Episode 13

## Edogai-kun

**Edogai-kun** (江渡貝くん, *Edogai-kun*) is the thirteenth episode of the *Golden Kamuy* anime series. and the first episode of Season 2.

## Synopsis

Tokushirou Tsurumi recruits a talented taxidermist named Yasaku Edogai to help him bring chaos into the search for the gold. Edogai is tasked with an extraordinary assignment — he is to create fake skins with tattooed code that only Tsurumi will be able to distinguish.

## Plot

Asirpa and Sugimoto are enjoying a meal in the forest. Asirpa explains that for the Ainu there are mainly two seasons, winter and summer. Winter is men's season when they go to hunt in the mountains, and summer is women's season, *matnepa*, the time for picking up vegetables and plants to preserve for the colder times. As she speaks, somewhere else Huci is picking up herbs while Tanigaki and Osoma accompany her.

In Yuubari, a young man named Yasaku Edogai receives a visitor early in the morning. The visitor is Tokushirou Tsurumi, who is looking for a taxidermist, as he was hoping to get some mounts for the 7th Division's guesthouse. Edogai invites Tsurumi inside, where the Lieutenant observes various animals mounts. Tsurumi compliments Edogai on his skill, while the young man explains certain details of the taxidermy process. Tsurumi asks whether Edogai lives alone, to which Edogai says that he lives with his mother. Tsurumi says that Edogai's craft must require fresh materials and puts his hand on the young man's shoulder. Edogai notices that Tsurumi is wearing a familiar glove and is visibly distressed when Tsurumi says that he came to give the glove back. Edogai knocks one of the mounts down, alerting his mother who asks him from the other room if he is alright. Edogai answers her, then tells Tsurumi he has never seen the glove before. The First Lieutenant reveals that they have been following Edogai since last night, only pretending to lose him for the sake of getting his location. Nearby, Tsukishima and Kouhei Nikaidou are watching Edogai's house through the window, prepared to shoot. Tsukishima mentions a rumor of a man with strange tattoos dying in a mining accident a few months ago in Yubari. Upon examining, his grave turned out to be empty, ransacked by a grave robber.

Edogai grabs a knife, but instead of threatening him, Tsurumi compliments Edogai's skills, saying he is impressed by the glove quality and wants to acquire some of Edogai's creations for himself. Surprised that Tsurumi isn't there to arrest him, Edogai laughs and explains that the glove is not made of human skin, but of pigskin. In the graveyard, Edogai would dispose of the waste that was produced during his work. The taxidermist tells Tsurumi he can have the glove and goes to another room to pick up some other goods he made. The room is full of people, and one of the men discusses Edogai's new acquaintance, saying Edogai should be careful around him; the other man argues, insisting Edogai is a great judge of character. Unexpectedly, Tsurumi walks into the room and greets everyone. However, no one answers him — the people appear to be still and motionless, revealed to be stuffed mounts. Tsurumi asks whether these are made of pigskin, too. Edogai appears behind the door, wearing a mask made of human skin. The figures in the room order Edogai to kill Tsurumi; as Edogai swings his knife, Tsurumi calls him a genius, stopping Edogai in his tracks.

Edogai's mother tells him to not trust Tsurumi, to which Edogai objects. Tsurumi wonders if Edogai is the only one who can hear his mother's voice. Edogai argues with his mother, stating she has always tried to alienate him from others and killed his father, who was his friend. The mother belittles Edogai, telling him no one loves him and that all men are bad, so that's why she castrated him since he looked like his father "down there". As Edogai is struggling mentally, Tsurumi asks him to listen to his voice, then reveals that he is wearing a shirt made of human skin under his coat. Edogai drops his knife, amazed by what he sees. He touches Tsurumi's chest, examining the material.

The two move to Edogai's workshop, where Edogai has a closer look at the skin. The taxidermist says that Tsurumi might have done the "sen" process incorrectly — the process of scraping off pieces of fat and meat stuck to the skin. Edogai touches Tsurumi's chest, noting that it's rough and Tsurumi probably used alum for tanning, which irritates sensitive skin, and it's better to use tannic acid. Tsurumi proceeds to ask Edogai to show him more of his creations. Excited and flattered, Edogai demonstrates Tsurumi his bizarre outfits made of human skin, while the Lieutenant compliments him and applauds him. As Edogai appears wearing an outfit made of the skin of tattooed prisoner, Tsurumi takes him by the hand and pulls him into a dance. Tsukishima, who has been watching them all that time, rubs his eyes in disbelief, then notices that Nikaidou is gone.

Nikaidou is in Edogai's house, looking for an ear that would match Youhei's. He finds Edogai's mother's mount and compares the ear to hers, but finds that only Tsurumi's ear would fit. He then drops the ear he was holding down the mount's kimono and knocks the figure while trying to retrieve it. Edogai walks into the room, shocked by seeing Nikaidou on top of his mother in an obscene position. Tsurumi appears from Edogai's back, grabbing him by the chest and handing him a gun. He tells Edogai to shoot his mother, saying that he must leave his nest, which was a twisted place that turned Edogai into a twisted person. Edogai shoots his mother, and her voice stops tormenting him. He explains that his mother died of a heart attack, and he should have dealt with his issues while she was still alive. Tsurumi offers Edogai a deal, asking him to make faux tattooed skins which only they would be able to identify to confuse other people who are searching for the gold.

