Kitsune Matsuri: The Open Gateway

by William H Johnston

  Finally, I opened up the fridge and found one of the bottles I’d brought as a housewarming gift sitting on the shelf. The image of the little raccoon-thing stared back at me from the label with paws wrapped around a rather large barrel of sake.

  Suddenly, I remembered what John had told me about the tanuki, the raccoon dogs of Japan and their love of all things inebriating.

  Sanji is a tanuki!

  Then the reality of what was happening hit me.

  I’m getting sake for a tanuki that’s brought me a statue from a kitsune. This is going to be a long, strange night isn’t it?

  I poured the clear liquid into the porcelain jug and hurried upstairs. Sanji was waiting for me.

  I extended the bottle. “Fair trade. You give me the statue, and I give you the bottle.”

  Sanji nodded, and I took the little wooden object as he took the bottle from me, seeming quite pleased about the trade. Nodding, the tanuki uncorked the sake and took a whiff. His head rolled around lightly from the scent of it before sitting and taking a long swig.

  “Well, thank you, I suppose.”

  Sanji shrugged, his face looking a little swollen after that first chug. He rose rather ungracefully onto his hind feet, slung the bottle and bag over one shoulder and jumped up on the balustrade. He stood there a moment watching me with those swollen but inquisitive eyes.

  “Not much for words, are you? Well, tell Matsuri thanks. I guess I’m in her debt again.”

  The tanuki paused, nodding in quiet contemplation. I closed the window and watched as he sprang into the air and disappeared into the gloom. Turning, I went and lay back down in bed. Now I’d seen three spirits: kitsune, demon and tanuki.

  This wasn’t in the job description.

  Suddenly, my journey to Japan had become a veritable circus of strange creatures. Tomorrow I’d see Michiko again, and maybe I’d tell her about everything that had happened.

  Then again, maybe not.

  Morning brought with it a relative stiffness. I felt like I’d slept on the hardened earth. Getting up wasn’t pleasant, but I managed to make it to the bathroom and have a nice soak in the tub. I felt a little better after it, though, and a quick look at my calendar made me feel better still.

  It’s Friday!

  Outside, I could see the soft, warm colors of blossoms that had crept across the trees in the front yard and spread beyond through the hills to the distant city. Sporadic bits of color broke away from the brown haze and grey buildings in the distance.

  It seemed strange to have such a mesh of nature and civilization so close together. The great sprawling city with hundreds of thousands of people was only a few miles away from where I stood nestled against hills of lush green and relative tranquility.

  After breakfast, it was up and off to work, the usual train, the usual morning travelers all crammed together.

  Day’s end came quickly enough, and I was left to stare at the pile of papers ready to be graded. I managed to finish half the stack before I felt like my brain was starting to melt.

  I needed a change of pace after all that had happened in my short time in Japan. I owed it to myself to jot down my bizarre experiences, so I found paper and just started to write. My concentration was interrupted when I heard a soft knock on my door. Looking up, I saw Michiko standing there watching me.

  “Still here, Tobias-san?”

  “Oh, yes. I was just taking a break from grading.”

  “Ah, I see.” She approached the desk and glanced down at my little scribbled notes. “What are you working on there?”

  I quickly spread my hand across the top of the paper. “It’s just some personal thoughts.”

  “You are a writer?”

  “Oh, no, I sometimes write things down, but I don’t really consider myself a writer.”

  “May I see?”

  “Sure, I guess.” I quickly shuffled through my notes. I didn’t want her to see what I’d written about her. Not yet. I was still too shy to admit my feelings so openly.

  She took my first few “chapters” and sat down. Michiko read some of it, glancing up at me before letting the journal rest in her lap.

  “This is very good, Tobias-san.”

  I felt my cheeks burn. “Well, thank you.”

  “You have quite the imagination! You describe this encounter with the fox very vividly. It feels so real, almost like a spiritual meeting.”

