T-Style MZ014 "Sakura"

Sakura, she was lovingly called, which means Cherryblossom. It was the scent of spring that spread throughout her father’s whole garden. It was a famous garden, that some said was older than the house itself. A garden that may have been in existence since the beginning of time. At any rate, it was a very special garden. 

And maybe it was because she was born in the year of the Dragon. Or maybe the stories told by her grandmother about the garden being magical were simply true. The flowers that bloomed here were more beautiful and lasted longer than anywhere else, the leaves of the trees were somehow greener. Countless brightly coloured butterflies flew everywhere and hidden in the treetops the nightingales sang their ancient song of love and desire.

And from a young age she saw little beings, kami to be exact, wandering about in the garden. First she just saw them from the corners of her eyes but as time went by they became less and less shy. And when she sang all sorts of kami gathered around her. She loved to sing often and gladly. Music flowed in her veins. She couldn’t not sing.

At some point in time Tatsu, a  young dragon, joined the spirits in the garden. Whether his name was really Tatsu is anyone’s guess. Everyone knows dragons love to have secrets and a dragon’s name may be the greatest secret of all.

Every now and then her father would guide visitors around the garden and all would  immediately admit that no other garden could even match the harmony and beauty of this one. Only a few of them saw the kami. But even for them the young dragon remained invisible. After all dragons only  show themselves to those that mean something to them.

One day the local warlord visited her father and Ryuchi, a young samurai who accompanied him, heard a voice that touched his very soul. The music moved him and his feet followed the enchanting sounds involuntarily. Restlessly he searched the garden and just when he was about to give up he found her sitting amidst some bigger and smaller kami near a pond in a hidden corner of the garden. A clear brook was clattering nearby. Tatsu the dragon flew around her protectively. For a short while he flew very close to him and regarded him penetratingly as if he tried to read his mind. His snout hovered a few centimeters from the samurai’s face. Ryuchi told himself there was nothing to be afraid of. Even though this creature had very sharp teeth indeed.

Then the creature returned to Sakura.

One look between the young samurai and Sakura was sufficient to make the seed of love blossom in their hearts. Whatever else happened: they were meant for each other.

Bear in mind that in their time and culture it wasn’t a matter of course that people could choose their own partner but as the warlord stated eventually: if the kami themselves approved of this relationship only a fool would forbid it.

Unfortunately the world outside of the garden continued as usual with all of the ugliness thereof  and Japan was faced with a fleet of soldiers sent by the ruler of China. The samurai defended themselves bravely but the enemy were by far in the majority. And they used weapons and tactics that were alien to the samurai. After defeating the Japanese again and again the enemy built a bridgehead at Hakata Bay in order to conquer the rest of Japan from there.

The kami noticed their beloved Sakura had stopped singing and was sitting in the garden with tears in her eyes. The silence felt like a cold and dark winter’s day. Even the birds didn’t make a sound anymore. The flowers hung their heads.

That just wouldn’t do! Tatsu the dragon spoke to her and she answered that she feared for the life of her beloved Ryuchi who was sent to that dangerous place. And then the kami did something they hardly ever do, not before and not after: they discussed with each other what they could do to help these two mortals.

For the first time in living memory the kami left the magical garden. And in other places too, people noticed the bigger and smaller spirits leaving their homes.