Episode 14

## Fakes

**Fakes** (まがいもの, *Magaimono*) is the fourteenth episode of the *Golden Kamuy* anime series.

## Synopsis

Yasaku Edogai succeeds in creating 6 sets of fake skins when his workshop comes under assault. He flees with Sergeant Hajime Tsukishima into the local mines, pursued by Hyakunosuke Ogata and Saichi Sugimoto.

## Plot

Edogai is busy in his workshop when he is interrupted by a door slam. He reprimands Tsukishima and Kazuo Maeyama for lacking manners, then tells them that they stink and need to take a bath since their smell distracts him from working. He demands the two soldiers apologize to Tokushirou Tsurumi — or, to be precise, his mounted copy Edogai made last night. Maeyama asks Edogai to just do his job and not waste his time on stuff like that, which upsets Edogai.

Later, Edogai exclaims that he is finally done with creating the faux skins and that Tsurumi will be pleased with him. As Edogai hugs the Tsurumi figure he made, he talks about Tsurumi patting him on the head and telling him he did a good job. However, a loud noise distracts Edogai from his dreaming. Irritated, the taxidermist walks to another room, thinking it's Maeyama being noisy; instead, he finds the soldier's dead body lying on the floor, with a bullet hole on his forehead. Outside, Edogai notices a man jumping off a tree and heading to his house.

Tsukishima, who left to a public bath, overhears a child mention that someone will die in the mines soon, but pays no mind to it. The Sergeant realizes he forgot his wallet and runs back to Edogai. He is seen by Sugimoto and Yoshitake Shiraishi who recognize him as one of Tsurumi's men. Sugimoto concludes that the soldier must have come after hearing the rumors of the house with tattooed skins. Shiraishi asks if they should alert Asirpa and Kiroranke who are questioning people in town, but Sugimoto replies that there's no time and they should go after Tsukishima.

Edogai is putting the skins in a bag, getting ready to escape. He is worried because there's only one exit in his house, so leaving unnoticed would be difficult. He is then distracted by his cat, who has brought him a dead rat as a present. Meanwhile, Hyakunosuke Ogata breaks into the house, armed with a pistol and his rifle. He is aware that Sergeant Tsukishima is out to the bathhouse and that he takes long baths, meaning he should have plenty of time to question Edogai. As he is inspecting the house, Ogata unloads the bolts on Maeyama and Tsukishima's rifles in advance. Tsukishima is stopped by an old man who says he just saw a white polar bear run; however, Tsukishima laughs it off and continues running to Edogai's house.

Back in Edogai's residence, Ogata finds the room with mounted corpses. He sees the Tsurumi mount and comments that it *"looks like Edogai is in love with the First Lieutenant"*. He then notices two scraps of inked skin on the floor and realizes that Edogai was helping Tsurumi with creating fake skins. When Ogata gets back to Edogai's workshop, he sees that the smaller polar bear mount is missing — Edogai has escaped. He is then ambushed by Tsukishima, who blocks his gun with a bayonet and kicks Ogata in the side. Ogata falls down but then manages to run away from the room, while Tsukishima tries to shoot him. Tsukishima accuses Ogata of killing Maeyama as well as his comrades with whom he fought in the war, to which Ogata replies that they've betrayed the government. Tsukishima calls Ogata the *"HQ's pet cat"* and says Ogata is trying to get a promotion by selling out his former comrades in order to surpass his father. The sniper shoots through the wall and nearly misses Tsukishima. The Sergeant checks the remaining rounds and looks for Edogai. He realizes the polar bear he was told about by the old man was actually disguised Edogai, and follows him.

As Ogata is left alone, he thinks to himself that he needs to get to Edogai before Tsukishima. However, two unexpected guests appear: Shiraishi and Sugimoto have walked in to investigate the house. Shiraishi finds Maeyama's body and alerts Sugimoto; he then walks into the room with mounted corpses, where he is held at the gunpoint by Ogata who signals him to keep quiet. Ogata tells Shiraishi that he recognized him and that Toshizou Hijikata has told him about the Escape King before. Ogata then wonders if he could use Shiraishi and Sugimoto to take out Tsukishima and get in possessions of the skin. Threatened by Ogata and visibly distressed, Shiraishi comes out of the room carrying scraps of inked skins and Tsurumi's mount. He tells Sugimoto that Tsurumi was making faux skins here and they should follow the soldier they saw running out of the house.

