Mushi-shi Path of Thorns

Mushi—enigmatic beings that exist outside ordinary natural law—are blamed for many of the world’s unexplainable happenings, known to a few and feared by many. In the distant past, a Mushi of overwhelming power nearly erased all life, and the Minai clan of Mushishi arose from those who contained it. Since then, they have served the Karibusa family, the vessel in which that Mushi remains sealed.

At Tanyuu Karibusa’s request, Ginko is asked to accompany and keep watch over Kumado Minai, the clan’s head, as he investigates an abandoned settlement where dead timber and even houses begin to sprout back into living greenery. The Minai are notably severe for Mushishi, and their members share an unsettling emotional flatness that Tanyuu suspects has a deeper cause. Following Kumado into the perilous “Path of Thorns,” Ginko encounters rare, lethal Mushi and edges closer to the truth behind the Minai clan’s unwavering commitment to their inherited duty.