it wasn't a lot of work at all.
Shall I find something to plant around there?
It looks rather empty right now.
That's true, but I'm only here temporarily.
So perhaps I shouldn't change things too much.
Is that so?
Did you hurt yourself?
Oh, it's been giving me problems lately.
Oh no! Sorry, my memo...
Is everything okay?
Feels light.
Huh?
It was a struggle to raise my arm, but see?
Wow.
It feels so light!
Hm?
It's disappeared again?
Did you put the mugwort there?
What?
No. When did it get there?
Can I keep it?
Hm?
Japanese raspberry!
Let's find a thank-you gift.
It's an offering, so should I go with sake and Japanese sweets?
Or...
A... dog?
I'm coming in.
A-A dog s-spoke?!
Not a dog.
I'm a yamagami.
Yamagami
Yamagami?
A god of the neighboring mountain.
A god.
Then you're Yamagami-san.
Quite.
You're not surprised at all.
Huh? I'm... sorry?
You're a strange one.
Are you the one who's been bringing me stuff?
Indeed.
Just small gifts.
Thank you very much.
Oh, here you go.
I bought these for you.
To return your favor.
What do you think? Tastes good?
Mmm! A bit fatty, but delicious.
Would you like sake to cleanse your palate?
I'm not at my full strength yet.
So water will do.
Here you go.
It's store-bought water.
Is it okay?
Delightful.
It can compete with the spring water of my mountain.
I'm glad to hear that.
You've been a lifesaver.
You have my thanks.
A lifesaver?
You exorcised evil.
While I was weakened, evil ran amok here.
It was fun to see them completely wiped out.
What?
Your handwriting exorcises evil.
My handwriting?
Oh! That's why they disappeared!
Excuse me!
Sorry, I seem to have left my tool here.
How embarrassing it is to leave my tool behind.
Oh.
Oh, this is...!
There it is.
Sorry for the intrusion, Kusunoki-san.
Thank you!
You're the only one who can see me.
Would you like some more?
Please.
Here you go.
It's sparkling water.
I-It tingles my tongue!
It is rather nice.
That's good.
But why does my handwriting have a power like that?
Not sure.
Has anyone complimented on your handwriting?
Oh, just once that I can remember.
I made a nameplate as an assignment for school when I was a child.
My family runs a hot spring inn.
I carved the inn's name, and my father displayed it.
Kusunoki's Inn
My handwriting was worse than it is now,
but one day, a mysterious customer came and...
Hmm, this is excellent.
Did you really make this?
Yes.
Be sure not to take it down.
I recommend making one more and displaying it at your house as well.
He even said he'd pay me if I made one for him.
He must have been able to see things.
Since then, making nameplates for my family's house has become my hobby.
Kusunoki
So I made some for this house too.
Kusunoki
Go ahead and put them up.
Now the back door.
Kusunoki
What was that, Yamagami-san?
A barrier was formed.
Around this house?
Correct.
Now evil things cannot even approach this house.
Is my nameplate that powerful?
Your power is rare.
If you become aware of it and hone it, you shall gain greater power.
Okay...?
A few days later
I'm coming in.
Welcome! Good to see you, Yamagami-san.
Would you like some sweets?
Don't mind if I do.
You seem to like Japanese sweets.
Quite. They're delectable.
Is it just me, or are you glowing?
It's all thanks to you.
Because you're eating a lot?
That's trivial.
It's because you pay respect to me.
Yamagami-san, thank you for coming to visit my house.
Wow! Now that's what I expect from a god.
Naturally. I'm Yamagami, a mountain god.
Y-Yamagami-san.
Yes?
Maybe you can turn it down a bit?
You're blinding me.
Kusunoki's Garden of Gods
Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen!
Crap!
Shit, it escaped to the outside!
Let me take care of it!
Harima!
There's a shopping district up ahead.
I must exorcise it here.
That young man!
Oh, no!
What?!
A strong evil spirit like that, gone in a flash?!
Are you all right?!
Oh no! It disappeared again!
My handwriting, see?
I wrote down what to buy so I wouldn't forget.
It's, you know, that.
That can be anything.
It's a daily essential, and you need them on a specified day of the week.
Trash bags?
