There... only because of the existence of a "woman", mystically scent changed the red cherry blossom valley situation and performed  a stage that over the limit of time and space. Genzo began the story.... One night a meteor appeared, as a sign of war and danger to the world.... Indeed, not long after that, there's a war between the emperor's army and Bakufu, the chief of Shogun. All Japan involved in a terrific civil war. Japan was divided into 2 sides: Bakufu governmental in Tokyo and the emperor in Yoshino, Nara. Mount Fuji was erupted. People suffered. After pray and pray, one early morning, in the beginning of spring, the chief priest of Kotoku Shrine saw a weird ray in the East. From the sun appeared a shadow of red cherry blossom. It turned out to be a beautiful fairy, shining the still dark land. The priest hoped that it was a good sign, but people kept in war. Robbery, hunger and diseases made people suffer more. Oneday, appeared 2 spirits in shape of crows, talking about the capital city. Everything was divided into 2. Older brother fought with his younger one, parents with sons, the ministers with the government. Whatever the reason, the capital city was destroyed and the late Emperor died and buried in the foot of the South mountain. The rumors said, revengeful spirits of dead people had destroyed this land... the spirit of Zen priest from Niwa Shrine, the spirit of Yamabushi from Atago mountain, also the sixth

Emperor who became the king of the spirits, and other dead people who became mean people. King Kurama said, nobody awared that all the riots had cause & effect relationship with the God world. Before, Japan was God Hinomoto land, who was in the hand of the Gods. Then hundreds of years ago, the Buddhist came from China, made the power of the Gods lesser. The one who took the opportunity was the evil from the fairy land. Finally the power of the Gods or the moral of the Buddhist were used as tools only to get power and materials. If this situation was long lasting, the world would be ruined, no more peace at all. The Emperor dreamt weird thing for seven days. The eternal soul of the spirit of red cherry blossom shone on the world. She danced and said, if there's a sculptor who sculpted her into a statue, the riots could be stopped. Then the Emperor ordered to look for a Buddha statue sculptor, who could sculpted a fairy statue, for the peace of the world.

 

Mrs. Tsukikage appeared as The Crimson Fairy who was called by the scent of human blood. People fought each other, they didn't hear anymore the voice of the sky and land, the song of God who had united sky and earth, also grew souls inside. They didn't aware, they'd called evil to the world, to their hearts.... Whereas they only believed in what they could see, hear or touch. They had perfect shape, but they didn't aware. Whether the world would be prosperous or ruined, depended on them. We didn't care. But the human war destroyed the soul of the universe. Revenge, hatred, scared, and other bad motivations turned into dark world energy. It made natural disasters... hard rain, eruption, earthquake, typhoon... diseases... one by one the creature gone. We couldn't let it happened. I would ordered the dragon to tear the world... to make flood, to clean all the dirt. They must pay their mistakes. Hahaha.....

 

