#mugitani mononoke

[shiroeyoru]

[tache-noire]

I with mugitani wasnt such a bitch, she was cute :(

[animemakeblog]

“Mononoke: Karakasa” The Theme Song, Trailer

The official website disclosed the theme song, and the first trailer for the anime film Mononoke: Karakasa. On July 26, the film is slated to debut in Japanese theatres.

[theboredhooman]

okay but kame and asa are literally 100% in love i don’t make the rules ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

long post overanalysing and yapping about these two lesbians + spoilers for the ‘mononoke: phantom in the rain’ movie! go watch it right now if you can 👹👹

kame is literally asa’s most precious thing. you can NOT tell me it’s not. even if you don’t ship them it is very obviously canon.

asa was soo flustered and didn’t want to tell kame about this, even blushing?? like understandable though it’s basically a confession

one of asa’s first reactions was always to check if kame was okay whenever the mononoke appeared

sure, it could’ve just been a friend thing, but asa was constantly looking out for kame in the ooku

defending her and taking the blame for all her mistakes and trying to protect her from harm, standing up to awashima and mugitani

asa i know what you are i saw that blush when kame smiled after you told her she could work with you instead of mugitani (I get you she was so cute tho)

”Such neat handwriting” asa’s eyes were so soft it actually broke my heart when i saw awashima cutting kame’s hair

the well scene….just…

asa trying to pull up kame, and kame doing the same for her

also asa being sort of lifeless while she hangs there until kame tells her that ‘it’ll be alright!/I’ve got you!’ and suddenly she snaps out of her shock, gaining emotions again

also it was so cute when they were talking next to each other at night

speaking of which, kame making asa promise to not let go while they sleep and asa adjusting to a more comfortable grip while holding hand was just; auGHHH 😩

ALSO ALSO “Kitagawa made me realise what was important, what I should never throw away,” and then KAME TURNING TO SMILE AT ASA AND ASA SMILING BACK WITH THAT ADORING LOOK IN HER EYES?? (note: there was also minor foreshadowing here with the empty doll cupboard but i think that had more to do with kitagawa)

and the cut off after saying she needed to say something important was really suspicious like what did she say??

idk how this related but afterwards she became more focused and hardworking on her job(but also more rigid and firm in her beliefs) and kame tipped out her water instead of drinking it (because she became the opposite? more rebellious/defiant maybe? idk)

speaking to the medicine seller, she said she understood kitagawa’s feelings, which makes me think kitagawa also had a thing for her friend lol like there was absolutely something going on there if she(kitagawa) fell apart after her friend left

only mildly related but i believe karakasa’s next target was probably going to be kame and she was used as bait for it (as something a redditor* mentioned was asa may have sent kame away to protect her rather than the reason kitagawa did, OR lure out karakasa) edit: nvm i remembered wrong it was utayama i believe (due to perhaps resentment within the doll’s umbrella*) or asa (following the logic that awashima and mugitani were both the head housemaids(?) favoured by utayama before asa, although again the end goal was probably to attack utayama)

also when asa was addressing the other maids of the ooku before the birth celebratory ceremony and bowed, kame bowed but nobody else did (which means they didn’t respect asa)

then kame got mad and showed her support for her girl like hell yeah 👏 and asa gained more confidence which i think was sweet

oh and asa was also like “the thing that kept me grounded was lady kame” 🥹🥹

she also said (acc. to netflix subs) “And yet, I yearned for nothing more than to share meals with Kame. And spend countless nights just staying up late, giggling and talking to her.” SHE SOUNDED SO LOVESICK 💔

btw love how the medicine seller instantly knew asa was looking for her boo lmao

anyways i think it mayyy not have been requited on kame’s side, at least canonically, but I have literally zero doubt asa was in love with her. then again homophobes and censorship. uh. it’s alright i ship them very hard either way i need more lesbians in my life hehe.

in conclusion. Harold they’re lesbians. thanks for coming to my ted talk. yeah o7

*redditors talked about the choice of karakasa as the yokai.(i reccomend reading it, it’s very interesting imo)

[dharmafox]

My sister wanted to watch the movie with me, so I watched it again last night. The way it stands up to rewatching is incredible. I noticed a few more things.

