01x01 - Princess Sakuna of the Lofty Realm

[bunniefuu]

So this is rice.

It's so warm.

The smell of the earth and

grass feels so comfortable.

This fertile feeling satisfies the spirit.

So this is my mother's

Sakuna. Sakuna.

Sakuna.

Sakuna. Sakuna. Sakuna.

Kokorowa?

Why would you wake someone

who's sleeping so comfortably?

Tama, water.

Tama is out.

The Bridge of Heaven just appeared,

and some humans crossed over.

Humans?

What is this place?

I can't see anything in this fog.

Turn back. Turn back!

What?

What is this voice?

Uninvited guests, the Lofty

Realm lies beyond this point.

Humans do not belong there.

Turn back. Turn back!

I finally found you, Katsura.

Ishimaru.

Ishimaru, why won't you leave us alone?

I doubt you realize it since you left

the group, but we're scraping by.

I can't allow those kids or a

traitor like you to walk free.

Th-Then you leave me with no choice.

What are you being so weak-kneed for?

And you call yourself a samurai.

No matter. Let's settle this.

Who are you?

Don't mind me. Carry on

with what you were doing.

You're humans, aren't you?

Newly arrived, and you're

already trying to k*ll each other?

How amusing.

Go on. Keep going.

That's a nice kimono you've got there.

Even a lowly fellow like you

can recognize its quality?

This fabric is expensive.

It's worthy of Princess Sakuna,

the harvest goddess.

Harvest goddess?

I was wondering what you'd

say, but a goddess?

You stink of sake for just a little kid.

What did you say? I am

a grown adult!

His insolence ruined my buzz.

Humans, beyond this point is the

Lofty Realm, the domain of the gods.

This bridge will vanish eventually.

You should turn back before it does.

The domain of the gods?

Yanato has two worlds?

Look.

Episode 1:

Princess Sakuna of the Lofty Realm

You kicked the human?

Yes, for his insolence.

He got what he deserved.

How many times have I told you?

This is the Lofty Realm, where

the many gods of Yanato reside.

You should act more like a

goddess, Your Highness.

Your Highness!

I know! Shut up.

Sakuna, you've returned.

Yeah. Kokorowa, you missed out on the fun.

There was an insolent human.

When I kicked him, he went

flying like a grain of rice.

Then the Bridge of Heaven really does connect

the Lofty Realm to the Lowly

Realm where humans reside.

The bridge

The Bridge of Heaven suddenly

appears and suddenly vanishes.

Even Lady Kamuhitsuki said

it's difficult to manage.

Lady Kamuhitsuki has arrived!

Lady Kamuhitsuki has arrived!

I am pleased to have my

accession to the throne

celebrated again this year with

such a marvelous banquet.

This is because of all of

you. You have my thanks.

Lady Kamuhitsuki is as big as ever.

She'll hear you.

I shall now announce your

duties for the year.

I was wondering what this meeting was for.

I'm sure I'll get it again.

After all, official duties are assigned

according to our offerings.

Your Highness, show some respect.

I shall now assign the first of the duties.

Princess Sakuna, step forward.

See?

You have my deepest gratitude.

The flavor of your rice offering

was impressive indeed.

I look forward to another

year of service from you.

Duty

Princess Sakuna again?

It'll be her for a while.

She's still got a mountain of rice stored.

This is exhausting.

What is this puppet?

It's my offering this year.

It's perfect for guarding a shrine.

Impressive.

It'll be nice if you're assigned

an official duty someday.

Now let's go.

Apparently, those who received duties

this year receive new rooms.

New rooms?

They're supposed to be pretty

high up. Let's go check it out.

Now this is impressive.

Look! You can see so far into the distance.

And it's huge.

You can roll around all you want

and never bump into anything.

It's certainly impressive that

they have rooms like this.

You can come hang out anytime.

I think I'll drink while

enjoying this scenery.

Tama, bring me sake.

There's something we should discuss first.

We can talk later. Sake comes first.

Your Highness!

Make it quick.

Very well.

The rice you have been offering as tribute

was grown and harvested through

the efforts of your mother

and former harvest goddess Lady Toyohana.

It was grown far away on the Isle

of Demons with Lord Takeribi.

Have you not been offering

this stored rice every year

without doing anything yourself?

So what if I am?

My mother and father's rice belongs to me.

Now that they're missing,

I should do as I see fit.

But the other gods know this.

Some frown upon the way you receive

an official post every year

without breaking a sweat yourself.

You should mend your ways and

be more like your mother

Are you finished?

No, I am not finished! In the first place—

I'm not a dog!

What are you, if not a little round dog?

I may look like one,

but I'm the spirit of the Blade of

Hoshidama that was once your father's.

I look like this since only a part of it

transformed into a spirit

when the blade was broken.

What's wrong?

It seems to have detected intruders.

What?!

What's going on?

Look.

What is that?

That huge puppet is moving!

Oh, how marvelous!

Run!

Impressive. I'd expect no less from

Kokorowa, goddess of inventions.

More importantly, what are

those humans doing here?

I thought you kicked them off the bridge.

One of them.

I told them to turn back.

If Lady Kamuhitsuki finds out I allowed

humans in here, I'll be in big trouble.

What are you going to do?

I'm going to catch them and throw

them into the clouds

before this becomes a big deal.

So violent!

Oh, shut up.

This is no time to worry about that.

I'm gonna fall!

Kinta!

Oh no. Damn that puppet.

It's making the situation worse.

Not your Mantle of Feathers.

You caused a disturbance just

the other day with that.

It's too late for that!

Where did they go?

The rice I offered to Lady

Kamuhitsuki is stored that way.

