Misogiya
Listen well, Hinata, Kaoru.
You gotta stay far away from the fence in the mountains.
That land belongs to a god.
And only its servants are allowed to enter.
In a remote part of the country, on a lush, fertile mountain...
There is a settlement that is said to have its roots in the far distant past.
Beyond it, deep in the wilderness, is an area fenced off so that none may enter.
KEEP OUT
None of the locals even dream of setting foot near it.
It has been known as forbidden ground since ancient times,
and is said to be the location of a strange shrine.
The shrine is kept hidden away from curious eyes,
Private Property No Trespassing
intruders warded off by signs that simply claim it to be private property.
But something darker lies within. Something that should never be disturbed.
"A glimpse will sicken you; a touch will curse you."
Only the oldest local families still remember these oral legends...
but they all refer to the same entity.
They called it... Yamatagi-Madara.
As the cold front moving over the Kinki region delivers heavy moisture,
strong rains will continue to fall.
There is currently a heavy rain alert for the northern section of Nara Prefecture,
with Ojin-cho expected to receive brief bursts of intense rain,
raising the risk of landslides...
Kaoru!
The trains aren't running, so Mom and Dad are stuck where they are.
Grampa's real late back from the mountain, too.
You worried?
Wanna go check on him, then?
Long as we keep away from the fence, we won't get in trouble.
My word... A landslide!
But... the shrine...!
Oh, no!
What about... its contents?!
Was that... Grampa?
Aw hell, the fence got knocked down.
Keep your eyes peeled for sharp wires'n stuff.
A bell?
Who's there?!
Omatani-sama. Madara-sama. Madara-Gozen.
You humans have called me many things.
But the oldest of them all...
is Yamatagi-Madara.
That is my name.
Oh, Yamada-san?
Uh, no. It's not a surname. And don't shorten it.
That'd make my given name "Gimadara." What the hell language is that?
This is the problem with foreigners.
You there, lad. Does the girl even understand Japanese?
I know how my little bro looks, but he's Japanese born and bred.
Your...
brother?!
And he's Japanese?
That's kinda hot.
Lady, you really think you should be buck-naked in front of a grade-school boy?
Want my raincoat?
It wouldn't fit.
Well, doesn't look like Grampa came a cropper, so let's head back.
Good point.
He's gonna yell at us if he catches us out in this weather.
True that.
Is your reaction to me not somewhat... muted?
I mean, you're that god, right?
Grampa already told us you lived here.
Yeah.
You've nerves of steel.
I'm Hinata Misogiya. And this here's my little bro, Kaoru.
Well, seeya next time!
Later!
Nerves of steel!
A fifth-grader at the local elementary school. Relatively tall for his age. A seemingly mild- mannered boy who inherited his blond hair and blue eyes from his Australian father.
Accustomed to wearing girls' clothes due to his mother's penchant for dressing him in cute outfits when he was very young. However, he personally doesn't have a strong preference either way, and will generally wear whatever is bought for him. While his family can sometimes be a handful, overall he gets along very well with them and is happy at home.
You must never approach those grounds.
A glimpse will sicken you; a touch will curse you.
Its name, passed down since ancient times, is Yamatagi-Madara.
Yamatagi-Madara
Dara-san of the Reiwa Era
When this town was formed from the integration of the settlements
at the foot of these two small mountains,
traces of indigenous culture were left behind:
wild gods, mountain gods, and yokai of all varieties.
It is said those who venture too far into the mountains will be cursed to suffer.
It is said those who trespass upon divine ground will never return.
It is said that those who defile a shrine
will be found dead with their limbs shattered.
Misogiya
Even the Misogiya clan, stewards of the mountains for generations,
tell tales of a strange entity with a snake-like body
massive enough to coil around a house.
For its form and pattern they called it
Yamatagi-Madara: the speckled house-straddler.
Each family head passed down the same warning to the next:
that it was always watching.
