In order to not render their bodies impure,
those who dance in the role of sacred Okina
live a life separate from the others
and devote themselves to purity.
We'll start bright and early tomorrow too.
I can't sleep!
The beating is so loud.
Far too stiff.
Keep it together. You're dancing the Senzai.
Elder...
You'll mess up again if you don't get a good night's sleep!
Oh no, what is it?!
I already know that I need to sleep.
I know that...
Are you that worried about your Senzai dance?
I don't intend to mess up.
It's just...
What do you mean? You've been practicing your tail off.
Can't give a straight answer, eh?
I'm bothered by something that was said to me.
Oh?
Somone said I'm not tall like my father,
I don't have his voice,
and that I'm nothing!
I tried to forget about it!
But I just can't seem to!
No one's ever said that to me before.
That'd surely make a fella angry!
I hadn't even thought of those things until now.
What is in other people's minds?
And what forms do they have?
Junigoro, Samanosuke, and even my father have their own forms.
I want to know everyone's form, and mine as well.
You're just bursting full of youth, eh?
Bursting?
Oniyasha, listen closely.
I, for one, have never thought about the members of the Troupe!
Wha?!
Especially that father of yours, I don't get him a single bit!
And this is coming from even before the rise of the Kanze Troupe.
He is on a solo journey.
He took lessons in every art form he possibly could.
That never changed, even after you were born.
He introduced the latest dances, songs, and stories into Sarugaku.
He destroys what Sarugaku has become,
builds it back up, and then destroys it again.
He goes on and on like that, and that's the history of the Kanze Troupe.
There's no doubt that's how it achieved the form it is in today.
But even now, I still don't understand.
I stand on the stage, still not understanding.
Don't agonize over it! You're like a grandson to me.
I know you can do it.
Sir...
Just dance with everything you have.
A turtle.
Seeing a turtle in the morning is lucky.
This is a good omen.
I am purified!
Good morning, Father!
You're up early.
I'm so pleased we can see the Kanze Troupe on such a grand stage!
Very worth coming here from Yamato.
Who cares if they're well-known in the rural areas?
They'll have to bring their best to impress city folks like us!
Fujiwaka, Fujiwaka!
There sure are a lot of people...
I wonder if the shogun is already here.
No clue.
I don't know what he looks like.
It's finally time.
Yeah.
This is the sound of my body.
I am not a bird.
No matter how much I struggle, this body cannot fly.
Dance is something that lives alongside humans.
It's continued on since antiquity in tune with human life,
desires, bodies, emotions...
At the forefront of that stream,
I stand with this body.
Don't overthink the beat.
Just do it like in practice.
History is flowing through my dance and my body.
This body is small, and though it does not have a long history...
Right now!
I am the young Senzai of a thousand years!
Hm? Is something wrong?
Who is dancing the Senzai?
They say it's the leader's son.
He's quite majestic for a child.
I'm so glad we came from Omi to see this!
Sarugaku is very good!
Here he comes.
This is it.
The Okina.
So this is Father's dance?
I am watching something amazing right now.
Has he always...
Has Father always...
been this big?
Wow...
How wonderful!
That day, the Kanze Troupe, after their Sarugaku performance
were granted an audience with the shogun.
This way please, Kanze Troupe!
Oniyasha.
Kneel beside me.
I thank you all for that performance!
You may raise your heads!
You're...
that sex guy...?
I didn't know you were the shogun!
You idiot!
The other day-
Quiet!
You, what is your name?
I-I am the son of the Kanze Troupe's Kiyotsugu Saburo.
My name is Oniyasha.
The young Senzai.
Did you dream of sex?
You are a male, but it's hard to tell by your face.
Given your age, it's natural to dream of such things.
I will not fault you for them, however...
I am the shogun.
You have quite the interesting son.
Now then,
I had heard good things about the Imakumano Sarugaku and now having seen it,
it was a brilliant performance that lived up to it's reputation.
I, the Shogun Yoshimitsu Ashikaga,
was deeply moved!
You showed me something wonderful.
Sarugaku is a good thing!
Sex is a good thing!
Kan'ami, as well as the entire Kanze Troupe...
