The area of smoke had disappeared when they returned the following day, and although the houses it had covered had been heavy with kegare, a harae performed from the park had cleared away a lot of it. Not quite all, though.

The problem was that, while everyone was worried, no-one had any suggestions for action. Even Yoshiko had had nothing useful to add, although she did approve of their plan to hold the wild festival, and had mentioned that she needed to teach Akiko something. What Akiko thought they really needed to do, and Shiraishi agreed, was talk to Tamao.

The kami, however, seemed to be avoiding them. Akiko was starting to suspect that it was because he was too embarrassed to admit that he had no idea either.

The preparations for the festival were almost complete, and a few of the ujiko were participating enthusiastically. The plans for the simple, cheap, and light mikoshi had been made, and an ujiko with a carpentry business was making them right now. They’d seen the samples for the happi, and the loincloths had arrived; Shiraishi was fretting that they’d ordered too many, and that no-one would want to help carry the mikoshi, particularly the women.

That morning, the posters they had ordered had come back from the printers. Akiko thought they looked really good, with a photograph of the iwakura against a background of trees and a reproduction of the men’s mikoshi from the book. Now, she was out in her miko’s vestments (Shiraishi’s idea) trying to convince people to put them in windows.

Akiko kept checking the kegare as she walked around the area. It was heavy, getting heavier, and she could see more damage, and more vandalism, when she looked at the mundane world. The kegare spirits she saw seemed to be running away from her; that was, she supposed, a good thing.

The first place she tried was a post office, where a number of community posters were displayed in the lobby.

“I’m sorry, we don’t display religious posters.” The manager didn’t sound very apologetic.

“There’s a poster about Zen there at the moment,” Akiko pointed out.

“That’s scholarship, not religion.” At that point, Akiko was sure she wouldn’t win, but she couldn’t let herself give up just yet.

“Well, this is more of a community event than a religious thing. We don’t require any prayers or anything.”

“No. We won’t advertise it. Sorry.”

On impulse, Akiko checked the kegare. The whole building was heavy with it, blackish slime running down the walls and hanging in ropes from the ceiling to drip onto the desks. The manager seemed to be covered in flies, their droning whine filling Akiko’s ears. She quickly switched back, apologised, and left.

The next stop was the supermarket across the road.

“Oh, is this for the wild festival?” the manager asked, before Akiko could say anything. “Can I see?” He took a poster from her and held it up. “Looks like fun. Yes, we can put one or two of these up for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, no problem. It should liven the area up a bit. Actually, are you having businesses sponsor lanterns or anything? We’d probably want to do something like that.”

“Ah, good point. I’ll have to check with Revd Shiraishi and get back to you.”

Now, that was more like it.

06: Wild Festival, Episode 41 | 4 Comments »

Akiko could hear the chanting as she approached the shrine.

“No to Shinto! No to Fascism!”

Well, I half agree, she thought with a sigh. As the entrance came into view she could see the protesters marching in circles in front of the shrine, while the guards watched them from the steps. Akiko spotted Mrs Watanabe among the protesters, and was suddenly overcome by an urge to cry. It passed in a moment, but she couldn’t meet the woman’s eyes, and hurried past and up the steps, barely nodding to the guards as she passed.

It wasn’t Tamao, she reminded herself, but that wasn’t much help.

She was half way to the shrine house before she realised that Satomi was at the shrine, and walking towards her. She stopped, and quickly forced a smile.

“Satomi! How are you?”

“OK, how are you?” Satomi didn’t, Akiko realised, look OK. She looked exhausted, at the very least. Quickly, Akiko shifted to look at kegare. For a moment, she thought Satomi was clean, but then she realised that there were lines of fungus running under her skin, showing through like veins, bursting through at various points in clusters of slimy stalks. Repressing the shudder, she switched back.

“Fine. We’re just getting ready for the festival.”

“Yes, I heard about that. Someone said it was a naked festival.”

“Well, sort of. Loincloths and happi coats.”

