Original subtitles

You are now...

in the dream you have every night.

This dream is a memory of the past.

What is it that you see?

In Heian times, a thousand years ago, darkness remained in its truest form.

Most believed in the existence of things they could not see.

People, demons, and spirits lived not in distant forests or mountains...

but in the dark corners of the towns, even under the same roof.

Life in these times was lived with bated breath.

4.5 kilometers east to west, 5.2 north to south...

bisected by Suzaku Avenue, 84 meters wide...

was the ancient capital of Heiankyo.

The government administration was at the north end...

in the greater palace area.

At its center was the imperial palace, home of the emperor.

The Emperor stood at the apex of government.

They ruled through aristocrats and officials...

and decided policy by divination.

The seers who did this were called...

'yin yang masters'.

THE YIN YANG MASTER ZERO

Those of the 'Yin Yang Bureau'...

were considered civil servants.

The Bureau also had a school for prospective masters.

These students were called an ancient word meaning 'apprentice'.

Instructors were addressed as 'Doctor'.

Social classes were sharply defined, and those not born as aristocrats...

could advance only through the civil service.

But the road to advancement was narrow, and many failed.

Others remained apprentices until well into middle age.

Brego Nagaya, fram orde oth ende doth gear se.

Cyne-thrym casere Konin...

swaer sin ides. Cwen Inoue doth caserlic lin. Astronomer

The words of a thousand years ago are hard to understand...

so we will use modern speech.

Councilor Sugawara no Michizane was exiled...

and died enraged.

The disasters that overtook the capital were recognized as his revenge.

How was his curse lifted?

Sadafumi.

His status was restored...

and last year he was deified as the god Tenjin.

Yes.

Protecting against disaster from spells and curses.

That is our task as yin yang masters.

Understood?

Seeds like apricot and peach have medicinal effects.

But get the dosage wrong...

they become poisons. Doctor of Yin Yang

Any questions?

What is the strongest poison?

Snake, centipede...

Spider, frog... all the poisonous creatures.

Put them alive into the same pot.

Have them feed on each other.

The last one left alive...

will give the strongest poison.

That poison we call gu.

Hey! Careful.

With poison, you'd be dead.

Report back.

I will.

The elements begin with wood, the shoots of spring.

Wood grows, and makes fire burn.

Fire leaves ash, which is earth, in which metal is conceived.

Finally droplets appear on the surface of metal...

which is the birth of water.

And this water...

nourishes wood.

All ends in water, and all begins in water.

It bridges this world and that, the conscious and the subconscious.

It bridges this world and that, the conscious and the subconscious. Doctor of Calendar

The water for this clock comes from far underground.

It knows nothing impure.

A curse, or malediction...

does not work directly on the body or on things.

It works first on awareness.

It works first on awareness. Yin Yang Grandmaster

That in turn affects the body.

Kaneshige.

Your arm.

You think...

this is a poker.

But in fact...

it is not.

Kaneshige...

take a good look.

He decided this was a red-hot poker, and his body reacted to it.

This is 'the power of suggestion', or 'hypnotism'.

In the same way...

a harmless snakebite can kill a man who believes himself poisoned.

A good yin yang master uses this power.

That's all for today.

His arm had a burn!

I could smell it!

A student of yin and yang...

rose from 'Apprentice' to 'Artificer'... Artificer

rose from 'Apprentice' to 'Artificer'...

to 'Master'...

'Doctor'...

and 'Grandmaster'.

However, the summit to which all yin yang students aimed was...

'Office of the Chamberlain'...

Yin Yang Master to the Emperor himself.

At the time of our story, this office is vacant.

Is Seimei skipping out again?

He can. He's a Doctor's disciple.

It's who you know.

He's a fox child, so he does black magic, right?

Have you ever seen black magic?

No.

Right! Because it doesn't exist.

If it did, we could use it to do this cleaning.

Yeah.

Sadafumi, copy these out today.

Today?

Do apprentices talk back?

You're one, too.

What?!

