Whether it should be called 'gyotaku' or 'ryuutaku,' the story about that dragon print isn't the relevant point to this anecdote. If you'd like to learn more about it, go talk to Kosuzu at Suzunaan. I'm sure she'd be willing to tell you all about it and perhaps even show you the genuine article for a modest fee.

So then what was the point of relating this story? It was what happened next. As all of us were in the backroom talking to Kosuzu and admiring the dragon print, a tremendous clamor suddenly arose outside on the street. The sound was of numerous raised human voices, but it wasn't immediately apparent if someone was shouting, singing, chanting or perhaps some combination of the three. Upon hearing it we all turned toward the entrance in surprise. Kosuzu quickly stowed her prized possession away then lead the way to the front of the store, storming ahead of us, seeming incensed at having her moment of glory stolen. We all followed suit, eager to see what was causing the commotion.

"What's all this racket about?" she asked as she came through the curtains and up to the counter. As Renko, Akyuu and I followed we all one by one came out and stared out of the store's entrance toward the street.

"The end is near, there's nothing to fear, sing and rejoice, our duties are clear!"

"An end to all work, an end to our toil, exult and cheer as we all drown and boil!"

"Dance if you like, or cry or make love, death is descending from the heavens above!"

"Everything's finished, your debts are all paid! So give up on life and join our parade!"

On the main street bisecting the market district upon which Suzunaan stood a rowdy procession of people were dancing through the street, singing verses like those above, but all over top of one another, with no unified tune or harmony and only the barest semblance of rhythm. The procession seemed far from orderly. A handful of the people were singing verses, but many of those following behind were just chanting "Yoi! Yoi!" or stepping through the repetitive motions of an odd kicking dance with their arms locked bent-elbowed at their sides. As a whole, the group didn't seem to be heading in any particular destination or carrying banners or signs. Watching the people flow continuously past the entrance, Kosuzu's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Is this some sort of festival?" Renko asked.

"I'm not aware of anything like this having been planned," Akyuu replied, looking slightly horrified.

As we watched, it looked like some of the people who had been dining or possibly even working in the restaurant across the street were leaving the shop to join in the procession, taking up the dance and adding discordant verses of their own to the cacophony of chants.

"This is like a scene from the last days of the Edo period..." Renko muttered as she watched the procession.

The appearance of this sudden outburst of almost ecstatic pessimism was unexpected, but perhaps not entirely so. As a teacher I had gotten a certain feeling of building tension from the families whose children I had been teaching for the last six months or so. The string of natural disasters had pushed many households to their limits and the period of political instability that began after the death of the village's salt merchant had ruined the fortunes of some families while assuring the position of others. In the end, the majority of positions in the village had not changed significantly, which in and of itself was enough to provoke despair among the village's poorest residents who had hoped that the disquiet would signal the beginning of a more equitable era. There had been numerous shouting matches at market stalls or in the town square over both the price of food and political issues and on more than one occasion in the last few months, Keine had had to act along with the rest of the neighborhood watch to put down fights between humans rather than to protect them from youkai. Among professionals like my fellow teachers at the school there had been worried discussions of late that the state of affairs might lead to outbreaks of civil unrest.

Looking at the commotion going on outside, this wasn't exactly a peasant revolt but it wasn't exactly a celebration or a riot either. As I watched, one participant half-danced half-kicked a stand full of merchandise over and got into an angry scuffle with a shopkeeper. The people surrounding the altercation did nothing to stop it and kept right on dancing by, kicking their feet in lockstep. After a moment, both the dancer and the shopkeep who had been grappling with them had been swept up by the crowd and carried along with the procession. Watching the sea of people flow along, such minor scuffles seemed to be common, with pairs or trios of men and women often breaking into shouting matches or shoving each other as they continued to press forward. Kosuzu definitely seemed alarmed by the violence and there was nothing separating us from the people in the street other than the fact that none of them were coming through Suzunaan's doorway. I wondered where Keine and the rest of the neighborhood watch were at the moment. Surely something like this couldn't have gone unnoticed.

All at once a dignified voice rang out over the chaos. "Piteous creatures, why do you bend your efforts toward filling this fallen world with ever more suffering?" The voice was loud enough to be heard over all of the chanting, but it didn't sound like the speaker had been shouting. Almost as one, dozens of eyes turned toward the source of the voice and the procession stopped in the middle of the street.

Silhouetted against the pale sun, which was visible just as a glaring disk through the haze of the overcast day, a figure was descending, floating down toward the street from above, a dramatically flapping cape billowing behind them as their distinctive, animal ear-like hairstyle glistened in the misty drizzle.

"Is the suffering of your fellow man not kin to your own? No one wants to live in a world filled with hardship and woe, so why burden others with the pains that so trouble you? Would it not be better if this world were filled with joyous people, with everyone able to share their happiness alongside yours? Such a world is within your grasp, if only you understood how to follow the path to true happiness."

The figure descended, landing lightly on the ground and striding into the crowd, which parted to admit them as easily as if were a bank of mist. She walked until she reached a knot of people near the center of the press who were still dancing crazily, flailing about with their arms locked together. Reaching out with gentle movements but irresistible strength she separated the dancers, speaking to each of them in turn as she disentangled them.

"No matter how much effort you put into your work, you never see any rewards. No matter how you distinguish yourself, no one seems to care. Life gets harder for you day by day, and you have gone far too long without rest. You must all have suffered. Truly, your lives are pained. Though you struggle on, you live as if you had given up, feeling that you are powerless to change your circumstances or resist the forces holding you down, yes? You are complacent with your own suffering -that is the root of your misery! That is the essence of your unhappiness. All creatures must struggle to live. It is that struggle that gives our lives meaning! But to struggle without a goal in sight, to strive without progress is tortuous. To better our conditions, one must properly direct their efforts against the forces opposing them."