“Yes, but that’s what “naked festival” actually means, isn’t it.”

“Well, yes, usually.”

“And I saw one of the posters.” Akiko was surprised. Akira and Kazumi must have started getting them up really quickly. “It said there was a women’s mikoshi.”

“Do you want to help carry it?” Akiko thought she might, and that would get Satomi involved in a harae, which she clearly needed.

“Ah… Do the women also wear loincloths and happi?”

Akiko could feel herself blushing as she nodded.

“But that would put your bottom on display to the whole world!” Akiko had been trying not to think about that part, and just nodded again, sure that her face was bright red. “Are you going to be helping carry it?” Akiko nodded again. That was something else she’d been trying not to think about, but there was no way she could get out of the obligation. “Hmph. Well, it all sounds a bit too embarrassing to me. I don’t think I’m going to help with that, sorry.”

“Oh, no problem. You could still come along, though.”

“Hmm. Yes, I suppose there’s also the men’s mikoshi to watch, isn’t there.” Satomi’s smile was, Akiko thought, supposed to be light-hearted, but it didn’t quite make it.

“Well, yes. And the other ceremonies.”

“I guess the key question is whether all the men are going to be fat and middle-aged.” Satomi’s smile really seemed forced, now, and Akiko started to worry. This was out of character; what was going on?

“Not all, no. At least some young men.”

“Oh well, then, I’ll have to be sure to be there.”

“Do you want a purification ceremony first?” Akiko blurted out. She was sure that it was the right thing to say, but she couldn’t quite work out why.

“What? No. Why would I…? No. Must be going. Thanks for the offer. But no. Bye.” Satomi was almost hurrying out of the shrine, and Akiko stood, staring after her, for some time. That really wasn’t like Satomi at all.

06: Wild Festival, Episode 41 | 2 Comments »

The festival was less than a week away, and the protesters were not letting up on the pressure. The posters had drawn attention, and Shiraishi had organised a scheme for people and businesses to sponsor lanterns. Akiko was astonished at how many people had, especially when Shiraishi pointed out that the festival was already in the black. She’d even started talking about saving up for proper mikoshi, although apparently a proper mikoshi would cost almost as much as a new building for the shrine.

Noriko and Kazumi were still coming every day, Kazumi quite openly complaining that she felt lousy when she wasn’t at the shrine. Noriko was less vocal about it, but when Akiko asked her, she admitted that she hadn’t been feeling well lately, and did feel better at the shrine. The pall of kegare over the city meant that Akiko was not that surprised.

The kegare was also reaching into the edge of the shrine grounds. She and Shiraishi had had to start purifying the grounds twice a day, morning and evening, and they were even thinking about whether a noon purification would be wise. The problem with that, however, was that they were constantly being called out to purify the homes of the ujiko and their friends. So far, all the purifications inside houses had been successful, but Akiko was sure that the kegare was getting heavier.

She found herself praying that the festival would work. Which didn’t really make much sense.

Noriko normally arrived just after the morning purification, but that day she arrived before it, with Mr Fujimura. He greeted Shiraishi politely, and asked to attend the purification before discussing things with her. Akiko could easily guess what he wanted to talk about, and quickly shifted to look at his kegare. He had more than usual, but it looked superficial, insects and mould that had fallen off the polluted things around him. Really, he was as clean as ever.

After the purification, Shiraishi asked him what he wanted.

“Can we talk privately?” he asked

“If it’s about the festival, I’d rather talk here.”

Mr Fujimura looked at her for a moment, apparently thinking, and then nodded.

“Very well.” He paused, looking around the shrine as if gathering his thoughts. “The festivals at a shrine play a vital role in setting its character, and in determining the example it sets to the local community. I’m sure you agree.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Well, can you not also see that this festival would set entirely the wrong sort of example? Men and women running around virtually naked! Is that likely to promote respect for the kami?”

“I would say that “virtually naked” is overstating the case, Mr Fujimura. They will be wearing happi and loincloths.”