  I included that? I gulped. At least she thinks the fox is just something I made up! Michiko probably wouldn’t believe me even if I told her the truth.

  “Well, I didn’t know about kitsune until later, but something in the fox’s eyes made me feel like I was being watched over.”

  “Is that why you keep the white fox statue with you?”

  I frowned, shaking my head. “No, but one can never be sure what dangers the day will bring. Actually, I made a partner for this one back at the house.”

  “Oh? Do they have names? In Japan, a name is a powerful thing, a personal and family history. Without it, we lose who we are.”

  Matsuri had said almost the exact same words.

  Moving my fingers, I touched the edge of the statue. “I think I’m going to call the white one Matsuri.”

  “A kitsune named Matsuri? Well, that’s an interesting name.” She smiled, and this time she didn’t hide it. “I was about to watch Chikako at soccer practice. Would you like to come?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  We went down to a soccer field very close to the school and sat with an excellent view. The kids were dressed in green and blue uniforms, and I saw Chikako zigzagging her way through some cones as other children tried to catch her.

  “Wow, Chikako is really good, Michiko.”

  “Thank you, Tobias-san.”

  Come on, Tobias, you can say more than that!

  I paused a minute weighing my next words carefully. “Michiko, I’ve wanted to thank you for a while now.”

  “Oh? For what, Tobias-san?”

  “For putting up with me, you know, helping me understand more about Japan. You’ve become my gateway to this world. I don’t know what I’d do without your help because I wouldn’t begin to understand the Japanese soul.”

  “The Japanese culture is very complex, Tobias-san. Perhaps someday you will share your insights about our culture with others. I think that even as a Japanese woman, I do not see all that lies around me.”

  We parted company after that, and I bid goodbye to Michiko and Chikako. When I paused at Mr. Maeda’s door, on the way out, he was busy at work as always, cast in the cool rippling glow of the fish tank behind him. “Good night, Maeda-san.”

  He paused, blinking up at me. “Good night, Tobias-san. Take care. It feels like rain is coming.”

  I glanced out the window. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

  Mr. Maeda sure has a strange barometer.

  Later, standing at the bus station, I took a deep breath. The evening was filled with buzzing insects that zipped through the air. I patted my pockets to make sure the little guardian statue was secure.

  The house was empty when I got home, but I could still smell the faint aroma of Aoki’s recent cooking. I found a little note sitting on top of the stove.

  Tobi,

  Aoki and Jomei are going to visit relatives in Tokyo, and I have another meeting with Toshi Sato regarding my transfer. Aoki said to enjoy the food she left for you in the fridge. Try to stay out of trouble.

  —John

  I didn’t recognize the meal that Aoki had fixed for me, but it wasn’t half-bad after I heated it up. I hadn’t exactly planned to spend time alone, but such was life.

  Once I was settled in my room, I opened the sliding door and went out onto the balcony to get some air. The breeze felt good despite the slight chill. I gazed out over the distant lights and sounds of the city of Kyoto.

  Resting against the banister, I sighed. Despite so many days surrounded by so many other people, I felt very alone.

  “W
hy so sullen tonight, Gaijin?” A familiar female voice startled me, coming from above.

  Matsuri reclined there on the gutter like a contented cat in the sun, her legs outstretched and head resting against a slender arm. The stark white features of her mask were quite a contrast against the red of her kimono, that sly painted smirk seeming all the more bemused.

  “Matsuri! I thought you said …”

  “You shouldn’t always believe what a kitsune says, my dear Gaijin. Besides, my tanuki friend told me about a certain debt still owed.”

  She hopped down on the balcony, long sleeves draping on either side of me. “You’re going out with me tonight!”

  Going out with her? Is she serious? I hesitated. I could go back inside and pretend like nothing happened.

  I glanced down at her offered hand then toward the distant lights of Kyoto, a panorama of stars against the dark behind her.

  No, if I’d had that sort of attitude I would have stayed back home.

  She knelt down, staring at me with those blazing golden eyes. “I don’t have all night, Gaijin. Are you coming or not?”