I'm Hinata Misogiya. And this here's my little bro, Kaoru.
Misogiya... If memory serves, that's the family that looks after this mountain.
'Tis no surprise they would know of me, then.
Perhaps they were reminded of how dangerous I am once they returned home.
In any case, if they're of Misogiya stock,
it's certain they'll be told to avoid the mountain.
I doubt I'll ever see them—
Hey! There you are.
'Sup?
And there they are.
Yes. Right. Understood.
We need to make sure no one from town goes near.
Right. There was an actual landslide, so...
Yes, I've already got an idea of where.
And the fence will need to be dismantled and moved.
More than that, though... I'm...
I'm somehow more frightened now that I've seen it
and nothing has happened to me.
Until tomorrow, then. Let the priestess know I'm sorry. Goodbye.
Grampa, how's the mountain faring after the storm?
Hinata?! Did you hear all that?
Huh? Not really.
Just sounded like a pretty serious conversation to me.
I see.
You don't need to worry about a thing!
But don't go anywhere near the mountain! Especially any time soon!
The fence is one thing, but there was a landslide thanks to the storm!
So until we know it's safe again, whatever you do, just stay away!
Sure! You got it!
And that's what Grampa said.
Why don't you try listening when an adult tells you something?
He's right, too. The ground's a mess further in, so keep your distance!
Still, thinking back, I might've made the wrong call.
The landslide and the toppled trees
did a real number on both the shrine and the torii gate...
Hot damn, what a mess!
But it was a natural disaster, y'know?
So if someone comes up the mountain to clean things up...
Can I really consider that trespassing?
Maybe just give anybody that shows up a light cursing?
Which of us isn't human, again?
I'll have you know, I'm far from being some indiscriminate force of malevolence!
Yes. Yes'm.
Or should I curse the people who come to repair my domain? T'would be senseless!
Yes. You're totally right.
Thinking back, if anyone deserves a light cursing, it's the two of you.
Given how you just waltzed in here.
Actually, about last night...
I think you'd be scarier if you kept mum. Talking just makes you seem reasonable.
I responded out of habit when you addressed me!
Proposal
Rejected
Proposal rejected.
That's all you're gonna eat?
My offerings are few and far between nowadays.
And most are Japanese snacks that don't keep
or crops that I can grab for myself.
It's rare that I get to enjoy a hot meal.
So, I dug around in the house's storage,
and found some stuff written 'bout you, Yamada-san.
But the calligraphy's too fancy. Can't read it.
So I took a pic. Here.
Aye, this largely rings true.
Is this what cell phones are like now?
You know about cell phones?
Do you think me so ignorant?
The one time I scared off a cocky punk that passed by,
I feasted on his full data allowance and then some!
Sadly, the service was since canceled.
Now that's really scary.
But if everything written here is true,
doesn't everyone who stops by turn up dead or missing?
I mean, I only kept that up until the Taisho era or so.
See, people may not know this anymore,
but this land used to be home to a snake that was so huge,
it could straddle the valley. It was the master of these mountains.
That monster was the first one to be called Yamatagi-Madara.
Though to be honest, at that point it was more of a wild god or mountain god.
The simple, lazy explanation is that I'm a vengeful spirit who assimilated it—
an ancient, cursed entity.
Vengeful...?
Does that mean you've got a grudge against someone?
I used to.
People toss around the phrase, "A curse upon your bloodline," but...
The snake god has been calmed for now.
I know that alone is scant comfort, but with how depleted I am...
It will have to be re-sealed at dawn with the help of my sister.
But, my sister, how could the seal break in the first place?
Hold her down harder!
Don't let her use her sorcery!
Lop her arms off! And her legs, to keep her from struggling!
Sister! Sister, please help—
Why? Why do you laugh so?!
I see... This was her doing.
She'll pay. I swear I will have vengeance!
This betrayal...
Those who orchestrated it, and the family who turned their backs on me...
