STOLEN FROM US AND FORGOTTEN...

Before starting this, I have to preface some things just so it won't be odd: I use they/them to refer to Tomoari in general when it comes to writing about them. With that in mind, let's get started.

Tomona/ichi/ari (the kanji used for the word "Tomo" in their name 友 meaning "companion" or "friend") was born by the shores of Dan-no-Ura, into a small family. One day, they discover a strange item in the sea, which turns out to be a clay box containing the Sacred Regalia Sword, which has been sought by the shogun for a long time to unite the northern and southern courts, thus uniting the lands altogether and gaining absolute power. This sword has been said to be lost by the shores where Tomona's family lived, as it was lost in a battle that was fought here a long time ago between the Heike and the Genji clan. This sword was something so important to the nobles that they would give big amounts of money for it, and while Tomona's family were earning their living by fishing, they also had a history of scavenging for treasure found in the sea for generation. The money the samurai were offered was huge, and with Tomona's newfound discovery they actually could find the long lost sword finally. But with that in mind, the factors of money and power will never be a good enough reason to justify the fact that, upon being hired to get the sword out of the sea and give it to the nobles, Tomona's father was killed by the curse that was within the treasure. Along with the sudden loss of their father's life, the young boy's sight also got lost in the process. With a blind child and a deceased husband, Tomona's mother screamed for nights asking for a reason of why did this tragedy occur over their family.

A death by pure chance, but also by forces which were way beyond this small family. Be it the curse, or be it the nobles which came and went, suddenly tearing apart a family for a treasure that might never needed to be found. Despite the threads of fate not giving them any clear route to go on, Tomona sets off, for revenge, for some sort of reason, dictated by their father's ghost and their mother's cries.

Their journey is lonely up until a point, and the movie makes this fact clear, along with the way their perception of the world is around them. Tomona hears the fly and bug that might cross their path, the gloomy rainy weather making them stop in their walking. The trees being chopped by the people who work by the road, or the wind fluttering in the air. To me at least, they come across within these scenes as someone very lonesome, but also perceptive. They seem like a child lost and seeking out something, not sure what exactly. Then, a story reaches their ears. One about a fallen clan, a prince being sent off by his mother to the Dragon's Palace, and a sacred sword sunk to the bottom of the sea along with him. That said tale is being told with a string instrument, and by an old voice. That said voice turns out was from a blind Biwa priest called Taniichi, who explains that Biwa priests go to places and sing sutras to pacify the souls of those Heike soldiers, who have been defeated in war hundreds of years ago.

Tomona is surprised by all this, yet upon the realization that their revenge quest for their parents may have an answer, they tag along with the priest. Going across country, the small child grows, learning the craft of Biwa playing from Taniichi. Even nobles take note on how precise their movements are, they could not even believe that they're blind. Their seek of revenge evolves into a seek for tales, new ones about the clan of Taira (aka the Heike), in which the reasons lie and perhaps peace.

As they reach the Kyoto together with Taniichi, the context of the capital's state becomes clear as day to both Tomona, and the viewer. There are riots, fires being set, arguments and politics, yet as we go further Tomona seemingly picks up on something different in the city. They hear the tramples of horses, the rice being picked up by birds, clanks and clunks of metal and wood which the builders and everyday people mend and transform. While the young boy has a calm disposition, they're not unaware of the world around them, rather they're open to all this chatter of sound. It might tell them a more honest look on the city than any spoken word

The idile observing stops though as they get accepted to an actual guild. Biwa priesthood forces them to change names, from their family born name 'Tomona' to 'Tomoichi' which signifies which guild they're associated with. The spirit of their deceased father comes with anger at this, yet it causes them confusion that the would react this way: They found finally a way to get more stories on the Heike! They would find that reason for why their family suffered this much! Yet their father puts their family's name over everything, which confuses the kid but they are not able to actually give voice to this confusion.

They were ready to leave the city. All of their stuff on their back, they were heading out with unsuredness out to the wild again, only with their father's ghost sometimes by their side. Sounds like a lonely existence for a young person who just found a community finally, with someone they could learn from and a way to find their way to the Heike.

But then a troublemaker appears. A little kid, stealing swords from adults and speaking as loudly as possible to everyone and anyone, till he gets stopped by them. He is not sure what to make of them and, so do they. The strange kid threatens to reveal his face, but the plan is busted as they aren't reacting the way he wanted at all. He then notices their Biwa, and they just start playing whatever they want.

It is not like the music they might have learnt from Taniichi. It's faster, have an almost chagrin note about it, and when asked about what it is they simply go :

They probably never played like this for anyone. This might be the first time they ever played a melody they created by themselves to another person. And to that, for this mysterious boy to say that it's good? It must be something that might turn such a long day like that into an actually good one. Even the fact that, as a Biwa "priest" they created a song by themselves instead of playing the ones which already exist is something else. It's kind of like, showing a part of you which nobody has seen, and getting a positive reaction to that can be really uplifting (kind of like how they both got lifted up the ground during this same scene...)