That's it!
Do you know where I can buy those around here?
There's a drug store up ahead.
Is that so?
Thank you for your help.
Goodbye!
Exactly who is that young man?
Oh, Yamagami-san.
I didn't know you were here...
A-Amazing!
Did you do all this?!
'Tis nothing.
I'm Yamagami, a mountain god.
I didn't know you could do stuff like this.
Are you getting smaller?
Because I used my power.
You're quite adorable now.
No matter. I shall grow back soon enough.
A few days later
Yamagami-san hasn't visited in a while.
I hope he's okay.
Yamagami-san!
I wonder if something happened.
No need to worry.
Hm? Yamagami-san!
What?!
You've grown even smaller?!
How much power did you use shrink down like that?!
Hm?
Wait, offspring?!
You gave birth?!
To triplets, no less?!
Oh, but Yamagami-san is an old man.
"An old man"? How rude.
Huh?
At least call him an older gentleman!
He's no geezer, you hear?
What?! Huh?!
They are martens.
My minions.
Minions?
I've split myself to create them.
That's why you shrank so much.
Indeed.
Seri
I am Seri.
Name's Torika.
Torika
I'm called Utsugi!
Utsugi
I'm Minato. Nice to meet you.
Oh, are you all hungry?
This smells so good!
Utsugi, behave yourself.
It's called castella.
Do you want some?
So tasty!
Extremely delicious!
This is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted in my life!
Because you all were just born.
So you like Western sweets.
You can have as much as you want.
Really?!
Thank you!
I love you, Minato!
I hope I have enough.
They got full and fell asleep.
So cute.
Wow! You really went back to normal!
You have a visitor.
What is this place?!
I sense something extraordinary.
Could this be sacred ground?!
Oh, you're from the other day.
Excuse me.
May I please come in?
Onmyoji
Onmyoji?
Like in a fantasy?
I work for a public institution.
My name is Harima Saiga.
I'm Kusunoki Minato.
It was your power that exorcised the evil spirit the other day, right?
I did?
Oh, maybe back then?
Lately, troublesome evil spirits are on the rise,
but there aren't enough onmyoji to get rid of them.
People who can exorcise are rare to begin with.
I see.
Would you sell us your talisman?
Talisman?
He wants paper with your handwriting on it.
What?
You mean this?
Right.
Dorayaki Castella Sake steamed bun
He cannot see me, either.
Oh...
This is just my shopping list.
A shopping list?!
Not even worth one yen a piece.
An evil spirit that was too powerful for three onmyoji was
exorcised by an amateur with a shopping list?!
But if you like, I can write you something.
Spell it with gusto.
Much appreciated.
What is he going to write?
Here I go!
Brown sugar bun, chestnut bun, Kibi dumplings, mugwort dumplings...
A-Are you okay?
Y-Yes.
Brown sugar bun Chestnut bun Kibi dumplings Mugwort dumplings Sakura mochi
This light!
Brown sugar bun
Kibi dumplings
Chestnut bun
Mugwort dumplings
Sakura mochi
How can a layperson's list of sweets have such power?!
Impossible!
Huh?
I'm exhausted.
Because you used your power.
Brown sugar bun Chestnut bun Kibi dumplings Mugwort dumplings Sakura mochi
I'm sorry, this is all I've got.
It's more than enough.
This is your payment.
I can't take this!
The note pad is from a 100-yen store!
This is what it's worth.
Actually it's not enough.
I can bring the rest at a later date.
I can't take this!
You must!
But there's no way I can take it!
And I'm telling you to just take it!
Take it.
No, no!
That man will not back off.
Okay, then... Thank you.
But...
I feel bad, so will you give me your hand?
A pentagram is the symbol of onmyoji, right?
It might help a little bit.
Excuse me.
Hello, this is Harima.
Sorry, but I—
Harima-san, we urgently need your help!
Katsuragi-san!
Horikawa!
Don't be reckless!
Even you can't exorcise an evil of this size alone.
Wha...
What the?!
Kusunoki's Garden of Gods
Episode 2: "The Shrine in the Mountain and the Sacred Tree in the Garden"
Next Time
The Shrine in the Mountain and the Sacred Tree in the Garden