Everyone was still assembled in front of her, kneeling on the grass in their happi coats and loincloths. A few people had their faces to the ground, but most were staring. Staring at her, she realised, but for some reason it didn’t bother her. She stepped out of the pool onto the rocks around it, the stones warm and rough under her bare feet, and as she moved she became aware of a weight on her shoulders, something brushing against her skin.

Akiko glanced down, and gasped in surprise. A wide cloak hung from her shoulders, overlapping in front to cover her completely below the neck. It almost shone in the sunlight, so brilliant was its whiteness, and it was a moment before Akiko realised that it was made entirely of feathers, from which drops of water were running down, glittering. Only her feet were wet.

She took another step away from the pool, onto the grass, glancing at Shiraishi. The priest was kneeling off to one side, her face tense and questioning. Akiko smiled and nodded, and Shiraishi visibly relaxed. She made a shallow bow to Akiko, and then turned to face the gathered people.

“The pollution has been purified. And so, at this point, the special festival…”

A sound from behind her, water falling into water, caught Akiko’s attention, and she saw Shiraishi glance sideways, immediately falling silent. Akiko turned back to the pool, and saw that its surface was churning, throwing off spray that landed on the surrounding rocks. There were colours in the water, lights dancing and shattering in the surface, gold and silver, green and red and purple.

Quickly, she turned to face the pool properly, stepping back to be off to one side, and knelt, bowing to calm herself.

Moments later Tamao’s head rose from the pool, his eyes shining as always, looking first at Akiko, then at Shiraishi, then beyond them to the gathered people. He rose higher out of the water, his head reaching above the stones of the iwakura as he looked down on them.

Akiko heard a squeal from behind her, followed by inarticulate sounds. Sounds of fear, incomprehension, disbelief.

They can… see him?

She risked a quick glance behind her, even though it meant looking away from the kami.

There was no doubt. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Tamao, and several people looked on the verge of running. Kazumi, however, was calm, her face full of… longing, adoration. Old Mrs Tanaka had tears running down her cheeks, but she looked as happy as scared. Noriko was pale, biting her lip, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Akiko looked for Akira, and found him, near the back. As her gaze found him, he looked down from Tamao, straight at her, staring into her eyes with a look of wonder for several moments, before suddenly blushing and looking down.

They can see him.

Akiko’s mind whirled as she struggled to come to terms with it. Everyone could see the kami.

“Bright Child,” Tamao said, and Akiko quickly turned back to him, bowing to cover her embarrassment.

“Bright Child, speak for me.”

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“The pollution has been purified, and my domain is safe. If you live your lives as you should and continue to pay me honour, it shall not return.”

Akiko bowed as Tamao finished, and then straightened up. The kami was staring at her.

“Bright Child? Convey my words.”

Akiko was puzzled. Surely everyone had heard Tamao speak? He had hardly been whispering.

“They hear, but they do not understand.” Still puzzled, Akiko bowed again, and then turned to face the crowd.

“Tamao says that the pollution has all been purified, and the area is safe again. If you continue to honour him, the pollution will not return.”

A few people bowed their faces to the floor, and then others copied them, until everyone was prostrate in front of the kami. Akiko turned back to Tamao, and knelt herself, bowing to the ground.

Suddenly, Shiraishi sounded a long, low “oh”, rising towards the end. Akiko felt, rather than saw, Tamao withdraw into the pool, but when Shiraishi finished and Akiko dared to look up, there was nothing to see but ripples on the surface of the water.

For a moment the shrine was silent. Then…

“What was that?”

“Has it gone?”

“Was that the kami?”

“Will it eat us?”

“Will it come back?”

Those were just the questions Akiko could make out, within the hubbub of shouting voices. Everyone was on their feet, most still hanging back from the pool, but a few stepping forward, looking at the water, Akiko, and Shiraishi.

“What do we do now?”

“What does the snake want?”

“How can we get it back?”

Akiko looked at Shiraishi, and the priest looked back at her, her face bewildered. Akiko smiled, hoping it looked supportive, and Shiraishi nodded slightly, her expression becoming solemn.

