Original subtitles

ORIGINAL WORK BY YUKI MIDORIKAWA

I'm home.

Welcome home, Takashi.

Hey, look at these. Aren't they cute?

I got some seedlings from one of the neighbors.

Wow, there are so many.

But where should I plant them?

The flowerbeds outside are all full.

The flowerbeds…

Hey, Takashi, I'm back from work.

-Welcome home. -Thanks.

Umm… Shigeru?

Yeah?

Touko received some seedlings,

but it seems they won't fit in the flowerbeds.

If you wouldn't mind, could you teach me how to make a flowerbed?

I'd like to give it a try.

Sure, of course I will.

And that is how I came

to build a flowerbed in a corner of the garden.

So this is where you will put the flowerbed?

It's one of my favorite places for an afternoon nap.

Can you actually do this?

If I just follow Shigeru's instructions,

it doesn't seem so hard.

There are some stones left over from before to enclose the bed.

You should help me to carry the stones, Master Kitty Cat.

What?!

I can't believe this!

Why should a nobleman like me have to do such physical labor?

Once it is finished, you can plant whatever flowers you want.

Then I guess I'll choose green soybeans or shishito peppers.

I said flowers.

I'm happy to be able to contribute in some way to the household.

Hey, it's getting dark.

You're right.

Let's leave the rest until tomorrow.

I'm really excited

to see the flowerbed you will make, Takashi.

Well, I don't know if it will be any good.

If you need anything or don't understand something,

don't hesitate to let me know.

And make sure to tell me if there's a flower you want to plant in it.

Sure.

SAKE

A flower I want to plant…

I told you, green soybeans, shishito peppers or snap peas.

Okra would be nice too.

For some reason I suddenly remembered

that my father had told me

that my mother loved flowers.

I'm home.

Oh, it has collapsed.

So you're back Natsume?

Hey, what did you do Master?

It wasn't me!

Look at this! This fish is my alibi.

I spent the whole day having a party at the riverbed.

I wonder if a dog or a crow did this?

I guess it can't be helped. Come on Master, let's get to work.

You should treat your cat a bit better you know.

However, the following morning…

Oh, it happened again.

It must be a dog or cat this time!

No. If you look closely there are less than before.

Less what?

Less stones.

It collapsed before the cement dried and some stones were taken.

So someone trespassed in this garden

and made off with the stones?

Master, let's do a stake-out tonight.

What?

I'm going to catch you, stone thief.

We need to protect the flowerbed.

Natsume, you think the thief is an ayakashi, don't you?

Of course.

What kind of person would sneak into someone's garden

at night and steal some stones?

What should we do if it actually is a person?

Oh they're here.

Something is in front of the flowerbed.

There are more than I thought.

W… Wait.

I've got you now! What the heck are you?

I've been caught.

Why are you messing with the flowerbed?

What are you doing in this garden?

You can touch us and speak to us too?

What a surprise…

So those stones belonged to you?

My apologies.

We had been looking for these stones for so long

so when we found them, we couldn't help ourselves.

These stones?

They look like ordinary stones to me.

Is that so? May I ask where you found them?

What?

Well, we call them stacking stones. They are very important to us.

Could you kindly allow us to take some?

What are you going to do with them?

Just this once, let us show you our treasure.

Treasure?

Please take a look at what is inside.

Inside the box, there was a miniature house

that looked almost exactly like a shrine.

Oh, would you look at that?

That's what they call a miniature garden, right?

The craftsmanship looks incredibly intricate

but if you take a close look, it's in complete disarray.

It looks like a dilapidated house.

You are correct.

The stacking stones are needed

in order to restore this house and its garden.

You can restore it?

Gods can inhabit this miniature house.

Because of that, only specific objects

with particular powers can be used to restore it.

We have observed that you have an incredible amount of power.

No, no, I am just…

-Wah! -Give us your power.

We won't let you go until you agree to help us.

Put me down!

