#モノノ怪質問箱の回答

[kastellaran]

Q&A Translations

I translated all of the Mononoke Question Box Answers that have been posted by the official Mononoke Twitter as of March 26, 2025. I will work on posting the others as they come out so I don't put out such a long post again, but in the mean time here they are:

Q: Is there some kind of magic related meaning in Kusuriuri-san and Shingi-san's clothing? For example, Kusuriuri-san wears women's kimono, and Shingi-san has black cloth wrapped around his arms and legs. A: On the kimono, I believe it serves as the mark of a Medicine Seller, which is why there are a lot of shared elements. It's similar to a uniform.

Both Kusuriuri and Shingi's forms change as they mark the passing of history on their bodies, so as for the black cloth, there is probably some story there.

Q: Did Kusuriuri-san buy the love potions from England himself? I was wondering if they do business with foreign countries.

A: They do. It seems more research is needed on the question of if Medicine Sellers are unique to Japan.

Q: Does Kusuriuri-san need to eat? Did he eat the hoobamiso onigiri after Karakasa?

A: Medicine Sellers don't need to eat or sleep. They don't need to gain nutrition with their mouths. But they do understand taste, so sometimes they pretend to eat. This depends on the personality of each Medicine Seller, so even I don't actually know if the Medicine Seller of Kon ate it.

Q: Were there any points during the production of Hinezumi that made you be like "This came out super well! I love it!"? Also, are there any points where you're like "Open your eyes and watch closely!!!"? It was fast-paced this time so I'm not sure if I'll be able to follow everything, but if there are, I really want to try and keep an eye out for themmm!!!

A: Director: Suzuki Kiyotaka I won't be able to write everything because it's too detailed, sorry. In my opinion, our team was super competent and it feels like each person's skill came through in the film, so thank you to all the staff. To touch on the contents, I guess I really liked the balance between reality and memory. Because it's a movie, we had them come up with all sorts of ways to increase the climax in the latter half. I hope you enjoy it with your eyes, ears, and heart.

General Director: Nakamura Kenji The collaboration between the storyboard and the screenplay. We had Atarashi-san, the writer, look over the storyboard and edit the dialogue. After the framework of the Mononoke and the set were decided, the action was adjusted to work within the space, and there was also revision during ADR (from the time of Karakasa) with updates piling on top of each other. There are quire a few difficult spots, but it seems like it should be normal from here on out.

Q: In the movie, the Sword of Exorcism and the trunk seem to move with a mysterious power. Is that Kusuriuri-san's power? Or does it come from Shingi-san or the Sword of Exorcism?

A: It's the power of the Medicine Seller, but there are many scenes where the tools use their situational awareness and move on their own. I think they're all probably working together.

Q: With regards to Karakasa and Hinezumi, I want to hear about the scenes that gave you the most difficulty.

A: General Director: Nakamura Kenji For Karakasa, it would probably be the part from Kusuriuri's transformation to when he says "issen!" and Kitagawa's first appearance. For Hinezumi, I'll pass to the director, Suzuki!

Director: Suzuki Kiyotaka For Hinezumi, constructing the parallels in the drama between Fuki and Botan around solving the Reason was kind of difficult. And the part from the transformation to "issen!" was difficult because of the quantity, but we got through it thanks to our amazing staff.

Q: When the giant eye appears, Kusuriuri-san says "The Karakasa is manifesting in the utsushiyo*," but it actually seems like the dimension that Kusuriuri-san, Saburoumaru, and everyone else is in has changed. Is the world in which the Karakasa has manifested also the utsushiyo? *Buddhist term referring to the current life

A: Very good question, yes, the utsushiyo also includes the yellow sky where the mononoke reveals its true form, and the anomalous space (is what we call it) of the outer wall. The world is structured like a millfeuille, with layers on layers (so it could also be thought of as a separate dimension).

Q: Directors, who is the character you love the most in Mononoke? Mine is the scales.

A: General Director: Nakamura Kenji I love them all so much; I'm always crying while cutting their scenes and lines. I'd like to have the scales be more active too.

Director: Suzuki Kiyotaka It's not love, but with regards to the movie, I started to sympathize with Botan and feel like she was kind of similar to me. Other than that, I like the funny and cool Sakashita, and the funny and cute Kume-chan.

Q: When did Saburoumaru and Hiramoto develop their current dynamic? They originally had different social standings, so maybe they weren't able to banter like they do now...

A: We actually just published a short story on WEB where you can read about this, so please check it out. Hiramoto is actually the type to live by his own values and thoughts, regardless of the people around him, so he would speak directly with Saburoumaru instead of holding onto any strange prejudices. Hopefully they'll continue to be buddies.

