Some soldiers died because I wished to protect this village.
I must brace my heart if I'm going to be a general.
Chojumaru.
I want to offer my gratitude and deepest apologies for how it all turned out.
No need. I should apologize. I acted recklessly.
No, you were a big help.
It's just as Fubuki pointed out.
No one realized that this village was in a vital location.
We'll place guards to protect it from now on.
What will happen to the orphans?
We'll take them in at Suwa Grand Shrine for the time being.
They're all grateful to Fubuki and you,
so I don't think they would have any objections.
Okay.
And since I put you in danger,
I have to come clean about something.
A phase when you can't see… the future?
They're blurry and unclear, as you may have noticed,
but it's troublesome if I can't see any visions in an emergency.
Please keep this a secret between us.
The gods hold power only if there are people who believe in it.
And there are people who depend on and seek refuge in my power.
That being said, Lord Tokiyuki,
I would like just a little bit of help to regain my power.
I want you to know, too, the source of my powers.
There are wonders that remain in this world
that can't be measured by military might nor intellect.
THE ELUSIVE SAMURAI
Eel?
I'll go catch some at the Tenryu River if it is your command.
What's gotten into you all of a sudden?
Sorry.
I just wanted to eat some suddenly.
Remember, it's a secret from everyone that I've lost my powers.
Why do you need to eat an eel in order for your powers to return?
Last time this happened, I was cured after I ate some eel.
There are many possible ways my holy power could come back,
so I must learn from the past and try them one by one.
Eel is Suwa's specialty.
In the winter, they carry plenty of fat, and the meat is so tender…
I can feel the power coursing through my veins
But my holy power hasn't returned. I guess it wasn't eel.
Alpine leek?
-I just… want to… try some? -I can smell eel grilling Where is it?
Okay. I'll forage some from the back hills.
It's the Buddhist monks' favorite vegetable
while they train in the mountains.
Its striking aroma has the power to ward off evil.
But this isn't doing the trick either.
You want to take this rope? Sure, of course. I don't mind…
Shrine maiden attire? There's plenty in the shed…
But why would you need such a thing?
Well, I've grown interested in the clothes of the shrine.
Right.
In Shintoism, both men and women are equally important.
One particularly important role is that of the shrine maiden.
Since we have to keep my secret from the shrine maidens,
we'll perform a ritual with a doll to regain my holy powers.
A shrine maiden?
No, this is all wrong It doesn't look like a shrine maiden at all
I need to make a shrine maiden A shrine maiden
I did it
This is weird, right?
Yeah.
He ate a bunch of things to give him energy.
And built a life-sized doll of a shrine maiden.
The rope is definitely to tie it up.
My lord.
Your kink… is wild.
There's no way… that our Lord Tokiyuki has developed
such mature taste at his young age?
You don't get it, Moritaka.
Spoiled brats are more inclined to grow up to be huge perverts.
Calm down.
Just because our lord is a huge pervert
doesn't mean it will affect our loyalty to him.
Yeah, that's right. This is all to help our lord restore the Kamakura shogunate.
No matter how perverse his shogunate might be
I agree As his retainer, I will master the art of war and perversion.
Yeah
-He's a pervert for sure. -We have a good lord.
Yorishige
What is it? You look pale.
It's not the time to be eating more eel
My retainers are completely misunderstanding me
because I'm running these nonsensical errands for you
It doesn't have to be such a bad thing.
A slightly enigmatic lord can exude an inexplicable sense of authority.
They're totally put off
You come with me Go talk to everyone and clear things up
I don't care about keeping your holy power a secret
Hey, hey now. I have just one more favor to ask of you.
If you walk about four kilometers from here, you'll see Mount Moriya,
the sacred place where the divine spirits of Suwa Grand Shrine reside.
Go fetch me water from the sacred wetland that runs there.
I'll probably be back to normal in a heartbeat if I drink it.
Then why didn't you say so in the first place
I wanted to eat eel and leek
What am I doing?
I'm just being subjected to Mr. Yorishige's
perpetually unpredictable moods.
Whether his holy power exists in the first place is doubtful.
All the power that he's shown might just be coincidences.
He leads such a large army. There's no need to rely on some unpredictable power.
Light?
That's… the Kagura Dance dedicated to the gods.
Am I seeing things? It looks like she's playing with countless lights.
Big Brother What brings you here?
I just… came to fetch some water.
What are you doing here, Shizuku?
I was praying with them. For the accomplishment of your goals.
For the prosperity of Suwa. And for peace in this world.
With them?
I see.
Father must have wanted to show you if he told you to come here.
Big Brother.
Crouch down a little.
Close your eyes.
There. Now you should be able to see them for a little while.
Open your eyes.
What… are… they?
They're Divine Beasts that live in Suwa's sanctuary.
Not that they lend their power to us, but if I pray here, they'll protect us.
Hey, if I look closely, I can see Botan
I think it moved in recently.
I must be dreaming. I can't believe they exist in our world.
This was the last era where people coexisted with the divine.
If you saw a monster, it meant an earthquake would come.
GRAFFITI PROHIBITED
You could also see a tengu flying around town.
CERTAINLY - NO FUTURE
These types of stories were recorded as fact in official documents.
SUWA GRAND SHRINE STAFF MR. S.Y
The divine storm that sank the Mongolian army?
That was all because of our prayers.