The boy asks their name. There's no real good answer there, since both can still ring true: Tomona is the name they still consider theirs, but they are not against the name Tomoichi either. Their father insists on Tomona, to which they sound even more unsure. Yet, the other kid nonchalantly mentions that he does know the troupe they're from. And it turns out he doesn't have a name? Probably a more odd of a thing to hear than anything else that day, as they even question it.

So when it comes to choosing a name, they settle on Tomoichi. They desperately declare this to maybe imply that he can still find them, they're going to be right by Kakuichi's troupe. But what can they even call him, how can they find him?

His declaring of choosing his own name is big, strong, even emphasized by how they perceive the world. So far the kid has been depicted with this pink hue, which makes a great contrast to the more realistic depictions within Tomoichi's viewpoint so far. Almost like a magical, or a special presence. And this special view they have on him gets even more amplified when they cannot help but smile brightly at this declaration.

Time passes, and Tomoichi has become like any other monk, playing the same manner as the rest of the other priests do for the Shogun. As we get to see Noh and Biwa music in their more traditional way we glimpse also onto what is considered the highest form of both, and also just how neutral Tomoichi feels about it. On one hand, they weren't exactly the most emotive person before in the film. On the other, our next scene that follows this with Tomoichi says so much without saying anything outright.

As we cut to Fujiwaka, one of the highest regarded Noh artists of his time, and then to the house of Hieza, where the headmaster father is putting overwhelming pressure on their sons, we also see a sudden light of genuine joy in the dancing form of Inu-oh. He is just dancing, enjoying the music, to which the musicians even join in by the mansion, yet due to his looks he is shunned and even beaten by his father. Grandly critcising that he could never step on an actual stage with his physical appearance.

There is one person however who thinks otherwise. Who climbs up to the hill where Inu-oh is singing a solemn tone, who's smiling widely to his art, and once he finishes his song they clap loudly to it. While our cut in time is big within the film we can see clearly that Tomoichi has been reaching out to this boy and seeking him despite the rest of the world not finding his talent and skills treasurable. They don't even find their appearance that big of a deal, yet they also try to help by thinking maybe his looks were the result of some spirits' playing on him. With their father's ghost appearing, the audience learns some things about ghosts: That they still got their mind of their own, their own authority on a level. They are able to just pass on, their existence seemingly tied to their emotions before they passed away and that fueling them the most. And, which is clear as day, they can only see people by their names. Once Tomoichi changed their name from Tomona to Tomoichi, they were not viewable to their father.

Before their father dissappears into the afterlife, he is asked if Inu-oh is surrounded by any spirit. Then, like magical coinscidence, it turns out he has been surrounded by ghosts of the Heike clan all his life. There are thousands of spirits, souls rustled with emotions which they were never given an outlet to, all of them ready to pass on once their souls' been pacified. And to this Inu-oh is overjoyed, he cannot wait to hear and tell all the tales which these spirits have, for these people to have their stories be finally be given a loud and clear form in art.

And Tomoichi? They're just as overjoyed, in a way for multiple reasons. I think the film gives us, the viewer space for us to come to our conclusions, but I feel like there can be multiple reasons here. They might be overswept by their friend's bold declaration once again, about telling these tales like this is the most natural thing. Maybe they're thinking about how long they have been looking for new tales to find of the Heike, and now, their friend who has shaken their world once is back again shaking it by the fact that he has been surrounded by the people they have been seeking of all this time. They even say it in the next scene, they're here to tell the tale about someone who is looking for lost tales. That was them, and now they found it in this connection that they found by pure leap of faith.

But, they're not going to be the ones who will tell the stories of the Heike. They're solely here to tell the tales of the cursed son from Hieza, who has been mistreated and forgotten to the point of not having a name. Who is surrounded by people who's tales are also been not told for a long time, yet he is here finally to tell all of them to anyone who has the time to hear it. And now, finally, the world can hear his name.

Just like Inu-oh and his plays, Tomoichi is also different from the conventions of the Biwa priests of their time. They let their hair grow loose, to the same or even longer length as they had it as a kid. They dress in ways which is more loose, one might say provocative, and compared to the more simple and reserved looks of the priests around them their entire performance style and look just screams for the world to see them, to hear their story out about this boy who has been mistreated all his life. The movie never really stops and goes to explain these parts in their character, gives a "proper" explanation to us as if that is ever needed. All we really get is "They conformed to the world, but then Inu-oh changed their world once again, and they got the push to come to their true form." Or at least, this is how I see it. This also shows in the small parts, like the brief scene where they implied to leave a brothel, or just in the huge ways of Tomoichi literally framing the big performances of Inu-oh by playing about him inbetween them. As if this flamboyancy has been ignited out of wanting Inu-oh's tale to be heard to as many people as possible, one artist's brightness inspiring another to show the people the way to it.