I will have vengeance upon them all!
My spirit became consumed with resentment
and went mad with power from the snake god it had merged with.
I lost all sense of reason
and spent centuries as a tatarigami— a god of curse and calamity.
I'd say this is just some of what was written about me at the time.
We would've been cooked if we ran into you back then, huh?
'Tis true. I'd likely have sent you to the next world with one strike.
But about a hundred years ago...
The serpent that had been consuming me from within finally settled down.
So... You're fine now? With the grudges and stuff?
You two may not understand this yet,
but even if you never stop hating someone,
it takes energy to continue being angry at them.
Not to mention the fact...
that I was able to exact my vengeance on those responsible a long time ago.
Glad to hear it!
So you're not a vengeful spirit anymore?
Would it kill you two to react with a little shock once in a while?
So that means you weren't all snake-y originally, right?
'Tis akin to a part-spiritual, part-physical form.
I can hide it if I need to,
and most of the time, you won't even be able to touch it unless I let you.
Oh yeah. I'm going right through you.
Only those with spiritual sensitivity can interact with it.
You're really something, you know!
Put simply, my desire to kill has been outweighed
by my desire to not have to deal with the resulting commotion.
For real?
So what happens if you hide the snake bits?
You want to see?
Take a look.
It's not really what I was going for, but let's see you cower in fear!
These are Mom's.
You shouldn't let it all hang free like that.
Oh, sure. Your mother... certainly has bold taste.
By the way, why does your brother dress like that?
I mean, in the old days, the eldest son
would dress like a girl to fool disease spirits...
But he's younger than you, right?
Well, he is the eldest son.
Ta-dah!
Would you two please stop confusing me?
Prefers pants (skirts make her deathly uncomfortable) and keeps her hair short so it's easier to take care of. As a result, she has quite the boyish look to her. Rides her bike to middle school, where she is in her second year.
Takes after her mother with her down-to-earth looks and dark hair, but regrettably did not inherit her well-endowed figure. Gives off the impression of being active and sporty, but she's actually less energetic than her younger brother and is generally happy just lazing around. While she's not conscious of it, she has incredible spiritual sensitivity.
After a battle that lasted three days and three nights,
the two priestesses beheaded Yamatagi-Madara,
and peace returned to the mountain.
But the beast was not permanently slain.
Yamatagi-Madara's head and body were separated,
each enshrined in one of the mountains— one in the east and one in the west.
The villagers were deeply grateful to the exorcist family
and invited them to join their village as the guardians of the seal.
The family of exorcists, having had no home to call their own,
gratefully accepted the invitation.
With peace finally attained,
the eastern and western villages were watched over by the two priestesses,
who began a new life in this land of plenty...
for a short few years.
Private Property
No Trespassing
I knew they'd brought this stuff up the mountain,
but a lot of the landslide-affected areas still need fixing...
Guess they were in a rush to set up the new fence.
The carpenter and priestess have both gone in already,
so the shrine's probably fixed.
How're we supposed to give goodies to the snake lady from now on?
Yeah, this fence is a bit too tall and sturdy to be getting around.
Not to mention...
I get the feeling Grampa is gonna be checking on it.
If he catches us trying to climb over, he'll really let us have it.
Her name is Yamatagi-Madara-san, right?
And she's the god of this place who lives on the other side of the fence...
So does she live in the new or the old shrine?
I mean, if the shrine's where people go to worship her, that's gotta be it, right?
You think that means the new one, though?
Wanna head back and call to her?
It's pretty close to the construction area, though.
And if they notice us, I bet they'll tattle to Grampa.
We don't really have anything for her, anyway.
Maybe we can take some offerings there tomorrow.
You wanna go catch some crawfish over by the lake?
You bet!
Poultry Mountain
Here you go. 50 yen's worth.
Thanks heaps!
No better bait for crawfish than chicken scrap.
Kaoru, did you bring string?
You know I did!
Huh?