I look forward to seeing you again!
Did you hear that?
Well done, Kanze Troupe!
Kan'ami!
Kanze Troupe!
O-O-Oniyasha!
Th-th-the sh-sho-sho-sho...
What's wrong? Calm down.
Ah, Sir!
We got word from the sh-sh-shogun!
It said we're to go to the Sanjobomon, the residence of Shogun Ashikaga!
Eh?
D-do you think he's angry after what you said yesterday?!
Sir, you'll be k...k-k-killed...
St-st-stop imagining such awful things!
This way, please.
They're here.
I-I deeply apologize!
Oh, I am so d-d-dead...
Please, spare my life! That is all I ask of you!
Well, if you could also spare my legs... and maybe my hands...
I'm done for...
Hey, Hijiri! Did you see? Did you see his face?!
Lord Yoshimitsu...
Don't worry, I have no interest in carving children up.
You gave me a good laugh, so you are free!
However!
You must consider the time and the place before you speak, pipsqueak!
Had I not scolded you there, things would have ended much worse.
You fool!
What is his problem?! This guy is the shogun?!
He speaks so harshly!
And the way he laughs is demonic!
What is it? Looks like you have something to say.
Go ahead, speak your mind.
I definitely can't say that he's demonic...
I just have one thing to say.
Did you really think that Sarugaku was good?
Back then, you said that you were moved.
But it didn't look like you meant it.
A sharp sense for acting despite your age.
True, I was not fully honest.
To be precise, no...
I don't get it.
You don't get it?
A willow.
A fern.
This one is a juniper, and next to that is a rhododendron.
What do you think of this garden?
What do I think?
Though they are right next to each other,
there are completely different trees planted everywhere.
I don't really like that.
This country is the same. There are a myriad of laws.
Laws for feudal lords, town laws, village laws,
farmers, fishermen, merchants, performers...
Yes, there are Yoshino laws as well.
Since 1340, the countless laws of this country
have stood juxtaposed to the laws of the shogunate government.
It's all over the place.
I want to see beautiful scenery.
I am the shogun.
My predecessor and his predecessor before him left me with a solid foundation of power.
However, that alone is most likely not enough.
To truly bring people together, I need more than just might and laws.
Huh?
What's needed is something that is not in the shogunate or the imperial palace.
What I seek is a flower so captivating that it pulls people in,
and unites them...
as one.
Whether Sarugaku is good or not, right now, I do not know.
But I believed that you are "good", like the seed of a flower.
How much can you make that flower bloom?
Oniyasha.
Come stay with me.
Balance to the front, don't let my head dip down.
Keep my heels on the ground,
and knees bent.
Father?!
I-I'm sorry I'm so late.
I thought I'd do footwork on the way home...
Coming back from Sanjobomon, right?
It will take 4 more hours before you're back at Kanze.
Balance to the front!
Your heel is up!
Keep your knees bent!
Father.
Today the shogun told me to stay with him.
But I want to learn more Sarugaku.
I was a crybaby who didn't understand a thing,
but then I encountered "good",
learned about the gift for performance I had inside,
stood on a grand stage, and learned the breadth of your Sarugaku.
I enjoy dancing now!
I want to learn Sarugaku with you...
You think Sarugaku is a finished artform?
Why keep our knees bent?
Why keep our heels on the ground?
Why keep our balance to the front?
What happens when you do it faster?
Or do it slower?
Is this really good?
Is there a more appropriate form?
For each step, each point of view,
add something, strip it away, then add again.
And repeat!
Sarugaku is still incomplete.
You do not search for your own form.
You create it.
Sarugaku comes from within you.
Both our bodies and the eras we live in are different.
You favor your mother.
Oniyasha.
I will go as far as my body and this era will allow me.
Where will you head to, with your body in your era?
There is no room for two Kan'ami in the future.
The path forward will be even more trying.
At the rate we are going,
the path will soon be usurped.
We are still incomplete.
The things you must overcome are enormous, Oniyasha.
Private Room
KANZE
Senzai - A Thousand Years of Age
Okina - The Venerable Elder
Episode 4
Differing Scales of Progress
Kazuto Mihara / Kodansha