THE ELUSIVE SAMURAI
Courageous death in combat.
Honorable suicide.
A warrior's honor is awarded only through battle and death.
Takauji Ashikaga, a hero
who flourished during this turbulent time…
A HISTORY OF JAPAN NANBOKUCHO PERIOD
…wasn't the protagonist.
Lord Tokiyuki!
YEAR OF 1333 - KAMAKURA WAKAMIYAOJI SHOGUNATE SITE
It is time for archery practice.
You can't run away anymore, Lord Tokiyuki!
Sorry.
How nimble!
Fool! It's not the time to be impressed!
You'll slip and fall, Lord Tokiyuki!
Please come down.
You don't want to get hurt!
Someone stop him!
What's all this commotion?
We're in the middle of Takauji's send-off.
But Lord Tokiyuki--
What of the Young Lord?
Huh? What an escape artist.
That's enough. You may go.
But, sir…
Excuse me, will you let me through?
As always, you're a masterful player of hide-and-seek, Young Lord.
Mr. Takauji.
Takauji Ashikaga.
I depart today for Kyo to quell the former Emperor Godaigo's uprising.
I wish to prove my allegiance to you, our future leader, and the Hojo clan.
I put my trust in you.
I pray the gods be with us
and may they bestow prosperity to Kamakura and the warrior families.
Now, let's get going.
Yes.
Don't get nervous over Takauji.
Kiyoko.
You are the rightful heir of the shogunate.
One day, you'll be giving him orders.
SQUEEZE
And I'm going to be your betrothed, too, so keep your head up.
Funny, I don't remember making such a promise.
-Smooch. -Lord Tokiyuki!
Where did he run off to?
I'll bet he's hiding nearby.
Sorry, I gotta go, Kiyoko.
Catch you later!
There he goes.
Good grief.
All that boy is good at is running and hiding.
Technically, they're both samurai, but Lord Tokiyuki is nothing like Takauji.
It's true he will inherit the shogunate,
but he's only going to be a puppet ruler, just like his father.
All right, Lord Takatoki?
We'll handle the rest.
'Kay.
What's wrong with being a puppet ruler, Father?
They still get to lead lavish lives.
Lord Tokiyuki lacks talent, and he's weak-willed,
but he is kind.
He's the perfect marriage candidate
for someone from such a distinguished house as myself!
He's nowhere to be found.
We're powerless once the Young Lord starts taking hiding seriously.
Remember the commotion when he hid inside a chest of armor for two days?
Rather than all that trouble,
wouldn't it be easier to just go to training?
Even if it's just in name,
he will be the successor to the shogunate one day.
His cowardice and idleness set a bad example for the people.
Tokiyuki.
Father is frail, and on top of that, he lacks the conviction to rule.
You'll do him a favor by taking over as soon as possible.
What? But you're the firstborn.
Not a chance.
If the child of a concubine were to be appointed, it would disturb the peace.
It's in our bloodline to run away in plain sight from anything we don't like.
That's not something to be proud of.
Lord Tokiyuki!
I finally found you.
Let's get to our archery practice!
Come along!
Come! Come! Come!
Big brother, take the dog.
Sure.
-Tokiyuki! -Lord Tokiyuki!
Lord Tokiyuki!
Wait, please!
Lord Tokiyuki!
My lord!
Young Lord!
I like this Kamakura.
And I like to see its people smile as they live in peace.
I don't need status or honor.
Just living in this city is enough for me.
Lazy, cowardly. Sure, that's fine.
Why would a mere puppet like me need the power of pen and sword?
You are not lazy, nor are you a coward.
Those are merely aspects of the monster asleep within you.
That is what Father says.
Who are you?
"Father"?
You're quite the elusive boy, just as I've heard.
What? Who's this? What's going on?
Honored to make your acquaintance.
I am a Shinto priest of Shinano Province.
Yorishige Suwa.
A Shinto priest from Shinano?
Wait, since when did you climb up here?
I've been up here all along.
I foresaw a future where you'd climb this tree.
You've got this incredible sort of aura around your head.
Excuse me if it's blinding!
I was born with an innate, sacred, holy power,
and I just can't stop the flow sometimes!
I'll dim it down.
I came to pray for Kamakura. To pray for protection from its enemies.
I have come to report to your father that it has been completed.
This is Shizuku, my assistant.
She is good at secret arts and general affairs,
and so I have her help me out.
What a suspicious man.
How did he know I'd be up here?
Father has the gift to see into the future.
His prayers, on the other hand, are a sham.
Shizuku, you didn't have to say that last part.
Do you still doubt me? Let me demonstrate some more.
Yes, I can see, Lord Tokiyuki,
in the future…
you will…
No, that's not right.
It's rather that…
Actually, more like…
I feel like… he'll live a happy life if he…
Wait, happy by whose standards though?
That'd work, but…
that's more of a life lesson.
For that…
Well, it'll work out the way it's meant to?
Excuse me?
Everything you said was vague.
I can only see in fragments!
I'd spoil the fun if I saw everything!
But I see something clearly now.
If we were a comedy duo, you would be the straight man.
That's because you're prattling nonsense!
I also saw two years into your future.
When you're ten years old,
you will become a hero, to shake the very foundations of heaven.
You will be a lord of war.
Some will cower in fear. Others will worship you.
You will even change the fate of the country.
This is all I can foretell.
You see, this is a very powerful…
He's the size of a bean!
Father, you revealed too much at once.
What a finely attuned instinct for detecting danger.
That was close.
I don't get paid enough allowance to get involved with fake shamans.
