Thoughts from Episode 61: Heavy clothes to fill
For the first time in two months, today’s post concentrates on just one chapter, with the thirteenth volume being one of the eight included in my translation. Plenty has happened in the story since Episode 35, covering about a year of in-story time by my estimation. I did summarise volumes 8-12 in the last few posts, but let’s begin with a brief reminder of where we are right now.
Sara took over Suiren’s position and worked as Togu’s naishi no kami together with San no Hime. Togu, who later stepped down, is now known as Ichi no Himemiya (or Mitsuko). Sara is now the Emperor’s naishi no kami, working closely with people like the imperial archive keeper. Suiren, in turn, took over Sara’s position and now works as a general in the Imperial Guards, though she left the capital for a while after a thwarted attempt to visit Mitsuko. The Emperor has worked out that Sara is not really Suiren, but hasn’t truly confronted him. Tsuwabuki is now married to Shi no Hime, and has zero understanding of what has happened with Sara and Suiren. And finally, during the search for a new Togu, two monks have arrived to cause problems: one, Ginkaku, was banished but continued to cast curses from far away, and his disciple, Genkaku, is now ready to carry out Ginkaku’s evil plans.
Yoshino no Miya’s counter-curse against Ginkaku appears to have succeeded, but at a cost. Suiren informs the Emperor and Sara that Yoshino is in some sort of coma, and is instructed to patrol the palace. Meanwhile, Genkaku, who has been staying at Kakumitsu’s residence, sets the house on fire before catching Umetsubo and her maid as they try to escape.
Suiren gets dressed for action, speaks with Tsuwabuki, and leaves her regular uniform with Sara. She then runs into Mitsuko and advises her to return to the Suzakuin. Mitsuko acquiesces, but sends San no Hime to visit Yoshino on her behalf, and points out that although the fire has died down, there are now signs of a disturbance approaching the palace proper.
When Sara returns to the oddly quiet palace, he encounters Umetsubo’s maid. He sees Genkaku (remembering him from Kurama and immediately linking him to the snake incident from volume 12), who has taken Umetsubo and the maid there. Genkaku attempts to strangle Sara, but Sara manages to stab him and attack him with the crystal ball he received from the Emperor. Though Sara escapes, he has his kamoji of Suiren’s hair yanked off in the process and witnesses Genkaku starting a new fire. The chapter ends with somebody closely resembling Suiren running to deliver news to the Emperor.
Panels from volume 13, page 18.
©Chiho Saito／Shogakukan
A lot of time has gone by since Sara and Suiren made the dramatic decision to switch places and go back to Heian-kyo. As I touched on at that time, this change isn’t presented as a return to their true natures, but as going against their usual instincts. And even this late in the story, there are still indications that they haven’t settled comfortably into their new roles.
When Tsuwabuki appears in this chapter, Sara avoids him, then remarks to Suiren about how his former colleague behaves the same way he always did. Suiren asks if he misses his time as a court gentleman and Sara suggests that he is over it by now, but when Sara responds that Suiren now looks the part of a soldier, Suiren disagrees. After all this time, Suiren still regards herself as an えせ武者 (a false soldier – “a pale imitation” in my translation). She leaves with a wry smile and says, “The armour is heavy” (鎧が重いよ).
Suiren’s comment on the weight of her new clothes reminds me of a moment from much earlier, shortly after the siblings return to the capital. In Episode 34, Sara is exhausted after a tough first day as Togu’s naishi no kami, and tells Torako, “Women’s clothes are so heavy” (女の装束は思い). Obviously, we can read both lines literally – yes, armour is likely to be heavy, and yes, the many layers of Heian court women’s dress add up – but it’s hard not to see a figurative meaning too. Wearing clothes that they don’t feel at ease wearing is a challenge for Sara and Suiren; it’s a heavy burden, and so is the responsibility attached to them.
Speaking of responsibility, there is another moment in this chapter that calls back to the time when Sara and Suiren return to Heian-kyo. To persuade Mitsuko to go somewhere safer, Suiren insists that as somebody who could still end up ruling the country if things went horribly wrong, Mitsuko’s life is not only her own. Sara’s mother Nishi says something very similar in Episode 33, admonishing him for disappearing and causing his loved ones such heartache.
I’ve mentioned before that although the topic of fate comes up a lot, the narrative of the manga strongly suggests that the siblings are free to shape their own destiny. Still, it isn’t as simple as them getting to do whatever they like at all times. They originally leave their positions in the capital when everything starts to crumble, but when they consider the power they have to help the people they care about, they make a choice to go against what feels easiest and take on new roles. The responsibility they ultimately feel may be a heavy burden to bear, but it comes along with their active choice to keep on living.