“People are calling it a naked festival,” he pointed out.

“That’s beyond my control,” Shiraishi said.

“But my point is that it matters what people think of the shrine, what impression it gives. This festival is creating the wrong impression.”

Shiraishi frowned, apparently thinking.

“That is true.” Mr Fujimura began to smile, but the priest continued. “However, the relationship between the shrine and the kami is more important. The kami has asked for this festival. Whatever people think, we are going to hold it.”

06: Wild Festival, Episode 41 | 1 Comment »

Mr Fujimura didn’t press his point, leaving with, Akiko thought, fairly good grace. It was, however, clear that the guards would not be participating in the festival; she wasn’t sure that that was any loss.

In any case, Akiko didn’t have long to dwell on the issue, because she and Shiraishi were supposed to be spending the whole day doing harae at different homes in the area. Shiraishi had even prepared proper boxed lunches for them, so that they could fit a last-minute request in.

“We’re really sorry about asking you to come at lunchtime,” the mother said, as she showed them in, “but it’s the only time we can all get away from work or school; my husband works evenings.” There were two children in the family, and Akiko guessed both were at high school. The boy kept glancing at her, and blushing, which puzzled her for a little while, before she realised what was going on.

I’m going to take out adverts denying that rumour, she told herself. The house looked like it could do with a clean, and the family all looked like they needed a good night’s sleep, but when Akiko switched to look at the kegare she had a great deal of trouble keeping her face calm.

The kegare appeared to be a giant octopus, or possibly squid, its tentacles weaving through the rooms of the house, out of the windows and over the roof. She could not see the body, but some of the suckers on the tentacles contained eyes, others round mouths lined with needle-like teeth. In unison, the mouths opened and began to scream.

Akiko switched her awareness back, and the house was quiet again. She nodded briefly to Shiraishi, and they set up in the living room to perform the ceremony.

As Shiraishi began swinging the ohnusa, Akiko switched her vision back. The tentacles recoiled from the light, drawing back, then probing forward again, then pulling back sharply, disappearing from view as the light grew stronger and spread. Akiko heard a scrabbling sound from above, and then it was gone.

Gone, but probably not destroyed. Akiko frowned, and then quickly nodded as Shiraishi looked to her for guidance. They had purified this house, but Akiko was worried that her vision really did mean that the pollution had merely moved.

The family were noticeably more cheerful as the ceremony finished.

“Well, we’re all planning to be at the festival,” the mother said, smiling. “Although,” and she looked at her children, “we are still debating whether anyone will help carry the mikoshi.” Both of them blushed; if anything Akiko thought that the boy looked more embarrassed than the girl.

“Oh, mum.” It was the girl who responded though. “Why don’t you offer to help?”

“Oh no, I’m much too old.” She actually sounded a little smug as she said that.

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Akiko couldn’t help herself. “There’s no age limit, as long as you’re healthy.”

“Hey, darling, why don’t you help?” Now it was the mother’s turn to blush bright red, although her husband looked quite keen on the idea. “I’ll do it if you do.”

“Oh, stop it,” she said, and then, visibly trying to compose herself, turned back to Akiko and Shiraishi.

“In any case, thank you very much for the purification.” She picked up an envelope from a table, and handed it over. “We will certainly attend the festival, in any case.”

06: Wild Festival, Episode 41 | 3 Comments »

“You are sure that the priest doesn’t know?” Yoshiko looked really nervous, and this was the fifth time, at least, that she had asked the same question. Akiko tried to keep her impatience out of her voice.

“She doesn’t know. Everything we know about the festival comes from the book, and that just has a picture of white curtains around the iwakura, labelled “secret ceremony”. Revd Shiraishi does not know the secret ceremony.”

“But how could they have lost it? It’s very important…”

“I don’t know.” Akiko was starting to wonder whether there was more behind Yoshiko’s reluctance than appeared. “I’ve only been at the shrine for a few months. The festival hasn’t been held for over a hundred years, though. That’s long enough to forget a lot.”

