Chapter 150: The Kagura Dance

Chapter 150: The Kagura Dance

The moon hung deep at night sky. As midnight drew near, the chill in the mountain deepened, turning the soft falling snow into a veil of cold mist across the Tamayori Shrine. What had been a quiet place had transformed into a sanctuary, strangely illuminated by the soft glow of dozens of hand-lit paper lanterns.

The soft scent of burning pine wood and sweet incense drifted across the pathways as the mist of the winter curled around the center of the forest.

?Villagers from the foot of the mountain sat quietly and wrapped in woven blankets along the outer courtyard, their hushed whispers rustling as they watched the festival.

Children clutched warm wooden cups of sweet rice wine and roasted chestnuts, their eyes wide as they looked directly at the central stage called the kagura-den.

?It was an open-air platform made of wood, elevated high in the snow, and encircled by four thick crimson pillars wrapped in sacred shimenawa ropes. Each corner hung those same wind bells that vibrated whenever the cold breeze blew down from the mountain peak.

?Kiyori stood near the shadow of the ancient cedar, her red cloak wrapped tightly around her shoulders. She put the familiar fox mask over her face as the fox-shaped features of the mask were instantly brightened by the lantern light.

The smooth porcelain rested against her skin, painted with bold red flourishes around the eyes and snout. She had left her bag inside the shrine house, leaving Kikyo there to not cause a scene.

?Behind the curtain of the shrine’s inner sanctum, her grandmother, Old Kaede, stood clad in traditional ceremonial robes, a brilliant white kosode under a crimson hakama, draped with a silver-embroidered mantle that bore the crest like fox.

Despite her old age, she held a woven fan in one hand and a gold kagura-suzu—a tiered brass bell branch wrapped in long silk ribbons of five colors in the other.

?"Kiyori." Kaede’s voice came softly before she stepped onto the stage. "You really won’t do the Kagura ritual?"

?Kiyori touched the edge of her mask, a soft smile hidden beneath the painted white porcelain. "No. It’s not the right moment for me, I’d rather wait."

?Kaede gave her a gentle nod, her eyes shimmering with warmth. "Only if you wish, I won’t force you, my daughter."

She turned toward other traditional shrine maidens who had attended the ceremony, she looked at one of them, her gaze settling upon a young maiden named Minagi, who stepped forward calmly.

"Begin." Kaede whispered.

In the air, the falling flakes seemed to hover, weightless, in the lantern glow.

From the darkness beyond the pillars, the mournful cry of a bamboo flute pierced the mountain chill, followed by a loud rhythmic thrum of a hidden drum. Although the music did not attempt to disrupt the silence, because it almost seemed born from it.

Minagi stepped onto the kagura-den. The polished cedar floor reflected her white socks. With her first movement, the kagura-suzu bells in her hand gave a crisp shiver — a sound so pure it seemed to warm up the mist.

She began to spin with a slow rotation that made her crimson hakama bloom against the snow as the five-colored silk ribbons trailed through the air behind her, writing invisible prayers in the dark. Every tilt of her head, every extension of her fan turned heavy with a sorrowful grace, an elegant word between the mortal world and the hidden spirits, watching from the shadows of the forest.

Kiyori watched from beneath the cedar tree, the porcelain fox mask absorbing the mist. Through the narrow eye-slits, the world looked dreamlike, painted in contrasts of lantern light and shadows.

The ring-ring of the bronze bells vibrated in her brain. Watching the dance, she felt that it was not truly meaningful. Even if everyone around her believed it was a way to connect to nature, because no one had truly tried to understand the exhaustion.

?With a deep, resonant strike, the great taiko drum at the side of the stage thundered into the midnight air.

?BOOM.

?Kiyori raised two fingers to the brim of her white fox mask and gently tipped it upward, letting the starlight fall upon her eyes. She gave her grandmother a slow, respectful nod, knowing that it was another year when she refused to perform it.

The vibration of the taiko drum rattled the wooden stage and thrummed through the soles of Kiyori’s boots.

Minagi pivoted on the heel of one white-socked foot. The sudden movement caught the wind, snapping her soft silk sleeves in a manner of wings flying through the wind.

She swept the five-colored ribbons through the air in a blinding arc. Red, blue, yellow, green, and white silks sliced through the falling snow, carving a path through the rising steam of the villagers’ breath as they watched the scene with their breath stopped.

With every downward strike of her fan, a flurry of white flakes spiraled off the edge of the stage and scattered around by her momentum.

The bamboo flute climbed and mimicked the winter wind howling through the mountain peaks.