“Be quiet!” The priest raised her hands, looking out at the gathered people. There was no immediate reaction.

“What did it say? Why did Ms Tanahata speak to us?”

“Where did the feather robe come from?”

“Quiet!” This time Shiraishi almost shouted, and everyone subsided, partly from shock. The priest took a few moments to look around, making sure that she had everyone’s attention.

“At this point, the special festival of Tamao Shrine has safely concluded. Thank you for attending.”

She paused, visibly taking a deep breath.

“We need to talk about what happened.”

“We certainly do! What was that?” someone shouted, but Akiko couldn’t quickly see who it was.

“Yes. We need to talk about Tamao’s manifestation.” A murmur passed through the crowd as Shiraishi confirmed what they had seen. “But I suggest that we all get changed first, and gather in the house. We need to discuss it calmly, and thoroughly.”

The crowd looked at each other, and Akiko could see people remembering what they were wearing. There were a number of nods, and noises of agreement, and a few people started moving towards the house.

“Once everyone is changed, we’ll meet in the large reception room,” Shiraishi continued. “That’s the one the women are using to change in.” People were moving towards the house now, glancing back towards the pool, and Akiko. Kazumi, however, had walked over to the pool and was crouching at the edge, her hand hovering over the surface of the water. She seemed to feel Akiko’s eyes on her, and looked up, sighing as she stood.

“I suppose we’d better get changed as well.”

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Akiko nodded, and turned towards the house. Shiraishi was still standing there, waiting for her.

“Akiko,” the priest asked, her voice low, “where did that robe come from?”

Akiko looked down again. The feathers still shone white in the sun, but all the water had evaporated away.

“I don’t know. It wasn’t…” She stopped, not sure how to explain what had happened. “In the kami forest, no, it wasn’t just there.” She stopped again. “I was fire. Or maybe the aramitama.” She shook her head, frustrated. “No, that’s not right either.”

Kazumi and Shiraishi both looked sympathetic.

“For now, what do you know about the robe?” Shiraishi asked.

“Nothing. I was wearing it when I appeared from the pool. I don’t remember it from before that.”

“What are you wearing underneath?”

Akiko’s mouth twitched. Trust Kazumi. On the other hand, it was a sensible question.

“Nothing, as far as I can tell.” Kazumi looked at her for a moment, and then nodded.

“Just a moment,” she said, as she ran off towards the trees. Akiko quickly understood, but when she looked at the forest, she couldn’t see the kami tree.

“You went into the kami forest, then?” Shiraishi asked.

“Yes,” Akiko replied. “Didn’t you see me? The tree was right at the edge of the woods.”

The priest shook her head.

“You ran into the woodlands, and out of sight. We couldn’t see the kami tree.” She looked like she was going to continue, but then she closed her mouth, and her eyes, for a moment, before opening her eyes again with a slight shake of her head. “You need to explain this to everyone. We need to decide what we are going to do with the robe.”

“Do with it?”

“It’s a feather robe received as a gift from the kami.” Shiraishi sounded slightly amused. “You can’t just take it off and hang it in the wardrobe.”

“Ah. Ah, no.” That was a good point. “Maybe we should keep it with the mask?” Akiko suggested. Shiraishi nodded, slowly.

“Yes. We can also ask Tamao what we should do with it.” The priest suddenly smiled. “There are advantages to the kami speaking to us directly, after all.” She went serious again. “But…” Kazumi appeared from the woods again, running over, and Shiraishi turned to look.

“At the base of the tree,” the girl said, holding up Akiko’s loincloth and coat. Akiko nodded.

“That’s what I remember doing.”

“Good,” Shiraishi said, “but what do we do about the robe?”

“I thought…”

“Oh, sorry. I mean about you taking it off.”

Akiko, puzzled, raised her hands towards the neck, feeling inside.

“There’s a hook here…” she began.