Q: In the anime, I had the impression that Kusuriuri-san and Shingi-san were like mirror reflections, inversions of each other, but in the movie it seems like they're complete opposites. Are Kusuriuri-san and Shingi-san designed with the pair in mind? There are a lot of parts that are fiery, like the hair and the sword, so I'd like to know if there was some design motif being referenced.

A: Basically, the Sword of Exorcism and Shingi are a set. You may wonder, "Then, shouldn't Kusuriuri's body and form match the sword?" but we haven't advanced that far in the research of the Sword of Exorcism. I'm deeply ashamed.

Q: There are a lot of movements that are flashy in a kabuki way, like sheathing Sakashita-san's katana with his foot or jumping off the roof spinning. I'm interested to know if you had any references.

A: It wouldn't be that cool if Kusuriuri-san moved normally, so everyday we would think about how to make him more ostentatious, how to add more theatrical flair. So a lot of it is from imagination. But kabuki, noh, tokusatsu, or any videos where men have beautiful movements might also serve as a reference.

Q: Kusuriuri-san's trunk seems awfully heavy; I wonder how heavy it is? The scales are on the bottom, the sword is on the top, so I'm curious what else is in there. On that note, in the movie Kusuriuri has some pretty flashy action scenes, but wouldn't it be bad if the medicine in there got damaged?

A: The inside of the trunk is like a different dimension, so it's take care of. There's no way all the scales could fit in there, so it connects to another dimension. It's like a magic item. So, you don't need to worry; but if we tried to lift it, it would probably be about 200 kg.

Q: Utayama-sama was shown to be self-conscious of her hands; was she conscious of her age? Did she perhaps think about how she had been in the Ooku the longest? Also, I want to know more about her. Anything's fine; her birthday, height, favorite food......please tell me anything you can!

A: I personally think that life is shown in the eyes or expressions and age is shown in the hands. Utayama-san feels that in the near future she will not have the power to carry out all of her duties within the Ooku. With regards to her birthday and favorite food, the results of the investigation have not come back yet, so all I can say is she doesn't like or dislike anything (investigation ongoing).

Q: In the movie, Kusuriuri-san wields the Sword of Exorcism with his left hand even though he seems to be right handed. Is it because Shingi-san is left handed, so he holds the sword in his left hand to match?

A: The hand that the medicine sellers use to wield the sword depends on the sword. Apparently the Sword of Kon wants to be held in the left hand.

Q: When it's time to decide the nighttime companion, the ochuurou are lined up in the Osuzurouka. Is the order they're lined up in predetermined? Also I'd like to know the order in which they became ochuurou.

A: It is predetermined. I don't actually know the order in which they became ochuurou either, but Kiyo was definitely the last. She's a new ochuurou-san compared to Fuki.

Q: Is the Medicine Seller of Kon's hair long!??! Is it short!??! Please tell me!!!!!!!

A: The Medicine Seller of Kon's hair seems to be short. There might be times when he wants to grow his hair out, so I think it changes from time to time.

Q: I've heard that ideas can come to people at different times, like in the bath or on a walk. At what kind of time do the directors think "That will be the mononoke this time!" or "The Medicine Seller should do this in this scene!"? If that's too difficult, please tell me what candy you've been into lately!

A: General Director: Nakamura Kenji I'm not always doing my work or taking baths; when I'm particularly in pain I try to take showers, and since I'm changing my clothes at the same time I like clothes that are easy to launder.

Director: Suzuki Kiyotaka When I'm waking up or in the bathroom... It seems like it's mostly in the morning, but ideas come to me when I'm away from the desk.

Q: During the flashback scenes, these pentagonal shapes are floating around. Is there a reason for those shapes? Or are they an artistic element?

A: We call them "flashback clouds." We really wanted to make sure people noticed when it was a flashback, so when they appear, it's a flashback scene. There is one mysterious depiction of the past which is not actually a flashback, so they don't appear there (sorry if this is confusing). We wanted the shapes in the clouds to be kind of cute and look like candy. Those shapes are stored alongside many people's feelings and memories of the past. There may be more elements like this in the future.

Q: What are the cute decorations that look like taiyaki in Karakasa... I want one. Even though they're soggy.

A: General Director: Nakamura Kenji I want merch of them too. I'd like to put them on a bag or something. Those "fish" are actually made of wood, so they dry easily. If Kame-chan had secretly done her job in the middle of the night, she probably wouldn't have been found out,,, That aside, I wondered what they were, so I interviewed Katouno-san from the art department. ...Katouno-san, what are those fish?

Art department: Katouno Youichi They're hanging dolls. I think they're probably the goldfish type. They've been around for a long time, and since they always convey an auspicious feeling, I thought that if something happened around them it would be even more emotional, so I referenced them. General Director: Nakamura Kenji I see,, I get it!