Season 9

Teranishi is invited to attend a wedding ceremony in a village where he is on a business trip.

But the village has an unusual custom of holding a funeral and a wedding at the same time...

Rika is a teacher who spends her late nights reading children's essays.

When she reads one of the children's essays, she finds a horrible ending...

Hayakawa is a university student and his friend Irie.

Irie, who suffers from insomnia, mentions the mysterious existence of the "44th sheep".

That night, when Hayakawa can't sleep, he casually counts the sheep...

Mizuki starts working as a pet-sitter.

She takes on the job of walking "Umeta", a dog protected by an old woman living in a deserted village.

However, there are a number of incidents in the village...

Shigeyuki has just lost his beloved son in an accident.

His wife has left him in shock, and he finds himself staring at the papier-mâché tiger he made with his son the day before the accident...

Koichiro wakes up from a long nap.

In the kitchen, his wife, Akiko, is cooking dinner, and Koichiro's favorite dishes are on the table.

As he eats, Koichiro realizes that he had a similar day yesterday...

A bass player named "Chicken-kun" joins a band.

Mikio, a member of the band, is curious about the mysterious behaviour of "Elder Boy".

Who the hell is he?

A company man lives happily ever after with his wife and son.

One day, he receives an old wooden horse from his parents' house.

That night, the man begins to wander through a labyrinth of memories...

Ami is invited to her husband's parents' house for the first time.

She is welcomed by her in-laws and her younger brothers, and is allowed to stay at their house for the night.

She falls asleep and is woken up in the middle of the night to be told that they are celebrating her birthday...

Nao is a shy girl who has moved from Tokyo to a primary school in the countryside.

She can't fit in with her class, and is lonely, planting winter peonies in her garden.

When a strange girl comes to talk to her...

Yusuke is invited to go night fishing by Takayuki, his senior at work.

When Yusuke is left alone to buy a drink, a strange old man approaches him and calls out to him.

Yusuke goes back to Takayuki to report the incident, but Takayuki is looking down with a dark face...

Natsuki has recently transferred to Chiaki's class.

One day, when Chiaki is alone with her in the classroom after school, she tells him a strange story about a "monkey match"...

Naoyuki is an art designer at a major design firm.

His junior colleague, Mitsutaka, tells him a strange story about the real reason why cats were not included in the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, and that there are actually people in the world who are in the year of the cat...