Ayumi: (We can't see her mimic behind the mask, but we know from all her movements and emotions.... The mask made it more effective, we come to think, that's the mimic of a fairy. Maybe through the mask, people can see  the crimson fairy in our own hearts.)	The Crimson Fairy felt weird emotions. Burned like fire... scarry, but there's beautiful emptiness... happiness and sadness which broke her heart... a new emotion. Then she flew her fan to dance, while she disappeared....
In the forest, where people threw unknown corpses, lived a man. Oneday a high- ranking official, named Terafusa, came. He's the Emperor's delegate who looked for a sculptor who had made 100 statues of Buddha. A fortune teller told, that there's a sincere person in the west side of the empire with the criteria. In despair, Terafusa found small statues on the street. The man told him his history. When he was 6 years old, all his relatives were killed. He was taken care by a priest and he couldn't speak or smile in years. Finally he became a student of a sculptor. He thought: (They sculpted great statue for rich people or high-ranking officials. But for poor people, they only gave a piece of wood with nose and eyes. It was only goods that could be bought. A statue of Buddha was only a statue sculpted similar as Him, but not Him. And that thing couldn't help people. It didn't have value at all). Then he became a thief. And	robbed royal blood and rich people. But later his friends were killed or captured, he was left alone. He threw away all his dream. He lived alone in a shrine, admiring the nature around. Then he realized about the corpse. He wanted to do something for them, so he took some branches and sculpted statues of Buddha. He said to Terafusa: To sculpt Buddha statue was my heart emotion. I wanted them to be Buddha whom I sculpted. That's my gift.  That's my only ability. Terafusa read a word "sincere" below a statue. The man answered, that he never did good deed before, but this one was made by him with sincere heart.  Terafusa was very glad to hear that. Since the man didn't want to come to the palace, many exclusive things were brought to the remote shrine. And he named the man "Isshin" which meant "the sincere man".
After 1 month, Isshin still couldn't make the statue. Terafusa kept giving him spirit. But Isshin was confused and sad. He suffered. Oneday a wanderer priest told him: If you sculpted it from a cherry blossom tree that had grown thousand of years, you could sculpt a fairy statue which had a soul. And he pointed to the South.  Then he disappeared.  Silently Isshin left the place.	A chief of robber almost killed him. But Isshin shouted, they could take everything, except the sculpt knife. He said, he was a sculptor of Buddha statue. The chief of robber laughed and asked for one. He knew his way to die wouldn't be good, and after death he would go to hell,  maybe with the statue, Buddha would show his way to heaven. Still trembling because the effect of his words, Isshin considered his real mission.
Then oneday he met the chief of robber dying. Isshin gave a Buddha statue he specially made for him. A Buddha statue with his face. Actually he didn't expect, that it would make the dying man in peace. It's the first time for Isshin. He felt, the one who was helped was himself. Then he swore to make not a beautiful statue that would be admired by people, or by the Emperor or Terafusa, but a statue that could help the heart of suffering people in the world. He promised to sacrifice himself to sculpt that fairy statue.	Isshin was imagining cherry blossom in the air... he followed it far to the heart of the forest.  He was never returned. Meanwhile, in the red cherry blossom valley/village, lived a girl named Akoya, who could hear Gods' voices. She could talk to the wind, tree, grass, or animals. She could make medicine from plants and could heal by God's power. She cured the Emperor Yoshino once. The rumours said, she had a boyfriend, a man who fell to the valley and suffered amnesia.
A man from the village warned the newcomers (only in celebration time of the year) not to go deep into the valley. There's a forbidden area. Nobody could enter and leave the place alive. Suddenly Genzo had become Isshin (and  Mrs. Tsukikage Akoya). Isshin said nice words because of her care. He hoped he was kept hurt. But he felt he must go, since nobody liked him, even the wife of the chief of the village, who adopted Akoya since she was 3 years old and became her grandma.  Akoya said, she would miss him very much if he	went... she knew he was her better half on the first time they met.... When the world was a chaos, God gave birth of a baby and send it to the world. The one soul of it was divided into two, dark and light. Both had different shape. When they would meet again someday, when the dark and light united, people became god, to give birth of new mankind. That time, the magic power would move... the power to pull the soul of the person... no limit of age, shape and rank. When they met, they would be attracted to each other, they were eager to have the better half, to be united... trying hard to pull the better half... that's love.....
Isshin said she should worry loving a man like him, who didn't have name nor history. But Akoya said, we lived and met, that's enough. He stated how deep his love. Masumi: (Two souls united which are separated, live on the dark and light. This is the love of Akoya and Isshin. Dad... is this the woman you always love? And... Maya, is this your role together with that young man?!)	Ayumi: (Are this you, Mrs. Tsukikage? All her movements express a woman in love... asks for affection and so beautiful.... Akoya... she's my next role....) Akoya: If we can tune our feeling with the heart of the wind, the emotion of the soil and the soul of the water... what's the important of human language?
Akoya: You're the only one who take care of me as a common girl, you're the first. Since I met you, I could feel I am a human girl.... The audience saw Akoya as a beautiful young girl. They fell in love with her. Akoya's grandma drove Isshin away from the village. Meanwhile, a general came. He asked for more medicine from Akoya. Akoya despised his opinion about war. She explained how rude people hurt and killed each other. She questioned, who was the Creator  of human and nature. General Kusunoki was the greatest from the South empire. Theatre Ikkakuju and Tsukikage helped Mrs. Tsukikage by being the village people who were full with joy in the celebration. Mr. Akame despised Maya, but Ayumi said: Do you see her mimic and movement? Her eyes stick to the stage, her feeling becomes one with the actress, and what is frightening... she directly remembers all the dialogues.	Akoya gave everyone a red sand sign on each forehead, the sign for all good lucks. One of the newcomer knew the red sand as medicine for staying young and eternal life which used to be drunk by Mountain God in China. He knew it's value more than gold and wondered if the forbidden area had this. Isshin said to Kusunoki, that he loved Akoya whatever she was. Even when the general said, usually if somebody loved unhuman being, one of them must die. Isshin said, true love was the tie between souls. Though he died, his love didn't change, his soul was still kept on his lover. That's Isshin's love!

