Kitsune Matsuri: The Open Gateway Page 6

  I should just go home.

  I started to step out when I felt a movement behind me. The woman was gone and a fox scampered from the shadow where she had been. I caught my breath and slunk quickly back into the shadow.

  No, it can’t be.

  I chanced another look. The animal had stopped, and I noticed she was carrying a small antique lantern from which shone a soft, pale blue light.

  I must be seeing things!

  I rubbed my eyes to make sure the sake wasn’t playing tricks on me. Sure enough, the fox was carrying a lantern from her sharp canine jaws.

  This has to be a trick.

  Unbelieving, I followed her up more stairs and to the long corridor of seemingly endless orange torii that disappeared into the dense foliage of the mountainside.

  She stopped, craning her neck, right then left, as if she were searching for an intruder. Those dark eyes shimmered like candles in the shadows as ears pricked to point. She looked everything like the stoic and fearsome guardian of Inari that Michiko had explained.

  Finally satisfied, the animal shook her fur and set the lantern down in the middle of the first gate. She stepped back and extended her nose to touch the pale blue light.

  What on earth?

  Suddenly, the animal’s fur began to transform into a brilliant pearlescent white. The transformation spread rapidly, overtaking the orange until her entire body was the color of fresh snow. As I watched, a second tail grew behind the first, each flicking beside the other with a pale blue fire just above the tip.

  I was too scared to move. What was I seeing? “This can’t be real!”

  Pert ears instantly flicked in my direction. I ducked away into the shadows. She turned and stared into the darkness with those haunting golden eyes. My heart hammered in my chest.

  Go away, go away! This isn’t real. It isn’t real!

  After a moment, I chanced a glance back. The strange animal had lost interest now. Turning, she jumped on top of one of the bright orange gates and vanished from sight.

  I stayed exactly where I was, my body quivering.

  A ghost? No, it can’t be.

  I took a deep breath and looked one last time. The temple was silent, empty. Nothing stirred.

  Too much sake! I should get home.

  • • •

  The Yoshida house loomed dark and quiet as I hastened up the steps and slipped inside. Taking off my shoes, I started to put on some house slippers when a slight movement in the kitchen caught my eye.

  “Is that you, Tobias-san?” Aoki peered out from the open doorway. “John-san came home and told us you might be late. Here, would you like me to make some tea? You look awfully pale.”

  “Tea? Yes, that would be good.” Feeling the soft cushion of the house slippers, I walked over to the tiny kitchen table. My whole body still felt those blazing eyes staring daggers into my very soul. I tried not to shake. “I just need to stay away from that sake for a while, Aoki-san. That stuff has me seeing things.”

  “Seeing things, Tobias-san?” She eased the kettle onto the burner, pouring a little powdered tea into a cup. “Seeing what?”

  “Weird stuff. I thought I saw a fox, a white fox with two tails at the Fushimi Inari Shrine.”

  “A white fox with two tails?” I noticed a little twinkle in her eye as she asked.

  “I thought I saw a fox in the woods yesterday as well. It was quite tame. This one had a weird sort of blue fire around its body though. Pretty strange hallucination, huh?”

  “I don’t think it was a hallucination at all, Tobias-san. You saw a kitsune.”

  “No, this wasn’t one of those statues.”

  “Not just statues, Tobias-san. Kitsune are ‘yokai’, beings that are a part of our larger spiritual world in Japan.”

  I remembered reading about some of that spiritual world in college. Everything had a spirit, a god so to speak. “You can’t be saying that stuff is real!”

  The kettle began to steam, and Aoki rose and lifted it off the burner to pour the tea. “It may be hard for you to understand, but I believe what you saw was no less real than you or I. Faith is enough to make spirits flesh and blood.”

  “What do you mean, Aoki?”

  She gestured to a beautifully crafted Shinto shrine on a thin strip of shelf just above the kitchen entryway. Its wooden frame surrounded a placard scrolled with intricate calligraphy. The shrine was topped with a carefully woven thatched roof.