Yoshiko nodded briefly, but she was still pacing around the circle of light under the great tree. The night air was warm and heavy, enough to make Akiko’s vestments uncomfortable, enough for Akiko to want Yoshiko to get on with it.

The other miko stepped up to the tree and leaned on it, reaching out to embrace it as she rested her cheek on the bark. After a couple of moments she stood back and turned back to Akiko, her face much calmer.

“Then I suppose I had better teach it to you.” A flicker of nervousness passed across her face again, and she was silent for a few moments. Then, with a deep breath, she went on. “You do have the mask, right?”

“The mask?” Akiko wasn’t sure what Yoshiko meant. “Which mask?”

“The…” Yoshiko stopped. “It’s made of wood, unpainted. Very smooth, with simple, neutral features.”

“Oh, that one. Yes, we got it out of the honden during the fire.” Akiko felt herself blushing.

“Mm. That sounds like it. It keeps you safe from fire. It is very important that you wear the mask during the ceremony. Don’t forget, and don’t let it fall off.” Yoshiko sounded very earnest, and Akiko suddenly had a thought.

“Do you mean that the Aramitama takes you during the ceremony?” Yoshiko looked surprised.

“Sometimes, yes.”

Akiko winced, and nodded.

“I can see why you’d need the mask, then.”

“You’ve been taken by the Aramitama without it?”

Akiko nodded, really not wanting to remember that incident, at least not the first part.

“Before I saw the vision of the aramatsuri, there was… fire.”

Yoshiko shuddered.

“Anyway, that is why you need the mask,” she confirmed.

“What about spare vestments?”

“What? No, why would you need those?”

Akiko suddenly felt very embarrassed about raising the issue; was she supposed to do the ceremony naked or something?

“Er, well, when I got the mask out of the burning honden, the flames burned my clothes away.”

“Really?” Yoshiko looked interested. “In the kami, the mask protects your vestments as well. At least, it always protected mine. Your clothes really burned away?” Akiko nodded, blushing again. “That’s strange… In any case, no, you don’t need spare vestments.”

Yoshiko took another deep breath.

“Right. I have to actually teach you this ceremony. It isn’t long, but I have to teach it to you out of order. You must only perform it properly at the iwakura, within the curtains. This is very important. Even when you practise, do it out of order.” Yoshiko looked very earnest, and Akiko nodded.

“Yes, I understand.” The other miko looked hard at her, as if trying to assess whether she had really understood, and finally nodded.

“Good. Let’s get started.”

06: Wild Festival, Episode 41 | 4 Comments »

“No, this won’t work. Let’s try looping it round here.” Akiko started undoing the rope again, while Kazumi held the model spear still. She glanced over at Akira and Shiraishi, who were working on the other mikoshi; the bucket had been much easier to fix, with handles to run the ropes through, so they were already working on the decorations. The mikoshi were certainly light, though. Kazumi and Akiko could carry one between them, although Akiko wouldn’t want to do that for very long. She really hoped that they’d get at least some help.

“Good morning.” Akiko looked round, to see Noriko standing at the top of the shrine steps. She quickly bowed a greeting, as Kazumi waved.

“Are these the mikoshi?” Noriko asked as she came over, her black kimono shimmering in the light, the white fabric below just visible through the loose weave. Akiko nodded.

“We’re having trouble getting the spear fixed. The socket isn’t quite deep enough.”

“Yeah,” Kazumi added. “It flops about all over the place, and we can’t have that.” She giggled a bit, prompting Noriko to look between the two mikoshi.

“Ah,” she said, understanding on her face. “So, this is…?”

“The women’s one, of course,” Kazumi replied. “That’s why Akira is working on the other one.”

“Well, then, maybe I can help you,” Noriko said, crouching down a bit to look at the socket.

“Really?” Akiko was a bit surprised. “I thought you were opposed to the festival?”

