The Maiden Shrine — The Buzzing

Initiate magnification.

How could we not peak, sweetling? A box, a lock, a respectable, a rib cage — containers beg us to look inside. We see into the honden. We see the essence of the enshrined kami. Vibrant and pure. But for how much longer? The myriad spirits from the High Plane of Heaven cry out. There is only a girl with partial credits toward an economics degree to answer.

Cease magnification.

A little island in Tokyo’s south suburbs of Kaidan-cho. Far from the bustle and violent vibrations. A little Shinto shrine. A jinja. A hum of power. There are also fake swans, but we will come back to them.

The shrine maiden is named Eri. She is quite young, as sweetlings calculate it. She was a student first and shrine maiden second…until recently. She blames herself for the state of Kaidan. She does not know the scope.

Eri the dispossessed. She purifies the shrine. She practises old divination rituals and sacred dances. She talks to the fake swans, and they talk back. The Tsukumogami have a voice. Eri wants to be a true shrine maiden of legend, but laments her lack of obvious power and swordsmanship.

Eri does not know that she is a true miko — true shamanic receptacle of the voices of the kami. We know, sweetling. We looked inside. How could we not peak?