But I have a lecture.

So what? At your age you're still an apprentice.

By the time you make artificer...

you'll be about ready to die.

At least as an assistant you're of some use.

Do you see the face of the man who killed your parents?

No.

You should be able to. The reason you can't is...

My own heart is in the way.

Yes.

Cast away your feelings of bitterness and fear...

and see only what is real.

Do that, and in time you will see.

A fox child?

Yes. He's with Kancho now.

Here he comes.

Are you the fox yin yang apprentice?

You must be good at spells.

Can you kill a person?

Can you or can't you?

You can't?

Shall we try and see if I can or if I can't?

On whom?

We don't need to try.

Perhaps on something other than a person?

Good idea!

Can you kill that toad there...

with a curse?

It's not a person. You can do it.

A temple is hardly the place...

Why not?

It's all in fun.

Oh?

If you say so.

With sorcery a single leaf like this...

can kill.

Change of moon, essence of water.

Oh my word!

That toad heard the Venerable Kancho preach.

With its spirit power, let us assume it will take revenge...

on one of you.

Who is he?

Abe no Seimei. A yin yang apprentice.

Abe no Seimei?

Well! Lord Hiromasa!

To have come all this way!

We would have come to you.

Well, every once in a while...

Would you like your fortune told? Or perhaps an exorcism?

I haven't come to see you. I've come to see Seimei.

Seimei?

The apprentice?

Again?

You're always here.

What is it?

A visitor.

For me?

The Vice-Minister Hiromasa. Our direct superior.

He has assumed the surname 'Minamoto'...

but he is grandson to the last Emperor, and musician to this one.

He has access without formal dress.

Be very, very careful how you conduct yourself.

Decline any request he makes. Your status is too far below his.

You may be a doctor, but you have no right to give me orders.

But I have no intention of stealing your precious patron.

Have no fear.

Abe no Seimei...

I have a request.

The answer is no.

Goodbye.

Wait!

How rude!

Rude?

Who's the rude one?

You grabbed my robe.

I hate people with stupid hats talking down to me.

And I don't like ill-mannered louts.

Fine!

Then ask a real master, not an apprentice.

Why say no?

Lack of interest.

It's probably strange night noises.

People think a noise is goblins when it's just the house settling.

Temperature difference. It happens a lot in winter.

That's 99 percent of yin yang work.

It's not for me.

Then what about that toad?

Toad?

The one you killed.

Oh, that.

That was...

a spell.

A spell?

Yes. Similar to a curse.

So it was sorcery?

No.

Not like you think.

What do you mean?

Like this.

Have a mouse.

What are they doing here?!

Look.

Take a good look.

It works best in a room where hallucinogenic incense is burning.

Temples are smoky places.

I was sure they were mice!

People are led by words.

With sorcery a single leaf like this...

can kill.

The senses reinforce it.

The sorcery is in the person on whom the spell is cast.

What do you mean?

Can you tell truth from fact?

'Fact' is whatever happens.

'Truth' is a conclusion based on one's subjective being.

A concept that changes with how one interprets reality.

A spell.

Everyone...

has their own 'truth'.

So it's something you assume?

Yes. And it works best on the stupid.

Stupid?

You're calling me 'stupid'?

Aren't you?

What?!

Good day.

It's Princess Yoshiko.

It's not about me.

She's not a fool like I am.

The former Ise shrine maiden?

Yes.

Servant to the Gods.

I see.

That sounds interesting. Let's go.

Huh?

Come on.

It's this koto.

At night it makes sounds.

I have to replace each string that breaks.

How long has this gone on?

With another string tonight, they will all have broken.

Seimei...

are you an empath?

'Empath'?

One who can see demons or ghosts, things that most of us cannot.

Are you an empath?

Sometimes...

I feel that I am.

With each broken string, I've felt there was a dragon.

A dragon?

Will something evil happen?

Jujube, chestnut, and sweet sakubei.

Excuse me.

What do you think?

Are you afraid I'll step in?

What are you talking about?!