Such matters were seriously claimed as achievements,
and many shrines received real rewards.
At this time, prayer was pragmatic public work,
and a vast budget was poured into it.
This is what Father wanted you to retrieve, isn't it?
There. His holy power is probably weakened?
Thank you.
I caught a glimpse of the fleeting wonder, but it was blurry and unclear.
They're a faint existence that don't seem to have much influence on this world.
Why did Mr. Yorishige show it to me?
And Shizuku, I don't think I know much about you.
It looks good.
Bring Tadayoshi.
It's time to start envisioning the future for our country.
Tadayoshi
You came Aren't you exhausted from working hard at the imperial court?
TADAYOSHI ASHIKAGA
I am in perfect physical condition.
TAKAUJI ASHIKAGA'S YOUNGER BROTHER
You seem well as always, big brother.
I'm going to get straight to business.
I want you to proceed towards Kamakura and strengthen our defenses.
Is it your usual "intuition"?
Yes
I have a feeling that the Hojo survivors will begin a revolt soon.
Your intuition has always been mostly right ever since we were young.
When we were children, I spent three whole days
hiding a treasure and creating a cipher to find it.
Okay, not even Takauji can solve this
A treasure hunt? That sounds fun
Okay, I'm gonna start by looking under the floor in Moronao's room
Before I gave you the cipher, you guessed correctly with your intuition.
I made the cipher so that no one in this household
was supposed to be able to solve it.
Even if I can win with my intuition, I can't beat your brains.
I bet you already have plans in that head of yours.
Yes.
I'm currently thinking of about 100 different defense strategies for Kamakura.
Imagine if we, as brothers, establish control over Kyo and Kamakura.
All the warriors throughout the land would obey the Ashikaga.
By the way, don't you think that 100 is an overstatement?
Aren't you really only thinking of about 14?
Is that the sort of thing you can guess with intuition?
Takauji is charismatic, intuitive and a master of war.
Tadayoshi is intellectual, level-headed and logical.
These two were complete opposite types of geniuses,
but they were very close as brothers.
I know
Look, Tadayoshi.
I drew a picture of the Buddha again
The Buddha is wonderful. I feel calm just looking at him.
Takauji.
I managed to get high-quality cedar boards made in Kitayama.
I was just thinking that they would be perfect for the wooden wall of this room.
Oh, yeah?
How about this? I'll give you the cedar boards for free.
In exchange, could I have this wonderful picture of the Buddha?
You have an appreciation for the Buddha too. Go ahead. Take it.
I'm leaving all of Kamakura up to you.
Somebody
Recently, my brother has surpassed the level of just having a good intuition…
It's gotten to the point where I wonder if he is human…
Keep the Buddha and burn everything else.
-Sir. -Sir.
I can't show my brother's followers a picture like this.
I wonder if he's realized it himself.
That he only sees the Buddha as prey.
Takauji Ashikaga seized Kamakura,
and Tadayoshi Ashikaga protects that same Kamakura.
There was less than a year and a half
until the brothers who had risen to power would clash against Tokiyuki Hojo.
I knew that Shizuku could see that I was not feeling myself
Who exactly is she? And what was that mystical scene?
It's not my place to tell you about Shizuku.
I'm sure she'll tell you soon enough.
My holy power is suddenly coming back to me
I think.
You think?
The Divine Beasts that you saw were manifested by holy power.
Holy power exists where human eyes don't reach.
Where human eyes don't reach?
Just like you, Lord Tokiyuki.
In a world with more watchful eyes and advanced social surveillance,
someone as important as you could not be a fugitive.
The rogues we battled the other day are in the same boat.
People like them hold the divine power to exist for the first time in history
because no one is looking for them.
However, these divine powers are beginning to deplete.
When the right to own land was guaranteed through favor or service,
people's attachment to the land grew stronger,
and the populated areas expanded.
As the human world becomes more observable,
secret places and the power that comes from them shrink.
The wonders… cease to be wonders.
Lake Suwa's ice is broken in half
Our famous location: the famed God's Crossing at Lake Suwa.
Currently, everyone believes that Suwa Myojin creates it using holy power.
But the more people lay eyes on it,
I'm sure there will come a day that it will be explained as a natural phenomenon.
In other words, the stronger humans become, the weaker the gods will be.
As people begin to only look at reality,
the gods and holy power will all disappear.
That's how the times change.
Will you disappear one day too… Mr. Yorishige?
The halo of the gods has completely recovered My holy power is eternal
That's the source of your halo?
What I'm trying to say is--
This is the last time period where we get to use divine powers
And your abilities are perfect for this period.
You're not a god, but just a human. You should live your life to the fullest.
The playground you stand on will melt away one day.
Play to your heart's content during this period of change
Okay
Putting that aside.
Mr. Yorishige, be sure to clean up after all your playing around.
I didn't want to see Lord Yorishige like this.
I overestimated him…
I can't believe he was making Lord Tokiyuki
gather tools for his own pleasure.
Whoa
I don't understand why he would do that outside where everyone can see.
I don't know. Maybe it's a form of play only permitted to a god.
It's so intense that he actually looks like he's having a divine experience.
It seems like holy power has gathered
because Yorishige is free in an isolated world.
EPISODE 11 (YEAR OF 1334): SAMURAIS WHO ARE EAGER TO DIE & AN ELUSIVE SAMURAI
Let's go