Ready, set...
ONI
Oniyasha!
Zojiro!
Oniyasha!
Zojiro!
Well, well!
We will finally settle this competition!
The light at the end of the tunnel!
Fighting with all their might!
It will be interesting, no matter who wins!
Shut up.
A little birdie told me...
you're really pulling for Oniyasha to win, huh?
Not especially. I haven't been favoring either of them.
Even if I were,
I couldn't override the results and let the clearly inferior one win.
Now then, what kind of show will he put on?
He's got my attention from start to finish.
Yep. He's a total fanboy.
If you're going to be a nuisance, do so elsewhere!
Screw you, party-pooper!
What'd you call me?!
Bring it on!
Oniyasha!
Zojiro!
It's starting!
What kind of show will we see?
Oniyasha!
Oh? We're starting with Sarugaku...
Hm?
Wh-what is this?!
Round and round goes the salt-ladling cart
What's happening?
I thought they were competing...
What?!
They're performing together?!
Just like the water that collects in the wheel tracks
Will someday become muddy
Amazing!
Oniyasha!
Zojiro!
Oniyasha!
Zojiro!
The transience of this body is completely tainted
Drawing seawater through the few days of this brief life
Our sleeves are soaked this evening, as always
"Dance of the Brine Maidens" Adaptation
Gentle waves wash the shore of Suma
Yes, this is what I wanted to see!
A performance as fresh and juicy as a white peach,
rarely seen from even the most veteran of dancers!
So exquisite!
The clear, cold moonlight bathes even my heart
Two women cast their shadows on this shore
But there is no shadow of someone waiting
I am reflected in the water's rippling surface
This haggard body, and disheveled hair
Like the tracks left behind on the shore
Oh, wow...
He's taking it to the next level!
Even now, while performing on the stage,
It leaves an everlasting mark on my heart
Oniyasha is growing and blooming.
However...
These tears, swept away by my sleeve
If they were only dew upon the grass
They would vanish in the sunlight
Zojiro did the same!
Like the seaweed on the water's edge
Oniyasha, you're still stiff.
Tangled up and rotting
This sleeve will surely
Although we are sharing the stage,
this is still a competition of skill!
Rot away with my tears
Now, bring it!
I tie up the sleeves of the work clothes of a lowly salt maid
And lay them behind your shoulders
Even dressed like this
I am still a woman
A woman who turns the wheel
Ah, however
The moon is all the more clear
I wonder if he ever thinks of us at night
What is this?
Have a look
The moon is reflected in this pail as well
The moon is even in the pail
Even if we never see him again
There is only one moon
But two shadows
On the shore in high tide, carrying the moon in the salt-ladling cart
The two women go into the night
The stars are strangely beautiful...
Lord Yoshimitsu.
You should announce your decision now.
Ah yes, I should.
I'm well aware that this ruins the lingering atmosphere of the moment.
However, as I said previously, we must bring this competition to a close.
Shinza Troupe and Zojiro, as well as Oniyasha.
You put a lot of work into this performance.
Before my decision, I have one thing to ask.
Is this Dengaku? Or Sarugaku?
"Brine Maidens" was originally a Dengaku song,
but Oniyasha made an adaptation based on Sarugaku technique.
Is that so...
Therefore-
However...
we couldn't have completed today's show without the techniques of Dengaku.
Therefore-
However...
Quit interrupting me.
YOU quit interrupting ME.
What?!
Stop that!
Whether it's Dengaku technique,
Sarugaku technique...
or another yet unnamed technique...
In any case, you've shown the people here a glimpse into novelty.
It is a waste that only those of us here know of this!
I do hope this spreads even deeper throughout the world!
Devote yourself to this from now on!
This series of dance competitions
has ended in a draw!
There's more to the world than just victory or defeat, hm?
Let us through! Open up a path!
Inomaru!
Are you alright?
This was a love song, right?
Lady Nariko!
Hello, members of the Shinza Troupe.
I do apologize for saying that I didn't understand previously.
"Brine Maidens" was a good story.
Goodbye.
A draw...
No.
A technique yet to be named...
I'm not too sure why, but...
"Brine Maidens" is still incomplete.
That's how I feel.
I'll finish it some day.
Sir-
Hey, move it!
Go somewhere else!
L...
Lord Yoshimitsu!
Y-you need medical treatment!
Don't bother!
It's a minor wound!
But-!
Don't panic!
Hold him down.
Yes, sir!
Clear out of here!
The competition is over!
Move! Get out!
Remove the mask.
Yes, sir!
K... Ko-
Huh?
Sir!
Wait!
Don't get too close, Oniyasha.
What happens next takes place on a different stage.
Are you from the South?!
Answer!
Who do you take orders from?
Tell me why you've done this.
All you do is take the damn land taxes.