1. I think now it might have been Mugitani and Awashima who were behind the passing of information about Kitagawa.

2. I finally realized why the Medicine Seller came crashing into Asa's room like that. I feel this was an obvious one, but it's so hard to process things when your eyes are constantly shifting between the actual movie and half-readable, half-in-the-black-bar-subtitles. This was my first proper rewatch with my modified subs. (And of course I noticed some punctuation I forgot to tweak...)

3. Asa and Kame were definitely 100% doing gay stuff while Fuki and Tenshi were doing weird water-related hetero stuff.

4. I might have worked out exactly what it meant that Asa sent Kame away and why she did it.

5. I realized something about Kitagawa and her umbrella that I think lends substantiation to my idea about what was going on with the Medicine Seller and the raindrop at the end.

6. Not really something I figured out but it's interesting how quickly the Medicine Seller and Saburomaru formed an investigative alliance. I suspect they'll be working together in Hinezumi too.

Sister seemed to enjoy the movie more than I expected. Maybe I can tempt her into watching the series. She did ask at the end what a mononoke was, and I realized that the movie never properly explained it. Which is kind of funny given how exhaustively the series explains it. I guess if you're Japanese a detailed explanation isn't required for comprehension, since the word mononoke at the very least conveys "demon."

She definitely picked up on the gay stuff.

[catbread0]

HIHIHI!! Begging on the knees cherry ontop can u pls do a 2024 ver medicine seller with a fem!reader who's known by the maids as extremely unlucky like tripping on thin air and fails the simplest tasks but is a very hardworker enough to be admired by manyPLSPSLSPLSPSLSPSL ☹️☹️☹️☹️🙏🙏🙏

Kon-Kutsuriuri x Unlucky! Fem! Reader

I enjoyed doing this cute request! I hope you enjoy what I wrote and I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes!

(/＾▽＾)/★*☆♪

words: 1329

Fluff, mention of injuries, death, and a curse word

Mononoke (2024) Masterlist

Maiden of Misfortune

Ever since you arrived at the Ōoku, you’ve made a title for yourself: The Cursed Nuisance. At least that’s what you are in the eyes of Madame Utayama. You brought more workload than what was already needed. However, she was gracious enough to allow you to continue working in the Ōoku rather than cutting you off. 

You were grateful for Madam Utayama, and you strived to work diligently and earnestly to reimburse her generosity. However, not one of the Seven Gods of Fortune had blessed you. You would trip on your kimono, getting soaked under a sudden storm, dropping important deliveries, standing your kimono with ink, losing your zōri, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. However, you still worked tirelessly by pushing through the misfortune. You even took on the workload of other maidservants. Many of the maidservants praised and admired your persistence.

It’s been one month since you’ve arrived, the Birth Celebratory Ceremony is nearing, and not much has changed for you, sadly. However, when it was time to partake in drinking the water from the well of the water goddess, there were two new young women you’d never seen before. You soon came to find out their names were Asa and Kame. They were the new maidservants.

It’s been 3 days since they arrived, and you’ve had a few encounters with them. You would be assigned to a task with them, or you would spot one of them and offer to do their current workload. Kame and Asa were grateful for your help. Even if they saw you struggling with some of the common tasks, they still helped when they could. Currently, you are walking around the Ōoku looking for tasks to do. Suddenly, you hear a commotion and quickly walk to where it was happening.

That’s when you saw Kame being scolded and yelled at by Madam Mugitani. You felt empathy for Kame. You were in her shoes multiple times due to your misfortune, and you were also scolded by Madam Mugitani. You immediately tried to defend and de-escalate the situation by saying you would immediately start on the task on behalf of Kame. However, that fell on deaf ears for Madam Mugitani as she took Kame and dragged her away to ‘teach her a lesson’. You and Asa could only watch as Kame pleaded for forgiveness.