Edogai is running, trying to reach Tsurumi and hand him the skins he has made. Meanwhile, everyone is looking for him, asking passersby if they've seen a white bear nearby. Finally, Edogai reaches the Yubari coal mine, where he is found by Ogata, who tells him that his luck ran out the moment he met the Grim Reaper named Lieutenant Tsurumi. Suddenly, Tsukishima grabs Edogai and pulls him into a passing minecart. Sugimoto and Shiraishi, who have also come to the mine, see the two ride on the minecart and follow them.

Edogai tells Tsukishima they can escape through the mine, as the tunnels loop back and there are many exits. He then pulls out the bag with skins and talks about Tsurumi rewarding him by patting his head and licking him. Somebody shoots their cart, and Tsukishima turns his head to see Sugimoto and Shiraishi following in another minecart. Tsukishima shoots back, and they get inside the tunnel. Edogai throws coal at Sugimoto's cart, trying to stop them but to no avail. One of the miners drops the coal on the tracks, disrupting the minecarts motion and slowing Tsukishima and Edogai down. Sugimoto's cart slams into them, and the fight ensues. Shiraishi jumps at Edogai, telling him to give him the bag with skins. Tsukishima swings his rifle at Shiraishi and pushes the lever that switches the rail tracks, making the carts go in different tunnels. Ogata, who has been following the carts all that time, shoots at the lever again to get on the same track as Edogai and Tsukishima.

When they pass the miners, the men warn them of the dynamite explosion that is going to happen soon. Ogata stops his cart and gets out of it before the explosion. Tsukishima and Edogai continue going further, as they didn't hear the miners' warning. The miners notice an odd smell, then realize it's a firedamp, a gas outburst, — the tunnel is going to explode. The explosion hits, throwing everyone out of their carts. Shiraishi wonders what just blew up, to which Sugimoto replies that they should run. They're stopped by a sudden rush of air — a windblast that occurs after explosions in mines and signify a bigger burst coming.

As another explosion happens, the townsfolk of Yubari watch the mine from the outside. Kiroranke and Asirpa are standing in the crowd, concerned for their friends. In the mine, Tsukishima finds Edogai trapped under debris. Edogai tells him to run away, as the exits are going to be sealed soon to shut the oxygen off from coming in order to stop the fire. Tsukishima insists he will get Edogai out, but the taxidermist replies that his legs got crushed by the rocks. He asks Tsukishima to get the bag with skins to Tsurumi, saying that Tsurumi is the only person who has accepted him for who he is and that the skins is all he wanted in return. He then asks Tsukishima to pass the Lieutenant his final message.

Sugimoto tries to get Shiraishi back to his senses, but the man won't wake up. The gas makes Sugimoto sick, but he prevails, once again declaring himself Immortal; he takes Shiraishi on his back and looks for an exit. Meanwhile, Ogata is trying to get out of the mine himself. While looking for a way out, he sees Edogai's body. He is then called by a miner who tells him there's an exit nearby. As Tsukishima seemingly passes out in another tunnel, Sugimoto reaches the sealed exit, but is unable to break through it. He shouts at Shiraishi, asking him to wake up and saying he can't die on him.

Suddenly, Tatsuma Ushiyama breaks into the mine, saving Sugimoto and Shiraishi. The crowd watches as Ushiyama carries Sugimoto and Shiraishi out of the tunnel. Ushiyama walks up to Asirpa and says the have met again. Asirpa is happy to see him and hands him the fish cake she has carried with her. When Sugimoto recovers enough after the mine incident, he asks Ushiyama what he is doing here. Ushiyama replies that he came to Yubari with someone else, but that person disappeared, so he was looking for them; Sugimoto wonders who could that be. They're then approached by Ogata, who tells Ushiyama that they can take Sugimoto and the rest with them. Sugimoto looks shocked, asking why one of Tsurumi's soldiers would be with Hijikata.

The group returns to Edogai's house, where Ogata shows them a room with mounted corpses. He points at six human mounts with skin carved off their torsos, saying Edogai must have made his fake skins out of those bodies. Ogata explains that unless Tsukishima's body is found, it's safe to assume that he is alive, and there must be six fake sins in circulation. In another room, Edogai's cat is trying to get something from under the table. It is then picked by Toshizou Hijikata, who walks into the room holding the animal and a faux skin in his hands. Hijikata notes that there must be a way to distinguish fake skins from real ones. Sugimoto seemingly recognizes Hijikata, but Shiraishi denies it, saying there's no way they have met. Hijikata asks Shiraishi to introduce him to his friend, making Shiraishi worried about Sugimoto finding out that he has been passing information about tattooed skins to Hijikata's Group.