Minagi’s movements lost their initial sorrow, transitioning into fierce and demanding ones. She stomped her foot against the ground once.

Thud.

The wind bells at the four corners of the shrine answered, chiming in a frenzied melody.

In the front row of the courtyard, an old man leaned forward, his hands tightening around his woven blanket, his lips silently moving along in a prayer.

Beside him. A child let a roasted chestnut slip from his fingers into the snow, awed by the sound of golden bells.

Minagi leaped as the gold kagura-suzu in her hand rained down.

Ring-ring-ring.

From behind the narrow slits of her porcelain mask, Kiyori only watched the silk ribbons twist.

Other villagers watched it in awe, believing that it was a sacred performance. However, Kiyori only saw the sweat glistening on Minagi’s neck and the tremor in the maiden’s wrist as she held the weight of the branch.

The great taiko drum struck one final, earth-shattering note.

BOOM.

Minagi froze, one arm extended toward the mountain peak while the five-colored ribbons draped over her forearm as the flute died out, leaving only the echo of the wind bells.

Through the haze of sweet incense and settling snow, Old Kaede lowered her head in a slow, deep bow toward the stage.

Kiyori let her hand drop from the brim of her fox mask as she brought it up to her head and looked directly at Minagi, who seemed exhausted from the dance, which lasted for an hour.

She glanced at the villagers, who seemed joyful as they were returning to their homes. Kiyori walked toward her grandmother, where Minagi also stood.

Looking at Kiyori, Minagi gave her a small nod with a bright smile. "Kiyori, when did you return? I was so busy that I didn’t see you."

"As always, the same boring task." Kiyori chimed in, of course she knew Minagi who was her cousin from her mother’s side.

Minagi wiped the sweat from her forehead before jumping onto her in a warm hug. "Oh, how I missed you." She slowly pulled and spoke. "You know, many people asked me why you always refuse."

Kiyori pulled her mask from her head and held it in her grip. "Tehe, let them be curious."

"Do you still believe them?" Minagi let out a yawn as the dizziness hit her from the exhaustion.

"I do believe, but I don’t consider praising someone for just being superior. I’m not great enough to deny the existence, but as you already know my answer, I find it cruel." Kiyori shrugged and stretched her arms. "Superiority shouldn’t be considered equal to kindness; someone who felt the suffering would understand humanity more, and someone who watched it yet also did something to stop them would understand too, but someone who only sees it with no action is not superior to me."

Minagi sighed before turning back. "I don’t really understand you, isn’t it just our tradition? It’s not like we actually want to call out Gods."

"I know that, but I didn’t find my God."

"Your God?"

"Someone who fits my ideal; before that, I’d never do it."

Kaede watched her granddaughter, who had always refused to do it, although Kiyori had always done other rituals that were connected to nature too, but even then it wasn’t clear to her why her granddaughter didn’t do this one. "Minagi, you only like it because it gives you entertainment, but maybe Kiyori is eager to know more; let’s not talk about it now."

Minagi glanced at Kaede before looking back at Kiyori and asked. "Have you eaten, though?"

"I ate quite bizarre things." Kiyori laughed before following them back into the shrine house.

"Bizzare things? Have you eaten a poisoned fruit, or, oh no, did you eat gold!?" Minagi spoke in a dramatic manner as they entered the house and settled up to sleep.

"I really can’t e... eh-ex-plain." Kiyori coughed a few times as she had previously been trying to not stutter.

Minagi laid down. "Aww, little girl still stutters."

"Stop it! I can’t help with that..." Kiyori’s face turned embarrassed as she turned away from Minagi to hide her expression and spoke to change the topic. "Why didn’t Satoru come?"

Minagi paused, staring at the ceiling. "He was busy in his own world. Maybe cleaning the shrine was an excuse to not join because he thought you’d not be here."

Kiyori gave her a brief glance. Satoru was Minagi’s brother, meaning her cousin brother too. Although they met occasionally, they still had a good sibling bond. He was a good man, but his actions were quite... questionable, since he used to take away their food and sometimes threatened them that he’d bring foxes to chase after them.

Of course, that was just for fun because he enjoyed the fear on his sisters’ faces.

Outside, however, the night had grown.

In that line, a figure walked through the narrow forest, guiding animals who had lost their paths.

It had the Jester’s cap as the long flute played melodically.

The Fool stopped near the shrine and bowed with one palm on the chest as its hand brought the flute up back to its stitched lips and walked away again with the same beautiful melody of its music.

It stopped near the mountain cliff before stepping forward, take a step into the air, and jumped in before disappearing into the shadows.