You haven't laid hands on her yet?

No!

I wouldn't dare!

I'm not of her status. She's not for the likes of me.

'Status'?

That's dumb.

Why are you drinking? You've got work to do.

Drinking won't change anything. What happens will happen.

Nonsense.

Nonsense?

No. It's fact.

Don't you like sake?

This is good.

I won't drink.

I won't!

Hiromasa...

You're drinking.

I'm fine.

It's here.

Hey!

Don't.

That's not the strings.

What do you mean?

Don't you feel it?

The vibrations.

Oh.

Is something shaking? No, it's the sake.

The string's vibrating with something.

It is?

See anything?

Bring me a container with a lid.

How big?

Any size.

All right.

Hiromasa!

Seimei's taking care of it. Go back to your chamber.

Milady!

Stay back!

The dragon!

Princess!

The bottle!

Sky, earth, clouds above and below...

Hear me for a thousand leagues, pure in all directions.

Princess!

What was that?! You put the princess in danger.

I fixed it. It's fine.

No, it's not!

How did it feel to hold the woman you love?

Well...

she was soft, and she smelled nice.

That's not important.

Anyway, that bottle. Did you close something in it?

Want to see?

Sure.

Where's Hiromasa?

He left.

And Seimei?

He said you won't hear those sounds any more.

Oh.

What happened, Ma'am? Suddenly you fainted.

You didn't see it?

It was there. A gold dragon.

Seimei caught it.

It's empty.

You can't see it? That's too bad.

What is?

Forget it.

Missus!

It's Mr Yasuie!

Missus! There's trouble!

Missus!

Yasuie!

Missus!

Died of a curse?

They found this.

No.

No, no.

Suicide, maybe.

Suicide? Why?

He was depressed over his results.

He wasn't that kind of man.

We cannot have...

our Yin Yang Artificer dying of a curse.

Were that to be known, we would lose authority.

We'll tell His Majesty it was suicide.

Whatever we tell him...

we must find out who put a fatal curse on the Artificer, and why.

So...

who should we choose as our next artificer?

I suggest Abe no Seimei.

Seimei?

That lazy bum?

He's very talented.

That is far too blatant, even if he is your favorite scholar.

You're saying there's someone better?

How about...

we do this?

You all know why we are here.

I'm sure you've all heard.

Our Artificer Yasuie died this morning.

What did he die of?

We're calling it suicide.

But in fact, somebody killed him.

Killed him?

Some hated him.

Revenge?

This talisman was found at his home.

If, for example...

the culprit's motive was to succeed him as Artificer...

then you all have a motive.

What do you say? Did one of you do it?

Impossible!

Who will succeed him?

The one who reveals Yasuie's killer and his motive.

That will be your test for promotion.

Whoever finds the killer is our next Artificer.

What a promotion!

The cause of death is top secret.

Understood?

Where are you going?

I don't want the job.

Why not?

What do I gain by it?

Tadayuki has recommended you for the post.

As your teacher, is he playing favorites?

Don't worry. I'm not interested.

Would you disappoint Tadayuki?

I don't care.

I see.

Then we will remove you from consideration.

But an exam is an exam. You will oblige me by taking it.

Is that an order?

Yes.

By noon in five days.

Silence!

This is your first step to Master.

Do your best.

Seimei...

Don't you want to become a Master?

And thus become Yin Yang Master to the Emperor?

You must pass Artificer to do that.

I'm grateful for all you've done for an orphan like me.

Without your food, shelter, and education...

I would be long dead.

At your command I am now an apprentice.

However, to preserve this calling...

you spread fear of imaginary 'demons'.

With dubious predictions and rites you increase anxieties...

and show things that are not there.

I have no interest in being a Yin Yang Master.

If I survive, I will find whoever killed my parents.

That's all I want.

Don't worry. I'll take the test. I've been ordered to.

And I'll find the killer.

Wait!

Look at Nobusada's.

Hey! This is from the People's Bureau.

When was he born?

Find out!