  “I think there was a time when people saw the spirits more often in their everyday lives. Time and circumstances of modern life have changed that, but the spirits still remain. Faith is what gives spirits life, Tobias-san. Even though what they do is not always tangible, we must always still have faith.”

  “But Aoki …”

  “Shh. Drink your tea.” She reached across the table and patted my hands. I felt a bit calmer as I sipped the tea. The liquid had an earthy flavor.

  “Let me tell you a story that Jomei once told me. When we were young, he was quite in love with me though the poor boy was too shy then to admit it. One day he stopped to eat lunch without bothering to make his usual offering at a local shrine.

  As he started to eat, a man came down the path and struck up a conversation. Jomei listened intently for a long time. Finally, he just couldn’t help it and said, ‘Please excuse me, but I must eat my lunch.’ When Jomei looked into his lunchbox, the contents were all gone except for a single grain of rice!

  Confused, he looked around for the man but only found a grinning silver-white fox. Glowing purple fire danced around her as she disappeared. My husband made an offering every day after that, and he built this shrine that sits above the door as a reminder of that day.”

  I was taken aback. Jomei was as serious and conservative a fellow as I had met in Japan. This was beyond weird. This was on the level of Bigfoot or ghosts, and as liberal minded and well informed about Japanese culture as I thought I was, I could just not comprehend it!

  Aoki patted my shoulder. “I myself have never seen a fox, or a spirit of any kind. But I still believe as do many Japanese people. Do you know why?”

  I shook my head no.

  “Because, Tobias-san, I have faith in the small things. I see the work of spirits even if I don’t see them myself. I see the life and love I have. I’ve a handsome son, a loving husband, a beautiful house. I am alive with a long life yet ahead of me. I may pray to the gods and spirits, and they will answer in their own way even if I don’t see or understand it.”

  I stared up at that little shrine above the door.

  Is it possible that these stories about kitsune are true?

  I shook the thought from my head.

  Don’t be ridiculous, Tobias. Ghosts and things like that aren’t real!

  Aoki took my cup. “You should go and get some rest. You’ve had a long, eventful night and will have another early morning tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, Aoki.”

  I thought about what she’d said when I lay down on my futon upstairs. Outside, the branches of the tree in the front yard scraped against my balcony. I could well imagine dark eyes gazing at me through my window.

  Getting up slowly from the futon, I stepped outside. The air was cool, and I pulled my bathrobe closer around me. Kyoto stretched as a mass of twinkling lights across the horizon.

  Then I saw a woman with long black hair and a rippling red kimono moving through the empty air toward me. She looked like the lady I had seen at the shrine. I stared, unbelieving as she landed in the branches of the tree. Motes of blue fire floated around her body as she stood there.

  I have got to get hold of myself—this is too weird.

  I found myself staring into the white features of a fearsome looking fox mask. Tall, pointed ears centered above a thin muzzle, outlined by crimson whiskers and thin grinning mouth. Golden eyes twinkled from the darkness behind the mask.

  “Ah, so it was you who followed me, young gaijin.”

  She chuckled, her voice young a
nd soft. “That is three times we’ve met now, and each time I have stolen up upon you.”

  I just gawked, unsure how to answer or even what to say.

  She stretched her hand forward and moved slender fingers under my chin. “You should close your mouth before you catch a cicada.”

  I shut it immediately, pressing my lips closely together. She laughed and spun back out to hover in the air beyond the balcony.

  “Such a curious boy you are, Gaijin Tobias. You should know better than to stare at others, but I suppose I will forgive your transgression for now. Until we meet again, Tobias Blackwood! And we will meet again!”

  I sat up in bed. The bright numbers of my digital clock shone in my eyes. Moving sluggishly, I parted the blinds and stepped out onto my balcony. Wispy clouds drifted in the sky, and I could see a sprinkling of color in the surrounding hills.

  The remnants of the night lingered as hazy images in my memory—a shrine bathed in darkness, a woman, a fox, and then a transformation right before my very eyes. I could see it clearly even though I didn’t remember getting home.