After what felt like a few minutes, there was a blood-curdling scream from what sounded to belong to Kame. You quickly dropped whatever you were carrying and ran to where the scream came from. You soon ran to Asa and followed her upstairs, not caring about the samurai's warning. The both of you saw Kame on the ground with a strange man kneeling beside her head. Asa immediately sat next to Kame’s unconscious body. He confirmed that she wasn’t dead. You let out a small sigh of relief.

That relief was short-lived when a thud was heard downstairs with gaps, screams, and sobs following. The 3 of you headed down immediately to see what had happened, and there laid Madam Mugitani’s body. Madam Mugitani's body looked as if her life was sucked out until completely bone dried. She wouldn’t even be recognizable if it wasn’t for her kimono and hair. 

Madame Utayama had arrived, saw the strange man, and in a stern tone said,  “Who the devil are you?” 

The man responded in a monotone and calm tone, “Oh, I’m just… a medicine seller.”

After some time, the ‘medicine seller’ explained the Mononoke and the three elements he needed. Soon after, Madame Utayama gave introductions to not speak of what happened, to say Madam Mugitant is alive and well, and she told the samurai to provide the ‘medicine seller’ a pass. 

You all departed your ways to not upset Madame Utayama any further. With that, you entered your room. You didn’t share it with anyone since the maidservants had thought you might injure someone else if they were to stay with your misfortune. 

As you were putting your futon and getting ready to put this day to rest, you couldn’t stop thinking of that ‘medicine seller’. Who would be so bold to pass the three samurai's to enter the Ōoku, acting so mysterious and intelligent, he wasn’t even afraid of Madame Utayama who could have reported him to his Majesty but instead gave him a pass! And you admit he is quite handsome, unlike those two men who were inspectors, and may you dare say even his majesty! Of course, you are loyal to his majesty, but that ‘medicine seller’ had something that even the emperor couldn’t achieve.

The morning had arrived, and you had breakfast. However, you had gotten a splinter on your index finger from your chopsticks. Then, it was time to have the meeting and listen to Madame Utayama’s speech. When you sat down in the last row to Madame Utayama’s right, you felt as if someone was watching you.

‘Great it’s that playboy again’, you thought to yourself and looked over to where he was to see if it was him. 

To your shock, he wasn’t looking at you…so could it be? You look behind you, trying not to make it obvious. That’s when you accidentally make eye contact with the ‘medicine seller’. 

‘OH KUSO-‘ you quickly look forward and hope he didn’t notice.

Soon, the speech came to an end, but to you, it felt like hours for every minute. You quickly departed from your seating and started working on more tasks and other maidservant's workloads. But every workload you did, you would be careful with your index finger to not cause the splinter to go deeper into your skin. 

When you turned a corner to find more maidservants to help, you bumped into someone.

You immediately bowed and apologized to the person, “Ah forgive me, I didn’t see anyone coming around”

“It’s alright, no need to be formal”, you recognize that voice.

You raised from your bow and realized it was the ‘medicine seller’ from earlier! Ahh, what an embarrassing second impression you made!

“Oh but you're a guest you must be treated with-”, you were cut off by him, “Lend me your hand”

His hand was in front of you, and you debated for a few seconds before giving in. He examined your index finger with the splinter.

“I noticed you’ve been putting your finger in the air when carrying items around. I’ll treat it for you.” He said in a soothing voice.

You saw him let go of your hand and look through the box he carried. He pulled out small tweezers and some medicine cream. He took your hand once again and began to work on the splinter.

You took this time to examine him further now that he was right in front of you. But that’s when it hit you what he said. Was he watching you so often to notice such a small detail?

After a few minutes, he was done and applied the cream on top of where the splitter was. He examined and held your hand for a few more minutes before he made eye contact with you.

“Thank you, you didn’t have to do that, really, mister…uh”, You didn’t know his name. Great job at making a good impression.

“No formality needed,” he said as he continued to hold your hand.

He didn’t answer your question about his name, “Ah right sorry maybe I can make you some food as a form of gratitude. Would that be alright with you, Kon-Kusuriuri?” You remembered he said he had a Taima no ken called “Kon”.