  Well, you only live once.

  I reached out and felt the warmth of her hand. With effortless ease, she lifted me up onto the railing. All of a sudden, I was standing at her side. The long drop into the street loomed before us, and I felt my heart leap into my throat. A chill, like icy fingers, trickled down my back. “No, no way!”

  She looked at me, a slight laugh escaping from behind the mask. “Just relax, take a deep breath, and hold onto me.” Before I could protest, I felt her shift forward toward the seemingly endless expanse of city and sky.

  “Wait, no!” Too late. We fell with the grace of a sack of cement, sending the two of us down, down with the inevitable pull of gravity.

  I’m going to die!

  Matsuri seemed oddly complacent.

  “Matsuri!”

  She didn’t reply. Her feet outstretched toward the earth as if it were a pool of water. I closed my eyes bracing for the inevitable. It never came. There was the sensation like bouncing off a trampoline. I felt the rush of air, an upward thrust and opened my eyes.

  I’m alive?

  I felt the prickling tingle of adrenaline across my flesh. We were sailing through the air, coming to land with a clattering racket on the black tile roof of another house.

  I hope we didn’t wake up someone.

  Matsuri laughed. “You don’t think I would just jump off a roof if I thought I would hurt myself do you? Gods! I’d have thought someone was murdering you with all that yelling!”

  “You could have at least warned me!”

  A slender finger reached forward to poke my nose. “And ruin the fun? Come now. You really are too easy to tease.”

  “Well, your life isn’t the one on the line here! I break very easily!”

  “Would you stop squirming? I won’t break you,” she grunted, her two tails flailing on either side of me.

  “I’m not exactly fond of heights. What are we doing anyway? I’m not a kitsune, you know. I can’t hop from roof to roof like you can.”

  “You worry too much, Gaijin.”

  “I thought you were supposed to protect me, not throw me into danger!”

  “Have I ever harmed you? Do you think I would?”

  “Well, no …”

  “Then you have nothing to fear or complain about!” She hoisted me up once again, and we sailed into the air.

  We moved quickly, Matsuri’s padded feet pattering along those black tile roofs. The blazing lights of downtown Kyoto grew closer with every breath in my lungs. Houses gave way to tall buildings, businesses and great stores.

  Kyoto Station loomed large in the night not a hundred yards away. Then we came to rest on a single point of light, Kyoto Tower. The tower was like a great needle situated in the heart of Kyoto.

  Matsuri and I settled upon the very top of this tallest structure in the city. There was nothing beneath but the red and white of the top of the tower, and it was a long drop even to the round observation lounge with its 360-degree view of the surrounding city.

  I gazed out over the seemingly endless lights with flashing billboards and buzzing frenetic activity below. It had taken us but a few minutes to travel a distance that had been far longer on my first trip through the city. The view was fantastic. It was like our local county fair with me riding high above on an enormous Ferris wheel with the flashing colors and streaming people far below.

  What a sight!

  I thought back to my parents.

  Mom would have a heart attack if she saw me up here and commandeer the Air Force to shoot down poor Matsuri.

  “Do you protect all of this, Matsuri?”

  “Of course not!” She knocked me lightly on the head. “Kitsune are nature spirits, silly boy. We don’t enjoy big cities. There are a few of us who divide the protection of this city, and I happen to guard your neighborhood.”

  “Why did you bring me up here then?”

  Her golden eyes gleamed behind the darkness of her mask. “My reasons are my own to know. I suppose I am as curious about you as you are about me, Gaijin. It’s not often a kitsune shows herself to a mortal these days, especially to an outsider. Most times we tend to shy away whenever some human comes tromping by like a big oaf.”

  “I guess I hadn’t thought that there might be more of you. Will I ever meet them?”

  She looked at me as if I’d said the funniest thing on Earth. “You really are a curious creature. I’ve never known a human who wanted to spend extended time with one kitsune let alone many. There’s a great deal about us I don’t think you would ever understand.”

