Chapter 4 part 3

At last we arrived at the final stop, Kurama Station. It was a very small and old-fashioned station.

“This reminds me of the movie Poppoya.” Wait, didn’t that take place in Hokkaido? Maybe all of these small, timeworn stations have something in common. At any rate, the Yoshitsune and Benkei portraits decorating this station definitely made it feel like Kurama, since they are both part of the local legends.

Right after exiting the station, we immediately found ourselves facing a statue of a large tengu face.

“Wow, that’s a big tengu—and it’s only the face!” A bright red face, sharp, glaring eyes, and an outstretched nose. Fitting for Kurama, the tengu mountain.

“Many people take commemorative photos here. Would you like to?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine.”

Holmes looked surprised at my instant refusal.

“I don’t like having my picture taken,” I explained. “I do like taking commemorative pictures, though.” I forced a smile as I took out my smartphone and snapped a photo of the tengu.

“Does that mean you don’t like photo booths either?”

“Hmm…those are all right.”

“I see. Are you the type who always squints in photos?”

I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. “H-How did you know?”

“I thought that might be the case, since you dislike having your picture taken but you’re fine with photo booths. Because in the latter, you can edit the image,” Holmes answered in an amused tone.

“You don’t have to read that deeply into it,” I said with a pout.

“My apologies. I wouldn’t have said that to anyone else, though,” he said as though talking to himself.

“Huh?” I froze.

“Let’s go to Kurama Temple first, Aoi.”

“Ah, okay.”

Next to the station was a series of souvenir shops. What stood out to me most were the rows of tengu masks, but there were also banners saying “Ushiwaka Mochi”—fitting for Kurama, seeing as how Ushiwakamaru was Yoshitsune’s childhood name.

After walking uphill for a while, Kurama Temple’s Nio Gate came into view. The faded vermilion two-story gate was exactly what I would’ve expected from a mountain temple.

“This gate was built by Tankei, a sculptor from the Kamakura period, and enshrines the Nio, the two guardians of the temple. It forms a barrier between the secular world and the sacred grounds,” Holmes explained.

“D-Does that mean the area past this has been purified?”

“Indeed. This is a fairly famous ‘energy vortex,’ as people like to say.”

“Right. I’ve heard of it too.” I nodded and passed through the gate with Holmes. We’re on sacred ground now… “The air does feel different,” I said with a serious face.

Holmes burst out in a short laugh.

“Were you thinking that I fell for the placebo effect?” I asked.

“I was, but I think that’s a good thing. For example, when you pass through this Nio Gate, your perception will change based on whether or not you know its story. It is placebo, but you’ll get more out of the act if you use that knowledge to enjoy it more.”

He might be right. I get the feeling that knowing this was a sacred ground made passing through the gate seem more special than if I hadn’t known.

After walking some more, we came upon a small shrine called Kiichi Hogen Shrine.

“It is said that Kiichi Hogen, the martial arts master who taught Ushiwakamaru the art of war, is enshrined here,” Holmes said.

“I heard the legend that Ushiwakamaru was trained by a tengu, but it was actually this person, huh?”

“However, some say that Kiichi Hogen was a fictional person as well.”

“Huh, is that so?”

“Yes. Minamoto no Yoshitsune is a mysterious person in various ways.”

“He really is.” I nodded. “But it’s true that he was raised here on Mount Kurama, right?” I asked as we slowly walked on the mountain path.

“Yes. Ushiwakamaru was the third son of the head of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and his favorite concubine, Gozen Tokiwa. When Yoshitomo was defeated by the Taira clan, he feared there was a high chance that his children would be killed as well. However, in the end, Taira no Kiyomori took mercy on them, and Ushiwakamaru was raised here in Kurama.”

“Why was he spared?” Wait, this is probably common knowledge for anyone who took history class seriously, right? I drilled all those era names into my head, but the details are hazy. I’m sorry for being such a pathetic student, I swear.

“According to one theory, Ushiwakamaru’s mother, Gozen Tokiwa, was an incredible beauty. Kiyomori fell in love with her at first sight and asked her to become his concubine, to which Gozen Tokiwa said, ‘Only if you spare my children’s lives.’ He agreed to her condition.”

