Synopsis: A pregnant woman fleeing from her pursuer comes to an inn. The rooms, however, were all occupied except for one — a room that is mostly unused.

Mononoke is a spinoff based on the Medicine Seller from the Bake Neko story arc of Ayakashi~Japanese Classic Horror. It follows him as he deals with various spirits or mononoke. I haven’t seen Ayakashi but Mononoke should be interesting nevertheless.

This episode starts with the Medicine Seller coming to an inn to stay there for the night. Moments later a woman comes seeking lodging but there were no vacancies already. She reveals that she is pregnant and pleads to the desk clerk, saying that she would be unsafe outside. The inn’s owner, an old woman, noticing the commotion, speaks to the pregnant woman but eventually yields and assigns her to a room which was usually unused.

The guest doses off in her room but awakens later and notices a daruma doll on the floor. She picks it up and hears a voice demanding that the doll be returned. She looks around and sees a child (who I think is cute in an eerie way). She gives the doll to the child who asks whether she is pregnant and whether she is happy. The woman realizes that the child has disappeared and finds the daruma doll in the table. Feeling cold, she goes back to sleep.

She wakes up a second time and finds out that someone else is inside the room — her pursuer. He says that it would be a problem if the child she is bearing would one day claim his birthright. To prevent that, he would have to kill her. The daruma doll in the table shakes and falls, distracting the assassin. The woman attempts to escape but the assassin notices. She begs for her life and that of her child. All of a sudden, the assassin becomes frightened and is dragged to the ceiling by some mysterious force.

The Medicine Seller becomes aware of the events and goes inside the room. The inn’s owner and the desk clerk goes inside too. They behold a dead body somehow stuck to the ceiling. The old woman also notices a daruma doll in the table (the same daruma doll that fell earlier) and becomes shocked. The guest relates to them how she found the doll and how she talked with a child earlier. Shen, then, hears sounds of children coming towards them. The Medicine Seller casts his wards preventing the spirits from entering.

The Medicine Seller tells those in the room that there are mononoke bound to the inn. He also observes some fluid, which he determines to be birth fluid, falling from the corpse. Judging from the fluid and the guest’s story of the child, he suspects that a Zashikiwarashi may be at work. He reveals a sword and explains to them that the Sword of Exorcism can only be unsheathed in the presence of Truth, Form and Regret: the intertwined fates of men give mononoke its Form, Truth is the natural state of all things, and Regret is present in every men’s hearts. He then asks them to tell the Truth and Regret.

Daruma dolls are prevalent in this episode. They are used in making wishes. Their eyes have no pupils so when one makes a wish, one draws a pupil on one eye. When that wish is fulfilled, one draws a pupil on the other eye. I wonder of the presence of mononoke in the inn has something to do with people’s wishes.

Mononoke reminds me a lot of xxxHolic as both series deals with spirits in Japanese folklore. Another similarity is how the faces of the people in the background aren’t drawn such as that of the women in the inn and the men in the stairs. I wonder though if this holds true for the rest of the episodes.

Watching Mononoke feels like watching an ukiyo-e come to life. Most may dislike the artwork but I think it suits the show well. Afterall, I think the best way to present Japanese folklore is through Japanese traditional art.

Similar Posts:

• Mononoke - 02 “Zashikiwarashi Pt. 2″
• Form, Truth and Regret: Final Thoughts on Mononoke
• Mononoke - 07 “Nopperabou Pt. 2″
• Mononoke - 04 “Umibouzu Pt. 2″
• Mononoke - 08 “Nue Pt. 1″

Popularity: 6% [?]