In Otaru, in Hijikata's headquarters, Ushiyama is tending to Ienaga, who is recovering from her injuries. He recounts the skins they have to Hijikata. Ogata asks if Hijikata's goal is to restore the Ezo Republic as some petty dream of revenge. He then comments that Noppera-bou must be an Ainu, and Nagakura asks if Tsurumi knew about it. Ogata explains that there was one thing common for all the 7 men that were killed: their belongings were damaged according to Ainu funerals custom. The men that were murdered gathered from all over Hokkaido to use the gold to get the weapons to fight the Japanese. Ogata wonders why Noppera-bou murdered them, since he was fighting for the independence of Hokkaido too. Hijikata says that Noppera-bou must be a Russian partisan who was pretending to be an Ainu; Russian Empire had different forces fighting for the power, such as the Tsar's Army, Lenin's communists, and partisans made of ethnic minorities. Ushiyama asks if Hijikata never trusted Noppera-bou in the first place, to which he replies that his allies outside must be partisans posing as Ainu too.

Kiroranke and Shiraishi meet Asirpa and Sugimoto in the forest, bringing freshly caught fish. Shiraishi notices the black stains on Sugimoto's face, saying he must have eaten *huki* (butterbur). They then see Asirpa's face, comment that the ate too much, and laugh. The group sets a camp and prepares a meal out of salmon and butterbur. When night falls, Asirpa sees a dream of her father, where she asks him to tell her about her mother. Wilk tells Asirpa how he met her mother, then says that Asirpa will be a new kind of Ainu woman and the leader of the Ainu. He says that Asirpa has the same eyes as he, then asks her to never forget what he is about to tell her. Asirpa wakes up in a bad mood and hits Shiraishi who is sleeping beside her, yelling at him to get up and telling others that they should leave for Yubari.

Back in Yubari, Edogai is struggling with finding the right color for tattoos. Tsukishima and Maeyama watch over him and try to cheer him up, but Edogai is too upset and demands to see Tsurumi. Tsukishima tells him Tsurumi has returned to Otaru, which drives Edogai even more upset. In Otaru, Makanakkuru and Tanigaki visit a weaponry shop, wanting to get bullets for Nihei's Murata rifle. The shopkeeper mentions seeing an Ainu woman who was looking for an Ainu girl with blue eyes. After acquiring the bullets, Makanakkuru and Tanigaki walk back to the kotan through the forest and notice a lone deer. Makanakkuru suggests shooting it and bringing it back as a present. The deer is alerted by a branch crack, but Tanigaki still manages to shoot it. The men turn their heads back and see an Ainu boy, who was the one who stepped on the branch. Tanigaki asks if it's a boy from the village, and Makanakkuru states that the kid doesn't play with other children, but is interested in the hunt; this reminds Tanigaki of himself as a child, so he invites the boy to help with skinning their prey.

The boy wonders why the deer was all alone. Tanigaki replies, saying the deer is male and likely just left its parents, or they died earlier. The Ainu boy comments that the deer then must be like him, and Makanakkuru explains to Tanigaki that the boy recently lost all of his relatives and is now taken care by the elders in the village. The boy's name is revealed to be Cikapasi, with his name meaning "he who makes bird fly", but also "to have an erection". Tanigaki says Cikapasi has a great name, making the boy smile.

As they return to the *kotan*, the men see a crowd gathering around a fortune-teller. The fortune-teller compliments Tanigaki, saying she likes men with scars on their faces. She introduces herself as Inkarmat, *the woman who sees*, and offers Tanigaki to read his fortune. He rejects her offer, but is taken aback when she mentions his dead younger sister. Inkarmat says she came here to find an Ainu girl with blue eyes, and that they first met in Naganuma. She is taken to Huci's *cise*, where Inkarmat explains that one of the men Asirpa is travelling with will betray her. Hearing this, Tanigaki decides to bring back Asirpa safely home and sets out to find her. As a goodbye gift, Osoma gives Tanigaki a *tekunpe*, an embroidered glove Ainu women give to the men they love. Huci blesses Tanigaki, and he is joined by Inkarmat in his journey. Tanigaki asks why is she going with him, to which she simply replies that she has a weakness for men with scars.

In the 7th Division headquarters, Tsurumi is seen drinking tea and talking to Inkarmat. He tells her to use the man named Tanigaki who is now at the kotan.

## Adapted Chapters

* Chapter 70
* Chapter 71
* Chapter 72
* Chapter 73
* Chapter 74
* Chapter 75
* Chapter 76

## Character Appearances

* Asirpa
* Saichi Sugimoto
* Huci
* Genjirou Tanigaki
* Osoma
* Yasaku Edogai *(Debut)*
* Tokushirou Tsurumi
* Hajime Tsukishima
* Kouhei Nikaidou
* Tattooed prisoner *(Mentioned)*
* Tatsuma Ushiyama
* Kano Ienaga
* Toshizou Hijikata
* Kazuo Henmi *(Flashback)*
* Hyakunosuke Ogata
* Shinpachi Nagakura
* Noppera-bou *(Flashback)*
* Yoshitake Shiraishi
* Kiroranke
* Riratte *(Flashback)* *(Mentioned)*
* Kazuo Maeyama *(Debut)*
* Makanakkuru
* Cikapasi *(Debut)*
* Inkarmat
* Fumi Aoyama *(Mentioned)*

## Trivia

* When Hijikata mentions Lenin and communists in Russia, the Flag of the Soviet Union can be seen behind the Russian revolutionary. However, it is an anachronic mistake, as the flag was not offically adopted till 1924.
* Edogai's story is likely inspired by the real life story of Ed Gein, the “Butcher of Plainfield “, who was a grave robber and murderer who tanned the skins of his victims.