I told you to put me down, you creepy ghouls!

He's strong…

We need him even more now.

This makes me want your power even more.

-Please. -Lend it to us.

If you don't help us, we will continue to haunt this house.

You wouldn't!

What a pain…

Should I just devour all five of them, Natsume?

Fine… I'll hear you out.

What do you want me to do?

All I wanted was to make a flowerbed

and see Touko smile.

Aw, rats!

For ayakashi like them,

the quickest way to get them to leave is to hear them out.

There were five of them in total.

They say that they are box protectors.

One of their roles

is to continue protecting this box which the traveling

god Princess Shida can inhabit.

They protect it? It seems pretty beaten up to me.

You are right.

The miniature house is delicate and easily damaged.

Because of this,

there previously existed a specialist craftsperson with

particular skills and techniques to restore the house and its garden.

Before Princess Shida would visit,

we would bring the box to them.

But now there are no longer any people

who can act as those craftspeople.

A human worked on a box owned by an ayakashi?

We have managed to welcome her

a number of times with our clumsy patch jobs.

We plan to welcome her this time too

by doing as much as we can to make it seem pleasant.

Although our hands are strong,

they are very awkward and make us unable to grab objects.

And that has led the box to end up in this state.

But we are sure that you

could do a far better job restoring it than us.

My workmanship is nothing special

and I am no designer. Are you still okay with that?

If your work is even just a bit better than us,

then we would be very satisfied.

During the day, I would make the flowerbed for the Fujiwara's.

At night, I would help restore the miniature home.

So let's begin with the shrine.

Dust it off with this white duck feather.

Got it.

Like this?

No need for that. Just blow it off with your breath.

Let me try.

That would be much easier, but that won't work.

It's a place where a god dwells after all.

What a hassle.

While it seems like such an easy task, I'm actually quite nervous.

The house was so old and creaky

that you could tell even by brushing it with a soft feather.

I think I'm done. How is it?

That's incredible.

That's good to hear.

Next up, you need to take off the roof

and dust inside.

What?

-Be gentle. -It's fragile.

-Be careful with that. -Please be more careful.

It's going to break.

-Be quiet! -Yes, sir.

Takashi, good mornin… Are you okay?

Yes, I'm fine.

I had a weird dream.

Don't tire yourself out

by working too much on the flowerbed.

Thank you.

Okay, so next…

There is also some dust in the room on the right.

You have to be more careful.

So he's doing it like that.

Please be more careful.

Just do it, Natsume.

Shut up!

Oh my…

-Be gentler. -There is still dust.

That's an important area.

-I can't watch. -Good, just blow that thing.

Sorry.

What's wrong Natsume?

-Is it the ayakashi again? -Yes.

I don't think these ayakashi are bad, so there's no need to worry.

I'm glad. What kind of ayakashi are they?

They make me do really intricate work.

That's quite an annoying ayakashi.

I didn't want to admit it,

but under that roof that I so gently removed,

the small but spacious room

was old and damaged as I expected,

but I thought it was quite beautiful.

It looked as though it had been cherished through the years.

If you look outside,

you can tell that it must've been a fun space to inhabit.

It made me feel that the garden

being filled with lifeless trees was such a waste.

Yes that's right.

You get rid of the stain on the shutters with this tool

by painting it white.

I did it.

What do you think?

What's next?

This is incredible.

I never thought we could make it this beautiful.

That's a bit much.

I'm not very talented so it is uneven.

If someone more skillful worked on it, I'm sure it would be more even.

Please touch our hands.

They are completely different from human hands.

With hands like this, we can't grip a brush and color things in.

Even dusting gently with a feather without applying force

is very difficult for us.

We drive out the evil

and humans maintain the home.

That is how we cater for the gods that visit the house.

But we thought that we couldn't do that anymore.

Princess Shida is someone who really loves the most sublime

and beautiful things in life.

We thought that she may no longer

visit this broken down house

with a dying garden.

We were emotionally preparing for that.