Birth Deity: Black Tortoise!

A conspiracy!

How exactly did Yasuie die?

None of your business.

Go away!

Go on! Go!

This is no place for the likes of you!

You're a nuisance! Go away!

Go on! Go!

Sadafumi, apprentice.

Yes?

I wish to see the handwriting of all.

Um...

Uh...

Were you all right?

Yes. Thanks to Seimei, the sound stopped.

But...

Yes?

Do you remember...

how I wept at Ise, wishing to come home?

Yes.

As if it were yesterday.

You must have felt lonely leaving home to be a temple maiden.

At that time...

you were a great source of strength to me.

I never dreamed...

you'd teach me koto when I came back to the capital.

But...

'But'?

For some reason I'm still...

lonely.

Unfulfilled...

as if I were missing something.

Princess...

I will do anything for you.

Princess Yoshiko, we are cousins far apart in age.

But unlike you...

I am a mere courtier, and not in the royal line.

Hiromasa!

But...

if by some wild, wild chance I were to...

Seimei!

Seimei?

I heard you were here.

I need your help.

Mine?

Another yin yang apprentice? I told you to go away!

You can leave.

Who got you in here?

You did. Now you can go.

You could thank me.

This way, please.

He fell from here?

Lord Hiromasa...

It's so nice of you to come for Yasuie.

Not at all.

He wasn't the sort who would commit suicide.

'Suicide'?

He didn't leave a note.

An accident?

But what was he doing by the well so late at night?

He was in a hurry.

He lifted the lid...

and scooped up water to drink.

He was pushed.

What?!

Different footprints.

So Yasuie...

was murdered?!

Someone with a grudge against him.

Any idea?

He was such a nice boy.

No one would have hated him.

He wasn't like that!

Who would have killed him?

Lord Hiromasa, please find out!

Find who killed Yasuie!

Huh?

Me?

Please.

Please!

Seimei?

I'd like to pray to him.

Where's the body?

Weren't you going to pray?

I'm about to start.

Why are you doing that?

What?

Shouldn't you be solving this...

by divination?

No.

Divination spells depend on whoever casts them.

People see and hear what they want to.

But disturbing a tomb! You'll be cursed.

Who'd curse a Yin Yang Master?

You're still only an apprentice.

You should talk! Michizane cursed your ancestors.

What?!

A curse is just a spell.

It only works on those who feel guilty in the first place.

You people don't get it.

Who are you treating like a fool?!

If you are one, why not?

I'm stating a fact, not talking about what you think.

You'll never have any friends.

Friendship is a spell, too. People decide they're friends.

I'll never need that.

Poison.

It's obviously not a curse.

So he was killed twice?

Once with poison, once in the well?

No.

The poison lured him to the well. It made him thirsty.

Why do that?

Some kind of rite?

Is that flying-plum story true?

Plum?

A plum tree in the palace grounds followed Michizane to exile in Kyushu.

Michizane stories do not bring good luck.

Do you want lightning striking your house?

That's how devoted the tree was to him.

Like a human woman...

flying to the one she loves.

Why do you say that? Has a man won your heart?

You're a bit dense.

Just like someone I know.

Any ideas? There's only two days left!

I'm not giving up.

They think they know who did it.

Really?

Those fools? They're lying, of course.

What are you doing?

Palace of the Emperor

How beautiful!

Hiromasa.

Sire?

Do you know Abe no Seimei?

Yes.

A yin yang apprentice.

I'm told he exorcised a dragon from the home of Princess Yoshiko...

and that you were there, too.

Yes, sire.

Is he really a fox child?

He may be.

No man could be that rude.

Rude?

Yes.

What say you, Grandmaster?

He is no fox. He is human.

When he was a child, his parents were killed before his eyes.

As a person, he has some problems.

And he is an apprentice.

No one for Your Majesty to concern himself with.

But someone like that in the Yin Yang Bureau...

is frightening.

They say he sees demons and ghosts.

If he doesn't like you, he'll use them as servants to curse you.

