Subculture Anime Blog

Hashihime!

Summary:

While Toru sleeps on Tenko one day, Tenko reminds him of the power she has. Tenko tells Toru that he could have anything that he wished for, but Toru expresses that he doesn’t really need anything. Tenko then reveals to Toru that this was the same thing Miyako said, wondering if he would like to see her. Toru states that this is okay, however, before simply leaving the room. Tenko later finds Noboru in the kitchen, giving a special request for what he should cook for dinner. When Ko expresses that she wishes to help as well, Noboru has her buy ingredients at the grocery store. Tenko follows Ko, then requesting for some money to buy sake. Toru runs into Ebisu elsewhere, who has a message Tenko. Tenko herself pours sake into the river later, summoning a hashihime. When Tenko asks about the kyokai the hashihime has protected around the area, she also wonders if she has encountered any human spirits. This makes Tenko recall her first meeting of Miyako, which resulted in the first human she could call a friend.

That night, everyone enjoys inarizushi due to Tenko’s earlier request. Toru takes the chance to relay Ebisu’s message to Tenko, which dealt with the full moon that would be showing that night. Tenko then suggests that they all eat outside, when the lights in the house seem to go off. The group ends up next to the bridge under the full moon, and the boys are surprised when they see that Tenko has changed her clothes. Tenko quickly eats in order to preform a dance, as she tells the boys not to leave their location no matter what happens. Wondering what this is about, Ko turns to find a barrier around them. As Tenko begins her performance, Ebisu arrives in the area. After he further explains Tenko’s dance to the boys, he begins to approach Tenko. Ko attempts to stop him despite the barrier, but he easily sends her back.

Even though Tenko’s Mitama Okuri progresses well, Ebisu steps in to interfere. Tenko surrounds Ebisu in darkness, but Ebisu is easily able to overtake her. In the meantime, Ko warns the boys of what would happen if they were to leave the barrier. Ebisu begins to ask for a bit of Tenko’s hair as an exchange, but he finds that she still has a bit of power left. Tenko begins to have trouble holding her human form despite this, and Ebisu further threatens the boys with his servants soon after. Toru shares some inarizushi with Kouga and Eiga, but they are unable to deny their master’s orders despite how much they appreciate this. Tenko finally agrees to hand over some of her hair, cutting it off to hand to Ebisu. After receiving this, Ebisu quickly leaves.

Ko faints in the aftermath, but Tenko finds that her goals were reached. Miyako’s spirit appears afterwards, which only Tenko and Toru are able to see. Miyako is very excited when she finds out that Noboru prepared the meal that night, then noticing that Toru resembles her more than his father. Miyako then reveals the mark she has on her neck, which is the same as Toru’s. Tenko suggests that Miyako should leave shortly after, which she does after telling the boys to take care. Toru is saddened at the fact that he could not say much to his mother afterwards, to the confusion of Noboru. Toru gives Tenko his inarizushi as thanks afterwards, even though she insists that she only did what she wanted to.

Preview: More Sakura love love.

Impression:

How ironic! This episode delt a lot with Japanese culture and spiritual beliefs. Hashihime literally means “bridge princess”, which made perfect sense after the dialogs during this episode. I’d actually have to do a bit more research on the Mitama Okuri that Tenko performed, but I do know it is a fairly commonly represented thing in Japanese culture. Maybe some of you could enlighten me? The group also ate inarizushi during this episode, a sushi type dish that I’ve actually had quite a few times before. Other than all the interesting new things I learned from this episode, the story in itself was pretty touching. I loved how they presented Miyako again, and the light build up to it was really great. Miyako’s appearance may not have felt like it lasted long enough, but it’s easy to see that she will be showing up many more times in the future. The next episode brings back Sakura, so I’m really excited to see how it turns out.

But wow guys, I’m freaking exhausted right now. Working is a total drag, and I know a lot of you probably know that through experience. I really wonder sometimes if going home to blog anime is really helping me relax or not, haha.