And before we know it, as if the subject of our conversation led us here, we come to the display space of an ancient mirror.
Kei: What? That showcase over there is empty, isn’t it?
The item most likely intended as the exhibit’s main attraction is nowhere to be seen in the central case.
When I edge closer – thinking it might just be an item the size of a rice grain with an overly large exhibit – I see a poster attached there.
“This item has been stolen. We are deeply sorry, but we cannot display this exhibit.”
Tsudzura: I see, so this is the one—
Kei: Wow~ is says the mirror was made with the greatest craftsmanship of its time, and had the name “Ryougetsu.” (TN: Ryougetsu – 良月 – “Good moon.”)
Tsudzura: Ryougetsu…… you say?
Kei: What’s with the weird face? You’re the one who told me the moon was connected to mirrors, Tsudzura-chan.
Tsudzura: No, no, it is nothing of note, really……
In spite of her words, she seems to be deep in thought.
Seeing as she seems to know everything, she must be remembering the name from somewhere. I know how awful it feels when you can’t remember something you feel you should know.
It would seem that Ryougetsu is an item brought to Japan by the envoy to China, in the year 632.
Just like I heard in Tsudzura-chan’s lecture before, it was also a ritual object, and was passed to the hands of the Nakatomi family, who served as Shintou clergy at the time.
Tsudzura: 632AD would be the Jomei, year 4, the year Min returned to Japan, I believe. There’s a connection to what happened afterwards, so maybe Min himself carried the mirror overseas.
Kei: Min? Who’s that?
Tsudzura: Did he not appear in the history tests for that era? Min was a principal character in the Taika Reformation that followed, you know.
Kei: Ahh, by “Nakatomi family” you mean Nakatomi Kamatari-san? In that case, Min would be one of the people who served with Takamuko no Kuromaro as Kuni no Hakushi…… Is that close enough?
Tsudzura: Well done, indeed. Furthermore, he had a pronounced influence on aristocratic lifestyles in the Heian Period, not to mention being the person who directly transmitted the Inyou Gogyou to Japan. (TN: Inyou Gogyou – 陰陽五行 – A combination between Yin & Yang and Wu Xing philosophies.)
Tsudzura: Not to mention Kamatari’s story was mentioned in the Rikutou, so it could be that he brought the Rikutou over at the same time as the mirror.
The Rikutou is one of the military classics from China, compiled from six scrolls, and a top best seller studied by many famous generals and military commanders.
Of those six, the Tiger Teachings are often referenced here or there as “The Tiger Scrolls.”
Kei: But, you’re saying Kamatari-san was the priest of a Shintou shrine?
Tsudzura: He was part of a noble family based around Kashima Shrine, where they worship the war god, Takemikadzuchi no Kami, you see.
I can’t say I see a connection, but as a war god, he must have been worshipped by a powerful clan—— oh! Here’s where my love of period drama comes in handy.
Kei: Ah, come to think of it, the master swordsman Tsukahara Bokuden was a user of Kashima Shintou-ryuu, right? Could there be a connection there? (TN: “-ryuu” – a suffix that denotes a style of swordplay.)
Tsudzura: There’s no way there couldn’t be, as he was born into the Kashima Shrine clergy. That aside, Takemikadzuchi no Kami was egh——
Tsudzura: Um, please excuse me for a moment, yes.
Kei: Huh? Tsudzura-chan?
Tsudzura: I will come back right away……
Lowering her voice, she darts from the room in a jog.
To think she was that fretful……
Ahh, I see, no wonder. I’m still all right, myself, but when it comes to matters of human physiology, you gotta go when you gotta go.
I can see another visitor over there, so I’ll give a nod to her dropping her voice.
This might be a bit rude, but it’s a bit of a surprise that there was another visitor besides us.
As a matter of fact, that visitor is asking questions of someone who looks like an employee. If there are regional history buffs with that much zeal, this place might pull through yet——
——wait, what?
If I remember right, that person was on the same train as me the night I came to Hemidzuka.
| 何を話してるんだろう？ | 別に知り合いでもないし |
| I wonder what they’re talking about. | It’s not like I know her or anything. |