Isn't that Yamada-san?
G'day!
How in blazes can you see me?
I'm supposed to be invisible right now.
Huh? Can you see her?
There's this kinda... hazy, shadow... I think.
Whoa, there she is!
Truth be told, even being able to see that haze is no mean feat.
Whether you call me a yokai or a mountain god, I'm the curse-spreading kind,
so you two should really keep your distance.
Oh, yeah? You gonna curse us?
I have no particular intention to.
But that doesn't mean it won't happen.
Want some fried bread?
Don't go around offering leftovers to any other gods, you hear me?
They built a whole new fence over by the mountain.
But here we find you on the outside like it's nothing.
True. I saw that the shrine and box were repaired.
But that patch of land where it's at...
Something wrong?
The fact is, the shrine wasn't exactly built to keep me sealed away.
Remember what I said?
In the past, I spent some time as a tatarigami consumed by her own spite.
So it was built as a countermeasure against an unstoppable force of evil—
not the giant snake wild god or my own vengeful spirit
but the result of the two having combined.
It was created to bind the new threat, Yamatagi-Madara, in place.
Bondage, you say?
How's that different from sealing you, though?
Sealing someone is basically limiting their mobility.
It's like putting them in a cage, or something to that end.
Which is slightly different from a binding.
In my case, by enshrining me as the god of the mountain,
they gave me power as its master...
but also burdened me with the duty of defending it.
And that duty effectively binds me to the mountain, keeping me from leaving.
Or that's how everyone believes it works.
Well, maybe Yamatagi-Madara truly was bound to the mountain.
You're saying...
Exactly.
If Yamatagi-Madara was the name of the mindless calamity I once was,
then I'm not technically that being anymore.
And if that's the case... I have to wonder who exactly I am, then.
Well...
I have no idea, but does the "matagi" in your name refer to, like... straddling?
That's the response I get to my soul-searching?
I-Incidentally, if the shrine or divine grounds are disturbed,
these bells will ring.
Someone wants to change the subject!
When I was a priestess, I used these to warn me of supernatural threats.
But when I recovered them, I made some modifications!
Check it out, yo!
If they ring, I pop back over and do some light cursing to show people who's boss!
That's one scary alarm.
The mountain shrine doesn't really do anything to me right now...
But should the giant snake I quelled ever break free of me,
it might come in handy.
So, seriously, who've you been straddling?
Look at the kanji! The "ya" is for buildings!
House-Straddler (Coils around buildings)
Where did you get the notion I'm straddling people?!
So does this all mean you're not Yamatagi-Madara-san anymore?
It's just a possibility.
But if the shrine no longer binds me, I think it's fair to say I've changed.
Wouldn't it be rude to keep calling her Yamatagi-Madara-san, then?
I care not what your kind call me.
You used to be human, right? What was your name then?
That is one thing that, no matter how much I reminisce over the years,
I've never been able to recall.
It seems that, for a being such as myself that's only partially real,
a name serves as something that anchors me in the here and now.
I doubt that whatever you call me will make a difference,
but whatever name I had as a human
seems to reject what I've become as Yamatagi-Madara.
That being the case...
It may be an accursed name that I inherited from that snake,
but I've already been called Yamatagi-Madara for centuries,
so you two may as well—
How about Dara-san, then?
Oh, of course! Because "Madara-san" would sound too masculine!
In a few different ways.
Would you two knock it off?
I can't help but feel it has a... slothful ring to it.
It's like the sound effect for lazing around.
Then again...
Well, you humans came up with my old name in the first place...
Maybe this new one suits me...
Never mind.
Maybe it really is the perfect match for how I am now.
Private Property
No Trespassing
Menace...
We've already got some at the house, so you can have all the ones we caught!
I really don't want them.
Dara-san just can't say no.
Since it counts as an offering or sacrifice,
Dara-san can't really refuse them.
Second Strange Tale Visiting the School for the First Time