Not like I pay them, though...
What are you saying?
I don't care if it's north or south, as long as I can eat.
I won't let anyone mess with my life. Idiots.
Don't move!
I should have stayed there...
It's better over on that side...
No, that's wrong.
I've had enough of getting robbed.
I don't have to dance,
that's not what I want.
That useless bullshit made me laugh.
I liked that red sky...
Well, I guess nothing matters anymore.
I wanted to change the world, but...
Forget me.
What shall we do with him?
That's enough.
Okay!
Rehearsal's done for the day!
Make sure you clean up good!
Still weak, eh?
Hey, practice is over.
Kogane?
I'm going to catch up to you two.
You're doing it wrong, your shoulders are up too high.
Your feet should be parallel.
Say, Oniyasha...
Dancing is great.
It's like the world is dancing.
We're going to do nothing despite the fact Lord Yoshimitsu was stabbed?!
I mean, what else can we do when we don't know who was behind it?
This is clearly the work of the South!
Don't rush us into war just because you want to polish your service record.
What benefit is there to fanning the flames of war with the south at this point?
Most importantly, even though they're rotten, they are the imperial court.
It's still a useful place to escape to in case things go wrong here.
The North and the South coexist, with neither side fully alive or dead.
Leave things as they are!
Keep the young, powerless shogun weak!
We shall put our efforts into ensuring his rule stays like that for a long time to come.
I'm still not much of a mighty ruler, huh?
Otherwise this wouldn't have happened.
Yoriyuki, I learned one thing.
The value of this world is not determined by wins and losses.
Come again?
What makes you say something so spineless?
Don't get me wrong.
It's below me.
Thinking in wins and losses is something for the common riff-raff.
There is no one who stands on equal footing with me.
Whether strong or weak,
enemy or ally,
all will stand on the stage that I've prepared for them to simply dance and live.
Being on that stage will satisfy them enough to forget all about victory and defeat.
A world where every corner is filled with flowers and gold.
That is the world I will create.
For I am the shogun.
Been a long time.
I saw a flower in your son.
It's still a small one,
but you will never get it to bloom.
Your fear of silence makes it impossible.
Where are you going, Inuo?
No idea.
I'm simply just walking forward.
Oniyasha.
I've abandoned the stage twice before.
The first time was as a child,
and the second time was during our competition.
I was convinced that getting on stage and exposing my own shortcomings
would spell the end of Dengaku.
But you got on that stage without a thought spent on what you were lacking.
Did you just feel no shame about your shortcomings?
It made no sense to me.
Is that an insult?
Perhaps.
But quitting from the shame of your flaws
or forging ahead while embracing them...
Which is more faithful to the craft?
Inomaru and I are going back to see our troupe leader for now.
Y-you're leaving?!
Is it because you can't create a good performance with me?
Did you think we would keep performing together forever?
Well, no...
We have to survive.
Oniyasha.
What you should do right now is face the person closest to you.
Who do you mean?
Hold on. Hasn't Ishiya talked to you?
Ko... Kogane!
Haven't seen you in awhile!
Thanks for always, you know, watching out for Oniyasha...
"Stay away from him."
You came to tell me that, right?
Oniyasha and-
Ishiya!
Sir, what's wrong?
You're going back to Kanze Troupe?!
You'll come back soon, right?
I'm sorry.
I'm no longer useful to you.
You're extremely popular with the public now!
You'll probably need guards with you even when you go out from now on.
I'm just dead weight now.
Why did you try to leave without telling me?
I just...
I thought that you'd be the only one to stay with me forever...
If it's about your leg, don't worry!
I'll handle everything that you can't do!
I don't care if you're not useful to me!
I... I just want...
How...
How can you say something so hurtful?
Huh?
You should know something.
I told Kogane that you and he were living in two separate worlds.
I told him he couldn't come with you down the path you're going.
Because I thought it was true.
Awful, right?
But really... that was what I wanted to say to myself.
I always thought of Kogane as another me,
like the moon reflected on water.
And you know, Oniyasha?
The truth is, I've always wanted to stand on stage with you.
At the same speed, the same height, the same world.
Having you compensate for me... is the last thing I want.
Ishiya...
I'll always be cheering for you, Lord Oniyasha.
Just as water moves down the river, time flows without ceasing.
All people, like a bamboo-leaf boat on the water's surface,
quietly surrender themselves to what their capabilities allow.
I was hoping you would hold a performance at my residence!
Of course, you will receive suitable compensation in exchange!
Surrendering to the laws of nature,
without knowing his own eye color,
and still unsure of where is his heart lay...
The boy...
I look forward to it,
Lord Oniyasha!
...became a young man.
Episode 10
A World Overflowing
Thank you very much.
Kazuto Mihara / Kodansha