And Inu-oh's performances are a success, to the point of even reaching the ears of nobles like aristocrats or samurai. Inu-oh is invited to rich meetings of cherry blossom viewing, where he is the main talk of the event. Yet, as he moves out of the way back to Tomoichi, his demeanor changes from big boistorous loudness to a much more quiet tone. And seemingly the seclusion of Tomoichi from the others implies that they're only here for Inu-oh's sake, given that later on we do hear that Inu-oh brings them to events packed with nobles even though that goes against conventions. They, despite changing so much, still play on the same biwa as they had ever since they were a kid. And speaking of changing so much yet still having something that never changes, Inu-oh's words inspire them to once again dedicate themselves to change. They will go all over the country, taking the stories of his to be heard by all, and they will do all that under the name Tomoari. As they declare, the name referring to them being there, them, the Heike and Inu-oh, existing in this world and letting as many people to know about it as possible.

But of course, such a radical art, which celebrates and loudly declares its bold uniqueness, is not one which might the higher powers would support. Despite the people loving them, despite how beloved Inu-oh's plays are and how many people join into the highly popular Tomoariza (Tomoari's troupe), to the historical background of the story it is way too much for it to exist. So the shogun does two moves: For one already says to Teiichi, one of Tomoari's mentor priests, that this cannot go on, but also sends a letter requesting Inu-oh to perform for them due to his wife's request. Yet even that is a double edged sword, because even though this is meant as a recongition from the shogun that his art is considered to be higher than average, the rumors of Inu-oh's form are like common knowledge, that he always wears masks and if he were to take it of, it woudl disturb the shogun's wife. Which would lead to Inu-oh's execution.

Despite this, Inu-oh accepts this. Not without Tomoari by his side however. Despite everything, he is actually coming into this final performance with a pessimistic look: He thinks this is their last performance, and his head could potentially be off. Yet, in contrast, Tomoari is hopeful, saying they still got ways to go and this is only their beginning. Like they just picked up his overwhelming bold positivity in a sense, they become the one who is here to lift up the much more negative Inu-oh. They believe that they can get through this. They will be okay.

They eventually find the Dragon Palace. The place where the sword laid which led to Tomoari to where they are now has been found. They sought out the truth behind Inu-oh's existence and why he was connected to the Heike. Yet, just the moment they sing about their hearts becoming one in this last chords we are being sent back to reality. Where the Shogun is tearing down the Tomoariza, and all choice they give to Tomoari themselves is to either comform back to Tomoichi or die. After going this far, and despite the fact that they say that even Inu-oh agreed on this, Tomoari is in dismay and in anger. They cannot believe that he would say that, that the stories which are his and are him, which Tomoari belonged to by this point, are suddenly are forced to be forgotten once again, banned to ever be told. So they scream, scramble and the death of Taniichi, who was by this point a surrogate family figure to them, just fuels them more with wrath instead of making them stop in their fight.

Tomoari is not some fantastical being however. They don't have strength, nor much power, they're a human like any other. Even despite all the beating they are being put through they still not only carry on in the capital, angrily going around, but also shun the shogunate who put them through this situation just because they want to exist as they want to be truly. The higher powers have stolen their family's peace, and their light two times. They got nothing else but their Biwa and their determination by this point.

And then, by the riversite in broad daylight, their execution comes. While their last moments occur they start to see the Heike crabs within the rocks they sense under their feet. These crabs where shown at the beginning of the story, as regular Heike crabs, said to resemble the faces of the spirits of the soldiers who died by the shores of Dan-No-Ura. Even carrying the spirits of them perhaps. In that moment, instead of declaring they're Tomoari, they stop. They entire existence started on the shores of Dan-No-Ura with these Heike crabs who were also not given justice and were forgotten by time.

Why not joining their vengeful spirit ranks?

In the last minutes of the film, we cut to present time, back to the Biwa Priest who we saw by the beginning. They turn out to be Tomoari, now a vengeful spirit, despite everything telling the tales of their life non-stop, but also the tale of Inu-oh. And they have been here for such a long time, without any peace, without any rememberance, forgotten by history and by the world. But not forgotten by one particular person, the one who appears before them finally in a pink bright light of hue, who for the first time in 600 years finally says their true name.

After 600 years Inu-oh's search for them was over. And even if the world won't remember them anymore, they remember each other. The tale they have been telling for such a long time finally found ears.