  What a freaky dream. Michiko’s chat about the kitsune obviously didn’t mix well with the sake and all that rich food. Still, it was rather cool.

  I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, half expecting my dream to play out again before my eyes.

  No use thinking about it. Best get downstairs for breakfast.

  In the kitchen, Aoki hummed over plates of steamed rice, smoked fish and miso soup, a more traditional Japanese fare. Jomei was engrossed in his morning paper just like the day before.

  “Good morning, Tobias-san.”

  “Good morning to you, Aoki-san. Where is John?”

  “Out on errands. He’ll be back.” Jomei grunted. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes, I had strange dreams though. It must have been a result of last night’s school party.” I noticed a small, carefully wrapped package sitting at my place. “What is this?” I asked.

  Jomei squinted behind his glasses. “Open it and find out.”

  I opened the neatly folded blue parchment surrounding a small cardboard box. Sliding off the top, I allowed a small white object to fall into my hand. The statue of a five-tailed fox sat on its haunches in my hand, ears erect, and muzzle formed into a faithful grin.

  The statue could not have been larger than the flat of my palm, light in weight, made of a single piece of wood carved with such precision that I swore I touched real fur. Even the curve of the smile on its muzzle seemed to have a very life of its own. Painstaking hours had been spent to prepare this little gift. Picking it up, I noticed something rattled curiously on the inside though there didn’t seem to be any hinge or lid.

  “This is beautiful. Did you make it, Jomei-san?”

  He nodded. “Aoki tells me you are learning about kitsune. I carved it to contain a charm inside. I made it years ago when my son was just a boy. It was meant to watch over him and protect him from harm, but Toji left it behind when he married. It’s been sitting gathering dust in my workroom since he moved away, so I figured you might get more use out of it than he did.”

  I didn’t know what to say, but I was about to thank him when Aoki called back, twisting one of the knobs on the stove. “Jomei-san wa, sutōbu ga futatabi dete imasu!”[22]

  He grumbled as he rose to his feet and hobbled over to begin tinkering with the stove. I observed the finer details of the statue. It was strange, but I felt like the object was staring right back at me.

  When Jomei returned to his chair, I bowed my head. “Thank you, Jomei-san. I’ll keep it safe.”

  He nodded and returned to his paper. A moment later the kitchen door opened, and John bounded right in and sat at his usual spot. “Hey, Tobi!” He stopped, staring at the object in my hand. “Whoa, what’s that?”

  “Jomei gave me a kitsune statue.” I leaned toward him. “They think these things are real.”

  “Well, maybe they are!” He saw my stunned expression and waved his hand. “Look, Tobi, I’m never one to judge another culture. Everyone has stories, gods, folklore.

  The Maori of New Zealand have their own spirits. They speak to them, make offerings and believe what they do just as you or I. Some Japanese will see a wild fox or even a tanuki and think nothing more or less of the animal. It’s no different than any other religion or belief.”

  “Tanuki? Those are … like raccoons, right?”

  “They look like raccoons, but they resemble a badger or wild dog more than a raccoon—kind of cute but really shifty. They are rare nowadays but sometimes venture down from the mountains.

  Tanuki are also like the foxes in the stories, notorious tricksters, shape-shifters and that sort of thing. They love sake and getting drunk off the stuff. You’ll see them outside lots of taverns for that reason. I guess there are many strange creatures in Japanese legend.”

  I thought about what he said a moment. Could the girl I’d seen yesterday at the temple have startled a fox from its hiding place? After all, I’d had a bit too much to drink, and it was very dark. The flickering light of those lanterns could easily have played tricks on my eyes.

  It’s more interesting to think of it the other way though.

  I wanted to ask more, but John was focused on his food. He downed his rice in about three gulps before snatching his lunch. “I have to take a trip down to Osaka tonight, Tobi. You probably won’t see me until tomorrow.”

  “What are you going down there for?”

  “I have paperwork to fill out in case I want to transfer schools. I always wanted to teach at a high school level.”