“Mr Fujimura is opposed to the festival.” Noriko didn’t look up as she spoke, keeping her eyes on the socket. “I think that it’s Revd Shiraishi’s shrine, and her decision.” She did look up, then. “Can you just tie the spear to all four corners?” She pointed at the places where the handles of the mikoshi joined the main frame. “That should keep it steady.” Akiko looked, and it did look likely to work. They started measuring off lengths of cord, continuing to talk as they got on with the preparations.

“So, are you going to come to the festival, then?”

“Oh yes, of course.” Noriko sounded genuinely surprised. “I wouldn’t want to miss it.”

“And help carry the mikoshi?” That was Kazumi’s question.

“Ah… Well, if you’re short of people, I suppose…” She didn’t sound entirely enthusiastic.

“It’s just me and Akiko,” Kazumi said.

“Not Revd Shiraishi?”

“Unfortunately,” Shiraishi replied, looking over from the other mikoshi, “I have to do the ceremonies before sending the mikoshi out and for welcoming them back. I have to wait here.”

“And you look devastated!” Kazumi said, making Akiko blush, but Shiraishi just smiled, and went back to decorating the men’s mikoshi.

“Actually,” Akiko said, “we aren’t sure how many people there will be. We have half a dozen men, at least, but the only women who have been volunteered are Kazumi and me. But we can hope that there will be more tomorrow.”

“I see,” Noriko said, giving the spear an exploratory shake. It seemed to be held quite firmly in place, now. “Well, I suppose so…”

The protesters’ chants from the entrance were suddenly interrupted by louder shouting. Sighing, Akiko got to her feet to go and see what the trouble was.

06: Wild Festival, Episode 41 | Comments Off

“What is it this time?” Shiraishi sounded quite frustrated, and she clearly wasn’t expecting an answer.

“Shrine Geeks!” As they reached the top of the steps, Akiko made out one of the things being shouted. That makes no sense, she thought, as she looked down.

The guards had gathered together at the foot of the steps, and the protesters had stopped marching around, turning to face them.

“You’re just a bunch of shrine geeks, that’s all.” It was one of the guards shouting it. Akiko was even more puzzled.

“What do you mean?” The protesters were puzzled as well. “We’re here to protest against the shrine.”

“The shrine’s a place. You can’t protest against a place. No. You want to be here. You really like the shrine, but you’re just too embarrassed to admit it.”

“That’s ridiculous!” This time Mrs Watanabe responded. “The kami are a threat to the whole of Japan, the whole world. We are here to stop them!”

“Ah, classic symptoms of denial. You can’t save the world by protesting outside one small shrine, so we need to look for the real motive. Clearly, the only possibility is that you really like the shrine, and can’t bear to be away from it. But you can’t bring yourselves to approach it properly.”

“That’s ridiculous!” another protester shouted.

“Just yelling insults doesn’t deal with the argument. Come on, actually address my points. Admit that you really like the shrine.”

“We don’t!” The protester was sounding quite frustrated now. Mrs Watanabe was just glaring at the guards, her face tense.

“You’re in denial. You’re like those sad men who sit in their basement masturbating to idol DVDs. Can’t cope with a real woman.”

“What? How dare you…” The man looked really angry now, and Akiko heard Shiraishi draw her breath in sharply.

“Make that junior idol DVDs,” the guard said, sneering.

“You bastard!” The protester lunged forward, and punched the guard hard in the chest.

“Stop it! Stop it now!” Shiraishi shouted, running down a few steps. A couple of the protesters broke away from the rear of the group, including Mrs Watanabe. She turned to look at Akiko and Shiraishi, loathing and contempt on her face, before walking away from the rapidly-growing brawl.

The guards were pitching in enthusiastically, but the protesters weren’t hanging back much. They were ignoring Shiraishi, and this time Akiko didn’t feel like getting beaten up. She heard footsteps behind her, and turned, reaching out to grab Kazumi as the girl tried to run past.