“H-Huh? Does that mean Gozen Tokiwa became the mistress of the enemy commander—the one who killed her husband—in order to save her children?”

“Yes, it does.”

“And in the end, Kiyomori was defeated by the child he spared, right?”

“Yes, such is karma.”

I took a deep breath. It really was karmic. “Someone as powerful as Kiyomori must’ve had plenty of beautiful women around him. Why did he go to the trouble of making his enemy’s wife his mistress? Was she that beautiful?”

“That’s a good question. Gozen Tokiwa was said to be selected from among a thousand women. She was a winner of Japan’s first beauty pageant.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The empress consort at the time—in other words, the emperor’s wife—loved beautiful things and wanted to select beautiful people to be her servants. She gathered a thousand of Kyoto’s beautiful women for judging, and the final person she chose was Gozen Tokiwa. So, Gozen Tokiwa was indeed the most beautiful woman in Kyoto. Of course, there’s no telling how much of this story is true.”

“W-Wow, that’s interesting.”

“Indeed.”

As we talked, we finally reached Kurama Temple. The lone mountaintop building was more modest than I’d expected. It had a simple exterior, perhaps fitting for a mountain temple. What intrigued me was that the stone guardians weren’t the usual lion-dogs.

“These are tigers, right?” I asked.

“Yes, this temple has tigers as guardians.”

And the most eye-catching of all was the large hexagon on the ground in front of the main hall. At its center was a triangular stone tile.

“This is the most famous energy vortex here,” Holmes said.

“Oh, I’ve seen this on TV! They said that energy pours into it from space. I’m going to try standing on it.” Being the enthusiast that I was, I stepped onto the triangle at the center of the diagram. The moment I did, I felt a static shock in my right hand—“Whoa!” I panicked and clenched my fist. What was that just now? I quickly stepped off the hexagon, bewildered. I tried stepping on it again, but this time, nothing happened.

“Did something happen?”

“Oh, no, nothing…” I was too embarrassed to say something clichéd like “I felt a shock in my hand.” The temple looked plain, but maybe it really was amazing.

I looked at the building and changed the topic. “Is this where Ushiwakamaru lived?”

Holmes nodded. “Yes. He grew up strong and healthy on top of this mountain, so I can understand how he’d be tougher than most people.”

“Right,” I giggled.

He was born to a beautiful woman selected out of a thousand, and it was his mother’s love that allowed him to survive. He was then raised in this temple, and when he finally descended to the city, he met Benkei at Gojo Bridge. There they dueled under the moonlight, and it’s said that the young Ushiwakamaru was handsome, slender, and fought nimbly as if dancing. I don’t know how much of that story is true, but it really does sound awe-inspiring.

Next, we walked along the “Tree Root Path” towards the village of Kibune. The weather was even nicer than I expected. Since we were up in the mountains, the wind was much cooler than it usually was in July, and it felt absolutely amazing. It was the perfect weather for hiking.

At last, Kifune Shrine and its beautiful red torii came into view. It’s said that the deities of water have been worshiped here since ancient times. Red garden lanterns lined both sides of the stone steps. Many bamboo trees were planted throughout the shrine grounds, and colorful paper strips hung from them.

“Oh right, it’s almost time for the Tanabata festival,” I remarked.

“You can write your wish and hang it from one of the plants. Would you like to?” Holmes asked with a smile.

“Hmm…” I saw a paper strip that said “I hope my boyfriend and I will be in love forever” and immediately turned away. “I think I’ll pass this time.”

“All right. Shall we visit the shrine?”

“Okay.”

We prayed at the shrine together and decided to do the famous water fortune telling. There was a special basin near the main hall where you could float blank fortune slips on the spiritual water to make words appear.

“This is neat, huh?” I said.

“Indeed,” Holmes replied.

We bought our fortunes and placed them on the water. Before long, I saw the words “Great Fortune” emerge on mine.

“Wow, great fortune! Yay!”

“Mine says good fortune.”

“That’s good too, Holmes!”

“Indeed.”

We picked up our fortunes and laughed together.

Holmes checked the time and said, “I think it’s time for lunch.”

I nodded with a slight smile. “Oh, okay. I’m actually pretty hungry.” It was finally time for the river terrace. My heart was racing with anticipation.