 

The 3 newcomers who were in under cover as wanderer artists, were found out to be enemy of the South empire. They stole a lot of sacred things, one of them was the symbol of the empire. When the army chased them, one was killed but the other two run with the treasures. General Kusunoki asked for Akoya's help. Akoya reminded them not to kill any of the thieves, the soil must not be poluted by blood.  But one of the thieves got a strike of sword on his back and seeing this, the other jumped to the waterfall.	General Kusunoki was given the valley by the Emperor as a reward. His relationship with Akoya who had broken the promise with God became closer. Whereas, the relationship between Akoya and Isshin entered a dark shadow. Isshin asked for a name. But Akoya talked about the tone of music from the sky and earth. The music that made the living creature alive echoed continuesly.... The audience saw Akoya as a Fairy. Isshin saw her also as a Fairy and that opened his lost mind.
Ayumi: (If I couldn't perform Akoya as a Fairy here, it would be a disaster.... Only a moment, but how difficult!) When Akoya's grandma sent a man to kill Isshin, he showed his skill in playing sword. When he wanted to make a comb for Akoya, he sculpt a Buddha statue.	Akoya's grandma accused him of being a member of bad party with secret mission. Isshin kept remember, there's an important thing he must do. Akoya was seen as a cherry blossom tree with human heart. Only by standing there... she expressed her deep sadness... a broken love between a man and cherry blossom tree's spirit.
Akoya's body changed. She lost her God power. She couldn't talk to the nature anymore. The village people accused Isshin and threw stones to him. When Akoya's grandma told Kusunoki, Isshin was captured and put in prison in his fortress. Since he often heard Akoya's word of wisdom, Kusunoki was in doubt to begin the war. He came to visit her. But what he saw was a very thin girl... a dying girl.  Kusunoki said, she must get healthy first, if she wanted to visit Isshin. She said, if she had wings.When he asked her about the war, she asked back, if there were no mother cried when her sons went to war. All was created in pair. It looked as if it was in the opposite, but it's related to each other. Ayumi: (Though her body was so weak, when talking about the God, Akoya becomes a Fairy once more....) No one ever taught Akoya. She knew by herself. She knew all must follow the rules of the nature system to live. By killing each other, people broke the God's rule. Kusunoki wanted to cancel the attack, but the South army had gone to Tokyo. He had no choice than follow the war. He was afraid if his family was accused as traitors.	Akoya: The wind is my emotion, the fire is my strength, the water is my soul, the soil is my love. Please understand, you were loved. The general from the North attacked Kusunoki's fortress and released Isshin. He entrusted him a long sword. His army went to the red valley. Isshin only saw corpse, blood and fire everywhere. A weird priest showed him an axe and pointed to the forbidden area.
Akoya's grandma appeared and hit him with a stick. She accused him once more. Akoya was a God's child, how could she live without God's power? Her body wasn't belong to human. She told him that Akoya was a God's daughter, a red cherry blossom's spirit. Isshin realized, she was the eternal red cherry blossom tree he was looking for.	The other Gods (of wind, lightning, etc) tried to protect the red cherry blossom tree, since it was their strength too. But though people who broke its branch could die instantly, there's one person who could cut the tree, the man who loved The Crimson Fairy. And he came with an axe. Could The Crimson Fairy gain her strength?

 

	Ayumi wasn't sure if she saw blood on Mrs. Tsukikage's neck, from behind the mask. Mrs. Tsukikage cried for Ichiren's strength. While dancing, Akoya gained her spirit's strength breath, as if sucking the power from the tree. It seemed like a miracle.... It looked as if Mrs. Tsukikage walked on the clouds. So lightly. Akoya said, she was the wind, the fire... same with the universe, same with all
other living creatures.... Spirit appeared as king, back to spirit and disappeared. Time meant nothing for her... since she's eternal.... She was tree, bird, wind, sky, land.... She was the strength of soul, born from the heart of the earth, the emotion fell from above, something that related the sky and the earth...  The Crimson Fairy	The story stopped there. Mrs. Tsukikage wasn't intended to play the last interesting part, the battle of emotion between Akoya and Isshin who loved each other, to give a chance to the  2 Crimson Fairies and 2 Isshins to think. Could she defend her life? Could he fulfill  the Emperor's duty? Could he cut the tree  contained the spirit of the girl he loved?

 

Genzo said, years later... after the seventh celebration of peace, the Emperor saw a red cherry blossom tree with a regret.  He said to Terafusa: So you didn't know where the young man gone? I wanted to give him a reward.... Then there's a rumours from villages about a mighty wanderer who never mentioned his name. He could sculpt beautiful Buddha statue to be prayed. He could control the nature. He could make medicine from plants to heal people. He never stayed too long in one place. Every time he left, he left behind a Buddha statue as his love. Below it was written "sincere"....

Terafusa said, maybe his body was still on Earth, whereas his soul had walked in the sky. Watching the blooming red cherry blossom, the Emperor said, the 2 spirits had united, as God and Buddha. There's woman whose soul owned by God, and there's also man like that. Inside the statue, maybe there's also the spirit of the wanderer priest.... Mrs. Tsukikage: (Ichiren my love, a little time more... soon The Crimson Fairy will arise... in Maya... and Ayumi... inside young souls... and will live forever. My role which I had carried so long, will be over ... soon.... Ichiren, my love, have you satisfied? Have you?)

back to Glass no Kamen index

Manga-World

Lia Cyntia