A faint smirk appeared on his lips, and he nodded. You went to one of the many kitchens and started to prepare a simple dish.

Something told you that even if Kusuriuri were to slay this Mononoke, he would still be around after. That alone filled you up with joy. Oh, how you can't wait to see him again now.

Ōoku (1) - The women's quarters of Edo Castle

Zori (2) - Traditional Japanese sandals/footwear

Kuso (3) - It’s like the Japanese word for shit

Taima no ken (4) - Sword of exorcism

~Lilly's

[fefeman]

MONONOKE : KARAKASA and fermentation, mold & mushroom

One impression the movie gave me, about the appearance and presentation of the Karakasa & its influence, was that of mold, fermentation & mushroom.

For example, the texture and "smell" of the water. I did attempt, in my home, to make homebrew ginger beer, and one aspect of a failed fermentation was the water turning very slimy and thick... Just like the raindrops in the movies (note that when the karakasa just drained someone, the water is runnier.) and that it smelled bad, like roten egg.

That one was easy tho, because the water in the well really IS fermenting in the movie, with all the the things and people thrown in it.

The Karakasa is also represented like a mold spreading on the walls

And when it take it's true form, it throw "mycelium" at people and also has a mushroom like appearance, with a cap. Mycelium is also what's visually represented when Asa drink the water, another symbol of its spreading influence.

let's also not forget this karakasa thrive in the humidity (it feed of the humidity of the people), like most molds & fungi.

In my opinion, this connection with the themes of rot, fermentation & fungi is purposeful :

Like mushroom how mushroom are much much MUCH bigger than their umbrella, the Karakasa only represent the tip of a problem of the Ooku.

Stagnation : mold & fungi develop more easily where the air or water is stagnant. The fact the Ooku is an enclosed space, where people cannot/will not leave is also a part of the problems that plague it

Psychedelism : LSD is developed from mushrooms & fungi, as are other hallucinogenes. During the movie, it's made evident some of the characters are hallucinating (Mme Mugitani, for example). This speak of how the inhabitants of the ooku are loosing their grip on reality as they become more and more obsessed with their function & status.

At the same time, fungi can be source for medicine, and it's only by exposing the cruelty of the "cult" in the ooku that things can get better. In fact, the end of the Karakasa has the sacred well "puke out" all the content it swallowed, like it was purging a poison

[ruiniel]

Mononoke Karakasa art symbolism:

the kokeshi dolls

Throughout the movie there is the theme of renouncing something precious (i.e. pieces of oneself, individuality) in order to serve an amorphous whole. The Ōoku, in this instance, could be seen as an organism thriving on the sum of its 'parts'.

Karakasa is saturated with visual elements among which flowers and dolls are prevalent from what I noticed on first watch. The symbolism and comparison with 'flowers' or 'dolls' isn't much of a mystery when considering the strict hierarchical roles the ~2000 women must play in the Ōoku.

And despite the numbers, there's a sense of pervasive loneliness throughout (at least for me), a nod to very real and relatable psychological states of being such as mourning, emotional estrangement and abjectification of self. But on a wider and still very relatable social level to the modern audience, the Ōoku is basically a prison. There's an entire essay to be written on systemic oppression and the way it changes the individuals (women) trapped within. Will pause interpretation here for now since it's incomplete and stream-of-consciousness mostly.

What of the dolls?

We see dolls known as kokeshi dolls.

Kokeshi dolls in the movie are 'dento-kokeshi', or traditional style, dento meaning something along the lines of 'transmitting that which is fundamental'.

Kokeshi dolls originated in the Edo period and were first made by craftsmen called kijishi, single-wood carvers in Northern Japan and were first sold as souvenirs at hot spring resorts.

Artisans preferred to work in dogwood, Japanese maple, cherry wood among others since they were good for carving and still carried the right softness. The local craftsman would choose the shapes and colors specific to their region.

Different types of kokeshi dolls (source: pinterest)

Mainly they became children's toys and there are different styles of kokeshi, but their characteristics are slender bodies and lack of arms and legs. Along the years artisans evolved designs to reflect the area the dolls were made in, thus preserving cultural motifs throughout history. They symbolized hope, good luck, and fortune. Each dento-kokeshi is supposed to be unique.

