The Green Gathering

The Green Gathering is the first chapter of the Mushishi manga series. The story was later adapted into the first episode of Mushishi.

Synopsis
An isolated boy with the mysterious ability to make things drawn with his left hand come to life prompts the mushishi Ginko to investigate.

Plot
Shinra Ioroi begins penning a letter when the written characters start moving. One takes the form of a bird and flies outside before he can stop it. He gives chase, only to find Ginko has caught and smashed the inked creature for him.

Shinra is surprised to see Ginko, as he had already replied to his letter and turned him down. Other mushishi have wanted to take on his case, but he turned them all away. It was his late grandmother's dying wish that he continue to keep his ability a secret to keep him safe. She claimed the ability to grant life was a power only the gods and goddesses should have, and forbade him from leaving the house and using his left hand. Despite this, Shinra decides to let Ginko stay and rest from his long journey, glad for the rare chance at having company.

While chatting over a bottle of homemade fruit wine that Shinra made (and normally drinks on his own), Shinra asks Ginko to look at his drawings of creatures he'd seen but couldn't identify. His grandmother had been frightened by what he drew and refused to understand him, and he eventually stopped showing them to her. Ginko recognizes Shinra's sketches are of Mushi and explains they are very close to the original forms of life. He mentions it would have been difficult for Shinra's grandmother to understand something she likely couldn't see at all.

Later in the night, Ginko goes searching for the bathroom when he comes across a human-like Mushi in the form of a young girl. He manages to ensnare it temporarily with his cigarette smoke. When the smoke dissipates, the girl accidentally drops a broken sake drinking bowl she'd had hidden. Ginko inspects it, and the girl demands for it back and for him to leave her home. It only takes a moment for Ginko to put the pieces together and realize that the girl standing before him is Shinra's grandmother, Renzu.

In the morning, Ginko relates the news of Renzu's half-state to Shinra, who is understandably taken aback. An interrupted Mushi ritual resulted in his grandmother being half of who she really was. But Ginko thinks that if Shinra used his ability, he could turn his grandmother completely into a Mushi, which would allow him to see her again, something that Renzu readily agreed to.

Away from any distractions, Shinra gets to work on recreating the sake drinking bowl of his grandmother from his imagination, with the guidance of Ginko. When he finishes, the unbroken bowl he drew manifests into a real one, then splits in two, with one part disappearing. Using the broken half from Renzu, Ginko matches the two pieces together and the bowl seals itself. Now made whole again, the bowl fills itself with Kouki, and Ginko passes it to Renzu to drink from, turning her visible right before Shinra's eyes.

Ginko then offers the drinking bowl to Shinra in celebration. When Shinra drinks from it, he finds himself seeing his grandmother's memories of the Mushi party, and the sad event makes his tears fall uncontrollably. As if in response, the Kouki starts to overflow and seep into the earth around them.

The ground where the Kouki had spilled is covered in moss the next day. While Shinra is sleeping, Ginko slips out of the house and says his goodbyes to Renzu, though not before taking the drinking bowl as his payment.

Trivia

 * Not all of the characters Shinra writes become animated. Only logographs, kanji characters that were originally pictures, and drawings themselves are affected.