“No, not the practical problem,” Shiraishi said, quickly, blushing bright red. “I mean that I think we should do it in a ceremony of some sort. It’s not just a robe, after all. But you can hardly mess around putting clothes on underneath it. I mean, that wouldn’t be respectful. So…”

Akiko suddenly understood what was bothering Shiraishi, although Kazumi still looked baffled.

“So where do we do the ceremony?” Akiko completed the thought. “And when? We need to talk to the ujiko soon.”

“And I need to write a norito for the ceremony,” Shiraishi said. “But if you can’t take it off before that…”

“I promise not to say,” Kazumi put in, grinning.

“Are you all right with that?” Shiraishi sounded concerned now, and Akiko did have to think about it for a moment.

“I suppose so. It’s really quite comfortable. And long.”

“Right, then. Kazumi, you still need to get changed. Better hurry up.”

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When they turned back to the house, they realised that everyone was waiting at the entrance. Shiraishi broke into a run.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she called out. “Please go in and get changed. I’m sorry.”

Shiraishi ducked into the office as soon as they were in the house, muttering about the norito and asking to be called, and Akiko followed Kazumi into the changing room. It was only when she was standing in front of her vestments that she realised she didn’t need to be there.

Get your mind back to earth, woman, she told herself sternly, and then crouched to collect her vestments together. If they were going to have the meeting in here, it would be a good idea to tidy up a bit.

When she stood up, she noticed that most of the women hadn’t yet started to get changed. Kazumi was already pulling her vestments on, and Noriko was layering the kimono undergarments on, but just about everyone else was just standing there, looking at their clothes.

“Is there a problem?” Akiko asked.

“These clothes…” Mrs Tanaka replied first, gesturing at the clothes she had taken off. For a moment Akiko worried that they had been cursed or something, but she couldn’t see anything wrong with them.

“What about them?”

“They aren’t… suitable.” Another woman, someone Akiko didn’t know so well.

“Too casual,” Mrs Ito agreed.

“It doesn’t seem very respectful to wear jeans at the shrine,” someone else chimed in, and there were murmurs of agreement.

“I wish I’d worn a kimono,” Mrs Tanaka said. “It’s not like I don’t have enough sleeping in the closet.”

Akiko wasn’t sure how to respond. She didn’t think Tamao would mind, but how could she say that tactfully?

Mrs Ito looked down at herself, and pulled a face.

“We can hardly stay dressed like this, though.”

More murmurs of agreement.

“But…” Mrs Tanaka still sounded very uncertain.

“We could have a naked meeting!” Kazumi suggested brightly.

There was absolute silence, as everyone turned to look at Kazumi. Akiko could feel herself blushing. The girl was grinning from ear to ear as she fastened the belt on her hakama.

Fastened the belt. Oh, thank the kami. She’s teasing, Akiko thought, and moments later Mrs Tanaka reached the same conclusion, and burst out laughing, quickly joined by the other women.

“Ah… No,” she said, when she caught her breath. “No, I don’t think that’s a better solution.” She turned to look at her clothes again. “Well…” her voice was speculative for a moment, and Akiko couldn’t suppress a giggle. Mrs Tanaka flashed her a smile, and then shook her head. “We’ll just have to be more careful about what we wear in future. These will have to do for today.”

“I’m sure the kami won’t mind,” Akiko said, seizing the opportunity. “You’ve just helped a great deal at the festival. And anyway, I think your attitude matters more than what you are wearing.”

“I still wish I was wearing a kimono,” someone said, to a lot of nods of agreement.

“Next time,” Mrs Tanaka said, her voice firm. “Next time we dress properly.”

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Akiko felt a little self-conscious, kneeling with the feather robe pooled around her while everyone else was dressed more normally. She was aware that people were glancing at her, although everyone was trying not to stare.

“Well, then, if everyone’s here,” Shiraishi began, and everyone’s attention turned to her, “I think I’d like to start by explaining a bit about what happened.”

There were a lot of nods from around the table.

“What was that snake? And the fire?” a woman asked, and Shiraishi nodded.