In Mononoke Karakasa, we see many kokeshi dolls, mainly in Mugitani's quarters:

There's a veritable collection, spread across the room, some even hung from the ceiling, acting as silent watchers to her misery, her loneliness, her actions.

On the walls we also see depictions of temari balls, such as the one Mugitani was made to throw away as her precious item, starting the process of yielding her self to the Ōoku:

Side note: traditionally temari balls are also works of art in their own right, following specific crafting principles. They were a typical gift to children on New Year's day. Girls would receive these from their mothers and grandmothers for happiness and fortune (here we see a similarity with Kame's comb gifted from her grandmother).

(Addition to side note: as @ekwallace pointed out, temari ball symbolism is also present in the 2007 Mononoke series, specifically in the Noppera-bou arc. There too was someone who renounced herself since her early years to support someone else's ambitions while yearning for childhood freedom (symbolized by the vision of playing with a temari ball).)

Where did Mugitani obtain the dolls? Were they bought by her at regular fairs, or given as gifts by women who were close to her but are no longer here? Are they an indirect attempt to assuage the lack of fulfillment she feels being here or a subconscious expression of her need for an average, perhaps family centered life outside the confines of the Ōoku (some dolls are grouped in clusters suggesting families)?

The kokeshi dolls could have a specific meaning or even, why not, represent the silenced spirits of women who died there before, become the eyes of the mononoke (but that's one of many far-fetched theories I have).

[maestrozaverick]

Zaverick Wondereviews Episode 39:

Mononoke Karakasa

TW: THIS REVIEW IS INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES + Spoilers + unhinged behavior?

Studio: EOTA (this is the only thing they’ve worked on not making any of this up)

Pros:

⭕️ The animation is just absolutely colorful and nothing has been muted or washed out

⭕️ The characters are all likable (except for Mugitani and Awashima because they treat Kame like ass)

⭕️ Kame is relatable and such a precious little babu but dear lord did she become relatable very quickly

⭕️ The dub was really good and I will defend Crispin Freeman’s performance of the Medicine Seller

⭕️ Speaking of Medicine Seller, I love his shitty antics and passive personality so much in this movie and I’m glad that they gave him more energy

⭕️ Sakashita is just as enjoyable as both Odajima and Genyosai were in Ayakashi and Mononoke

⭕️ I was very happy to see Utayama’s downfall solely from Kitagawa alone (I also wasn’t surprised that she was going to be the big bad for the first movie)

⭕️ That fight scene was absolutely insane and had me on the edge of my seat and the magical girl transformation was just amazing

⭕️ Love Sick is such a banger song

Cons:

❌ It is not recommended for newer fans of the series to dive into this right away

Score: 10/10

Final Thoughts: When will we ever get that love potion? Maybe next film?

[dragon-hoard]

some thoughts re: the gay

so the only heterosexual scene we see is with the emperor and a concubine and their only physical contact is holding hands

asa and kame are shown holding hands a number of times, specifically during happy and emotional scenes

considering the ooku is forbidden to men and out of the 2000 women only 8 are actual concubines for the emperor you have to wonder how many are there to catch his eye like kame, how many are there to work and find meaning like asa, and how many are there because they dont want to get married

kame wants to catch the emperors eye not because she loves or even admires him, she states herself she just wants to wear fancy clothes and have status

obviously asa knows this so what does she do when she sends kame out from the ooku? she gives her a golden hair comb in exchange for the one kames grandmother gave her. regardless of where kame goes she will have that golden hair comb signifying that she either knows someone exceptional or is exceptional herself, or she can sell it for a LOT of money. kame was not going to be happy in the ooku in any way and this gave her freedom

also irt asa sending kame from the ooku: those dead bodies in the well temple are girls who were in the same position as kame. they "left for their hometown" but were actually thrown to the well as someones elses most precious thing. we never learn what utayama threw in the well. I'm guessing it was another girl like what asa was on the path to doing until kitagawa stopped her