What a foolish man.
Even if he tricks someone like me, all he'll get is surface-level glory.
And he looked so serious when he called me a hero.
I can't believe someone like that was just walking around.
Seriously.
He was seriously shady.
But I think I know what this Mr. Yorishige meant.
Your knack for elusiveness is nothing like mine or Father's.
You'd definitely be a hero if the right opportunity arose.
I have a gut feeling.
Huh?
What is it?
No… Where did I kick it to?
Maybe it's caught in a tree.
We will now raid Kyo and suppress the uprising.
May we have the God of War's divine protection!
Let's go!
Viceroy. Viceroy!
I bring news.
Takauji had been secretly communicating with Emperor Godaigo.
Our army in Kyo has been annihilated!
Samurai have gathered upon hearing of Takauji's valor.
The Nitta Army has exploded in the blink of an eye!
Even more, Takauji's eldest son, Senjuo,
was entrusted to Yoshisada Nitta and appointed general.
And they're sending the army towards Kamakura.
MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTORS SABURO KANO AND JIRO SHIOTA
DEATH IN BATTLE
SHOGUNATE VASSAL CHIKAAKI OF SETTSU, SUICIDE
HIS DAUGHTER KIYOKO VIOLATED AND BRUTALLY SLAIN
FOR THE BOY TO BECOME A HERO…
HE HAD TO LOSE EVERYTHING
Damn you. Why have you betrayed us--
I hear a voice.
Who speaks to me?
Who is it that guides me to be ruler above all?
ABOUT 800 PEOPLE OF THE HOJO CLAN,
INCLUDING RETAINERS, COMMITTED SUICIDE
Father…
MAY 1333 KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE LAY IN RUINS
We've been waiting for you, Lord Tokiyuki.
In his last moments, your father commanded me to help you escape.
He regrets such young life not seeing its days.
I will shelter you in my territory of Suwa in Shinano.
Yorishige Suwa…
How come you're here?
We're short on time.
Now come.
I foresaw this tragedy with my divine eye.
We have been taking defensive measures for this event
in the case of its slightest chance.
My men and horses are hidden past this hill.
We must go quickly.
No.
I'll end my life like my father and our clan.
I won't allow it.
What will happen to Japan if you were to die here?
What of it?
You know, it'll…
I think…
But who am I to decide that?
I guess your death won't bring that big of a change.
It may be a little… for those guys, but…
Not that it's a big inconvenience…
It's hell on earth.
Kamakura is being completely destroyed by the traitorous samurai.
Takauji Ashikaga.
For him to be this thorough…
Takauji…
Who are you?
I'm a vassal from Shimotsuke.
Takauji Ashikaga.
Young Lord, you can't run from Takauji!
That smile of his before…
Was it all a lie?
Let's get revenge, Lord Tokiyuki.
I, Yorishige, will help you.
This smile is also a lie. It's absolutely a lie.
LOOMING
Go away.
Do you really think I could trust a fake shaman like you?
How rude!
You dare call me a fake while I am simply overflowing with holy energy?
Father, a fake is a fake, so don't make excuses.
My own Shizuku! Back me up!
We can't avenge my father.
It's obvious if you look.
Even for Yoritomo Minamoto, it took five years to defeat the Heike clan.
Was there a man before Takauji who destroyed an entire country in 24 days?
The other day, you spouted nonsense that I would become a hero,
but future generations will only apply that word
to someone strong like Takauji Ashikaga.
Since I've been defeated, it would be a disgrace if I didn't die.
So let me die like an honorable warrior, like my people did.
Very well.
Then die.
It's the Hojo child!
When you're in the depths of despair and thrown into the abyss of death…
Hey.
…that is where the hero within you shines!
Hey. I could have died.
You said it would be a disgrace if you didn't die,
yet you jumped out of there to save your skin.
That was the hero in you.
Running and hiding are good skills for a hero.
Above! Shoot to kill!
Your survival instinct is monstrous.
You know better than anyone how to survive.
You love the tingling tension between life and death.
What a pain for Takauji who just killed our lord and took a whole country.
Because the one he should definitely kill next,
the one who will inherit the Kamakura shogunate,
has more talent than anyone to escape death.
Takauji becomes a hero by killing, and you become a hero by living.
You two are heroes with opposed fates.
Of course, you can't win if you only run and hide.
Allies, military strength, intellect…
Everything you need to win, I will give to you.
As long as you're breathing, Takauji will eventually come to kill you himself.
Till then, you'll run and hide, become stronger,
and defeat the demons that come for you.
Now, it's time to start the game of tag to reclaim the throne!
Mr. Yorishige, what do you really want?
What do you gain by saving the child of a ruined country?
It is all for my devotion to the Hojo clan!
If a fake shaman were to say that, I doubt you would believe it.
I'll tell you everything someday.
When you take back Kamakura.
I'm a disgrace.
As the son of a samurai,
I'm supposed to be dead alongside my people.
Because of you, I've awakened to the joy of living.
Mr. Yorishige, I'll have you take responsibility for this.
Of course.
I will serve you unto the pits of hell.
Just as Yorishige prophesied,
in two years, Tokiyuki would shake all of Japan.
In a time when death is the honorable path,
this boy outraced all that befell him and attempted to overthrow the shogun.
Thus began the tumultuous life of the elusive samurai prince!
NANBOKUCHO - REIWA
1185 KAMAKURA
1192 PARADISE
ELUSIVE SAMURAI
KAMAKURA
EPISODE 2 (YEAR OF 1333): THE GENTLE UNCLE