The much-acclaimed Mononoke franchise gets a continuation with the first cinematic entry, The Phantom in the Rain, the first part of a movie trilogy that, following the timeline of the original anime series narrative, will explore the political and supernatural intrigue of 19th century Japan. Aside from the striking visual extravaganza of the detailed, intricate ukiyo-e handscroll-inspired artistic animation the series is known for, a defining feature of the Mononoke series is the way the story explores various themes of morality, identity, and the complexities of human nature all while providing social commentary through the medium of supernatural investigation. With the mercurial, intense Medicine Seller, Kusuriuri, as the lead in the anthology series where he discovers the vengeful Yokai spirits known as Mononoke, the narrative itself acts as a gateway to explore the socio-political situation of post-Edo Japan.Â
The Phantom in the Rain offers a look at life in the Ooku, the women’s quarters that became a dominant political force during the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the conspiracies and secrets hidden in its underbelly as Kusuriuri investigates the presence of a Mononoke.Â
Spoilers Ahead
The Significance of Ooku
In the post-Edo period in Japan, during the movie’s timeline, the shogunate still exercised its political presence, but the role of the kingmaker lay with the Ooku, the women’s quarters of the Imperial Palace, which were occupied by concubines and maidservants. The chief purpose behind the existence of the Ooku was to provide the Empire with a male heir, and after a stringent selection process by testing over thousands of maidens, eight concubines were chosen who were deemed to be fit to bear the royal heir. There is a strict hierarchy enforced in the Ooku, with veteran maiden Utayama calling the shots. In feudal Japan, women were categorized as possessions, and in Ooku, their status is diminished to the point that their sole purpose of existence is defined by their ability to become the object of the emperor’s desire. But even in this subhuman existence, the presence of power struggles and rivalries pits women against each other, as the conflict for dominance between the oppressed rages on. Utayama controls the Ooku with an iron fist, dominating her immediate subordinates, Awashima and Mugitani, who in turn put the handmaidens through a rigorous, torturous training regimen. Life in the Ooku breaks the hopes and dreams of the maidens, leaving no scope for them to have a personal life outside their cloistered existence—and some manage to cope with this lifestyle and transform into different people entirely, while others crack under pressure. Throughout the movie, the maidens are often shown as faceless beings with spiral symbols expressing the unexplored state of their persona, with color coded highlights as signifiers of their emotions – indicating that once they enter the Ooku, they lose whatever individuality they had. Still, for many, the dream of prosperity lies with being a concubine worthy enough for the emperor’s attention, and they are prepared to sacrifice everything they hold dear for the sake of it. In the glitz of the luxurious life of someone close to the emperor, they become unmindful about the simple fact that in this pursuit, they end up selling their freedom.
A Tale of Two Friends
Asa and Kame, two aspiring handmaidens who want to have a prominent place in the Ooku, become good friends in no time. Asa doesn’t want to become a glorified concubine; her motivation is much more progressive in nature, as she wants to become the official scribe and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. At the same time, Asa is quite proficient with the maiden duties, unlike Kame, her lively, chirpy friend who appears to be a bit clumsy with the tasks she has been given. Asa finds herself quickly rising through the ranks, while Kame faces hostility from the likes of Mugitani and Awashima. However, Kame always has Asa defending and assisting her, irrespective of the situation, which strengthens the bond of their friendship, and even though they never actually profess their feelings for each other – both of them gradually fall for each other. Asa meets the spirit of the former official scribe, Kitagawa, who warns her about the dastardly method of subjugation practiced in the Ooku and seems to have a sordid past connection with the place. The friend duo has joined the Ooku days before the birth ceremony celebration of the royal heir, and as the ceremony was postponed for two months for reasons still unknown, the shogunate sends two of its officials to investigate the reasons. The men in power aren’t fond of the Ooku, or by extension, Utayama’s growing influence, and want to keep her in check.
Kusuriuri is actively investigating a probable instance of Mononoke infestation in the Ooku, and the spirit’s presence indicates the psychedelic, maze-like quarters have buried secrets of their own that can untangle the paranormal mystery. Apparently, a maiden had gone missing from the Ooku, information that is being covered up by Utayama, as it may expose the dirty secrets of the diabolical hierarchy of Ooku. Things start going haywire when both Mugatani and Awashima meet a ghastly end while torturing Kame, resulting in Kusuriuri stepping up and discovering the infestation of a Mononoke known as Karakasa. To expel the vengeful spirit, Kusuriuri needs to learn the truth, the source of negative emotions that created the presence of malevolence in the Ooku, and the revelation will allow his sacred sword to get rid of Karakasa. On the other hand, Utayama tries to exercise her influence upon Asa and systematically tries to detach her from Kame, coercing her to sever ties with her and makes her ask Kame to leave the Ooku. Despite having two maiden chiefs murdered, Utayama emphasizes the importance of continuing with the birth celebration ritual as if nothing happened, covering up the deaths in the process.
What Happened to Kitagawa?
The more the Ooku’s oppressive ways try to transform Asa, the more the presence of the Mononoke begins to terrorize the quarters. Eventually, as the vengeful spirit ends up trapping and killing Utayama before Kusuriuri can stop it, the troubling truth is unraveled. Kitagawa, the official scribe, who was molded by the ways of the Ooku’s hierarchy, had been blinded by her ego and forced an incompetent maiden to be thrown out of the Ooku. This somewhat mirrors Asa and Kame’s situation as well, which explains why Kitagawa’s spirit tried to warn Asa in the first place. Anyway, the guilt of toying with someone else’s life did a number on Kitagawa’s psyche, hampering her performance, which resulted in the Ooku sidelining her, just like any other exploitable maiden. Isolated, guilt-ridden Kitagawa eventually hit rock bottom and realized too late that she had wasted her chance to have a better life by turning into a doll of the Ooku—the same kind that Asa finds to be her signifier. Kitagawa took her own life by jumping into the well, where every prized possession of the maidens used to get sacrificed. The rancid taste of the water the maidens were forced to drink, or water imagery to signify the infestation of Mononoke, is finally explained as Kitagawa’s truth comes to light. The reason Kitagawa’s negative emotion-created Mononoke was killing all the leading maiden figures is because Asa and Kame’s relationship and their predicament were a dead ringer for Kitagawa’s own misery. The revelation of the truth allows Kusuriuri to expel the Mononoke, and as Asa almost ended up following Kitagawa’s path in a possessed, trance-like state, Kame ends up saving her life.
Asa takes command as the official scribe and pledges to do her duty with honor, getting rid of the old, decrepit order. Asa keeps the decorated doll, which symbolizes the controlled existence of the maidens in the Ooku, with reverence, as she identifies it with Kitagawa. Kame decides to leave the Ooku anyway, but this time, by her own choice, preparing herself for a life of freedom and new adventures. Both of the maidens have found their identity in the life they chose at the end, unlike the love they shared with each other, which never found recognition. Perhaps, in future, their paths will cross once again, under changed circumstances, and will have another chance at having a new life together. For now, the Mononoke infestation seems to have been taken care of. However, it seems that Ooku’s hidden secrets are yet to be revealed in full capacity, as the ending hints Kusuriuri will linger here for a while—and his actions will be chronicled in the upcoming sequel of the movie, The Ashes of Rage. Will Asa remain the benevolent, pragmatic leader she wanted to become, or will the Ooku end up corrupting her as well? Guess the second part will answer that question.Â