“That’s a good place to start. The snake was… is Tamao, the kami of this shrine. The fire was his aramitama, his fierce spirit.”

“When Ms Tanahata spoke to us, was that what the snake said?”

Shiraishi turned to look at Akiko.

“Yes,” Akiko replied. “What did it sound like to you?”

“The snake’s voice? Well, I almost understood bits…” Mrs Tanaka started, before trailing off as everyone else nodded.

“I think it was ancient Japanese,” Shiraishi said. “But maybe a bit older than the Japanese we use for the norito these days. I understood most of it.”

“So, the same as before, then?” Akiko asked, and Shiraishi nodded.

“Before?” Noriko asked.

“Yes,” Shiraishi said. “Akiko was possessed by Tamao when she formally became a miko, and he spoke through her then.”

“How long has this been happening?” a woman asked, her voice shaking.

“Only a few months. And this is the first time Tamao has appeared like this.”

“He first appeared to me a while before the fire,” Akiko put in, and Shiraishi nodded. “But no-one else could see him then.”

“So what changed?” Mrs Tanaka sounded half curious, half sceptical.

“Tamao’s power, perhaps,” Shiraishi said. “There’s something else we need to tell you about before we can explain everything.

“This area of Kawasaki was, until the festival, heavily polluted with kegare.”

“Kegare?”

“Corruption. Decay. Pollution.” Shiraishi shrugged. “It’s what was causing all the accidents and the illnesses that you had. It’s what the harae clears away.

“So, today’s festival was a harae for the whole city. Well,” Shiraishi paused for a moment, “at least for the area covered by this shrine.”

“Did it work?”

“We think so,” Shiraishi said, looking at Akiko, who nodded.

“Yes, everywhere looked purified,” she confirmed.

“‘Looked?’” It was Mrs Ito. Akiko felt herself blushing again.

“I, ah…” She suddenly remembered that everyone here had seen the kami and heard him speak through her. They were hardly likely to doubt her now. Suddenly confident, she continued. “I can see the kegare, and there didn’t seem to be any after the festival.”

“How could you see the whole area?” one of the older men asked. Akiko was lost for words. How could she describe that?

“She was possessed by the kami,” Shiraishi said, rescuing her. “Anyway, the festivals, the wild festival and today’s festival, increased the power of the kami, and today’s festival purified the area. That might be why you were all able to see him.”

“You aren’t sure?” It was one of the younger women, and she looked very nervous. Shiraishi looked down, then glanced at Akiko and Kazumi for support.

“No, I’m not,” she said, her voice steady. “This is all new to me as well. But it does make sense.”

“So all the little problems we’ve been having will go away now?” Mrs Tanaka asked, her voice a little sceptical.

“What happened after a normal harae? I imagine it will be like that,” Shiraishi replied. “They should get somewhat better right away, but it might take some time to resolve them completely. At least the kegare won’t be interfering any more.”

“Will the kegare come back?” Noriko asked. She sounded nervous.

“Not as strongly, I think. Tamao should be strong enough to keep it at bay, as long as we continue the ceremonies.”

There were nods around the room, and people made comments to their neighbours. Shiraishi let them.

“So, what do we do now?” Akira asked, loudly, and silence fell again.

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“That’s a very good question.”

“We have to rebuild the shrine building,” Mrs Tanaka said, absolutely confident, and her daughter nodded, quickly followed by other people round the table.

“How much money do we need for that?” someone asked.

“Eighty million yen,” Shiraishi replied quickly. “Maybe a bit more.”

Everyone went quiet again.

“Well, if I sold my house, that would be about half of it…” one of the men said.

“Where would you live?” one of the women asked, but the man just shrugged.

“Surely it’s more important that the kami be properly housed?”

“No.” Shiraishi quickly interrupted, her voice firm. “No, that’s not necessary. Tamao is protecting you so that you can live your lives, not so that you can give them up. We can raise the money from everyone.”

“I’ll donate.”

“Me too.”

“I’ll need to talk to my husband about the amount.”