  I stared at him. “Wait, you’re leaving already?”

  He shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere yet. When I do, I should have plenty of notice.”

  I nodded, but I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed hearing him talk about it. With all this weird stuff going on, I certainly needed John’s guidance.

  We arrived at school and enjoyed a pot of freshly brewed coffee waiting for us in the staff lounge. As I nursed a cup, I heard a stirring at the door. Chikako peered at me from around the corner.

  “Well, hello, Chikako-chan.”

  A slender hand appeared and settled on the girl’s head as Michiko slid her graceful frame through the open doorway. Her hair was tied into neat braids down her back with tiny wooden beads woven through. The same orange and white tassel sash she wore the other day swung beside her as she sat.

  I offered a cup. “Coffee or tea?”

  “Neither, thank you, Tobias-san,” she said sitting beside me. “Chikako-chan, naze anata wa asobiba ni dekakemasen ka? Kore wa kodomo no tame no bashode wanai.”[23]

  The little girl ran outside to join her friends. Michiko sat across from me, holding out a neat packet of papers. I glanced at them.

  “What’s all this?”

  “Forms for today’s field trip. We are going out to Kiyomizu Temple today.”

  “Wait, a field trip? I don’t remember anything about that.”

  She blushed, looking a bit embarrassed. “Yes, I forgot about it with everything that happened yesterday too. Not to worry, Tobias-san. All we have to do is go with the children and make sure they fill out these questions.”

  I looked them over. “Seems simple enough. Where is this place?”

  “Just a short bus ride back into Kyoto,” she said. “The temple has been associated with its cleansing waters for hundreds of years. It’s said to bring students good luck.”

  “Well, the way things are going, I suppose I need all the divine intervention I can get. All right, I’m ready!”

  Corralling the kids onto the buses wasn’t hard. They had the usual assortment of backpacks, clipboards and lunches all ready when we came down. It was a relief to see that the kids were all wearing their yellow hats with the Maeda logo on them.

  That will make it easier to keep track of them all.

  The trip to Kyoto wasn’t long, but the children were antsy. Ther
e were numerous little disturbances that Michiko and I had to handle.

  We arrived in a busy commercial neighborhood, and as I stepped down off the bus, I felt a little confused. “Where’s the temple?”

  Michiko pointed up a street, past shops and stalls that lined either side. “Up that way, but we have to go through here first, of course.”

  It was early, but the street was busy with lots of people, and the going was slow. There were so many strange foods and wares for sale here from fish to fried food and novelty items. All the merchants knew a good opportunity when they saw it, and they called out to us and tried to get the kids to stop at their particular shop.

  At one point, some of the students wanted ice cream, but we quickly pried them away from the delicious display. Finally, we emerged out from the street into a courtyard with stairs and a large pagoda at the top. Beyond this, I could see a very large and impressive building that I guessed to be the main part of the temple.

  “Here is your pass, Tobias-Sensei,” Michiko said, handing it to me. She then turned to the kids. “Ima no kodomo-tachi wa, issho ni taizai. Anata no sorezore wa, pasu o uketanode, sore ga chikaku ni iji suru ka, anata no naka ni shutoku suru koto wa arimasen kakujitsudearu.”[24]

  I took the pass and suddenly realized where I was. The image on it showed a red temple on a hill with a veranda that looked out over Kyoto. I’d seen this place in pictures!

  “Well, this is a very pleasant surprise.”

  There were people lined up outside, but the wait wasn’t very long. The corridors were dark and dimly lit with a strong smell of incense drifting everywhere. We stepped around a corner and out onto the huge balcony overlooking a deep ravine.

  There were crowds of people here as well, mostly tourists and other students, but we managed to keep our group of Maeda School yellow hats together. Lots of little jaws dropped in wonder at the golden statues in the sanctuary.

  I took the opportunity to peek over the side. There were flowering cherry trees below, and beyond them the temple looked out over the city of Kyoto. It was an impressive sight especially when we looped around and along a walkway.