But you lent us your gentle hands.

I'm sure that Princess Shida will love this miniature house

and grace us with her presence.

I'm sure of it.

What kind of god is Princess Shida?

What a great question.

She is so beautiful

with a voice like a bell chime.

She has travelled around for decades,

but her skin is as beautiful as the moonlight.

Her hair is like the ripples on the surface of the water.

When she scolds you, it is with a face like thunder.

But in the face of our hospitality,

her smile is as beautiful as a flower.

I will never tire of seeing Princess Shida smiling.

It seems you are in love with her.

What kind of hospitality do you offer the princes?

We have a massive feast.

A massive feast?!

Tell me more about that!

Do you have sake?

Of course. We have a variety to offer to the gods.

How incredible!

-Right, Natsume? -What are you saying? Be quiet already.

Okay,

it's done.

Wow, I'm beside myself.

I'm sorry, it's a little out of shape.

No, no, it's really beautiful.

-Can I start planting right away? -Of course.

Master Kitty Cat helped me mix the soil

and tread it down.

Oh, how great.

I'll have to make you a nice meal to say thanks.

I can't wait to show this to Shigeru.

I'm so happy. Thank you Takashi.

I will never tire of seeing Princess Shida smiling.

I wonder if Princess Shida will visit the miniature house.

It's old and creaky with a desolate view,

but they have continued to protect it over the years.

That miniature house.

Thanks to you, the miniature house has been sufficiently restored.

Thank you very much.

We plan for her to visit this evening.

We were able to finish in time.

What about the garden?

Do you have set trees and flowers you're allowed to plant in the garden?

Touko gave me some seeds

as thanks for making the flowerbed.

She said to look forward to what would bloom from them.

So I don't know what seeds they are.

But I thought that you could plant these in Princess Shida's garden.

If it is allowed.

Although I guess even if you planted them,

It would take them a long time to bloom.

And the size would be all wrong too.

The types of trees we can plant

and the stones we can place are all decided.

But I don't believe that it applies for the flowers.

Can you spread the seeds?

I will cover them with soil.

Okay.

It is a tiny, tiny miniature house.

I wonder if Princess Shida will pay it a visit?

A little part of me

would like to enter that box myself.

The box that has been cherished by the box protectors.

The box that has been delicately restored by craftspeople.

I hope that the garden as seen from the inside,

will always look beautiful.

There is paint left on the sliding doors.

Where am I?

The garden as seen from inside the house

looked at once like something I had never seen before,

but at the same time, it looked somewhat familiar.

It looked like the garden from the Fujiwara's home

and the garden I gazed upon with my father long ago.

There was a warmth to the garden.

-It's Princess Shida. -What did you say?

Oh it's Princess Shida.

It is so great to see you visit our miniature house again.

What a beautiful home and a beautiful garden.

It's time to celebrate.

Let us celebrate each other, the home and the garden.

We shall celebrate.

All over the garden and the house,

flowers I had never seen before began to bloom.

They were beautiful flowers in warm colors.

They could symbolize the fond memories of this house.

I'm sure that all the flowers planted here in the past

and somewhere among them

are the flowers that we all planted together.

Where are the box protectors?

Beats me.

I'm sure that they left long ago.

Ah, their sake was so good.

Oh…

It seems that we managed

to make Princess Shida happy on her visit this time.

I wonder when she will come back next?

I hope that they can have

a memorable meeting at that time too.

It seemed like it was a dream.

You fool. You wish it was a dream!

They caused us so much trouble.

How can you say that after they filled you up with sake?

Takashi, Shigeru is home.

-Come down. -Okay, coming.

Oh, Takashi,

you have a flower petal in your hair.

I wonder how that got there.

NEXT TIME

Why are there so many scarecrows?

Why the heck do we have to come back here again?

Mr. Yorishima,

have you ever heard of Reiko Natsume?

What are you investigating, Natori?

Subtitle translation by: Shane Forde