awashima was so scared by the kaleidoscope because she knew that there were girls thrown in the well. along with her first precious thing. karakasa was telling her "you know. you did it. you are guilty" and we see her throwing down mugitanis body without hesitation as well

kitagawa almost directly states that she did the same thing and in doing so became so overcome with guilt and depression she committed suicide

so form: kitagawa (or her doll more specifically)

since asa says that kitagawa held no grudge I think she just happened to be the "consciousness" so to speak as her death being the most recent leant the mononoke enough power to to form. the resentment comes from the others who were probably bullied by mugitani and awashima which is why the karakasa "defended" kame and killed them first as well as above

edit: FOR KARAKASA the water goddess is a whole other creature

reason: the resentment of the dead

truth: the girls discarded as precious by their loved one who was moving up the ranks as well as bullying by the higher ranking women

the mononoke movie is about how women love and hurt each other

[dharmafox]

(i cant stop yapping about Asakame please help me-)

Do you think every illustration in the Fusuma/Shoji doors decorated in the Ooku means anything to a scene? I saw in the Fire Rat trailer when the woman meeting is held the door was a tiger, it sort of gets me on a "cat-fight" between them. And will the final boss of the trilogy be a snake? Since the first ever teaser for the movie had snakes on them

(trying so hard not to mention when Asa said what kept her emotions on ground was Kame the scene had her place beside the WHOLE panel illustration of the Fox Wedding door and the fact that a foxes wedding is associated with sunshowers)

By all means keep posting about Asakame, I love it!

Given that it's Mononoke, the Symbolism and Metaphor show, I do think every piece of door and wall art has meaning. You can also see that there are tamari balls bouncing around on the wall of Mugitani's room (a tamari ball being the object she threw into the well).

I'm not sure what the meaning of the tiger would be. It looks like it's trying to get in, so maybe it symbolizes the rage of the mononoke trying to break through?

That's a good thought about the snakes... There is a snake youkai called Uwabami that's known for its gluttonous nature. It also once called down a huge rain and flood on a guy who ticked it off, so there are possible connections with the Kun Trigram (connected with the stomach) and with the Karakasa. Another is Yamata no Orochi. I remember someone suggested when we first saw the art that it was reminiscent of the Yamato no Orochi legend.

Snakes are also symbols of life, death, and rebirth, and in Buddhism they're symbols of the poison of hatred or anger. In the first "Bakeneko" arc, there are snakes on the walls behind Lord Sakai and his son, along with a red thread, which is a symbol of fate.

I think part of the Nue looks like a snake as well? It's quite possible that the final mononoke could have a snake form.

The fox wedding thing... Yeah, they may well have been going straight for the lesbians thing there. 😛

A couple other things I noticed about the walls in Karakasa:

The three "eyes" of the mononoke sometimes appear on the images. For example, they're in the eyes of the flamingos on the wall when Awashima cuts Kame's hair. It's notable, I think, that when those "eyes" appear on images and objects, they tend to stay put for a while, whereas when they appear in human eyes, they vanish quickly.

Also, the art is sometimes animated. When Kame is talking about wanting to become a concubine while Mugitani is giving them "the tour," the puppies playing on the wall are blinking.

In these shots where the wall art appears to be alive, I think it's connected to the idea of life existing in objects, like the objects the women threw into the well, which carried parts of themselves.

And of course there are flowers everywhere, with the idea of the women themselves as "flowers" being a big theme in the movie.

Kusu also has a mischievous little kitty and a demon behind him here, so make of that what you will. 😛

That same wall also has a kappa on it right above the cat. The kappa is an aquatic ayakashi, so that's a probable connection to Karakasa's rain/water theme. According to yokai.com, they're also "a kind of water god" in Shinto.

I'm sure there's a ton more that others who have seen the movie more times than I have, who are more observant than I am, and/or who are better versed in Japanese culture than I am have picked up on. But yeah, all that wall art is important for sure. I'd say all the wall art in the series is important as well, but that's a whole other post.

[tache-noire]

Look at herrrrrrr

I with mugitani wasnt such a bitch, she was cute :(