All around the lone figure the crowd began to buzz. Some people were discussing the newcomer's message, but just as many seemed angered by it. The crowd began to close around the pointy-haired hermit. Shouts of "So what should we do?" and "But what can we do about it?" rang out, shouted not as questions, but rather as accusations. Slowly but surely the figure was surrounded.

Until she drew her sword. Raising it high above her head, the gleaming blade caught the wan light of the sun and seemed to magnify it, throwing off a lambent glow that bathed the entire street in warm light. People nearby the figure winced back from the glare and some of those farther back looked on in awe or even fell to their knees as the speaker, the crown prince Toyosatomimi no Miko, looked down on all those surrounding her, shrouded in a clinging nimbus of golden radiance.

"There is only one truth!" she declared. "One path toward understanding and happiness. Embrace the wisdom of nature's path! Learn the way of the Tao and elevate yourself above the dreary sufferings of mundanity!" The crowd stared blankly at the prince. "Taoism is the knowledge of the creative power of universe and the secrets of its flows. To learn the hermetic arts is to learn to act in concert with way of the Tao and, when necessary, to force change upon those ways. The path to mastery does not require that you abandon the world and live on a mountain eating mist. Such asceticism is only for masters pursuing the limits of the arts. For commoners like yourself, as long as you are willing to learn and dedicate yourself to my teachings, every one of you might well find a way to better your circumstances. The Tao cares nothing for your status: whether you are a man or a woman, young or old, rich or poor has no bearing! To those who follow the way of the Tao and master the hermetic arts, anything is possible! Your families will be well cared for! Your businesses will prosper! Your mind and body will be free from weakness and disease and happiness will be yours to claim! Perhaps you wish to be rich? Or would you like a long and healthy life? Or to be admired by those around you? That's fine! Taoism exists to fulfill your desires! To learn the Tao is to understand the nature of happiness!"

For a moment there was silence. The people in crowd and in the shops alike stared at Miko in disbelief. Finally, someone spoke. "Would anyone really become a hermit for such a mundane reason?"

The prince turned to the woman who had asked and smiled. "What I preach is not Buddhism. I will not tell you that you should abandon greed or seek to live a life free from worldly desire. Indeed, such desire is necessary! It is an aspect of life, the hunger inherent in all beings! Do we condemn trees for reaching toward the sun, or value them for their strength and industry? Every human desire, no matter how vulgar, serves a purpose. They exist to compel us to improve ourselves! Of course excessive indulgence of any desire that can obtained without effort can destroy someone but striving to achieve our desires is what elevates us. To find a balance between need and reward is the correct way for humans to live. If you give up your desires and content yourself to live with the false teachings of certain other religious leaders, you will be told to ignore your current problems in hope of being reborn to a better life in the future. But doing that ignores the conditions we live in here and now! Is it really worth living this life in drudgery in the hopes of following in the footsteps of the Buddha? If suffering were instructive would not every one of you now be a saint? Who wants to be a vegetarian anyway?" Saying this, Miko flipped her cape off of her shoulder and turned, back toward the edge of the crowd from where she had come.

"Today is the beginning of a new era! Forget the struggles of the past and follow me! Taoism has come to the human village! Let me teach you the ways of the Tao and the power of the hermetic arts. Your unfulfilled desires will be your allies! Does their power not burn inside you? Why not channel that force to better yourselves and the lives of those who depend on you? Taoism is the future and if you follow my teachings that future will be laid before you! Don't you want to leave a legacy to your descendants? Don't you want to be happy in this life? Then learn to harness your desire! The truth of the Tao awaits you in the Divine Spirit Mausoleum! Follow me!"

So saying, Miko began to walk, the crowd once again parting before her, but more narrowly this time, with rows of onlookers pressing closely against her on either side. "Take me with you!" someone shouted as she reached the back of the procession. "I want to be your disciple!"

"Me too! I want to learn the hermetic arts!"

"Teach me the truth of the Tao!"

Miko continued walking, but from where I stood I could see a smug smirk start to spread across her face. Approximately half of the people who had made up the crowd turned and began to follow her, breaking away from the wandering riot and trailing behind her like a scene straight out of the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlin. Those members of the crowd who remained afterward seemed to have lost their momentum and began to break up, drifting away into small groups. Before I knew it the street had cleared and although it was now more silent and somewhat messier than it had been before, it didn't look much different than it might have on any other day.

"What do you suppose that was all about?" I murmured.

Renko folded her arms in consideration. "It seems like Miko's faction just made their move. That's some pretty large-scale missionary work. I wonder if Seiga might have had some of the dancers in that crowd under her control or something. Or maybe she started the whole procession to begin with."

I thought about that for a bit and was about to reply when I caught sight of Keine dashing up the street toward us, wearing the black armband of the neighborhood watch over top of her dress. Renko spotted her too and waved her down as she rushed between the shops.

"What's going on?" Keine asked as she drew up to the doorway, "I heard complaints of some sort of commotion, but everything looks fine here now."

"You just missed it, Keine. There were a whole bunch of people acting crazy and dancing in the street, but the crown prince just came and talked everyone down. About half of them followed her when she left and the rest just broke up."

Keine groaned and raised a hand to either of her temples, massaging them as if to alleviate a headache. "It's the same thing over here..." she muttered.

"The same thing? What do you mean?" Akyuu asked from behind me, standing on tiptoes to try and get a better look at Keine. I stepped aside to let Keine come in and continue the conversation.

"Oh, miss Akyuu," Keine said, straightening her posture and nodding her head. "Something similar just happened a half hour ago in the northern part of the village. I had just gotten back from dealing with that when I heard about this."

Upon hearing those words, all of us turned to look at each other in surprise.