Hey, you! Wait!

I've never eaten white rice before.

There's still so much of it.

Now you've done it, humans!

Oil

What a fragrant smell.

Storing

Rice

In order to feed people for a year, rice

harvested in the fall must be stored in a

way that preserves its quality. Rice was

once stored in well-ventilated raised

storehouses with rat guards, with efforts

made to protect the rice from mold or rats.

Toyohana's storehouse is protected from

damage by divine energy.

My sincerest apologies!

Princess Sakuna, as daughter

of the w*r god Takeribi,

I appointed you to an important post.

I can't believe you destroyed both

the offerings and the storehouse.

No, you've got it all wrong.

Lady Kamuhitsuki, this all

started because the humans—

You're a god! Don't try to

blame the humans for this!

Besides, it was your carelessness

that brought them here.

Now then, where are the humans?

Here.

What? Is that a monster?

No. She's a god.

This is Yanato's god?

Indeed. I am Kamuhitsuki,

head goddess of the Lofty Realm.

Identify yourselves, humans.

I am Katsura Uemon-no-jou Takamori.

People call me Tauemon.

I'm Kinta. Are you an empress?

I'm Yui.

I don't want to be here.

Please send us back.

I am Myrthe.

And this is Kaimaru.

Gods and humans must remain

in their separate worlds,

the Lofty Realm and the Lowly Realm.

However, the Bridge of Heaven you crossed

to get here has already vanished.

Does that mean we're

Until the bridge reappears, you shall deal

with the aftermath of this disturbance.

What do you mean?

Princess Sakuna, you're aware of

the Isle of Demons, are you not?

It's the remote island where your parents

met and defeated the evil god Omizuchi.

Yes, but it's said that demons still

reside there beyond even your control.

You will go to this island and cultivate it

while determining why demons are born there.

The Isle of Demons! This is too much.

But it takes days to get there from here.

What? Surely you don't intend to commute.

Naturally, you will live on the

island and fulfill your duty.

Live on the island? What about the capital?

You're right. Until you have fulfilled your

duty, you are banished from the capital.

Banished?!

This is an official decree.

That is all. You may leave.

Please wait, Lady Kamuhitsuki!

This is too much!

Lady Kamuhitsuki!

She disappeared.

So that was a god.

This This is all your fault

What?

Why didn't you turn back when I told you to?

Didn't I say that humans didn't belong here?

We had nowhere to return to.

Our only choice was to move forward.

Let go of me.

Your Highness, this is the audience chamber.

I know.

Kokorowa

I know. Kokorowa, will you come with me?

What?

Yes, that would be best.

You're the goddess of invention.

Having you around would be a huge help.

We're childhood friends, aren't

we? We're best friends, right?

Please!

But

Tama, are you okay with this?

You were so opposed when I said

I was going to the Isle of Demons

to look for my mother.

That's because you were still young.

If I say left, you say right.

You're always disagreeing

with everything I say.

I feel kind of sorry for Sakuna.

But I believe Lady Kamuhitsuki issued

this edict so she'd mend her ways.

After defeating Omizuchi, her mother,

Lady Toyohana, supported herself

by growing rice and hunting on

that island with her father.

Making Her Highness experience the same thing

will make her realize she

is the harvest goddess.

Perhaps that was her intention.

You could be right.

Wait here for a while.

It's pretty big. Is this the ocean?

It's salty. Tastes just

like our world's sea.

The Lofty Realm and Lowly Realm

are two sides of the same coin.

They influence one another.

When there's more famine

or w*r in the Lowly World,

the harvest is poorer in

the Lofty World as well.

Then something bad may happen.

The Lowly World is in a terrible state

right now due to w*r and famine.

I see.

Is the Lowly World below us?

Now that you mention it, I wonder.

Is the world of people beyond

the bottom of the sea?

They say there are clouds

in the depths.

But not even gods can go there,

so there's no way to know.

Oh, amazing! Yanato is an incredible place.

The world is a strange place indeed.

So, what's that noisy goddess doing?

Your Highness, it's time.

I know.

Leave the sake!

What? Why?

Forgive me, but that is Lady

Kamuhitsuki's decree.

You're not to drink for a while.

But

I won't do it.

Your Highness.

I don't want to do this!

Your Highness, don't behave

like a spoiled child.

You're a god.

Shut up!

I heard Lady Kamuhitsuki shut

herself in a chest once, too.

Is something the matter?

Ah, Lady Kokorowa. As you can

see, Her Highness is

Sakuna.

Is that you, Kokorowa? Could you ask

Lady Kamuhitsuki to forgive me?

You're smart. I bet Lady

Kamuhitsuki would listen to you.

Sakuna, is that really what you want?

Huh?

Didn't you say you'd become a great

god someday and find your parents?

Were you lying when you said that?

No! But how long do you

think it's been since then?

My parents went missing

when I was still nursing.

I've never had a mother or father.

You've given up, then.

You're not going to the Isle of Demons,

the last known location

of your father, Lord Takeribi,

and your mother, Lady Toyohana?

Kokorowa.

Sakuna.

What's this?

It's a book by Oboro!

Book of Oboro

Koushi Oborozuki

Hey, wait. What are you doing?

I'm a goddess!

Show some respect!

Hey, let go!

Please look after Sakuna.

I shall protect her with my life. Farewell.

I'll miss her, but

I still don't want to go!

I can't survive outside

the capital. I'll die!

She's exaggerating.

She's such a noisy goddess.

Your Highness, please stop.

What a beautiful dawn.

Beyond the horizon

It's waiting for us.

That island you're deeply connected to.