Then perhaps...

the Artificer's death was this Seimei's handiwork?

It was?!

A man with a cold heart can easily kill.

Maybe there's more.

Now you mention it...

Does he want to kill lots of us and bring down a curse?

No!

Seimei is not like that.

He may be thoughtless, obtuse, and lacking in warmth...

but he would never do those things.

He is not cold-hearted, he just tries to look coldly at reality.

I see.

You lost your parents as well. So perhaps you understand him.

I'm sorry I raised my voice.

Yes.

That wasn't like you.

I apologize.

Anyway, Hiromasa...

Deliver a letter for me.

A love-letter?

Yes.

Am I worthy?

There is no one more suited than you.

Those are very kind words. I will deliver the message.

To whom?

Princess Yoshiko.

Seimei, how old are you?

I'm not asking to put a curse on you.

Have no fear.

27.

I'm 45, a peasant's son.

Did you know...

the population is 6 million? With 12,506 bureaucrats.

And 30 grades between the highest and lowest rank.

Only about 150 aristocrats of 5th court rank and above.

And those 150 people rule the whole 6 million.

The Yin Yang Bureau, even its Grandmaster...

are below that 5th rank, and are despised.

That Minamoto no Hiromasa who came to call on you...

is one of those aristocrats a Master must flatter to eat.

To them, apprentices like us...

aren't even human.

But I'm aiming at...

something higher.

Master to the Emperor?

Yes.

Peasants have nothing.

As a bureaucrat I can help my mother.

To do that I must rise from apprentice to artificer, and thus become human.

I have neither wife nor child. At 45, I don't have much time.

How does that involve me?

I've investigated all the apprentices.

Your handwriting matches the letters on this talisman.

You killed Yasuie.

Me?

Yes.

Perhaps this will calm you a little.

Thank you.

Lord Hiromasa is here.

He is?

Did you kill the Artificer?

No. I had no reason to.

He claims to not want the position merely to hide that he does.

You wanted it, didn't you.

If that's my motive, it's everyone else's, too.

What were you studying?

Poisons.

Yasuie was poisoned.

Poisoned?

How do you know?

I inspected his body.

Unclean!

You know because you killed him.

This writing proves it.

Anyone could copy that.

Then who did?

For example...

you, Sadafumi.

Me?

Maybe you killed him.

To rise in the world.

You don't have much time.

You killed him, and you're trying to pin it on me.

I've investigated.

I've found the culprit. Make me Artificer.

Hold him until the inquiry is done.

Take him away.

Seimei!

Seimei!

The Princess is gone!

Move!

On your feet!

Catch him!

Seimei!

Hiromasa!

Go on ahead!

Whoever catches him is the new Artificer!

Close the gate!

Catch Seimei!

Hey! Seimei!

Hiromasa!

After him!

I'll be the Artificer!

No, me!

He really is the fox child!

After them!

What happened?

Our music practice is tomorrow.

Princess...

today I've brought you a letter.

A letter?

From you?

Does His Majesty not have Yasuko, who has born him a princess.

And Princess Nobuko, who died only last year?

He wishes you to preside over the Concert Pavilion.

Why...

did you bring this?

His Majesty asked me.

I...

I could not refuse.

Now I've read it...

I can't refuse either!

Why?

Why do they do this to me?!

They sent me to Ise when I was 10.

I didn't want to go!

I wanted to be with my mother!

When she died...

I couldn't be with her because I was in Ise!

Why did you bring me this letter?

I wanted...

a letter like this, but from you!

Why?!

I'm sorry.

I...

I...

I hate you!

I really do!

I've had enough!

I'm sick of this place!

Princess!

Princess!

What should I have done?

First we have to find her.

Seimei?

This way?

Did we lose them?

This way.

Princess!

Princess!

Didn't we pass here before?

Hiromasa?

Let the power of the cursed dance...

drag all into sleep...

and let greed lead them to mutual slaughter.

What are we doing here?

Looking for Seimei.

Why are we doing that?