  “As you said, I’m a curious person.”

  My mother would say that I am nuts to be talking to a kitsune.

  I decided to change the subject. “I wonder where Michiko is. She certainly would love this view, so would Chikako.”

  “Ah, yes! Your girlfriend,” she chuckled bemusedly. “I saw you make eyes. You should come right out with it and tell her, you know.”

  I felt my cheeks burn. “How can I possibly do that? Michiko is one of a kind. I mean I don’t think she feels entirely the same way. Wait! You could tell me, couldn’t you? You must know how to handle such things.”

  Matsuri gave my nose another sharp prod with her finger. “No! No cheating! You have to take care of your little affair on your own, Gaijin.”

  “Can’t you help me just a little bit? Give me some advice? I mean, you’re a girl. You know how they think.”

  She laughed then, really laughed. It took a moment for her to compose herself. “Oh, you are a funny one, Gaijin. Still, maybe I will see what I can do.” Matsuri extended her arm allowing the long billows of her red sleeve to caress the air like the tail of some great comet.

  “Come! I’ve had enough of sitting around like a statue, and we’ve more to see yet this night.”

  I took her hand as she padded to the edge. “Where are we going now?”

  “You’ll see.” The reply was nearly lost amid the rush of wind as she leaped out into the starry sky. It was like a dream being suspended in the air, leaping from roof to roof and all the while watching people below as they rushed about their daily lives oblivious to our presence.

  We descended right into the middle of them. “Matsuri, the people!” Too late! In an instant, we were in the middle of a mass of Japanese, like a great torrent of water beneath the flashing billboards and lights of buildings that now loomed over us.

  I heard nothing but the sound of feet on pavement. People passed us by without so much as a glance. It was as if we didn’t exist.

  What’s going on?

  I reached out my hand to touch a passerby but drew back immediately as my fingers passed right through him.

  “Matsuri?”

  “They see what I want them to see, my dear Gaijin. You don’t think I would just waltz into the middle of a crowd of people, and let them see me, do you?”

  “So we are
invisible?”

  “You could say that. From their point of view, we simply are not here. Humans sometimes choose not to notice the living spirits around them even here in Japan. It is so much easier to go along with the day to day, humdrum of mortal life. Not that they forget us. There are some here who are keen to the sense of a benign spirit.”

  Suddenly, a transformation began. People became more luminescent like beacons of light moving and shuffling amid that shifting sea. I felt like a stone caught in the tide of it. Then I noticed something else.

  Amid the rush, a few were dressed in common clothes but wearing garish and magnificent masks. Some masks were great, fearsome replicas of ogre, owl and other animals, and yet others were solemn, sad, longingly haunting. Still yet many more were strange, bizarre monsters I couldn’t recognize.

  A couple of the masks had the face of tanuki, staring with that sad, somewhat dumb expression that spoke of a longing for liquor. Others were even stranger entities, no more than great swaths of robe billowing like a storm front.

  “What are all these things, Matsuri?”

  “These are other spirits. I’ve shielded us from their sight as well so they are unaware of our presence.” She gestured to one side where a bright red image caught me by surprise. Great teeth gnashed and bug eyes pointed in opposite directions from each other. A large nose with a gold ring released jets of sweet smelling steam.

  “All are yokai, ghosts, spirits, and kami living among mortals who are unaware of their proximity.”

  “All of these?” I felt surprised to say the least.

  There are so many.

  “It is better for us to remain unseen to do our work. Can you imagine what would happen if everyone saw the world as you now see it?”

  I know my mom would panic, that’s for sure. Heck, if I tried to tell her about this, she’d probably jump out of a plane to rescue me.

  I frowned. “I don’t see any other kitsune.”

  “We foxes avoid busy streets. Being wild by nature, most don’t like cities. That’s not to say that there isn’t at least one of my kin watching us now.” She paused tilting her head away from me. “Isn’t that right, little one?”