Akiko found herself smiling at the enthusiasm. Maybe they would be able to rebuild fairly soon.

“Thank you,” Shiraishi said. “We also need to look at the ceremonies we hold.”

“Oh yes,” Noriko said. “I’ll definitely keep coming to the morning ceremony.”

“There’s a morning ceremony? Why did you never say? What time is that?”

“Just after dawn,” Shiraishi said, smiling slightly. There was a pause as people absorbed the information, but then they nodded.

“It’s good to get up early, right? Healthy lifestyle.”

“I’m always up by then anyway,” Mrs Tanaka said. “It sounds good to me.”

“And we should have our homes purified more often, to make sure that the kegare doesn’t come back.” Lots of people nodded at that, and Akiko also found herself agreeing.

“I think my daughter might want to become a miko,” one of the women said.

“Ooh, can I be a miko too?” Mrs Tanaka asked.

“Don’t be silly,” the other woman said. “Miko have to be, ah…” She broke off, blushing furiously. Kazumi glanced at Akiko, looking puzzled, and Akiko realised that Kazumi must somehow have avoided hearing that story.

“Rubbish,” Mrs Tanaka said. “They just have to be unmarried. And I’m not married.”

“But you were,” her daughter put in, and Mrs Tanaka waved her hands to show what she thought of that technicality.

“Actually,” Shiraishi said, “miko can be married these days.”

Kazumi suddenly went bright scarlet, staring down at the table. Ah, she’s worked out what the story was, Akiko thought. I wonder how she managed to avoid hearing it.

“But for now,” Shiraishi continued, “we have enough miko at the shrine. Akiko and Kazumi can do all that’s necessary.”

“Some shrines have part-time miko, right? Could my daughter do that?”

“Well,” Shiraishi said, “I suppose that if we have enough people coming at New Year, we might need it.”

“If we get the kami on television, lots of people will come!” Mrs Ito suggested. Akiko stared at her in shock.

“I don’t think…” she began, but then broke off, looking at Shiraishi.

“I agree with Akiko. I don’t think Tamao will appear for the cameras.” She paused. “I’m also not sure that would be a good idea.”

“Do we tell our friends? Our families?”

“Tell people who will believe you,” Shiraishi said. “We don’t know whether Tamao will ever appear again.”

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The grass was pleasantly warm under Akiko’s feet as she stood in front of the iwakura and pool, watching the light of the flame dancing within the stones.

Why can’t everyone else see it now? she wondered. Everyone had seen the flames during the festival, but, apparently, only she, Kazumi, and Shiraishi could see them now. Was it just a matter of being officially affiliated with the shrine? But then shouldn’t the ujiko count? Or some sort of supernatural experience?

“Akiko? Are you ready?” Shiraishi was calling her from the entrance to the house.

“Yes. Just coming.” She bowed to the stones and pool to take her leave, and walked over to the house. “You know,” she remarked as she entered the house, “this robe is really very comfortable.”

“You still can’t wear it all the time,” Shiraishi said.

“Oh, I know,” Akiko replied, “but it wants to be worn.”

“It has a mind?” Shiraishi sounded a little scared.

“What? Oh, no, no. Just a metaphor. Probably.” Akiko quickly tried to work out exactly what she meant, which wasn’t as easy as she’d expected. “It doesn’t feel like formal robes, where you feel constrained while wearing them. It’s just really comfortable. Almost… no, that’s not quite right. I was going to say “liberating”, but…” She stopped, shaking her head. “It doesn’t feel entirely normal, either.”

“Maybe that’s just the lack of undies?” Kazumi suggested. Akiko pulled a face at her, but then turned serious.

“No, it’s not that. I keep forgetting that I’m not wearing anything underneath; that never happens with normal clothes.” Her words replayed in her mind, and she suddenly blushed. It sounded like she did it all the time. Kazumi was grinning, probably for the same reason. “You know what I mean, Kazumi. When we go to the forest, for example.”

“Mm-hm. I know what you mean.”