Sadafumi wants him.

Sadafumi?

Really?

Why?

Can we really trust him?

Let's say we really catch Seimei.

Then Sadafumi gets the credit.

Now you mention it...

What do we need him for?

Yeah.

I'm starting to think that myself.

Hiromasa!

Hiromasa!

It's that dream.

Make a weapon of your desire to kill.

You think you fooled me?

I've fooled you.

Oh?

No villain like you will ever stand as Yin Yang Master.

Says a guy who's not up to the job.

Look who's talking!

It's mine!

I'm the next Artificer!

I'll be the Emperor's Yin Yang Master!

Silence!

It's all mine.

Mine! No one else will have it!

O flames of resentment and greed, consume them!

Father!

Mother!

Yes.

I am the one who killed them.

Don't look away!

Don't you see only the real?

Seimei!

What's wrong?

Did something go wrong?

Why the flute?

'Why'?

I always play the flute. When I'm happy, sad, worried...

Then I calm down, and it's as if nothing really mattered.

When that happens, everything's fine.

Your flute saved me.

Thank you.

What?

You thanked me?

Did you?

Say it again.

Then I won't mean it.

Sure you will.

You can't say thanks too much. I can listen over and over.

More important now, we won't find the princess here.

Why not?

The more we look, the harder she'll be to find.

I thought we were in reality, but we're not.

Where are we?

The unconscious.

Deep in the human heart, in the realm of the unconscious.

Huh?

What the heart believes comes true.

Act on your desires, and this realm will seize you and never let you leave.

How did we get here?

A spell. As if we'd been hypnotized.

When?

Probably...

Princess!

I don't know what's going on any more.

Where's Princess Yoshiko? How do we save her?

We are all joined deep in our minds.

That's why we're both here.

With the right cue, her consciousness will blend with ours.

'Cue'?

Your flute.

Play it.

A piece you play with her.

Princess?

Princess?

Hiromasa...

Yes.

Why did you bring me that letter?

It was from His Majesty.

Liar!

You don't like me!

You're always always always...

like that!

Everyone decides things for me without caring how I feel!

You do! You all ignore me!

Do you really...

hate me that much?

That's why you brought that letter!

No!

It's quite the opposite.

I could not speak...

for love.

Liar!

It's true!

You should have run away with me!

And said nothing about that letter!

Princess...

I am...

a poor excuse for a man.

A man content simply to play the flute...

who can do nothing else.

Who knows nothing of what the future will bring.

I may end up a poor man, in a broken-down shack.

What of it?!

Princess...

If it wasn't the Emperor...

and if...

and if I...

had any courage at all...

I might flee with you to some distant place.

But you will be far better off...

with His Majesty.

I'd be happier with you than with him.

Princess...

how much time have you spent with His Majesty?

There is a happiness you will find.

And a happiness you have always had.

When I play music, I am happy alone.

Aren't you?

Think of when you play the koto.

Are you not happy even when no one else is there?

And...

my love for you will never change.

That love...

no matter who you are with...

will be the same.

Princess?

For so long...

I've been...

so lonely.

Abandoned by my father and mother, I've always felt...

I was alone.

But...

here now, I understand.

From the start...

I wasn't alone.

Thank you...

Hiromasa.

Now...

I am...

very happy.

Princess?

Princess?

Hiromasa!

Something's coming.

Run!

What is that?! What do we do?!

Shut up!

I'm thinking! We need a way out of here.

Do something!

If this is the unconscious...

do something conscious!

Yes. You're right.

Water cancels fire, and lots of water...

Come on!

Heaven! Earth! Speak thy will!

Open!

Run!

Seimei!

Seimei!

Soldiers of Heaven!

Go!

Hiromasa!

Hiromasa!

Hiromasa!

My hands!

My hands!

My hands!

I'm finished!

With these hands...

I can't play with these hands!

Listen!

You won't die. I won't let you!

Who cares?!

If I can't play music, I'd rather die!

Hiromasa!

Trust me!

Trust me.