Sugimoto says that there's been a thing he wanted to ask Hijikata if they've met. He mentions that he doesn't know whether Noppera-bou trusted Hijikata that much or they shared a common goal; however, he wants to know if Noppera-bou wanted Hijikata to give weapons to the Ainu to start a revolution for independence. Sugimoto then asks if Noppera-bou is actually Ainu, surprising Asirpa with his question. Sugimoto suggests that Hijikata wants to use the gold to rebuild the Republic of Ezo, which prompts Asirpa to mention her father. She is cut off mid sentence by Hijikata, who realized she was going to reveal too much. Hijikata asks Sugimoto if they should join forces or just kill each other right here. Ogata notices Hijikata's behavior and deduces that Asirpa must be Noppera-Bou's daughter.

As the tension rises, Shinpachi Nagakura walks into the room. He says they will buy the skins from Sugimoto's Group. He tells Sugimoto to give up the chase for the gold and get a peaceful life, but Sugimoto refuses, saying there are things he wants to find out from Noppera-Bou. Asirpa's stomach growls, disrupting the serious atmosphere. Kano Ienaga shows up, asking if she should cook anything for the group. Ienaga cooks nanko nabe and invites everyone to the table. Shiraishi wonders if the meat is safe to eat, to which Ienaga replies that it's horse meat, causing Kiroranke to spit it out. Sugimoto comments that he couldn't imagine a group like that working together, especially with Ogata, since he was one of Tsurumi's men. Sugimoto then says that "*someone who was a traitor once will betray again*". Ogata sneers and says that, although Sugimoto tried to kill him, he is not the type to hold grudges; however, that remarked hurt. Shiraishi tells them both to stop fighting during eating. Hijikata states that their main priority must be finding a way to determine which skins are fake.

Tsukishima returns to Otaru and reports to Tsurumi. He hands him over Edogai's bag with the skins he managed to retrieve. Tsurumi caresses the skins, commenting that the highest ambition of the artist is leaving one's work behind for the world to enjoy, even after they're gone. Tsukishima proceeds to pass Tsurumi Edogai's final message: *"iron"*. Tsurumi thanks Tsukishima for his hard work and tells him to rest. With the Sergeant gone, Tsurumi tries to figure out Edogai's message. He reminisces of Edogai's affinity to tannin and his warning about getting the skin wet and touching certain surfaces. Tsurumi then puts his gloved hand under the rain and touches a hot metal teapot. When he lifts his hand, he sees that the skin turned black after a chemical reaction occurred. Tsurumi proclaims that Edogai sacrificed his life to give him those skins, so he will make good use of them.

## Adapted Chapters

* Chapter 77 (p. 2-3, p. 16-18)
* Chapter 78
* Chapter 79
* Chapter 80
* Chapter 81 (p. 2-13)

## Character Appearances

* Yasaku Edogai
* Hajime Tsukishima
* Kazuo Maeyama
* Hyakunosuke Ogata
* Yoshitake Shiraishi
* Saichi Sugimoto
* Asirpa
* Kiroranke
* Koujirou Hanazawa *(Mentioned)*
* Tatsuma Ushiyama
* Toshizou Hijikata
* Noppera-bou *(Flashback)*
* Shinpachi Nagakura
* Kano Ienaga
* Tokushirou Tsurumi

## Trivia

* The dinner scene where the groups are eating nanko nabe is a reference to Leonardo Da Vinci's painting, The Last Supper. The characters placements correspond to Jesus and his Apostles:
	+ Asirpa — Jesus
	+ Sugimoto — Peter
	+ Shiraishi — John
	+ Kiroranke — Judas
	+ Ogata — Matthew
	+ Ushiyama — James the Greater
	+ Ienaga — Philip
	+ Hijikata — Simon the Zealot
	+ Nagakura — Jude Thaddeus
* One of Edogai's costumes is likely inspired by a suit from a variety show **Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji**.

## References

1. ↑ Golden Kamuy Central, @KamuyCentral, Twitter