“In any case,” Shiraishi started, obviously keen to change the subject, “we need to get you out of it now. We can think about what to do with it after that. It does sound as though just putting it in a box isn’t going to be right, though.”

“Right.”

“So, let’s get started.”

The three of them went into the main room, now empty, and stood in front of the kamidana. Noriko had lent them a kimono practice torso to drape the robe on when Akiko took it off, and it stood off to one side, a folding screen around it, one leaf open.

First, Shiraishi read the purification norito and swept the ohnusa over them. Akiko let her vision switch to looking at the kegare, but the room was clear. There was multicoloured light pulsing from within the box holding the goshintai on the kamidana, and ripples of white light flowed within the feathers of the robe. There was no sign of anything from the box holding the mask.

Shiraishi moved to kneel in front of the kamidana, and began reciting the norito.

Kakemakumo kashikoki…

She thanked the kami for the gift of the robe, and promised to treat it properly, with reverence, and use it for the right purposes. When she had finished, they all bowed, clapped, and bowed again, before Akiko stood up, taking a couple of steps forward to the torso. Shiraishi moved to stand beside the screen, while Kazumi was on her other side, holding a hakui, the white kimono from her vestments.

Bowing her head once more, Akiko reached up inside the robe and released the hook. The cloak almost flowed off her back, and Akiko easily placed it round the shoulders of the torso, as it settled to hang naturally around it, the feathers still shining. She took a step back, and Kazumi was already there with the hakui; Akiko slipped her arms into it and Kazumi settled it on her shoulders. As Shiraishi closed the last leaf of the screen, hiding the robe, Akiko tied the belt around her waist.

They all bowed to the kami once more, to close the ceremony.

“Well, it will do for now,” Shiraishi said after a moment, looking at the screen. “But we really need to sort out a proper place for it.”

“Maybe when we rebuild the shrine?” Akiko suggested, and Shiraishi nodded.

“Yes, I think it will have to be. I hope that’s soon, though.”

“And we need to find out what we are supposed to do with it,” Kazumi chimed in. “Do you think I could wear it, or is it just for Akiko?”

“I don’t know,” Shiraishi admitted. “We’ll have to ask Tamao.”

“And I need to get changed,” Akiko said, feeling herself going red.

“Just put the hakama on,” Kazumi suggested, but Akiko didn’t dignify the suggestion with any more than a glare. Kazumi just grinned at her.

“You should be getting changed as well, young lady,” Shiraishi said.

“What? Why?” Kazumi protested.

“You need to go home, and you probably don’t want to walk back in your vestments.”

“What? Why can’t I stay here? That’s not fair,” Kazumi was almost pouting now.

“You were staying here until the kegare was cleared,” Shiraishi reminded her. “Well, it’s cleared now. Time to go home.”

“Maybe I should stay until we’ve checked that everywhere is clear?” Kazumi suggested, although she didn’t sound too hopeful.

“I think we can be pretty confident already. Right, Akiko?” The priest looked to her for confirmation, and Akiko nodded.

“Yes,” she said. “I suppose it would be best for me to check again tomorrow, but I’m sure the festival purified the whole area.” Kazumi frowned, and looked like she was about to protest again.

“Kazumi, go home,” Shiraishi said, insistently. She paused a moment. “You do have a home to go to, right?” The question sounded genuine, and Kazumi appeared surprised.

“What? Of course… I just like it better here.”

“Don’t let your mother hear you say that,” Shiraishi warned, smiling despite herself.

“I’m sure she likes having the place to herself,” Kazumi replied with a shrug. She still wasn’t making any move to go.

“Kazumi, you need to go home.” Shiraishi’s voice was a bit more gentle this time, and Kazumi sighed.

“Oh, OK. Can I come back to help with the morning ceremonies tomorrow?”

“Of course, if you’re up in time.”

“Of course I will be,” Kazumi retorted, sounding slightly offended. She looked around, and audibly sighed. “Well, I’d better get changed then.” Akiko turned to leave the room, and Kazumi followed her out.

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