You'll play again, I swear it.

I can't trust a man who doesn't trust.

I trust your flute.

I believe in its sound.

If I believe in you...

I'll play again?

Yes.

Are you sure?

Yes.

So trust me.

All right. I will.

You'll pay.

I'll rub you out.

O Blue Dragon King of the East and your 36,000 spirits.

O Red Dragon King of the South and your 36,000 spirits.

It's mine!

It's mine!

O Eight Dragon Kings who rule in Yamashiro.

It's mine! All mine! All mine!

O Dragon of Water!

Abe no Seimei, son of Abe no Masuki, commands you!

Sever this curse...

at its root!

No! Never!

Not in the...

real world!

Hiromasa, we're back in the real world.

Hiromasa?

Where's Seimei?

If we're here, he must also be safe.

Are we safe?

Yes.

Princess...

Excuse me.

Hiromasa...

in some place no one can see, you and I will always be joined.

This I learned in that mysterious place.

Hiromasa...

I will go to the Emperor.

Princess...

I congratulate you.

Call someone!

I finally remember.

It was you...

who killed my parents...

and with Korekuni the Astronomer laid a curse on the apprentices.

Grandmaster.

Why?

You think I'll tell you?

Yes.

Succeed or fail, one wants to tell others.

Just as Sadafumi told you.

He's 45. I'm 70. That's the only difference.

You have been enthroned for two years.

Is it not time you named your Yin Yang Master?

If you have no candidate...

may I suggest this Grandmaster?

Grandmaster?

Sire.

If you find me suitable...

I will serve you...

with heart and soul.

Do you know Abe no Seimei?

I'm told he exorcised a dragon for Princess Yoshiko.

And the Astronomer Korekuni was in it with you?

He was easy to convince.

Me? The next Grandmaster?

He was very helpful.

He imitated your writing on the talisman.

Then...

we put a spell on the apprentices.

He thought this was a red-hot poker...

and his body reacted to it.

This is 'the power of suggestion', or 'hypnotism'.

In the same way...

you can cast a spell on a group of people.

Why involve Princess Yoshiko?

Unlike the other apprentices, you would not fall under my spell.

So instead...

I used her powers.

Give this incense to Princess Yoshiko.

She would be the catalyst...

leading you into a consciousness...

deeper than your own.

My divinations tell me Hiromasa should deliver...

your letter.

I knew you would go there to find her.

Hiromasa!

In other words, she would be the perfect guide.

So you had the apprentices fight like poisonous creatures in a pot?

Yes, Seimei. You're right.

In the pot of their unconscious minds, I had them do battle...

thinking you would come out alive and I could use you.

Every year...

I cast the fortunes of us all...

to crush all who pose a threat to me.

Is that why you killed my parents?

Don't you see only the real?

Yes.

Your father was a brilliant Yin Yang Master.

He was in my way.

Well?

Do I not read the future well?

If you did, you'd know what happens now.

Yes.

You destroy me, and become Yin Yang Master to the Emperor.

But that's just fortune-telling.

If you believe in that, you're nothing but a fool.

Things can always be changed.

I'm not beaten yet.

I still have a chance.

My chance to become Yin Yang Master to the Emperor...

is now!

Remember?

The effigy you buried with my parents?

That would have rotted away years ago.

I brought it from the conscious realm. That made it real.

That is the true sorcery.

Impossible! No human could do that.

It's possible...

for me.

Keep it secret, though.

East Azure Dragon...

South Vermilion Bird...

West White Tiger...

North Black Tortoise...

Five Elements, Four Points, and Nine Dragons...

God of Learning, God of Thunder...

Michizane!

No!

You can summon Michizane?!

I express my gratitude to you as Grandmaster.

Does his ghostly rage not suit you?

Impossible!

This can't be happening!

Sound, God of Thunder!

Flash, God of Lightning!

Bring death to evil-doers throughout Heaven and Earth!

Abe no Seimei, son of Masuki, thus commands!

Bring the Grandmaster...

his reward.

