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I read your new travel essay.
It was beautiful.
Thank you.
Something about it touched me deeply.
I felt like that once, long ago.
I remembered being happy.
Maybe it's nostalgia.
Nostalgia?
How old are you, Hana?
You talk like an old auntie. Nostalgia...
I'm very happy I can help on this trip.
Thanks for your help.
This land harbors a thousand years of history.
Rain is on the way.
Any time now...
The sun's shining.
Not the rain.
You're in good spirits.
That's rare.
Don't go into the forest today.
Why, out of the blue?
Don't go hunting today.
Why not?
That's just the way it is.
You're up to something.
Tomorrow,
pray at Kasuga Shrine.
I 0 every morning.
Tomo...
How old are you now?
I forget.
How old?
A long way to go yet.
Tomo...
Do you know my age?
I don't.
About 1,000 years ago...
on the day the spores flew,
I was born.
The spores...
1,000 years...
What's that mean?
Another cup.
Thanks.
Is it good?
Your herb tea and mugwort cakes
are the best.
That's great.
I'm fine.
Enough.
Take care of Tomo, okay?
Thanks.
It really is raining.
I wish I were 17,
meeting up by chance...
What?
...with you.
Later.
There were fields
all around here.
Mostly herbs
and cedar saplings.
Thinking back on it,
there were just a few homes,
but our love
for the village
was really strong.
Years ago...
there were people here.
But...
that tunnel was built.
People moved around.
No one comes here now.
Site of Hosotoge Village
Excuse me.
Hello.
Do you live around here?
Yeah.
Shall I ask him?
Please do.
We have come from France.
And we came
because we heard there is
an ancient tradition
of herb-gathering here.
Have you heard
of a plant called "Vision"?
"Vision"?
Yes.
Never heard of it.
I asked him about vision,
but he doesn't know it.
20 years.
20 years!
Why did he come here?
Can you ask him?
I was tired.
What does
that herb do?
Vision has an incredible ability
to dispel
human weakness,
agony, and pain.
How?
I don't know.
Happiness...
exists in each of our hearts.
That painting...
What?
It's been here a long time.
Long before I came.
Thank you.
Take a look.
Did you see?
That's beautiful!
Ask him
if we can stay a few days.
We won't bother you. Okay?
Well, all right.
Can we settle in?
Yeah.
I'll get my pack.
Unreal...
This is great!
The forest here,
and over here...
The bath...
The bath.
It's a wood stove.
Wood stove?
It's a goemonburo.
I don't know how.
- Neither do I.
- You don't know either?
He's a country guy.
I don't think he is.
Good morning!
It's an endless search.
Hmm?
Vision is...
a myth, right?
No, it's not a myth.
It exists.
Why are you so sure?
I don't know.
I don't know.
I need it.
Now...
are we really in the present?
I don't know.
We're losing the certainty
of being in the present.
It could be the past,
it could be the future.
How much time has this tree lived?
You won't stop?
Hello!
This is AKi.
She knows herbs.
So it was you.
Will you stop by my house?
Tell her we will.
The clouds are racing.
What are these herbs?
I've got mugwort,
chameleon plant,
angelica root.
I love the smell.
Thank you.
Why did you come here?
We came to look for a plant
called Vision.
Vision
releases its spores
under special conditions.
Because it's a fungus.
You didn't know that?
I didn't.
Still a lot to learn.
Koh knows the forest,
better than you.
That's why
you can't find a wife.
Don't start that now.
Once in 1,000 years,
the time is near.
Don't you think
the forest is strange these days?
The way the wind blows,
how the trees bend,
the balance of rain and light.
Bit by bit,
it's all becoming unsettled.
She's blind?
I have eyes in my heart.
We've met at last.
I don't know if I can touch Vision.
I don't know its shape.
I don't know what it's made-of.
I don't know.
But I think it's soft and flexible.
I don't know.
Don't you think Tomo
is as still
as the mountain?
In nature, you want to keep quiet.
You become one with it.
Tomo is happy, I think.
Maybe he doesn't know why.
But he's starving for something.
He doesn't know what it is.
He said he was tired.
He's seeking.
Tomo doesn't know, he seeks.
I think it's still living,
that old juniper tree.
Yes. It's there.
Near the old temple.
Coming up to visit the graves,
the slope is so steep.
I worked up
quite a sweat.
Because of what happened,
I can't leave here.
I'm the only one
who knows about them.
If I died, no one would remember.
That's too sad.
Hi.
Yeah.
Where's Hana?
Thanks for dinner.
Itadakimasu.
So this is how beautiful they were...
Aki!
Once in 1,000 years, the time is near.
You okay?
Have you always been alone?
Yeah.
Aren't you lonely?
I'm used to it.
You're strong.
I'm not strong.
Is your leg okay?
It's all right.
I used to gather these.
What's...
your name?
Get warm.
Always that?
It's all you have.
You'll be cold...
Cold.
Here.
Wear this.
Thank you.
So clean...
It's beautiful
how flawless they are.
It's not just our work.
The previous generation,
the one before,
people way back...
planted them and grew them.
That's how they got here.
We've got to carry it on.
Looks good on you.
All right...
Let's go.
Ready?
Good job.
What's this?
It's burning.
It's burning.
Turn down the gas.
Such a bad cook.
Stir it.
Faster.
What's this?
It's so big.
Special service...
"It's good."
Thanks for dinner.
Thanks for dinner.
Back when...
I was about your age,
I felt exhausted by everything.
Somehow,
I couldn't stop crying.
But...
then I started to think,
I am...
a part of this world,
and that alone
is enough.
I'm glad we could talk.
Koh!
Where has everyone gone?
How does it get here?
Fire...
Because people
gathered herbs around here,
a big-deal foreign scientist came
to study all kinds of things.
Well...
That was a long time ago.
Rin...
Why?
Koh, wake up.
Wake up.
Answer me.
Good dog...
Let's go to the woods.
I love you.
I love you.
Come with me.
Good bye.
Grow big and strong.
Who is it?
Dear!
Come here, dear.
This baby...
Let's raise it,
as our own.
Rin.
Little Rin.
You are not alone.
Rin!
Water.
Look.
The mountains...
are alive.
How beautiful!
Masatoshi NAGASE
Mirai MORIYAMA
Executive Producer: EXILE HIRO
Producers : Satoshi MIYAZAKI
Marianne SLOT - Noami MIYAZAKI
Cinematography: Arata DODO
Lighting: Yasuhiro OTA
Sound recording: Eiji MORI
Set design: Setsuko SHIOKAWA
Editing: Yoichi SHIBUYA
Music: Makoto OZONE
Director - Writer - Editor:
Naomi KAWASE