“Keep out of it, Kazumi. You’ll just get hurt.”

“Stop it now, before I call the police!” Shiraishi had gone as close as she dared, but Akiko wasn’t even sure that the brawlers could hear her.

“Should I call the police?” Noriko was standing on the steps, cell phone in hand, while Akira came down, not looking at Akiko, and stood below her, between her and the fight.

“I don’t know…” Akiko said. Should they? Or would it just cause more trouble before the festival.

“Yes.” Shiraishi was coming back up the steps, getting away from the edges of the brawl. “Yes, call the police. This has gone on far too long. I should have called them weeks ago.” She looked angry, even as she shooed them all up to the shrine grounds. “They’re all as bad as each other,” she muttered. “What is Fujimura thinking?” Noriko glanced over at her as she said that, but she was talking to the emergency operator, so she made no comment.

“I’ve called the police,” she said, as she rang off on her phone. “They said they’d be here soon. A brawl on this scale is quite significant…”

“Yes, and what did Fujimura’s goons think they were up to?” Shiraishi still sounded angry, and Noriko flinched a little.

“I don’t know. Maybe they got frustrated.”

“They deliberately started a fight! Are they really on our side?”

Another worry occurred to Akiko, and she switched her vision to look at kegare. She couldn’t see down the steps from where she was standing, but there were clouds of pollution boiling up the steps like poisonous smoke, spirits like bats and beetles flying within it, settling on the shrine grounds. Where they landed, fungal growths immediately sprouted from the ground, and the stench of rotten meat slowly got stronger. Akiko quickly switched her vision back.

“It’s polluting the shrine. We need to purify it.”

“Should we wait until they’ve stop…” Shiraishi’s question was cut off by the wail of police sirens, and a noticeable change in the quality of the shouts from the fighters. Without a word spoken, they all went to the top of the steps to look.

There were three patrol cars, and about ten police officers there, almost as many as the brawlers, all of whom had now stopped fighting. One of the officers looked up the steps, and beckoned to them.

“What happened?” he asked.

Shiraishi introduced herself, and quickly filled in the background, before describing the lead-up to the fight. The police officer was shaking his head, and both the protesters and guards looked rather shamefaced.

“Is anyone hurt?” he asked, looking round. There was a lot of shaking of heads, although Akiko was sure there would be bruises.

“You’re all a bunch of idiots,” the policeman said, “and I could arrest the lot of you. But,” he continued, “I’d have to call for still more backup to do that, and I’d rather not waste that much effort dealing with simple idiocy. So, you will all apologise to each other. Do it now.”

With a bit of muttering, the guards and protesters bowed to each other, and made their apologies.

“Now apologise to the priest for disturbing her shrine.”

They turned, and bowed again. The guards seemed very sincere this time, the protesters a lot less so. Akiko, quickly switching to see what the kegare was like, saw that they were all heavy with it, although the police were much less polluted.

“Good,” the officer said. “Now, all go home and don’t come back. We’re going to be sending someone to keep an eye on the festival anyway, and if we see any of you there, you will be arrested on the spot. Is that clear? I don’t want any more trouble out of you, or even any more potential trouble.” Cowed, the guards and protesters dispersed, weaving their way between the officers and disappearing down the street.

The officer came a short way up the steps, relief on his face.

“That was a lot easier than it could have been. Revd Shiraishi, if they come back, do call us. But I don’t think they will.”

“No, I don’t think they will either.” Shiraishi paused, still looking at the officer, as if trying to remember him, and he suddenly grinned.

“I had my adulthood ceremony here. I was thinking about whether I could come to see the festival in any case; looks like I’ll be on duty. Anyway, see you tomorrow, and call if they come back before then.”

He bowed smartly to them, and then left, the other two patrol cars being already on their way.

“I should have called them weeks ago,” Shiraishi said, again. “Oh well. So, harae?” She turned to look at Akiko, who nodded.

06: Wild Festival, Episode 41 | 4 Comments »