10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

thinking about how much of natsume yuujinchou is about inheritance. good and bad.

the young man that hid into a painting to ecsape the burden of his familial responsibilities. the miharu leader who wept as he imagined being free of his clan. the yokai that tried so hard to help both men find life beyond their duties.

the miharu clan dying out, and the deal they left unfinished tumbling down the chain to land on seiji's shoulders. seiji wondering how the matoba head that led during miharu's fall felt about a clan the matobas are responsible for dying out. seiji taking up that responsibility, knowing he has to leave it unfinished for a clan head coming after him.

natori cutting himself off from critisizing the miharu's deal that left behind such a burden, and natsume wondering which of the three people in the room (natori, seiji, or natsume himself) natori thought it would hit too close to home for.

(i wrote this post over a year ago, and drafted it here bc i wanted to reread natsuyuu to better inform it. got too busy to finish the reread, never got back to the post. im giving up on the reread thing post is happening now)

re: natori thoughts on my dash today he is. holding uo an inheritance like matoba and natsume are but the feelings around it ARE so different. No one really considered Reiko's legacy an inheritance until Natsume made the decision to make it one, with love and care and dedication. Matoba's clan expected him to continue a long, respected inheritance, and he dedicated himself to that expectation wholesale. Natori's family tried to get rid of it. Make it a thing of the past. He made a choice like Natsume did, but in such a different way, picking up this abandoned thing and saying, "I don't care what you want me to do with it, I'm going to carry it."

Taki and Tanuma... lil different. Particularly Tanuma Taki and her grandfather ARE reviving family traditions and knowledge, for all that those traditions don't weigh heavily the same way the Natsume/Natori/Matoba circle is dealing with. It's still a labor of love.

But I can't recall any time Tanuma or his dad really talked about whether he wants to follow his dad's footsteps? They're a great family of two, his dad clearly cares a lot, but it doesn't manifest the same way. And maybe that'll be explored more later, Tanuma's feelings about his dad's professtion. Or maybe he fits into the themes in his own way: a reminder that picking up the torch isn't the only way to love family, and choosing to go a different path isn't betrayal. We'll see I guess.