You're the real thing!

Yes.

Unlike all of you.

Nice moon.

Yes.

Seimei...

What?

I don't get it. What was all that about?

What was what about?

All 'that'.

Were we in our own conscious?

Yes.

So it was all in our minds, and not in the real world?

Yes.

The dragon, too?

It all took place in your head.

This realm was peace itself.

Amazing!

For me, things taking place in my mind were real...

and all this now is real, too.

So you can't tell what you believe from what's really there.

No. Can you?

Isn't that normal?

I guess so.

If your heart dies, so does reality.

Those apprentices dead in mind are dead in fact, too.

Why didn't I die?

Because I believed in you!

You saved me.

No, Hiromasa. You saved yourself.

I did?

Truth and fact. Subjectivity and objectivity.

With you, I stop caring about that.

For us, all that matters is what we're experiencing now.

Yes.

Now we're drinking.

For me, that's all there is.

While you and I are joined...

in some place no one can see.

Hiromasa...

you're a good guy.

Who do you think should be my Yin Yang Master?

With the Grandmaster and the Astronomer dead...

next in line is the Yin Yang Doctor...

Kamo no Tadayuki.

I see.

Well, Tadayuki?

Will you do it?

What's wrong?

Nothing!

He's only just been made Artificer...

but I recommend Abe no Seimei.

Seimei?

I see.

Seimei...

Now I see that the Fire Dragon embodies jealousy...

and the Water Dragon is the lake below the capital.

But what was Princess Yoshiko's Gold Dragon?

You want to know?

Yes.

That dragon represents Princess Yoshiko's feelings for you.

What?

And it was those feelings that broke her strings.

That's the truth.

It is?

Hiromasa, will you play your flute?

Why?

Sometimes it's just good to be in that mood.

Seimei Kento Yamazaki

Hiromasa Shota Sometani

Princess Yoshiko Nao

Yasuie Nijiro Murakami

Emperor Rihito Itagaki

Doctor of Yin Yang Jun Kunimura

Narrator Kenjiro Tsuda

Sadafumi Masanobu Ando

Astronomer Kazuki Kitamura

Yin Yang Grandmaster Kaoru Kobayashi

Produced by Kazuya Hamana

Executive Producer Daisuke Sekiguchi

Producer Keiichiro Moriya

Associate Producer Masami Takahashi

Based on the novel series "Onmyoji" by Baku Yumemakura (Bungeishunju)

Music by Naoki Sato

Cinematography by Akira Sako (J.S.C)

Lighting by Hiroyuki Kase

Production designers Yuji Hayashida / Etsuko Aiko

Recording by Masayuki Inomata

Costume Designer Sacico Ito

Hair and Make-up Takeo Arai

Wigs Jinkichi Hamanaka

Edited by Junnosuke Hogaki (J.S.E.)

VFX Producer Hiromasa Inoue

VFX Supervisor Hiroyuki Yoshida

Sound Designer Kenji Shibasaki

Sound Adjustment Shigeru Abe

Script Supervisor Emi Makiguchi

Set Decorator Toshihide Matsushita

Device Designer Hideo Gunji

Assistant Director Toru Yamamoto

1st Assistant Director Sano King

Location Managers Masanori Aikawa / Naoto Kuribayashi / Sei Imai

Casting by Tatsuya Umemoto

Line Producer Taro Mori

BUMP OF CHICKEN “Kaikou” Lyrics / Music : Motoo Fujiwara

Arrangement: BUMP OF CHICKEN & MOR (TOY'S FACTORY)

No animals were harmed in the making of this film

"The Yin Yang Master Zero" Film Partners

Warner Bros. Pictures Japan / Kinoshita Group Bungeishunju / ROBOT COMMUNICATIONS

Production Services Provided by ROBOT

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Japan

Co-Led by Warner Bros.Pictures Japan and Kinoshita Group

Written and Directed by Shimako Sato

©2024 "The Yin Yang Master Zero" Film Partners Subtitles Ian MacDougall